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Hello and welcome to the show today! Over the past several weeks we have been looking at the beginning of the ministry of Paul. But at this point in the book of Acts there is a shift back to the ministry of Peter. And during our time together today we will be beginning to take a look at the miracle ministry of Peter, which is highlighted in a special way in 9:32-10:48. In verses 32-35 we have first a great miracle; the healing of Aeneas. Then in verses 36-43 we have a greater miracle; the raising of Tabitha from the dead. And then in 10:1-48 we have the greatest miracle; that of lost sinners coming to faith in Jesus Christ; and not only sinners, but Gentile sinners at that, which we will see even in this passage God is already making His Church (and particularly Peter) ready for. Now the Church is currently experiencing a time of peace. It says in…
Acts 9:31a (NKJV)— 31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. The Church Universal-- Now [There must have been hundreds of churches in the small cities and towns throughout this large region, but all of them together can be called a “church” (Gk. ekklēsia, {and it’s actually} singular in the earliest and best manuscripts of this verse, though some later manuscripts have the plural). {But this is significant because now} The NT can apply the singular word “church” to the church meeting in a home (Rom. 16:5 ; 1 Cor. 16:19), in an entire city (1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1), in a large region (as here), or throughout the whole world (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 5:25 ).] Wherever the people of God is, there Christ’s Church is. Now it says of these churches (or the Church)… Acts 9:31b (NKJV)— And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. “they were multiplied”— And this description of the growth of the Church is Luke’s key way of signaling the closing of a section. At every major transition of the Church here in the book of Acts, you find at the end some phrase like this describing the resulting blessing of God as seen in the growing fruitfulness of the Church (1:15; 2:41, 47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 13:49; 16:5; 19:20). And though this is a God thing, we see that the believers were not idle. They were taking Jesus admonition that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few very seriously. They themselves see that the fields are white for harvest and are now actively seeking to bring the Gospel to those places that have yet to hear it. And that is what we find Peter doing. We last saw him witnessing to the Samaritans in 8:25, having come there after Philip was used by God to spark a massive response to the Gospel there in Samaria. But now Peter sets his sights on and moves into the fertile coastal plain of Sharon, where we will witness the next two recorded miracles taking place. And this is important because it shows that Peter is already moving outwards from Jerusalem. It says… Acts 9:32 (NKJV)— 32 Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. Lydda-- Now Lydda was actually known as Lod in the Old Testament. It was a regional administrative town (toparchy) for Judea, and was on an important trade route. Located about 10 miles Southeast of Joppa, it was a hub that serviced roads from Egypt to Syria and from Joppa to Jerusalem. And while Peter is here it says… Acts 9:33 (NKJV)— 33 There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. “a certain man”— Now that phrase “a certain man” that is used to describe this man named Aeneas is actually a key phrase that Luke uses here to clue us in to the fact that Aeneas was an unbeliever. In the following miracle, involving Tabitha, we see that she is described not as “a certain woman” but as “a disciple named Tabitha” (v.36). You can also look back earlier in this very chapter to a similar description given to us of Ananias. In verse 10 he is described as “a disciple at Damascus” (v.10). So this man Aeneas Luke is careful to distinguish as an unbeliever. And for some reason or other, he has become paralyzed and bedridden. A Hurting Member-- You know, as I was beginning preparation for this message I had an interesting situation develop involving a dear member of our Church here at Renton Park Chapel. A gentleman, as a result of a terrible fall off a tall ladder onto solid concrete many years ago was on the road to becoming paralyzed. Doctors said that he would be paralyzed within a few months if he did not get a vital surgery on his neck. And I took him to that surgery; it was a three-hour surgery that took two doctors working very carefully to place a metal rod in his neck and attempt to stem the coming paralysis. Now thankfully that surgery was a success, but he still has a long road of recovery in front of him. And in the months that have followed I have witnessed first-hand both the ongoing struggles he has had to face in that recovery process, but also have gotten to see the miracles of modern medicine that we have available to us today. I got to see him slowly begin to improve; and I got to see the ex-rays in which you can see (clearly visible) this rod that has been inserted to help straighten his neck. It is truly incredible what doctors are able to do today. But having gone through this experience with my friend, it kind of helped me to see through new eyes the situation of Aeneas in our passage today. Now we don’t know what his story is; what treatments he had possibly gone through; certainly nothing like what we have today. But there is no doubt that for him the game is over. There were no modern surgeries like there are today that can sometimes correct these kinds of issues. No, he is incurably paralyzed. And yet it says in… Acts 9:34a (NKJV)— 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Glory To Jesus-- Now I love this because though we usually think of Peter (now at least) as this awesome rock in the Church, he is much more humble than he was during the earthly ministry of Jesus. Peter understands that it is not him but Jesus who is invisibly working to build the Church. And this is such a key thing for us to remember; and is a criteria we should apply to any Christian leader before deciding to follow them. False prophets always point to themselves. But true prophets of God (like John the Baptist) always point away from themselves to Jesus (“Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”); seeking Him to receive all the glory and praise. And that is something we need to watch in ourselves in all we do. What are our intentions? Are we seeking to bring glory to ourselves or glory to Jesus. Because (honestly) God will never work through you as fully as He might if you are not willing to recognize and give glory to Him for what He is doing through you. Humility is the gateway to being usable by God. Now, following Peter’s saying to Aeneas “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you…”, Peter adds to this… Acts 9:34b (NKJV)-- Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. Make Your Bed-- Now I don’t know about you, but here Peter almost sounds like a mom; “Make your bed!” And, honestly, Peter sounds very much like Jesus here; because Jesus had said similar things to the lame people that He healed. But it wasn’t until my study of this passage that I really asked why? Why this phrase “make your bed.”? I mean, what a mundane thing; to make your bed. Why not just say, “Arise! Be healed!”, which would have involved enough faith for Aeneas to be healed; as he would have obeyed enough just to attempt to stand up. Why this imperative (and that is what it is in the Greek); why this imperative for him to make his bed, which [probably refers to folding the mat on which he was lying.]? Well, I raised this question recently to my secretary (Miss Donna, a very insightful woman who has walked with the Lord for many many years) and she said something that really kind of got me thinking. And I think she hit the nail right on the head. She said that “When you make your bed, there’s no going back.” And you know I thought; my goodness, she’s absolutely right. There is an arising; a step of faith into the healing of Jesus, but there is also a closure behind him of the door to his old way of doing life. And one of the best NT commentaries I read, confirmed this. It said that the phrase here means [Literally, spread thy bed for thyself (dative case), what others for eight years have done for thee.] There is a transformation not just of his legs, but in the whole way he is to view and live his life. Samuel L. Brengle: "I had to go forward”-- Now all of this struck a chord with me because I have been reading a book by Samuel Logan Brengle, a mighty man of God in the Salvation Army who described in his book “Helps to Holiness” the very moment that (following his salvation) God moved him beyond mere forgiveness from sin and into an experience of actual deliverance from the power of sin; to freedom from sin where God actually purges you of your old self and creates in you (as the Psalmist anticipated) a clean heart; a united heart that is made altogether new. Listen to what Brengle writes; and I love how he knows precisely when this work of grace happened for him. He says: [On January 9, 1885, at about 9 o'clock in the morning, God sanctified my soul. I was in my own room at the time, but in a few minutes I went out and met a man and told him what God had done for me. The next morning, I met another friend on the street and told him the story. He shouted and praised God and urged me to preach full salvation and confess it everywhere. God used him to encourage and help me. So the following day I preached on the subject as clearly and forcibly as I could, and ended with my testimony. God mightily blessed the Word to others, but I think He blessed it most to me. That confession put me on record. It cut down the bridges behind me. Three worlds were now looking at me as one who professed that God had given him a clean heart. I could not go back now. I had to go forward.] And you know, that is what the Christian life is all about; leaving your life of sinfulness and embracing a transformed life. And that is what we are called to do as well. And that is what we see Aeneas does. He arises, finds himself healed, and makes his bed. Have You Made Your Bed?-- Now let me ask you, have you made your bed? Not your physical bed (though that is important), but your spiritual bed. Have you closed the door behind you to that old way of life? Have you allowed Jesus to do more in your life than just forgive you of your sin? Have you surrendered to Him fully and completely; allowing Him to actually empower you to rise against/out of that old way of life and begin to walk (un-crippled) in holiness before Him? If not, I want to tell you that there is no greater joy than allowing Him to create in you a clean heart (as the Psalmist says) and to walk in that “newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Ask for Him to do that for you today and He will do it, by His grace through your faith in Him. Amen.
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Hello and welcome to the show today! As you know, we have been talking about the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter 9. Saul encounters Jesus; and that encounter forever changes the course of his life. And we see that right after he leaves the presence of Ananias, through whom God gave Saul the Holy Spirit. Saul goes out and (as anybody who truly encounters Jesus is always compelled to do) he immediately begins sharing the Good News of the Gospel. It says…
Acts 9:20-22 (NKJV)-- 20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. 21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. The Jews-- Now the phrase [The Jews does not mean all Jews, of course, since many Jews had believed in Jesus and Paul himself was a Jew. But from this point forward in the book of Acts, Luke often uses the phrase “the Jews” as a shorthand expression to refer to Jewish people who opposed the gospel (see esv footnote; see also 12:3; 13:45,50; 14:4; 17:5,13; 18:12; etc.). Often it is the leaders of communities who are involved in this rejection.] But after these unbelieving Jews are confounded by Saul’s witness and testimony, it says… Acts 9:23a (NKJV)-- 23 Now after many days were past, Saul’s Arabian Ministry-- And that period of many days was very likely a period of 3 years; a period Paul writes about in his epistle to the Galatians. And many believe this period of three years actually took place between verses 21 and 22. Saul, rather than immediately traveling to Jerusalem to be instructed by the apostles, instead went to minister in Nabatean Arabia, which was a wilderness desert that stretched east of Damascus all the way down to the Sinai peninsula. Now why God wanted him to go there, we don’t really know fully. But it seems that God wanted to get him to a quiet place where He could teach him His Word through the new lens of Christ Jesus; to instruct him and prepare him to be an effective apostle. And he did this to Saul directly, because Saul says very clearly of this experience in… Galatians 1:16b-17 (NKJV)-- …I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. A Time of Preparation-- So the first part of Saul’s Christian education seems to have been given by God Himself. And this was because God knew that Saul was not yet ready for ministry. No, he had to re-process the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus. Until he did that, he was not ready for the full ministry that God had called him to. And you know, that is a lesson to us as well. While Saul did not wait to evangelize, there was a time of preparation that was necessary to his overall ministry. That is why if you want to go into full-time Christian ministry, you will most likely want to go to seminary. That’s not to say God can’t use a non-seminary grad. But you will never be able to give people what you don’t already know and what you haven’t already experienced. That is why it is so important for Church leaders to be educated. And I’m telling you, you don’t know what you don’t know. When I got to seminary, I was blown away with how little I actually knew and how much more there was for me to learn in order to be not just a Christian leader, but even just an informed Christian. I remember feeling (as I sat in those classes) “There is not a Christian alive who doesn’t need to hear what I am hearing right now.” Church Education-- And that is why it is so critical that the Church as a whole re-capture an emphasis on Christian education; even (and especially) inside the Church itself. Church is supposed to be more than just a place of worship; it is to be a place of teaching. You ought to come to Church and not only be fed, but taught how to be able to find nourishment and strength in God’s Word yourself. You ought to be taught how to do Bible Study; how to apply your Christian worldview to your understanding of the times and the culture; how to witness and contend for the faith. Church was (and is) just as much a place of the mind as it is the heart. In fact in Hebrew you cannot separate those two concepts. Heart and mind always go together. This is why Paul, in writing to the Philippian Church, writes in… Philippians 1:8-9— 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Love To Learn-- You see, if you want to be an effective Christian, you need to cultivate a love for learning, which always always always accompanies a Christ-like faith. There is a transformation; a renewal of the mind that accompanies the renewal of the heart (which Romans 12:2 talks about). And that is something Saul definitely experienced in his own life; and in a special way during his wilderness experience. In The Wilderness-- Now it is possible that during this time Saul went to the area near Mount Sinai (Gal. 4:25), which was a journey that would have taken a considerable amount of courage and strength. It may have been during this time that he experienced the “perils of robbers” and “perils in the wilderness” that he writes about 2 Corinthians 11:26). We don’t know for sure. But it seems likely that he also did some evangelizing because when he returns to Damascus after that 3-year period in Nabatean Arabia (and wherever else he journeyed during that 3-year stint), we find that he is already a marked man. So once again I want to emphasize that while there is a time of preparation, we should never wait to share the Gospel. Saul was sharing the Gospel from the moment he first received Christ (Immediately); and he started doing so right where he was, first in Damascus and then in the wilderness. And that is what we are to do as well. Don’t wait to share the miracle of what Christ has done for you. Yes, God may call you somewhere else; He may call you into the ministry or as a missionary (both of which require a lot of prep); but we can also begin sharing Christ right away. In fact we have to. If we don’t, our faith will always wither. It is often when we are sharing Christ (participating with Him in His ministry) that we are most growing in our walk with Christ. Now at this point Saul returns to minister in Damascus; and the narrative in Acts picks up here in verse 23. It says… Acts 9:23-25 (NKJV)-- 23 Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. 24 But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. 25 Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket. Basket-- And this [“Basket” was a large woven hamper suitable for hay, straw, or bales of wool.] It’s an unusual but effective means for his escape. And after this we are not sure about the time gap. Some actually place Saul’s 3-year stint at this point (between verses 25 and 26) instead of earlier. But regardless, it is not until 3 years after his conversion that Saul finally makes it to Jerusalem. And it says… Acts 9:26-30 (NKJV)-- 26 And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. {And we know from Galatians 1:18-19 that he actually only met two of the apostles at this point; and these two apostles were Peter and James. And it says} And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. {And after hearing this, they receive Saul into their fellowship, which is made clear in verse 28, which says} 28 So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. {And Galatians 1:18-19 also reveals that this was a period of only 15 days. But in that time, Saul is witnessing. It says in…} 29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. 30 When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. Caesarea-- Now Caesarea was [An important port city on the Mediterranean located 30 mi. N of Joppa. As the capital of the Roman province of Judea and the home of the Roman procurator, it served as the headquarters of a large Roman garrison.] And so it was a safe place for Saul to withdraw to. And then from there it says the disciples sent him out to Tarsus. And it is at this point that [Paul disappeared from prominent ministry for several years, although he possibly founded some churches around Syria and Cilicia (15:23; Gal. 1:21).] And then it says in… Acts 9:31a (NKJV)— 31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. A Time of Peace-- And this was due in large part to Saul’s conversion (which in itself greatly reduced the persecution the Church had been facing); but also there were a number of key political changes that also contributed to this time of peace and rest. You had a stricter Roman governor and also Herod Agrippa’s authority also was extended; and both of these served to help restrict the persecution. And this just shows how God can use evil people to work out His plan in the world. But even if the political climate didn’t change, the early Christians would not have been phased a bit. For it says in… Acts 9:31b (NKJV)-- And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. Our Shield-- You see, it was the Spirit of God who was their comfort and strength; not what was going on in the world. And that is why they thrived even when times weren’t so good. And you know, the same ought to apply to us even today. As bad as this world seems to be getting, for we who fear the Lord, we don’t have to be worried. We don’t have to pull our hair in anxiety and fear. We know that God has not abandoned His Church and that He will preserve and keep us. And that goes for the Church as a whole, which we see here in the book of Acts, but it also goes for us as individuals, which we see also here in the book of Acts. You and I may have to crawl into a few baskets ourselves here and there. But God will be faithful to be a shield and fortress for us as we continue to do His work. Meet With Jesus— And so what we need to learn from this is that if we choose to strive for anything, we must strive for the experience that Saul had in this chapter. We need to strive to meet Jesus in every possible way; to meet Him in song; to meet Him in prayer; to meet Him in Church; to meet Him in our Bible Study; in our devotions; to meet Him in ministry to those who need His touch. If we meet Jesus, our lives will forever be transformed; and the world just might be impacted and forever changed because of you. And so let us be intentional to, as often as we can, meet with Jesus. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello and welcome to the show today! In our study of the book of Acts we have been looking at one of the great persecutors of the early Church, a man by the name of Saul. And in our passage last week you will remember that Saul has just met Jesus on the road to Damascus, where he was seeking to further his persecution of Christianity. And yet it is on that very road that he encountered Jesus; and that encounter marked the greatest turning point of his life as (being struck blind) he was commanded to go into Damascus and wait further instructions. And so he does, staying with a man named Judas. And Jesus then appears to a Christian named Ananias and tells him to go and tells him to go to Saul and lay hands on him so that he might receive his sight. And Ananias is obviously terrified, fearing Saul. But he goes. And it says…
Acts 9:17-18 (NKJV)-- 17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. From Grey To Color-- I recently watched quite a number of videos on YouTube of color blind people receiving a very special gift. Because of modern technology, special glasses that appear just like ordinary sunglasses have been developed that actually correct color blindness. And so these people in the videos (who often received these expensive glasses from friends or loved ones) would open up the special box they came in (often not knowing what they were) and (seeing these ordinary-looking glasses) prepare to put them on. I remember one old tough guy in particular kind of shrugging the gift off, saying, “Guys, I have gone 70+ years without seeing color and I don’t really care whether or not I see it now. This means way more to you guys than it does to me.” And he said he certainly wasn’t going to get emotional or anything like that (like other people he had heard of); he said “I was a body builder; I’m tough.” And then (kind of shrugging to himself) he put the glasses on. And after a few seconds he began to look around. And suddenly you could see the emotion welling up in him (even with the glasses on) and he began weeping. He could not believe how beautiful the world was. Up until that point all he had seen were different shades of grey. Can you imagine seeing color for the first time? And he kept crying because he could not believe what he had been missing. And he went over to his wife and embraced her, thanking her (through tears) for the gift that she had given him. That was only one of many videos I watched. I saw a young man on his wedding day receive the glasses from his fiancé and he got to see her in color for the first time. I saw a mother get to see her two children in color for the first time. Another woman had just gotten the glasses and had a picture of her daughter ready so that the first thing she would see would be the color of her daughter’s eyes. And she was expecting kind of a neat experience. But when she saw her daughter’s eyes for the first time, she suddenly had a hard times seeing through all the tears. Imagine what it would be like to have your whole view of the world changed in an instant. For Saul, that was very much like it was. When the scales fell from Saul’s eyes in those moments, it was more than just physical blindness that went away; Saul was awakened to a whole new way of seeing life; and that was seeing it through the lens of Jesus. In Jesus, Saul met (and continued in fellowship with) the very God whom He loved and worshiped. And from that time onwards His fellowship with God would never be the same. A Personal Burial & Resurrection-- It’s interesting how Ananias comes to Saul after 3 days of blindness. You see, God has a sense of humor. The sign of Jonah was 3 days in the belly of a fish; Jesus’ spent 3 days in the belly of the earth; and here (because Saul rejected the Gospel of Jesus) God put Saul right in the tomb where Jesus had been, so to speak. He had to endure three days of death before he could experience a personal resurrection; his own personal new beginning. And just like a humble person in mourning, he had not eaten or drunk for the entirety of those three day. But now that he has been given the the Holy Spirit, it is time for him to eat and drink. It says… Acts 9:19 (NKJV)-- 19 So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. Sauls Being Discipled-- Now I can’t imagine what that must have been like. Here Saul is, in the midst of the very people he has been persecuting; and he’s not in the position of instructor, which he probably would have put himself in only a short while prior. No, he is the student, learning all about the life and ministry of Jesus. Now that is pretty incredible when you think about it. These ordinary Christians are discipling the great Saul of Tarsus. And that just goes to show that it doesn’t matter who you are talking to; how smart they are; what their pedigree is. If that person doesn’t know Christ, you have something to offer them; actually you have everything to offer them (even if you might feel small in comparison, by worldly standards). Think of Ananias (the one to whom God sent to Saul). He was one of the Christians we would never consider to be extraordinary; yet God used him in an amazing way to influence Saul. And Saul of course became one of the most significant figures in all of world history, which is something even secular historians admit. Now we don’t know much about this Ananias. But you know, that may be the point. There are always those Ananias-type people behind the scenes, quietly being used of God to move His Kingdom forward. Kimball & Harrison-- [On April 21, 1855, {a man by the name of} Edward Kimball led one of the young men in his Sunday school to faith in Christ. Little did he realize that Dwight L. Moody would one day become the world’s leading evangelist. The ministry of Norman B. Harrison in an obscure Bible conference was used of God to bring Theodore Epp to faith in Christ, and God used Theodore Epp to build the Back to the Bible ministry around the world.] You see, the Ananias’ of the world can have a great impact. And so maybe we need to cultivate the habit (the practice) of asking God on a regular basis, “Who can I influence for You today, Lord? Even if it’s just one person; Lord, help me to find a way to be that influence.” And be prepared to respond; because if you mean that with sincerity, He will lead people into your life. And who knows; the quietest word; the smallest nudge on your part might just be that nudge that ends up forever changing to the course of history. Eyes Still Opening-- Now Saul’s eyes have just been opened; but the spiritual opening of Saul’s eyes wasn’t finished when he left Ananias. No, they continued to be opened day by day as he dwelt with the disciples in Damascus and had poured into his life the message of Jesus Christ. Now anybody who truly meets Jesus can’t be quiet about it. Look at what it says. It says in… Acts 9:20 (NKJV)-- 20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. "Son of God"-- Now take a guess. How many times do you think that Jesus is referred to in the book of Acts as the Son of God. I asked somebody this just recently and they replied, “I don’t know. A hundred?” And you might think so. But you know, that’s not even close. It may surprise you, but interestingly this is the only place in the book of Acts where Jesus is called by that title. And it is so interesting how the one person who uses it in this book is a Jew zealous for the name of the Lord; a Jew who would have been the most reluctant to use that title out of fear of blasphemy. But it is a title that Saul used at least 15 times in and throughout his epistles. Now this was a shock to everyone who heard him; that Saul would claim a divine title for one he had up until that time persecuted. And that is why it says in… Acts 9:21-22 (NKJV)-- 21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. Proving With Scripture-- Now Saul was proving that Jesus is the Christ in two ways. First and foremost, he is connecting the dots for people, helping them to see that the Jesus they crucified matched the identity of the Messiah prophesied about in the Old Testament. He knew scripture already like the back of hand. He no doubt could quote the entire Old Testament by memory; that was very typical of any highly educated Jewish man. Proving With His Testimony-- But there was also another way that Saul was proving that this Jesus is the Christ. And that was by His own conversion. And I don’t think we fully grasp how absolutely unbelievable this was. There was no less likely convert in all of history. And you know, that is why the conversion of Paul stands as one of the strongest testimonies to the truth of Jesus Christ’s resurrection because it doesn’t come from somebody who wished Jesus would rise; it came from one who was glad Jesus was dead and wouldn’t have it any other way. Yet not only did the desire of his heart change; not only did he himself become a Christian, but He (like many of those early Christians) was willing to undergo some of the most intense persecution, torture, and even death for what he believed (some of which we see right here; right at the outset of his ministry). Why is he willing to go through all of that? Well, it wasn’t because he believed in some merely religious idea that Christianity was true; no, it was because he had SEEN Jesus. He himself had encountered the resurrected Lord. And when doubters arose amidst his path, all he had to do was point them towards his own personal testimony and say, “Hey, just look at the difference this Jesus has MADE in my life!; where I was then and where I am now! You cannot explain it ANY other way than that I encountered the resurrected LORD; this Jesus of Nazareth!” Our Testimony; Their Encounter-- And you know, the greatest testimony that you and I will ever bear is that testimony born by the change that God has brought about in OUR lives; where we were then and where we are now. Because people can see it with their own eyes. In us the world encounters the Resurrected Lord! And so this week, let people encounter Christ in you. Live for Him and let His Spirit also work in and through you. Amen. Hello and welcome to the show today! In our study of the book of Acts, we have been taking a look at one of the most important conversion stories in all of history, the salvation of Saul on the road to Damascus. Saul had been violently persecuting the Christian Church and was on his way to Damascus to further persecute Christians and prevent them from winning converts in the synagogues there. But something amazing happens to Saul on this road to Damascus in our passage today! He meets the risen Lord! And after he meets Jesus, he was no longer Saul the Jew! He was no longer Saul the Roman; Saul of Tarsus; Saul the highly educated; or even Saul the Pharisee of Pharisees. He was Paul, first and foremost, a what? Listen to…
Romans 1:1– 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, A Genuine Encounter-- Saul became an apostle of Jesus Christ. And when you think about the power of that; how the unlikeliest convert (one who hated Christianity) became one of its chief advocates and missionaries, it really speaks to the genuineness and the power of the encounter that he had with Jesus there on that road to Damascus. And today I want you to see in Paul’s testimony what a true encounter with Christ ought to produce in the life of a person. Point 1: Dealing With Sin— First, a Genuine Encounter with God Deals with Sin. The first thing God does is confront Saul with the sin that is at the heart of the issue. He first points out his sin in persecuting the Christians, which is (in essence) persecuting Christ Himself. Then he tells Saul to go into the city and await further instruction. And Saul gets up to leave and realizes he has been struck blind. Now this is an interesting part of the story because he is the only one who is struck blind. Why does Jesus strike him blind? What is the purpose of this? God’s Light Taken-- Well remember how the Jews viewed light and the ability to see? In scripture, God Himself is light and those who know Him walked in the light. In Egypt darkness covered the whole land, except for Goshen, where God’s people dwelt. Why did they have light? Because they followed God. And in and throughout the Old Testament those who are fools; those who reject God and his wisdom are said to be those who stumble in the darkness. Jesus even calls the Pharisees blind leaders of the blind, making the point that they do not know either God or His truth. So what I think Jesus is doing here is making Saul experience his own spiritual darkness; his own spiritual blindness. He is making him bear physically what he is spiritually. And so through this Jesus is saying to Saul, “You are so blind, you persecute the very God you claim to serve. You think you are walking in the light of truth when in fact you are lost. I want to communicate with you just how lost you are. Here, let me take away your sight. And then He says to him, “Now stumble on over into the city and you will be told what to do.” Point 2: Producing Humility— Now the second characteristic of a Genuine Encounter with God is humility. Now picture this. Saul, who was expecting to come to Damascus in might and in strength, overwhelming the Christians there with his persecuting power, is now sent into that same city the weakest, most powerless person you could imagine. And sometimes this has to happen to us. We have to be humbled before God can do anything with us. Two Ships Illustration— [In the summer of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia. Hundreds of passengers died as they were hurled into the icy waters below. News of the disaster was further darkened when an investigation revealed the cause of the accident. It wasn't a technology problem like radar malfunction—or even thick fog. The cause was human stubbornness. Each captain was aware of the other ship's presence nearby. Both could have steered clear, but according to news reports, neither captain wanted to give way to the other. Each was too proud to yield first. By the time they came to their senses, it was too late.] Humbling Ourselves-- Now that story may sound may sound ridiculous to us. But let me ask you, are there areas in your life that you are not willing to humble yourself and submit to God? Are you so determined to grip the steering wheel of your own life that you are even willing to crash it into disaster just to escape from having to humble yourself and submit to God’s way; God’s plan for your life? Now even those of us who are followers of Christ still have to wrestle with this on a day to day basis. Are we going to obey God in humility; or try to do things our own way? And there was another man in this story that also had to learn this lesson. Look with me at verses 10 to 16... Acts 9:10-16 [NIV]— 10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Ananias’ Doubt— Now I really feel for Ananias. He is a Christian who has already heard that Saul is coming and he is possibly even in hiding. And God says to him, “You know Saul of Tarsus?” “You mean that guy I and a lot of other Christians are hiding from; the guy who has every Christian he meets thrown into prison? That Saul of Tarsus?” “Yes. That’s the one. I just revealed to him a vision of a man named Ananias coming to restore his sight.” I Love God’s sense of humor here. He doesn’t say that Saul saw just anybody, but somebody in particular: a man named Ananias! And Ananias is probably talking out loud, “Wow, God, that’s pretty specific. You know God, Ananias is a pretty common name. Why don’t you grab an Ananias who’s a little bit less me. I was on my way to get my name changed anyways. How about Sapphira’s husband?” And God says, “Well, he can’t.” “Why?” “He’s dead.” “Really?” “Yes, he tried to deceive the Holy Spirit.” And Ananias says, “God, I was seriously kidding about that whole name-changing thing. I wasn’t really on my way to change it.” And God says, “Go!” So Ananias goes and finds the house Paul is staying in. Look at verse 17... Acts 9:17-19 [NIV]— 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Point 3: Being Brought To Repentance:-- And this brings us to the third point, which is this: A Genuine Encounter with God leads you to Repentance. Paul not only had his sight restored, but his soul as well, as he received the Holy Spirit into his life. He arose and was baptized, becoming a follower of Jesus Christ; that very Jesus he had met on the road. Now look at the instant change that was wrought about in his life. It says in… Acts 9:20-22 [NIV]— 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. Point 4: An Evangelistic Drive— And so we see that the fourth thing A Genuine Encounter with God leads you to is Evangelism. Anybody who has been genuinely touched by Christ and filled with His Holy Spirit will want to carry that new hope he has found to those who have yet to receive it. And the irony now is that Saul (who had been an enslaver of Christians) has now become an Evangelist for that very faith. Before he was the persecutor; now he is the persecuted, which we see in the very next section. It says… Acts 9:23-26 [NIV]— 23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. 26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. A Trojan Horse?— Now you can really understand where they are coming from. How would you know if he were telling the truth or not? What if he’s just faking it to gain information; information he can later use to cause great harm to the Church. Might be kind of a Trojan Horse situation; where you welcome in as a gift the very one who would destroy you. Well, that is what these early Christians were afraid of. And think about it, what are the chances that he would happen to have this kind of change of right now when you know he is seeking out Christians. I guarantee you most of you would not believe him. I probably wouldn’t. But what is remarkable is that he really was telling the truth! Yet nobody believes him. It just sounded too good to be true! But look at what is says. It says… Acts 9:27-28 [NIV]— 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. When We Avoid Encountering God-- You know, Paul had a real, genuine encounter with God. And it changed his life forever. But you know, sometimes I feel we avoid genuine encounters with God. Because He’s like a mirror for our hearts, we often don’t want Him to be near enough for Him to reveal those areas in our lives we would prefer to keep hidden and un-dealt with. We often forget to humble ourselves before God and submit our way to His. It is not that we don’t want to be good Christians. We are just afraid to let God take the wheel of our lives. It’s strange. We think we can manage and steer our lives better than the One who made us. And we have all been guilty of this. But what the reality scripture points us to is that if we are to walk in the light as Christ is in the light, we must allow God to deal with our spiritual blindness. We must acknowledge our sins before Him. We must humbly accept His way. We must repent and turn from those sins we are clinging to in our lives. And lastly, we need to take the hope of the Gospel to those who need to hear it. And so today I want to encourage you (if you want to have a genuine encounter with God today) to humble yourself and confess your shortcomings and sins. Repent before the Lord now in this moment and ask Him to give you the strength to do the work He has for you. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. In our study of the book of Acts, we have come to chapter 9, in which we read of the conversion of a man who was at one time one of the fiercest persecutors of early Christianity, and yet became God’s chief instrument in bringing the good news of the Gospel to the gentiles. And of course I’m talking about Saul, who was also known as Paul. I say “also known as” because there is a widely-spread belief that God (or Jesus specifically) changed Saul’s name to Paul. But that is not the case. Saul in fact always kept both names. “Saul" was his Hebrew name and “Paul” was his Greek name. And having that kind of duel name was actually very common during that time. Simon Peter’s name is another example: Simon/Shimeon (a Hebrew name), and Peter (a Greek name). Now there definitely is a shift from the use of “Saul” in the beginning of the book of Acts to “Paul” later in the book of Acts; but the reason for that shift has nothing to do with Saul's conversion. Rather it has to do with where he was ministering. In and around Jerusalem he would use his Hebrew name (“Saul”) and in Gentile regions he would use his Greek name (“Paul”). And you will note here that when Jesus confronts him here on the road to Damascus, he calls him by his Hebrew name; not his Greek one.
The Importance of Saul’s Conversion-- Now the story of Saul’s conversion is very important for at least two reasons. First, it helps us to get to know who he is, the problems he struggled with, and how Christ changed who he was. Secondly, Paul’s testimony is important because his apostleship (which is the source of his authority) is based upon this very important encounter he had with Jesus while on the road to Damascus. In fact, Paul’s testimony is so important that the event is described three separate times here in the book of Acts (Acts 9:1-9; 22:3-21; 26:1-23). And what makes Paul’s testimony so important is that it shows us that he did not receive his authority from either himself or the other apostles. His authority came from the fact that he met Jesus face to face and was called (by Christ Himself) to go and be a minister of God’s word; a messenger who would carry His authority and do great things in His name. And over and over again Paul points back to Christ as the one who gave him this authority. He doesn’t consider himself worthy to do the work God has for him. In fact, he even describes how the other disciples met Christ in 1 Corinthians 15 (NIV) and then says in verse eight, “and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” You see, he recognizes that it is only by the grace of God’s love that he was chosen to be God’s special instrument. And I am sure that all of us here today recognize our own unworthiness in being chosen by God not only to be His special instruments, but His children. It was not because we were anything special, but because He is good. Zealous Rage-- Now although Saul became a mighty instrument for God, at this time Saul is violently persecuting the Christian Church. And behind this is a misguided zealousness for God, whom he thinks these Christians are in rebellion against. And so he is enraged (really) against these Christians. And you know, that is not very different from how the world often responds to you and to me in our day and age as well. An Answer Forum— Some time ago I was looking something up online and I stumbled across this website where people could ask any question they wanted and other people could answer. And as I was looking through some of the religious questions people were asking and some of the answers other people were giving, I was struck with how easily you could tell who was a Christian and who wasn’t by how differently they responded. The Christians, though not always on track, were honestly trying to answer the questions while those who weren’t Christians were often flippant and rude. And not only that, they were vindictive, speaking hatefully and mockingly towards Christianity. And I found it interesting how people who reject the truth of Christ are rarely content to just say, “I respectfully disagree with you.” No, they often feel the need to lash out and vent their hatred, even when what they are venting about how little or nothing to do with the question that had been originally asked. And through my interactions with unbelievers in those kinds of forums (but even in person) I have really come to understand more and more that very often it is not merely a matter of respectful debate. No, there is an underlying hatred; an enmity that is working against you right from the outset. And you know, that is because of the truth of what Jesus expressed in… John 3:20-21 (NIV)-- 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. Thick Hide/Warm Heart-- And so when we come to interact with people who are lost, we need to do expect that there are unseen emotions and forces at play in their lives that will be working against us. Satan will seek to deaden their reason and cloud their thinking. He will place before their mind’s eye a manufactured picture of Christians that would be detestable to anybody. He will seek to stir up their spirit against you. And so, as my mentor once told me, you need to “have a thick hide and a warm heart”. Be willing to take the abuse, remembering what we talked about last week; that those who often respond to us with the most anger are often those who are under the greatest conviction. The Storm Before Salvation-- I remember one time in the early years of my ministry trying to be there for a man who had lost his mother, who had gone to our church. But he himself was a drunkard who did not know the Lord; and it showed in his unsettled (and often angry) spirit and in the way he chose to grieve for his mother, without hope. He was one of those people you would look at and wonder if there really was any hope for him because of how incapable he had rendered himself of hearing God’s voice. How could God ever break through to a man like him? But I kept visiting him. And I would sit with him, listen, and try to offer the hope of Jesus wherever I could. But then one day something happened; he told me he didn’t want to see me anymore. He had misread a situation and thought I had said something to somebody else about him, which I hadn’t. But he said he didn’t want to see me anymore. Now I was a little stubborn and came back later anyway to talk to him and try to restore the relationship, but after I knocked on his trailer door and he opened it, I found that I had interrupted his cleaning of his rifle. And he very menacingly said he didn’t want to see me again. And so I got back into my car and left. But as I was driving down the road back towards the church, I just said, “Okay God, I can’t do anything else. He’s in your hands now. I turn him over to you.” One week later my phone rings and I pick it up and it’s him. And he said he wanted to see me. And so I went and saw him. And when I came to him and sat down with him, he began sharing his own personal despair; the darkness that had closed in upon him. And once again I offered him Jesus. And this time he said he was ready; and he received Christ that night, one week after saying he never wanted to see me again. Later he gave me a plaque that had a cross on it made out of railroad spikes. And I hung it in my office to remind me of what God had shown me through that experience; that there is nobody beyond His reach and ability to save. And even when somebody may be biting into you (as their conviction is at it’s worst), let them do so, all the while recognizing that that chastisement (like the stripes of Jesus) may just be the last croaking of the darkness before the sunrise. So let them bite. And perhaps even in their biting they might taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). Now Saul has definitely come to this turning point. His anger is at it’s peak. And so it says… Acts 9:1-2 (NIV)— 1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. En Route To Damascus— Now what is happening is these Christians are spreading the Gospel by teaching in their local synagogues. And Saul wants to put a stop to this in order to prevent those people who come to the synagogue to debate and to learn from being led into what he perceives to be a wicked cult. So he receives permission and is on his way to Damascus in Syria, which [was the nearest important city outside the Holy Land. It also had a large Jewish population. The distance from Jerusalem to Damascus was about 150 miles, four to six days’ travel.] And he is at the end of his journey, drawing near to the city. Look at verse 3... Acts 9:3-9 (NIV)— 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. Only Through Encounter-- Now here we find that Saul, who thought he had had a clear vision of God and what He wanted; and who had intended on riding into Damascus in might and in strength, now has been rendered vision-less (physical blindness to match his spiritual blindness) that now necessitates his having to be led into the very place he had intended to bring persecution. And it was Jesus Himself who confronted Saul and (as we will see) works about a marvelous transformation in his life. And what that shows us is that it is the presence of Jesus that ultimately changes a person; not anything you and I say or do (though God will most certainly use that). But ultimately it is He who confronts, convicts, and brings people to repentance. Our job is simply to lead them to Him. And so this week, seek to bring the presence of Jesus to those around you. It may be in something you say; or it may be in how you respond to their mistreatment of you. Let them see reflected in you and me the presence of Jesus. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. In our study of the book of Acts, we have come to chapter 9, which we will begin looking at during our time together today. But first, I want to tell you a little about a young girl I’m sure many of you have heard of named Anne Frank. Her story is one that has been remembered throughout the decades due to the tragedies that she faced and the sad and cruel way that her life came to an end during the World War II era. At the age of thirteen [she and her family went into hiding in Amsterdam. She kept a diary, which was given to her on her birthday, in which she chronicled the events of the war and her and her families suffering under the Nazi persecution. They had a hiding place called the Annex in which they concealed themselves. But then they were betrayed and captured and sent to the Nazi death camp Auschwitz in Poland in 1944. Anne, her sister Margot, and their mother Edith died in Bergen-Belsen, another camp. The father (miraculously) survived. But later [a friend of the Franks who had brought them food and clothing while they were in hiding, found Anne’s diary by her bed and saved it], giving it to Anne’s father who survived. It was later published and really [gave a voice and face to all those who suffered Nazi persecution.] Personally, I cannot imagine what it would have been like to live through the trials and persecutions that they faced. But you know, Anne’s story is not unique. Sadly, the story of the Jewish people is filled with stories like hers; stories of persecution and fear. There has been in almost every generation of God’s people a Pharoah, a Nebuchadnezzar, a Darius, a Haman, a Herod, a Nero, or a Hitler. And the same continues to be true today. And yet God showed His providence in each of those situations and often even used what those rulers intended for evil to actually produce or lead to the good of God’s people. God judged Pharoah and delivered Israel out of Egypt. God helped his people endure during the reign of Nebuchadnezzer, delivering Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the flames. He helped them endure the reign of Darius, during which He saved Daniel from the mouths of the lions (and the rulers who were trying to bring about his death). Haman tried to exterminate all the Jews much like Hitler did, yet God used a young girl named Esther to bring about deliverance and (in the end) it was Haman who died and Esther’s cousin Mordecai who came to rule in Haman’s former position as Grand Vizier to the king. In the New Testament Herod killed the Jewish boys in an attempt to kill the Messiah. But in the end, he died and the Messiah survived (the One who would bring God’s salvation to the world). Nero also failed to exterminate the Christians, whom he blamed for all the ills of Rome (including a fire which he himself started). And in the case of the Nazis, they were defeated and shortly afterwards a great and glorious prophecy was fulfilled for the Jewish people as they became a nation once again. Over and over again God’s people are attacked, yet God brings them through. And they (as a people) keep the celebration of that reality at the forefront of their lives. The Jews often sum up their history in three simple phrases: (1) They tried to kill us. (2) We won. (3) Let’s eat.
The First Great Persecutor of Christianity-- Now I say all of this because in our passage today we encounter the first great persecutor of the Christian Church; a man by the name of Saul, a very important religious man who (in ignorance) set himself against Christ and His followers, who at that time were almost entirely Jews. And so this time the enemy came from within the Jewish people. And yet right on cue we see continued this glorious theme of God’s providence in working His salvation in the midst of (and even through) times of enormous trial and persecution. The Stoning of Stephen-- Now remember that not long before this, Stephen (one of seven church leaders selected to minister to the Hellenists) has just born witness to the Jewish leaders not only of the truth of Jesus being the Christ; the Son of God, but also of their guilt in putting Him to death. And the leaders are outraged at him and verse 7:58 (NIV) says they 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. And it says in verse 8:1 (NIV) And Saul approved of their killing him. An Illegal Act-- Now not only was the stoning of Stephen a morally evil act, but it was also an illegal one. Because [under Roman rule the Sanhedrin did not have the legal right to execute without Roman concurrence (see John 18:31).] But they did anyway. And the very first glimpse we have of this man named Saul is when he is standing by, passively watching these Jews murder this innocent man while he watches over their clothes. The very first place we meet Saul in scripture, he’s an accessory to murder. He doesn’t exactly sound like a pleasant sort of fellow. But he would have been very highly respected by his fellow Jews; and for good reason. Paul’s Education at Tarsus— First of all, he was very highly educated. We know this for at least two reasons. First, he was from Tarsus. And [Tarsus was “no ordinary city” (Acts 21:39)] It was a city of intellectual elites; very highly educated people. In fact, [The inhabitants of Tarsus were so well known for learning that Strabo, the Roman geographer, remarked, “The people at Tarsus have devoted themselves so eagerly, not only to philosophy, but also to the whole round of education in general, that they have surpassed Athens, Alexandria, or any other place” (Geography 14.5.13).] And so here was a guy who, having studied abroad in Jerusalem under Rabbi Gamaliel (grandson of a famous Rabbi), has a mastery of Torah, as well as other fields of study normal Jews were not permitted to touch, such as Homer, Euripides, and other Greek literature that was normally considered unclean by the Jews. And that, by the way, would have prepared Saul to better be used by God to communicate the Gospel to the gentiles. But not yet. He Was A Pharisee— Now on top of this Saul was also a Pharisee, which meant that he was a part of the religious elite in Israel. The name “pharisees” means [‘the separate ones’, i.e. the holy ones, the true community of Israel,] And so Saul was a very highly respected Jewish leader who would have been among the upper classes sociologically. He was Roman— Now in addition to all of this Saul was also a Roman, which gave him an advantage in certain situations because he had more rights than the average person; such as rights to a trial. The Road To Damascus-- And so, all this to say, Saul was a very important and influential man. In fact he says later (after his conversion) in his epistle to the Philippians basically, “If anybody had anything to brag about, I did! As far as the world was concerned, I was doing pretty good. And I thought so too. And I thought I was winning extra points with God by squelching out this blasphemous new religion called Christianity.” Zealous History-- And by the way [The zeal Paul demonstrated in persecuting the church is not simply religious fanaticism. Paul saw his devotion for God and his law as part of a noble history in Israel, which lauded those who showed outstanding courage to defend and avenge what was holy.] So Saul is trying to do the right thing. But, because of ignorance of the Gospel and misplaced zeal, he believes he is doing God a service by persecuting these Christians, whom he believes are leading God’s people astray, never realizing that they are leading the people to God Himself; to the Messiah. And so it says that after the stoning of Stephen… [Acts 8:1-4 (NIV)]— ...On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. {(As we said before, the Greek underlying this phrase sometimes describes the ravages of wild animals.)} Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. 4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Not Scared Into Silence-- Now I love how these Christian believers weren’t scared into silence. No, even though they were forced to scatter, they never stopped sharing the Gospel even though they knew that doing so increased their chances of getting caught or killed. And it makes me think about my life and my ministry. Am I far easily scared into silence? We sometimes think, “What if I offend the other person?” “What if they get angry?” And of course we don’t want to do so needlessly. But let me tell you, the message of the Gospel (that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; that we are in desperate need of a Savior who can bring us forgiveness and change because we need changing because of how desperately wicked we are); that message is offensive. But you know, most people (at base) recognize the truth of this, which is why they sometimes respond the way that they do. It is the conviction of the Holy Spirit working through you that is causing them to get angry. But you know, we really shouldn’t worry about that. As long as we are presenting the Gospel in a Christ-like manner, we are doing our part. And often on the other side of that angry and malicious response is conversion. Ministry Outside A Clinic-- I used to be a part of a ministry that met outside of an abortion clinic. We weren’t there to protest, but just to offer help to the women and men going in and out and to encourage them to love their baby. And we shared the Gospel where we could and sang hymns together. Now some of these men and women would be infuriated with us. They’d storm past and say they didn’t need our religion. But then often they would come out of the clinic later and come up to us and say (often in tears) that because of us (or the hymn that they heard us sing while in there) they had decided to keep their baby. Some of them even came to faith in Jesus. Now over the years (we kept track) hundreds of babies were reported to us by their mothers as having been saved through that ministry. Some of these parents even came back later and joined our ministry, often with their babies, who then became young children. And what we found was that it was often those who got the angriest with us who were actually being convicted the most and who were the closest to making a decision to turn to Jesus and to love their baby. Push Through!-- Now remember that this week as you minister to that family member, friend, or stranger. Don’t get discouraged when things get rough. If you push through the anger (and sometimes even the persecution) you will often find that the darkness of their response was actually the smoke being produced by the fire of God’s conviction. And God can cause that conviction to bring salvation to that person’s life if you are faithful to share even when it’s tough. And so let us be faithful to always share the hope of the Gospel. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. We are continuing our study today of Acts chapter 8, looking at verses 26-40 today, which of course is the story of Philip’s sharing the Good News of the Gospel with an Ethiopian Eunuch, who comes to faith in Jesus Christ.
An Example of Genuine Faith-- Now you'll remember that a couple of weeks ago we talked about the sorcerer Simon and the false nature of his faith. He became a part of Christianity for selfish personal gain rather than to be used by the Holy Spirit of God to join with God in his mission of reaching the world. However, in our passage today we are given an example of true, genuine saving faith; a faith that is demonstrated by three very important elements; the proper preparation (as the Eunuch was seeking truth in the Word of God, the proper presentation (as Philip came alongside of the Ethiopian to explain the Gospel message to him), and the proper response, which is seen in the Ethiopian being baptized and truly repenting. Witnessing Not Overwhelming-- Now I don’t know how you feel about witnessing. I think we all agree that it has to be done. But often we have qualms about who is supposed to do it. It can be uncomfortable. But that is because we complicate it too much; or we place to much of the burden on ourselves rather than God. We think that if we slip up then we’ll push people farther away. But that view completely takes God out of the equation. It is humanistic because in thinking that way we are assuming it is us doing the work; but it’s not. You are just called to play a part in God’s work. And that doesn’t have to be a complete sharing of the Gospel. Sometimes it can be (like it was with Philip in our passage today) coming alongside of a person and answering some questions; working with them through an issue they might be facing and offering them the hope that you have found if you feel God leading you to. I think that we get overwhelmed by thinking witnessing means you have to give a full presentation of the Gospel and be able to (afterwards) convince them of their sin and to accept Christ. But most of the time that’s a multi-person job. Don’t worry about the big picture of whether or not they come to Christ; because that’s in God’s hands. Just focus on the opportunities God is leading you into. You may be the planter; you may be the waterer; and only occasionally the harvester; and that’s okay. Just be content with the part God has called you to play. That’s how it was with Phillip. Moved Into Ministry— Now Philip had the unexpected joy of causing something big to happen merely because he was willing to obey an immediate call from God to come alongside a stranger. Now keep in mind this is not Philip the Apostle, but Phillip the Evangelist, one of seven men chosen to help distribute food to the Greek-speaking Jewish widows who had been overlooked in the daily distribution (probably because of a language barrier); because the Jews in Palestine spoke mainly Aramaic. So Philip was originally called to serve the Lord by waiting on tables so that the apostles could devote themselves more fully to prayer and to the ministry of the word. But then something happened nobody expected. Stephen, who had proclaimed the Gospel of Christ to the Sanhedrin, was stoned and killed. And on that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. (Acts 8:1) But, like we said before, this scattering only served to strengthen and grow the Church rather than weaken it. Ministering in Samaria-- Now Philip (who was a Hellenist; a Greek-speaking Jew; and therefore one of the primary targets of this great persecution) goes to Samaria and actually becomes a mighty preacher of the Word. And God moved through him in incredible ways. He becomes the first ever Christian missionary to non-Jews; to these half-breed Samaritans, as they were called. He performed miraculous signs, he cast out demons, he healed paralytics and cripples. And the people of Samaria listened to him and rejoiced at what God was doing through him. But then God kind of shifts gears on him by calling him to an unexpected place. It says in… Acts 8:26 (ESV)— 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” Now what kind of place is this? Luke tells us: This is a desert place. So from great revival in Samaria to a desert place. But it says… Acts 8:27-28 (ESV)-- 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Eunuch-- Now the word “eunuch” […can refer to one who had been emasculated or generally, to a government official. It is likely he was both since Luke refers to him as a eunuch and as one who held a position of authority in the queen’s court—that of treasurer, much like a Minister of Finance or Secretary of the Treasury. {But listen to this; because this is very important} As a physical eunuch, he would have been denied access to the temple (Deut. 23:1) and the opportunity to become a full proselyte to Judaism.] And maybe just as bad (at least in the mind of a Jew) is the fact that he will not have any descendants to carry on his name and his heritage. Hope for A Better Heritage-- And in ancient culture your value was very much dependent on the heritage you left. Well here is a guy who probably physically cannot have children because he has (because of his job) been made a eunuch. And yet [Isaiah held out the promise that God would grant devout eunuchs a heritage “better than sons and daughters” (Isa. 56:3–5).] Well, what is that heritage? Salvation in Jesus Christ. So as he’s drawing near that chapter in Isaiah, here comes Philip to share the message of Christ with him so that he can be part of that heritage. How AWESOME is that! Now the way the Holy Spirit timed this encounter is simply amazing, which we will see more in a minute. But it says… Acts 8:29-34 (ESV)-- 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” A Sheep Before It’s Shearers-- And we know that this passage from Isaiah is actually a prophecy of Jesus, who was silent before Pilate and those who were persecuting Him. And so here Philip has been given a golden opportunity to share Christ with him. And of course he does. It says… Acts 8:35-36a (ESV)-- 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, Now just think… [Philip and the eunuch arrive at a rare watering place in the desert precisely when the eunuch requested baptism.] Once again the Holy Spirit is leading in a very clear and amazing way. Acts 8:36b-40 (ESV)-- and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away [much like Elijah was (2 Kings 2:11).], and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. From Seed to Great Harvest-- Now Philip probably didn’t know this, but Church tradition tells us that this Ethiopian eunuch also became a preacher of the Gospel and that in fact that place where Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch (in Gaza) [marks the start of the Ethiopian Church], of which one branch today, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has a membership of 36 million. You see, God can use our obedience to witness to bring about great change in people’s lives. A "sign" to start witnessing?-- [Norman Cates shared the humorous story of a guy who prayed this prayer every morning: "Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is." One day he found himself on a bus when a big, burly man sat next to him. The bus was nearly empty but this guy sat next to our praying friend. The timid Christian anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus. But before he could get very nervous about the man next to him, the big guy burst into tears and began to weep. He then cried out with a loud voice, "I need to be saved. I’m a lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won’t somebody tell me how to be saved?" He turned to the Christian and pleaded, "Can you show me how to be saved?" The believer immediately bowed his head and prayed, "Lord, is this a sign?" Are you looking for a "sign" to start witnessing?] God Waiting For Us-- The fact is there are people all around us who are (like the Ethiopian) waiting for us to connect the dots for them; to make the scripture connect with them so that they might find Jesus Christ. God is simply waiting on us to be willing to be His hands, His feet, and His voice in those moments that He opens for us to share. And the question is, are we going to be faithful? If we are, God can also use us in amazing ways. And so let’s commit to God today to come alongside people and help them to encounter Jesus. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. It is good to have you with us today as we continue our study of the book of Acts. We have been in chapter 8, which of course tells of how Philip brought the Gospel to the region of Samaria and a great many Samaritans have come to faith in Jesus Christ. And after Peter and John come and open the door for these Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit it says in…
Acts 8:25 (ESV)-- 25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. For The World-- Now this is a crucial turning point in the book of Acts, because it is here that we begin to see the message of the Gospel breaking out from being just a Jewish reality to being a message for everyone. God is starting to remind His people of something that they had forgotten; and that is that His salvation is for a whole world. Another Woman Not My Wife-- Some time ago I read of [A preacher, who shall we say was “humor inspired”, {and who} attended a conference to help encourage and better equip pastors for their ministry. Among the speakers were many well-known and dynamic speakers. One such speaker, boldly approached the pulpit, gathered the entire crowd’s attention, and said, “the best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman that wasn’t my wife!” The crowd was shocked! He followed up by saying, “And that woman was my mother!” The crowd burst into laughter and he delivered the rest of his speech, which went quite well. The next week, the pastor decided he’d give this humor thing a try, and used that joke in his sermon. As he approached the pulpit that sunny Sunday morning, he tried to rehearse this joke in his head. It suddenly seemed a bit foggy to him. Getting to the microphone, he said loudly, “The greatest years of my life were spent in the arms of another woman that was not my wife!” The congregation inhaled half the air in the room! [And he began to get excited. But when he got ready to deliver the punch line, he found that in his excitement he couldn’t remember it. So] After standing there for almost 10 seconds in stunned silence, trying to recall the second half of the joke, the pastor finally blurted out, “…and I can’t remember for the life of me who she was!”] Rooted in Israel-- Forgetting things can sometimes be very painful. But we I think are prone to forgetting things; particularly about the Christian faith. And one of the basic things we forget (or choose to ignore; perhaps because we don’t recognize the importance of it) is the place of Israel in God's overall plan in bringing redemption to the world. Especially we in our western culture. We forget that God had always intended Israel to be a light to the nations. All the way back in Genesis 1:28 God had told Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it,…” And he repeats that command to Noah in Genesis 9:7 immediately following the flood. And later, when God entered into covenant with Abraham, he made a promise to him, saying in Genesis 12:3 “…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” And so we see that when God established Israel, they were to be a light to the nations. God says in… Isaiah 42:6 (ESV)-- 6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, Isaiah 49:6 (ESV)-- 6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 52:10 (ESV)-- 10 The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Isaiah 60:3 (ESV)-- 3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Now, fast forward to the New Testament. Listen to the words of Jesus in… John 8:12 (ESV)-- 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” God’s Love for The World-- Now first of all notice how Jesus’ claim to be the Light connects back to concept of salvation given in Isaiah. It is very important to understand that Jesus saw himself as the embodiment (literally) of God’s salvation that God had always planned on giving to the world through Israel. Now that must have sounded a bit jarring to those who heard Jesus; because notice Jesus doesn’t say “I am the Light of Israel.” That is what his Jewish audience probably would have expected Him to say. But no, He was speaking to them in the spirit of Isaiah, pointing them back to the reality that they had forgotten; which was that God’s salvation is for a whole world. And so He says, “I am the Light of the world.” Even in His conversation with Nicodemus he had begun to hammer this point. What did he say to Nicodemus in John 3:16? “For God so loved the world…”; another all-inclusive statement. Now this is so important because the Early Church saw Jesus as the fulfillment of these passages in Isaiah and therefore took these passages as their own personal commission. When Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch in Pisidia, it says in… Acts 13:44-48 (ESV)-- 44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. Channels of Blessing-- You see, God’s plan has always been for Israel to be the means through which his salvation would be brought to the world. And though God had made a covenant with Abraham and with his people to bless them, the blessing was never meant for them alone. No, they were to channel that blessing to the world. Now the sad reality that we are confronted with is that Israel failed to live out this call, and instead gravitated towards either of two extremes. Nationalism-- The first was that Israel gave in to a separatistic nationalism in which Israel resisted contact with all the surrounding Gentile nations. We see this attitude very much alive in the person of Jonah. He was commanded by God directly to preach to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. But not wanting them to experience God's salvation, he took off in the opposite direction. And God had to use some mighty big circumstances in order to turn him around. Now we know that Assyria had caused Israel a lot of grief; and they were a very wicked empire. But the nationalistic attitude of Israel during that time had all but completely cut them off from engaging in God's mission to reach the world. And unfortunately this attitude pervaded much of Israel's history. Compromise-- Now the second extreme was that of compromise. Israel was called to influence the surrounding nations to God; however what ended up happening was that Israel became influenced by the surrounding nations. They were seduced by the paganism and the idolatry. And so they allowed themselves to become tainted by that spiritual adultery. And because they were tainted by that sin and false religion, they didn't have anything that they could give to the surrounding Gentile nations. They had become the very thing that they were supposed to fight against. Now God was able to cleanse Israel of her idolatry; which He did through the Babylonian exile, after which Israel never returned to their former idolatry again. The New Idolatry-- However, they did embrace a new kind of idolatry; and that was that they allowed their religion to become corrupted into a system of salvation by works. The temple itself became an idol. The religious rights and sacrifices became idols; so much so that when God Himself visited His temple in the New Testament, they did not even recognize Him. And they even hated many of the people that Christ came to save. But all of that changed with the birth of the Christian Church, as each new stage of growth pushes the Church farther out in its scope. God’s New Instrument-- And what I want you to see is that the Church has now become God’s new instrument to further the work He had always intended for Israel. They are His great new means of reaching the world. And while Israel had up until this time been very nationalistic in its focus, we find that the Church would be an entity that would embrace people of every race and culture and nation. But (as we have said before) this happened in stages. At Pentecost the spread of Christianity began first in Jerusalem to an exclusively Jewish body. It wasn't long after that that the Church soon began to reach out to minister to the half-breed Samaritans, as they were called. And then in our passage next week we find the third great milestone of the Church as the Gospel finally begins to reach a Gentile audience as well; as through the ministry of Philip a high official in the court of the Ethiopian queen comes to faith in Jesus Christ. But not only him, but we will see also that through him the Gospel would eventually reach those in the great African continent as well. Is Israel’s Problem Ours As Well?-- But what we need to be careful of is to keep Israel’s problem from becoming our problem. Are we thinking globally? Are we fulfilling God’s call to carry the Good News of the Gospel to the ends of the earth? Oswald J. Smith has rightly pointed out that “Any church that is not seriously involved in helping fulfill the Great Commission has forfeited its biblical right to exist.” But you know, in light of that (every pun intended), let us not forget our central purpose; and that is to join Christ in the work He is doing in the world. Let’s join Him this week. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. I hope you are doing well and that today you are experiencing all the fullness of Christ in your life. As we have been proceeding through our study of Acts chapter 8, we have seen how a man by the name of Philip (not the Apostle Philip, but one of the Greek-speaking men chosen by the apostles to wait on tables) has (in addition to that ministry) also been preaching the Gospel. He is the first missionary named in Scripture and the first to be given the title “evangelist” (21:8). And he has just recently brought the Gospel to the region of Samaria. Now God (as he always does at a new turning point of His salvation plan) confirms His message with miracles; and (lo and behold) a multitude of the Samaritans come to faith in Jesus Christ. And it says in…
Acts 8:12-13 (ESV)-- 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed. Now Simon Magus was a practicer of sorcery and probably a con-artist to whom the people had previously looked up to; a man who (although he believed) was not saved because he had a wrong view of self, a wrong view of salvation, a wrong view of the Holy Spirit, and a wrong view of sin. The Wrong Reasons-- Now although the text says Simon Magus “believed”, we will continue to see that he came to that belief for all the wrong reasons. Because of the Samaritan revival, he knew his own popularity would begin to decline as he ceased to be seen as the Messianic figure that he had marketed himself as as people began turning to Jesus as their true Messiah. He was also motived by a desire [to learn what he perceived to be Philip’s power]. And so he follows Phillip after he is baptized for three apparent reasons. [First, he wanted to sustain contact with the people following the preacher. By joining Philip’s movement, he went where the action was and kept his opportunity for influence alive. Second, as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. He had, so to speak, a professional interest in finding out the source of Philip’s amazing powers. Third, as his later conduct shows, he wanted to figure out how to acquire that power for himself.] And in the next section he thinks he sees his opportunity. It says in… Acts 8:14-16 (ESV)-- 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Peter & John Come-- And so word has spread of the incredible success of Phillip’s ministry. And the apostles in Jerusalem receive this word of what is going on in Samaria and they send Peter and John to investigate. And their [Peter and John’s mission was threefold: First, they came to help Philip with the spiritual harvest. The response of the Samaritans was too great for one man to handle. Second, they came to give apostolic sanction and blessing to Philip’s work among the Samaritans. {Because remember that up until this time the Samaritans had been despised by the Jews as halfbreed outcasts. And so the apostles (who were leaders of the church even after the church spread out from Jerusalem) come to officially validate this new branch of the body of Christ. And thirdly}…, they came down from Jerusalem and prayed for the Samaritans that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Although they had believed and been baptized, the Spirit had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.] The Holy Spirit At Conversion-- Now some use this passage to argue that Christians nowadays do not receive the Holy Spirit until sometime after conversion, which is not true. At this point in the book of Acts we are in a transitional period into what would later become normative in the Church. All of us receive the Holy Spirit when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. But at this point in the history of the Church God withheld that outpouring until the apostles came for a very specific reason. Remember [Jesus had given Peter the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 16:13–20), which meant that Peter had the privilege of “opening the door of faith” to others. He opened the door to the Jews at Pentecost, and now he opened the door to the Samaritans. Later, he would open the door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 10).] He was God’s chief instrument in the early days of the early Church. But there is another very important reason; and that was (as one author I was reading this week pointed out) that [For centuries, the Samaritans and the Jews had been bitter rivals. If the Samaritans had received the Spirit independent of the Jerusalem church, that rift would have been perpetuated. There could well have been two separate churches, a Jewish church and a Samaritan church. But God had designed one church, in which “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female,” but “all [are] one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). {And so} By delaying the Spirit’s coming until Peter and John arrived, God preserved the unity of the church. The apostles needed to see {what God was doing amongst the Samaritans} for themselves, and give firsthand testimony to the Jerusalem church, that the Spirit came upon the Samaritans and confirmed their salvation. The Samaritans also needed to learn that they were subject to apostolic authority. And so that is why we see here that (at this point) the gift must come through Peter and John. And so it says in… Acts 8:17-19 (ESV)-- 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” A Wrong View of The Spirit-- And so the third fault in Simons’ theology was that he had a wrong view of the Spirit. [When he saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money. Evidently, the believers were speaking in tongues as on the Day of Pentecost so that there was a perceivable sign of this great reality sufficient to arouse Simon’s interest. Philip had impressed him, but Peter and John overwhelmed him. Simon asked them brashly and excitedly, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” He treated the two apostles as though they were fellow practitioners of magic, and was ready to negotiate the price to buy the secret of their power.] And this was not unusual during that time. [Magicians often sold each other their tricks and incantations.] Expensive Magic-- When I was younger I was very much into the world of magic; not this kind of evil magic, but rather the world of illusions. And I would go to the local magic shop that had a huge selection of magic tricks. If my mom had shopping to do, she’d drop me off there and I would be content for hours. But the world of magic is very expensive. Tricks that costed a very small amount of money to make would cost the consumer many times over. And that’s because you’re not just buying the prop; you’re buying the secret. But that’s where my lawn-mowing money went because I wanted to be able to perform the greatest magical illusions. Not For Sale-- Well here, Simon sees Peter and John displaying God’s power and immediately wants to have that same power; which wasn’t bad in and of itself (because we ARE to desire the Holy Spirit and the work He can perform in and through us; but (as we said before) Simon had wrong motivations. It was all about how he was going to use that power of the Holy Spirit; not how he was going to be used BY the Holy Spirit. And not only that, but he went about trying to get that power by attempting to buy it like he would any incantation or magic trick. And [By this act, Simon gave his name to the term “simony,” which through history has referred to the buying and selling of ecclesiastical offices.] However, nothing God has to offer is for sale (and especially not His Holy Spirit). And that’s because there is nothing we have that God could possibly need or benefit Him. However, there is something of ours that God does desire; and that is our love. He is the Great Groom of Heaven who desires followers who will truly love Him as His Bridegroom. And for any who are willing to be His, He will give us His precious gifts. Listen to the words of… Isaiah 55:1 (ESV)-- 55 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Deadly To The Gospel-- Now I'm sorry to say that there are millions of people today who are still desperately and futilely striving to earn salvation. Even many of us Christians can fall into that salvation by works mentality. And this is the first time that we really see it expressed in the early Church. And Peter (through whom God is speaking) makes a radical stand against this. And he does so because the Gospel will always die on the threshold of our manufactured attempts to purchase or earn it. It says in… Acts 8:20 (ESV)-- 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! To Hell-- By the way, Peter was being more inflammatory here than what most of our translations show. They have been softened from what really should be read (as J.B. Phillips renders it) “To hell with you and your money!” That is the actual sense of Peter’s words. And Peter wasn’t being profane. He was just truthfully declaring Simon’s spiritual condition. And he emphasizes this as he continues, saying… Acts 8:21-24 (ESV)-- 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” No Sugarcoating-- Now we see that following his condemnation of Simon, Peter calls for Simon to repent of his sin so that God might forgive him the wickedness of his heart. He doesn't sugarcoat what Simon has done, but lays it out in all of it heinousness and wretchedness. By [using Old Testament expressions for the most serious offenses against God (cf. Deut. 19:18–20), {Peter} warns Simon of the seriousness of his situation: “I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” The phrase gall of bitterness is very strong. Chole (gall) refers to a bitter ingredient or bile. Coupled with pikria (bitterness), it conveys an extremely bitter, harsh, and distasteful condition. It vividly pictures the reality of one in the bondage of iniquity.] Peter wants Simon to recognize it’s severity so that he will have the desire to abandon it. And God often walks us through the same process as well. He wants us to confront our sin and to acknowledge how bad it is so that we might hate as He does. Becoming Our Pain-- I remember sitting in a detention center with a young man who (for years) had been battling drug addiction. I had ministered to him, to his parents, and to his grandparents who were all suffering under the weight of his addiction. And he wanted to turn his life around and did (at least for a little while); but he went back to it, partially because he allowed the influence of his drug-addicted friends to come back into his life. Now eventually he became free, but it was only after the heinousness of his sin and realizing what it had done to him and his family. Now those who loved him could have told him (and did tell him) how bad his sin was and where it would lead. But it wasn’t until he confronted that for himself that he was truly able to repent and pursue a new life. And that is the path Peter tries to put Simon on. The fourth major problem in Simons theology was that he had a wrong view of sin; particularly his sin. And so Peter confronts him with it and calls for Simon to repent and pray for forgiveness. God Would’ve Forgave-- Now if Simon had done so, God definitely would have forgiven him. However, interestingly, Simon is not persuaded to repent. Now he is terrified, but notice that although Peter has told him to repent and to pray to God for forgiveness, instead he asks for Peter to pray on his behalf; and not for God to forgive him, or for God to receive his commitment to turn from his sin, but rather that God would not inflict upon him the punishment Peter described. He only wanted to escape the consequences of his sin; not the sin itself. And sadly, that is the camp many people fall into; even today. People want forgiveness without repentance. But notice how Peter places repentance first. You have to come to God with the intent of truly turning; that’s what Biblical repentance means. Have You Turned?— What camp do you fall in? Do you pray only that God might withhold punishment from you? Or do you seek the fullness of God and the transforming work He wants to do in you? You and I must repent of all sin; and when we do, we find that in that repentance we receive freely the gift of the Holy Spirit who will empower that change in our lives. Let us do so. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. We are continuing our study today of Acts chapter 8. You will remember that Stephen has recently been stoned and a great persecution has broken out against the Church in the wake of that, causing many of the believers (particularly the Hellenists) to be driven outside of Jerusalem to minister in the surrounding areas, one of which was Samaria. Now one of the Hellenists, a man by the name of Phillip, was the one to bring the Gospel to Samaria. And he tells the Samaritans of both of heaven and of the way they can get there; through faith in the name of Jesus. And this message of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (along with the signs that are being worked through Philip) invokes a huge response as multitudes come to saving faith in Jesus Christ and are baptized. But in this great revival, one of the men the people had previously looked up to (and even deified) was a sorcerer by the name of Simon. And Simon appeared to convert along with the rest of the believers; believing, being baptized, and even following Philip in what looks to be a discipleship relationship. However, as we will see in the rest of Simon’s story, his motives were quite sinister, as he wanted to use Christianity for his own ends; which consisted mainly of his keeping the spotlight and glory on himself. And so because of that he fell into the same category of believers as Ananias and Sapphira had been. He had the appearance, but was in reality a deceiver; a con artist.
Don’t Buy That Bridge!-- Now it’s interesting. [In the long history of con artists, George C. Parker holds a special place of dishonor. He is remembered as one of the most successful and daring swindlers in American history. He set up an office in New York City and “sold” some of the city’s most famous attractions to tourists. His favorite was the Brooklyn Bridge, but he also sold the Statue of Liberty, Madison Square Garden, and Grant’s Tomb. He produced elaborately forged documents and deeds to convince his targets that he was the rightful owner of the landmarks he was selling. Parker was so persuasive that on more than one occasion, police had to come and explain why the new “owners” of the Brooklyn Bridge couldn’t put up tollbooths to collect money from those who tried to cross. After his third conviction for fraud, Parker was sentenced to life at Sing Sing Prison in New York, where he spent the last eight years of his life. He dishonestly made a fortune preying on people who foolishly believed his empty words. He not only was an expert salesman, but he realized that many people were gullible and he could use that to his advantage.] Self-Deceived-- Now one of the amazing things about watching false prophets and con-artists is how convincing they can be. And this can be complicated by the fact that many charlatans actually believe the lies they are telling other people. There is such a thing as being self-deceived; and those who have been deceiving themselves for a long time can lose their ability to distinguish between what is reality and what is make-believe. They become kind of like walking fiction novels that they themselves are writing. But the fact that Simon may have been self deceived did not make him any less dangerous. In fact it made him more dangerous because he did not have the air of a liar. He really believed that he was the special power of God. And everybody was paying attention to him because he was able to astonish them with his magical arts. And the reason they were eager to believe was because they were clinging onto hopes of the Messiah. And when somebody is hopeful about something, that can make them particularly vulnerable to false dealers of hope. And that is not just then, but now as well. Even people in our day and age can be susceptible to being swindled by miracle workers who claim to be acting with the power and in the authority of God. 4 Major Faults-- Now last week we began exploring four major faults in Simons theology; faults that were severe enough to cause him to miss out on experiencing true saving faith. And having a wrong view of self was the first one. He had a glorified view of himself that kept him from ever reaching true repentance. And therefore He misses his salvation. Jesus Himself gives a demonstration of this in one of His parables. It says in… Luke 18:9-14 (ESV)-- 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” James’ Sermon-- James the brother of Jesus may have had this passage in mind when he wrote [one of the most powerful invitations {ever} to sinners]. He writes in… James 4:6-10 (ESV)-- 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Our Pride-full Culture-- One of the things that our culture is discovering as it is moving away from God is that we are becoming so full of pride that we are rendering ourselves incapable of healing and restoration. There are multitudes of people who see themselves (not God; but themselves) as the arbiters of truth. And they look around at anybody who disagrees with them with hatred and animosity. Have you noticed there is no humility in dialogue anymore? So many people arrive to the conversation with no intent of learning anything about the positions or beliefs of the other side. And really they can’t learn. Because in order to learn you must first be humble. But you cannot be humble before another person before you are first humble before God. And we live in a culture that (in so many ways) has turned its back on God. In our humanism we think we know better; that we are good; and not only good but the very standard by which all goods ought to be measured. And this was Simon’s problem. But if you and I want to come to Jesus, then we have to come with that sense of our own lostness; that recognition of our own inadequacies, shortcomings, sinfulness, and pride. Because without that brokenness we cannot receive Christ. That is what Jesus was saying in the Beatitude section of His great Sermon on The Mount when He said… Matthew 5:3 (ESV)-- 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Lost Without Jesus-- He’s not saying be sad and depressed all the time. He’s saying understand your sinfulness and approach God with the recognition that apart from Him you are utterly and completely lost. A Wrong View of Salvation-- Now Simon had a second fault in his theology. Beyond his false view of himself, he also had a wrong view of salvation. The text does say that Simon himself believed. And he was even baptized. And for many nowadays, that is enough. And when you ask a person about their salvation, they will very often give you the date of their baptism. Now the two often go hand-in-hand, but not always. We see here in this passage that although Simon was baptized, that baptism did not save him; in fact he remained lost. And this is because more than just baptism is necessary for the forgiveness of our sins. It is an important part of the salvation process, but it is not the instrument of salvation. It is rather an outward sign of an inward work. It is an outward washing that reflects an inward cleansing of the soul by the blood of Jesus Christ. But in and of itself it has no power to take away sin or to save us. And people run into problems when they see their salvation as a ritualistic thing. My Ritualistic Religion-- I know this because I was one of those people. For far to many years for me it was all about crossing my T’s and dotting my I’s; making sure I said the sinner’s prayer so many times a day in case I had lost my salvation so that I wouldn’t go to hell. But ritual alone doesn’t save you. Faith is what saves you; resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Now belief is a part of that. But it takes more than belief. Baptism is a part of that; but it takes more than just baptism. You have to believe and then (by faith) walk in newness of life, which is what baptism is a picture of. There has to be a repentance that leads to transformation. Listen to the words of… 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)-- 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. And so we see that [Faith that does not transform the life is not saving faith.] Listen to what James writes in… James 2:14 (ESV)-- 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? {And that’s a rhetorical question by the way. The answer (obviously) is no. And then he says in…} James 2:17-19 (ESV)-- 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Transformation-- And so the difference between saving faith and the non-saving faith (that of the demons) is that saving faith always produces in us a love of righteousness and a hatred of sin. The demons believe, but that doesn’t produce in them a love for God and a hatred of sin. But if you have given your life to Christ, and that love for God leading to transformation is at play in your life, that is strong evidence of your salvation. But Simon’s problem was that he believed in the signs, but he did not believe or walk in faith with the One behind the signs. And because of that he never experienced [the divine transformation of the soul from love of self to love of God, from love of sin to love of holiness.] The question is, have you and I experienced that transformation? If not, it is available to you today; all you have to do is ask God and He will give it to you. Ask Him today, and you will receive from Him today a true and saving faith. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. In recent weeks in our study of the book of Acts we have been talking about the persecution that broke out against the Church in the wake of the stoning of Stephen. And this [persecution scattered the Jerusalem fellowship and led to the first missionary outreach of the Church. And Philip, whose ministry begin with waiting on tables with the rest of the Hellenists, is now being used by God as a mighty minister to bring the Gospel to the Samaritans. But in the midst of this incredible story, there was a man who (despite outward appearance) was in fact a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It says in…
Acts 8:9-11 (ESV)— 9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. A Contrast-- Now it’s important in our study of this passage to also look ahead; because the book of Acts is about to present us with a stunning example of what it means to place saving faith in Jesus Christ. And that is demonstrated in the conversion of an Ethiopian eunuch, which we are about to come to later in this chapter. But before we get to his story, we are first given the account of Simon Magus, who represents the first known Satanic attempt to sew a tare in the Church. He’s a Samaritan; and one whose beliefs are very unorthodox and (as we will see) very much self-worshipping. Bargain Emeralds— Now I know most of us are not traveling much during these days; but if you ever do plan on traveling out of the country and [If you're planning to vacation in Zambia, beware of the street-corner "emerald vendors." And if you're driving, be prepared for some confusion in the streets, owing to stolen traffic lights. The two warnings are related: The traffic light thieves are selling green glass chips to unsuspecting tourists who think they're getting bargain-basement emeralds.] All The Earmarks-- Well, Simon Magus was one of those who at first appeared to be a stunning emerald; a monument and testimony to what God can do in a person’s life. He had all the ear-marks of being a genuine Christian. And he even managed to deceive Philip, who was very godly and discerning. And no wonder. Simon had believed, had been baptized, and he had “continued on with Philip” (verse 13), which are the three major marks of the true believer. And in reality, he was very close to being a Christian. So where did he go wrong? Well, we will see as we proceed through this passage four major faults in Simon’s theology; faults that were severe enough to cause him to miss salvation. (1) He had a wrong view of self, (2) a wrong view of salvation, (3) a wrong view of the Holy Spirit, and (4) a wrong view of sin. A Wrong View of Himself-- And the first of these is seen in that he sees himself as not just good, but “somebody great“. And that is antithetical to what the Bible tells us about mankind before we enter into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. But this faulty philosophy is still being taught today. A myriad of people will tell you that man is basically good; and if we can reach deep down inside of ourselves and tap into our inner goodness (who we really are underneath), then the world would be a better place. However, scripture tells us that sin has so marred us, that our hearts are wretchedly sinful; so much so that we are incapable (without Christ) of doing any works that aren’t (in the eyes of God) like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). The reality is that we are desperately wicked and in need of a Savior. And without that necessary starting point of humility (recognizing our need of a Savior), we are incapable of receiving saving grace. And Simon Magus never seemed to come to that point; and certainly wasn’t there in the beginning, which is seen in his declaring himself to be “somebody great”. And that greatness he and others believed flowed from his ability to perform magic. Now that word “magic“ obviously comes from the word “magi“, which remember referred to the high-priestly tribe of the Medo-Persians. And those beliefs were a mixture of science and superstition. They combined astrology, divination, and cultic practices with history, mathematics, and agriculture. Now were these magical feats trickery or were they demonic? We don’t know for sure, but it very well could’ve been a mixture of both. Those who are possessed by or using the power of demons can sometimes perform feats similar to God’s, but on a much smaller scale. But whatever those miracles were, they gave Simon Magus an incredible hold on the people of Samaria. Everybody was paying attention to him and held him in the highest respect. They even said “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” Now remember what Jesus had said in… Mark 14:62 (ESV)— 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Claiming Deity— Simon is claiming a very similar description. And this seems to suggest that Simon was even claiming deity of himself, which is the most heretical view that you can have of yourself. And the early church fathers report that Simon was in fact one of the founders of Gnosticism and that he actually viewed himself as God incarnate (like Jesus). And so we see that his false teaching actually did a lot of damage not just to this group of Samaritans, but to the Church as a whole. And that is always where Satan wants to bring us; to where we attempt to place ourselves on the throne of God. That was the heart of his temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden; and we see this same temptation even today. It is at the heart of virtually every key issue we are facing in our culture. Who has the ultimate say-so over our lives? Our Bodies?— Whether it is the issue of abortion, homosexuality, or the myriad of other practices that involve our bodies, it is very important to pay attention to the language used to defend those practices. It is said “You have the right to do with your body whatever you wish.” “It is your body, your choice.” I talked with a homosexual man this week who told me “Yes, I am a Christian, but I live my life how I want to.” Now that (to me) was a very interesting and telling statement; one that rubs against what the scriptures tell us about the Lordship of Christ over our bodies. Listen to the words of... 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)— 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. The Crux of It-- Let me tell you, those two verses have the power to change the world and can completely reverse the downward spiral of our nation. The crux of many of the issues we are facing today in these great culture wars boils down to this single question; am I God or is God God? Do I have the freedom to define who I am and use my body how I see fit or do I trust in God’s Lordship over my body? If God is God, then when it comes to the issue of abortion, we have no right to kill the works of creation He has established in us, even if (for a time) they are dependent on us. And when it comes to our sexual identities as well, He has a plan that is not ours to redefine. We are not our own. We were created by and bought anew by the blood of Jesus Christ. And until we are willing to receive Jesus Christ (to borrow the words of Thomas) as “My Lord and my God”, we will miss salvation just like Simon Magus did. Pride (the elevation of ourselves to the place of God) is the enemy of salvation. And that was Simon‘s problem. Pride’s Masquerade-- Now Simon Magus didn’t recognize his pride. And nor do we most of the time and that is because pride can masquerade under seemingly upright motives. With Herod, it masked itself as integrity when he beheaded John the Baptist. With the Pharisees, pride masked itself as holiness; and they ironically ended up rejecting the Holy One Himself. With the Jewish authorities, pride masked itself as zeal for God, but ended with their killing the very Son of God. Pride caused the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah. Pride cost Nebuchadnezzar his reason, Rehoboam his kingdom, Uzziah his health, and (as we studied in the book of Esther) it cost Haman his very life. This is why there is so much emphasis in scripture on humility as the starting point of salvation. The Kiddie Door-- The other day on our day off my wife and I spent the day together while the kids were in school. And let me tell you, even after 11 years of marriage we still know how to have a romantic date. Of all the frivolous ordinary things we could have done, we sprang for the ultimate; we went shopping. And one of the places we shopped at was a kids consignment store. Now I very chivalrously offered to stay and guard the car (because, you know, you can’t be too careful these days), but my wife didn’t think that was necessary and “requested” that I come in with her. And of course I was MORE than happy to do so; at least that’s what I’ve been told. But there were two doors into this kids clothing store; one normal sized door and then a much shorter door for the children. And my wife frivolously and cheerfully ducked under the kids door. However I (in all my dignity) walked through the regular run-of-the mill door for big people. I was not about to duck and look ridiculous stooping to fit through that small kiddie door. After all, I’m a man. But you know, as I was preparing this message I thought again of that small kiddie door. Jesus had said the most remarkable thing in... Matthew 18:1-4 (ESV)-- 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. We Have to Stoop-- You know what Jesus was saying? “You have to stoop.” There IS no big person door to heaven. Until we become as little children (as Jesus says) we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. There’s only one way. And it begins with humbly accepting Christ’s Lordship over our lives and our bodies, and recognizing that our ways are not His ways; they’re not even good ways; they are (without Christ) desperately wicked. And it also means we must we see ourselves as weak, lost, and utterly helpless without the intervention of Christ. There is no other door but through the humble door of submission to Christ Jesus. Have you entered that door? Have you humbled yourself and accepted Christ’s Lordship over your life? If not, I would like to encourage you to do that today. Receive Him as Lord and He will fulfill you in a far better way than you ever could have doing things your own way. Receive Him today as the Lord of your life. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. We have been talking about the first great persecution of the Early Church, which begins in Acts chapter 7 with the stoning of the first Christian martyr; Stephen. After his death, the Church is driven out of Jerusalem and Philip the apostle even goes so far as to take the good news of the Gospel of Christ into the region of Samaria.
And today I would like for us to take a look at a passage of scripture that ties in and really helps for us to apply what is happening here in Acts chapter 8 to our own lives. And that is James chapter 1. We’ll start with verses 1-2. It reads… James 1:1-2 (ESV)— 1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, Now James was probably written before A.D. 50. If that dating is correct, then it makes James [the earliest of all the NT writings—with the possible exception of Galatians.] A Greeting Command to Rejoice-- And so imagine, the first command given in what is very likely the very first Christian epistle, is a command that completely changes forever how Christians are to think about trials, tribulations, and persecutions. First he says "Greetings" which (as we’ll talk about later) is actually a call to Rejoice. Then he says in verse 2: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, Why God?!!!!-- Now when you and I face trials in our lives, our tendency is often to immediately shift into frustration. God, why are you allowing this in my life? Did I do something wrong? Are you angry with me? Do you really care about? If you do, how can you allow this to happen to me? Count It Joy— But the very first point made in what is likely the very first book ever written in the New Testament is that suffering is not something to complain about, but something to rejoice about. Notice I didn’t say we are to rejoice in. Many people say that we are to maintain joy even in difficult circumstances. And that is true. But James isn’t talking about only keeping joy in the midst of trials. James says to count it joy when we meet trials. Trials themselves are what he says ought to produce joy in us. And I want you to catch that because that was one of the most profound concepts these early Christians in the book of Acts had. Martyrs Embracing Trials-- And when you look at the early Christian martyrs (of whom Stephen here is the first), that’s exactly what you find; Christians who rejoice not only within difficult circumstances, but rejoice because of difficult circumstances. And part of that is that they have the privilege in partaking with Christ in His sufferings. But again it goes further than that. They rejoice not only because they are participating with Christ in His suffering, but because that suffering is the means through which Christ is maturing their faith and developing and drawing them close to Him. Taking our Arm— James Packer makes this point pretty clear in his book Your Father Loves You. He says [This is the ultimate reason, from our standpoint, why God fills our lives with troubles ... of one sort and another -- to ensure that we shall learn to hold him fast. ...When we walk along a clear road feeling fine, and someone takes our arm to help us, likely we would impatiently shake him off; but when we are caught in rough country in the dark, with a storm brewing and our strength spent, and someone takes our arm to help us, we would thankfully lean on him. And God wants us to feel that our way through life is rough... , so that we may learn to lean on him thankfully. Therefore he takes steps to drive us out of self-confidence to trust in himself, to -- in the classic scriptural phrase for the secret of the godly man's life -- "wait on the Lord."] Persecution the Engine of the Church-- Some time ago I remember I had a conversation with a gentleman about the persecution that the Church is going through. And we talked about the reality that in and throughout history, persecution became the engine that drove the Church. The harder the Church was persecuted, the more they grew. And I think part of that was that people witnessed how these Christians suffered; the joy they found in and through suffering. And they wanted that in their lives too. “I am one of them”-- In the third century, a famous Christian name St. Cyprian (on his way to die a martyr’s death) wrote from Carthage to a friend of his named Donatus: “This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden under the shadow of these vines. But if I climbed some great mountain and looked out over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see; brigands on the high road, pirates on the seas, in the amphitheaters men murdered to please the applauding crowds, under all roofs misery and selfishness. It really is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. Yet, in the midst of it, I have found a quiet and holy people. They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of this sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians…and I am one of them.” I love what he says, “They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world.” These Christians had that strength of character; the steadfastness that trials produce;. Steadfastness Through Testing— And James’ second point is that that steadfastness comes through testing. He says... James 1:3 (ESV)— 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. In fact, you might also accurately say that steadfastness comes only through testing. We are never growing more than when we are tested; than when we are meeting resistance. Resistance Suits— [On December 29, 1987, a Soviet cosmonaut returned to the earth after 326 days in orbit. He was in good health, which hasn't always been the case in those record-breaking voyages. Five years earlier, touching down after 211 days in space, two cosmonauts suffered from dizziness, high pulse rates, and heart palpitations. They couldn't walk for a week, and after 30 days, they were still undergoing therapy for atrophied muscles and weakened hearts. At zero gravity, the muscles of the body begin to waste away because there is no resistance. To counteract this, the Soviets prescribed a vigorous exercise program for the cosmonauts. They invented the "penguin suit," a running suit laced with elastic bands. It resists every move the cosmonauts make, forcing them to exert their strength. Apparently the regimen is working. We often long dreamily for days without difficulty, but God knows better. The easier our life, the weaker our spiritual fiber, for strength of any kind grows only by exertion.] Perfect & Complete— But there was another thing that Cyprian, on his way to die, pointed out that is absolutely important for us to grasp if we are to understand what fruit steadfastness produces in our lives. He says of Christians, “They are masters of their souls.” In other words they are not in bondage to sin any longer, but are living lives free of sin. Sin has no authority over their souls whatsoever. And that is James’ third and last point. He says... James 1:4 (ESV)— 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Becoming Holy-- He doesn’t say partially holy; partially perfect but still sinning occasionally. No, the kind of perfection that he is talking about is a present perfection that is complete, lacking in nothing. God offers us, in the trials we face every day, the means of becoming holy. Why can we rejoice in suffering? Because in it we become more like Christ; in it we become perfect and complete, lacking nothing. The first teaching given in the New Testament to some of the very first believers in the early church is that we are called to be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. We are called to be holy; not perfect in the sense that we won’t make mistakes, but perfect in the sense that we are so filled with God’s love and presence that He gives us the necessary spiritual equipment to resist temptation and be and remain victorious over sin; to be masters of our souls. Pushing Through-- And so what I think what James wants us to understand about trials and suffering is that when we know what the purpose of suffering is, though we might not immediately see why we are going through a particular suffering, we can get through it because we know that in that suffering God is making us more like Himself. Even if we don’t know why we are going through it or why God has allowed it, we know what God is using it for in our lives; to move us towards that perfection in holiness. And it is in those moments that we are closest to Him and and growing the most. “Rejoice”-- In the first line of James, he says “Greetings”. But that word [“Greeting”--that translation is a little stilted, for the word in the Greek literally means “rejoice.” He writes to them and says, “Rejoice.”] Joy in Christ through trials is, in the mind of James, the starting point of what it means to be a Christian. Not to get overwhelmed; not to ask “why me”, but to rejoice that in our suffering we are being made perfect, lacking nothing. Joining Hands— Are you overwhelmed with life today? Or are you rejoicing in your Lord? Are you allowing trials to break your spirit, or are you allowing those trials to produce the steadfastness of Christ in you? As you go to work this week; as you take life day by day, you will face trials. There may be people like Saul who seek to ravage you; circumstances that are bringing you down. But the question is, “Will you allow those trials to draw you closer to God or drive you farther away from Him.” “Will you allow Christ to take your hand and, drawing you closer to Him, lead you through the darkness?” This week, rejoice that God is using your trials and persecutions to make you more like Him and to further His salvation work. Glory in your suffering so that in your suffering the world might see in you the glory of Jesus. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. We have been studying the growth of the Early Church in the beginning chapters of the book of Acts. And (as we have been talking about in recent weeks), the Church has been growing at an incredible rate within the confines of Jerusalem. But as the church continues to grow and expand, it also continues to run into conflict with some of the Jewish leaders. And the tension climaxes in Acts 6:8-8:1 with the seizing and stoning of Stephen, who becomes the first martyr of the Christian Church. And last we recently read of his death at the hands of the Jewish leaders there in Acts chapter 7. But there is a person present at Stephen’s stoning who was watching the garments of those stoning Stephen; and this was a man who would have enormous significance for the Church. And of course I am speaking of Saul (also known as Paul).
Paul’s Early Life-- Now we can glean much from the book of Acts and the Epistles about the early life of Paul. [He was born in Tarsus in Cilicia (Acts 22:3), a “Hebrew of the Hebrews” (see 2 Cor. 11:22; Phil. 3:5), the “son of a Pharisee” (Acts 23:6), and a Roman citizen (16:37; 22:25–28). He was educated in Jerusalem by Gamaliel (22:3) and became a devoted Pharisee (26:4–5; Phil. 3:5). Measured by the law, his life was blameless (Phil. 3:6). He was one of the most promising young Pharisees in Jerusalem, well on his way to becoming a great leader for the Jewish faith (Gal. 1:14). {And} Saul’s zeal for the law was displayed most vividly in his persecution of the church (Gal. 1:13–14; Phil. 3:6). He really thought that persecuting the believers was one way of serving God. {He had no idea that he was in fact persecuting God Himself, which Jesus confronts him with in chapter 9.} He obeyed the light that he had {at that time}, and when God gave him more light, he obeyed that and became a Christian!] The Dual Names of Saul/Paul-- Now some will say that it was at that point that he became known as Paul. But that is not in fact what the Bible teaches. Throughout the course of his life, he always had and maintained two names; one a Jewish name (Saul) and one a Greek name (Paul). [The custom of dual names was common in those days.] It is a common misconception that Saul’s name was changed to Paul. Many Christians think that Saul had his name changed, much like Abram’s was changed to Abraham; or any other of the famous name changes of scripture. Some even go so far as to say that it was Jesus who changed Saul’s name after appearing to him on the Damascus Road; a story that we will cover in depth in the next chapter. However, the reality is that Saul actually never changed his name. [Jesus addresses him as “Saul, Saul” during the christophany (Acts 9:4).] [Ananias addresses him as “Saul” after his conversion (Acts 9:17).] [The Holy Spirit calls him “Saul” before his first missionary trip.] [After the conversion experience, he is {in fact} called “Saul” 11 more times.] And in fact he isn’t even called Paul at all until Acts 13:9 while he is on the island of Cyprus. Now there is a definite shift to his using the name Paul more than he uses Saul, but it is not for the reasons we might assume. [The decisive shift from “Saul” to “Paul” in Acts happens only once Paul sets off on his missionary journeys away from Jerusalem.] In Jerusalem he used his Jewish name, “Saul” and outside of Jerusalem when he was ministering to Gentiles, he chose to use his Greek name “Paul”. As we will see when we come to chapter 9, he not only had an exquisite Hebrew education, but a secular (and even Greek) one as well. And so (depending on his audience) he could adapt not only the way he presented the Gospel, but even his very name to help relate best to those to whom he was bearing witness; which we will see will eventually be primarily to Gentiles (hence the shift to his Gentile name). But [Saul and Paul were two names for the same person all along.] Now Saul is far from being a Christian at this point in the book of Acts. Not only is he watching the garments of those killing Stephen, but it says in… Acts 8:1 (ESV)— 1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Scattered-- And so we see the Church is scattered. The apostles remain in the city; and rightfully so. They knew they had to remain there to care for the Church. But the believers are scattered out into the rest of Judea and even Samaria. And [The word translated “scattered” (diaspeiro, Acts 8:1,4) {literally} means “to scatter seed.”] And so we see that instead of persecution killing the church, [Persecution does to the church what wind does to seed: It scatters it and only produces a greater harvest.] And that harvest now begins to move outwards into the rest of Judea and even into Samaria. But we see later in Acts that the death of Stephen pushed the Gospel even farther than Samaria. It says in… Acts 11:19-21 (ESV)— 19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. [So you have persecution causing the spread of the Gospel] 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists[a] also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. So persecution is driving the Church to spread out across the empire. And though we see it as a wonderful and even a necessary part of God’s plan, think about how they must have been processing all of this. They don’t see the big picture yet. All they know is that one of their most anointed leaders has been killed. And they are still in mourning over that. It says in… Acts 8:2-3 (ESV)-- 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. {And then it says.} 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Saul’s Ravaging-- Now your Bibles probably say of Saul something like he began to destroy the church. That phrase is actually a Greek phrase that is sometimes used to describe the ravages of wild animals. So this was an intense persecution; and because of it, the Church at Jerusalem is scattered all throughout Judea and Samaria. Now when you and I face persecution, we also don’t always see the big picture. And though it might be hard at times for us to understand, persecution is not always a bad thing. In fact Tertullian, an early church theologian once pointed out that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Well, that is what we see. It says in… Acts 8:4-5 (ESV)-- 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. Samaria-- Now who lives in Samaria? Samaritans. Well, who are they? Well, you will remember that after the reign of King Solomon in the Old Testament, the kingdom of Israel was split in two. You had the northern kingdom of Israel, whose capital King Omri named "Samaria" (1 Kings 16:24). And then you had the southern kingdom of Judah. But the northern kingdom of Israel was the region that, in 722 BC, was conquered by the Assyrians and taken into captivity into Assyria. Now we remember that Israel was called by God to remain ethnically pure. They were not to intermarry with and of the surrounding nations. However, during those years that the northern kingdom of Israel was in captivity in Syria, the Jews ignored those prohibitions and began intermarrying with the non-Jews around them. And so they lost their ethnical purity. Now the southern kingdom of Judah was also taken into captivity in 586 BC by the Babylonians. Yet we find that while they were in captivity they maintained their ethnical purity and did not intermarry with the Babylonians. They kept themselves pure. And Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Mishach, and Abednego) were stalwart examples of this kind of resolve to keep themselves pure unto God. However, when both captivities were ended and everyone came home, the Jews from the southern kingdom of Judah began to regard the Jews from the northern kingdom of Israel as half-breeds—Samaritans because they had mingled blood. And so they despised them. And that hatred was passed down throughout the generations and was still every bit as alive in Jesus’ day as it was in the beginning. In fact, so deep was the hatred that [A popular prayer in those days among some of the southern-kingdom Jews was, “Lord, do not remember the Samaritans in the resurrection.”] Praise God that He doesn’t say “yes” to all our prayers. Now I say all of this because I want you to understand what a miracle it is that the early Christians brought the Gospel to Samaria; because it means that the love of God shed abroad in their hearts has moved them to cast aside their racism and their hate and embrace those they had until recently despised. It’s a powerful thing. And you can imagine what an impact this had on those who were recipients of Philip’s ministry. It says in… Acts 8:6-8 (ESV)— 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city. Philip’s Ministry in Samaria-- So we see that Philip goes to Samaria and actually becomes a preacher of the word. And God moved through him mightily. He becomes the first ever Christian missionary to non-Jews. He performed miraculous signs, he cast out demons, he healed paralytics and cripples. And the people of Samaria listened to him and rejoiced at what God was doing through him. And I’m sure Philip rejoiced as well. But all of that would not have happened at all if there had not been a mighty wave of persecution in the Church; a persecution that touched many of these believers on a very deep and personal level. And what that ought to tell you and me is that when things seem darkest (even after the death of a great leader) or in the midst of friends, family members, or co-workers who are trying to persecute you, God may be doing a mighty work; because others are watching and seeing the righteousness of Christ being lived out through you in those moments. And so don’t give up; don’t get discouraged. Hold fast to Jesus; as Stephen did, look up into the eyes of the Savior and trust that even though we might not see the big picture, God is using us and will continue to use us if we but remain faithful to him. Let’s hold fast to Him today. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. In recent weeks we have been taking a look at the life and ministry of Stephen, one of the men chosen by the apostles to help wait on tables. And yet (as we have seen) God was also using him to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel and to perform miraculous signs and wonders that confirmed his message. Yet when he started proclaiming the Gospel in some of the synagogues, he was met by violent opposition. At the end of chapter 6 (6:13-14) Stephen is accused by a group of men from various Hellenistic synagogues of threatening God’s temple and rejecting the Law of Moses (the Torah). And these are very serious accusations; and are the same ones (interestingly) that had been leveled against Jesus Himself. And so it seems that the men of these synagogues apparently are so threatened by Stephen, that they are after his very life.
Stephen’s Apologia— Now our chapter today (chapter 7) is really quite an amazing chapter; because in it we have Stephen’s apologia (his defense) of both himself and of the Gospel. Now I don’t think Stephen was so interested in preserving his own life as much as much as he was interested in defending what it was that Christianity was really teaching. Christianity wasn’t about throwing out the law of Moses or those things that had been at the heart of the Jewish faith, but rather was a fulfillment of all of those things. And we see this in his apologia (his defense) here in our passage today, which he roots in the Old Testament scriptures themselves; particularly in the Law of Moses, whom his accusers are saying he is rejecting. And it is significant to note that this address is the longest of any address in the book of Acts; and it is a summary of the Old Testament, particularly of the lives and ministries of some of Israel’s greatest leaders. We have Abraham in verses 2-8; we have Joseph in verses 9-17; we have Moses in verses 18-44; Joshua in verse 45; and David and Solomon in verses 46-50. And the reason that Stephen brings up these men is both to defend himself against the indictments made against him by his accusers, but also to indict the religious leaders themselves (and Israel as a whole) for rejecting the Messiah. Stephen shows in a very powerful way how there was a pattern of behavior in Israel; a destructive pattern that had caused them serious problems throughout the entirety of their history, and which would ultimately lead to their downfall if they did not repent; and that pattern of behavior is seen in that Israel had this tendency to always resist the will of God and even persecute those whom God was using as His instruments through whom he was moving His salvation plan forward. All of these leaders Stephen mentions dealt with rejection by the Jewish people. And Stephen very clearly says that the Jewish leaders are practicing that same behavior. Now this is remarkable because while it is supposed to be Stephen on trial, like when Peter and the apostles had stood trial, Stephen (the defendant) turns the tables on them and becomes the prosecuting attorney! Temple-Focus-- And in his prosecution; his indictment, we see two major overarching themes. The first is of course Israel’s rejection of God’s messengers. And that theme is climaxed in their rejection of the Messiah. But then you have another theme; and that is in relation to God’s sovereignty and His glory. Notice the title Stephen uses when talking about God. It says in… Acts 7:2 (ESV)— 2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, The God of Glory-- He calls God by this title The God of glory. And then in verse 55 it says that as he is gazing into heaven he saw the glory of God. And keep in mind that this whole time he is there, standing before the Sanhedrin on trial, his very face is radiating with that same glory, as it says his face was like that of an angel. There is so much emphasis in this passage on the glory of God. Why is that? Well, it’s because Israel was unique in that they were a people who had been hand-chosen by God to have His glory as part of their inheritance. And Paul really hones in on this in Romans 9:4 when he says of the Jewish people… Romans 9:4 (ESV)-- 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. Their Privilege Lost— Now remember that though Israel had had the privilege of having in their midst the very glory of God, the glory of God left them, first from the tabernacle (which we read about in 1 Sam. 4:19–22) and then later from the temple (which we read about in Ezek. 10:4,18). And so the tabernacle and temple became places void of the glory of the presence of God when they were supposed to be places filled with the glory of God. And rather than the seeking the glory of God, we find (especially when we come to the New Testament) that the Sadducees had made the temple (not God) the focal point of their religion. Everything had become about the temple; a temple that was ultimately a man-made thing. Now God wanted to bring His glory back, but (interestingly) not to the temple. No, He wanted to reveal Himself in a much more intimate and personal way than that; and so He reveals His glory in the person of His Son Jesus Christ (John 1:14), who became man in order to bring God’s glory into the very flesh of our humanity. That is how personal God gets with us. And the writer of Hebrews really wants his listeners to catch the awesomeness of that, which is why the book opens with his saying of Jesus in… Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)-- 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, At God’s Right Hand-- So in Jesus the glory of God is revealed. And Stephen sees that glory at the end of chapter 7 as he is being stoned; executed at the hands of these religious leaders. And (as the author of Hebrews says) Jesus is at the right hand of God; and that is how Stephen sees Him. But notice that (unlike the passage in Hebrews) Jesus isn’t sitting. No, look again. It says in… Acts 7:55 (ESV)-- 55 But he {(Stephen)}, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Jesus Standing-- So Jesus isn’t sitting; he’s standing. Do you know why? It is most likely because it was customary during that time (as it still is today), when you were making a defense before a judge, to stand. You stand when you are presenting your case. And so what is Jesus doing? He’s standing for Stephen. How beautiful is that! Remember, Jesus had promised all the way back in… Matthew 10:32-33 (ESV)-- 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. Jesus Stands for Us-- Here we find Stephen standing for Jesus. And as he’s doing that, we get a glimpse into what happens also in our day to day lives when we choose to stand for Jesus. Jesus stands for us! He stands for us before our accusers; and He stands for us before the Father and bears testimony that yes we are His. Now we might still face persecution and death (which Stephen does at the close of this chapter); but ultimately when we get to heaven we will know that we are welcome because Jesus will have already stood for us. The Glorious Plan-- Now one more thing needs to be highlighted about Stephen’s summation of Israel’s history. And that is that from the beginning, we see that God had a glorious plan for the salvation of the world; a plan that He faithfully worked out in and through His people and (eventually) in and through His Son Jesus. God’s Plan Not Thwarted-- And you know what? God hasn’t changed; neither has His promises. God has a plan for your life and for my life as well. And let me tell you, that plan isn’t thwarted by our persecution or our trials. Whatever those are in your life, God foresaw them; and He has a plan to reveal His glory to you in those persecutions and trials and to actually use them to further his plan, which (if you are faithful to Him) will lead ultimately to your salvation. I want to point out something that I think we know, but we often forget. And that is that in the story of Joseph, after God had revealed through Joseph’s dreams that he would rule over his brothers, his brothers subsequently sold him into slavery to nullify that promise of God. But how does the story end? Were they able to thwart God’s plan? No; in fact they only helped to further it. And that was one of the reasons Joseph was able to forgive them; because he recognized how God used even their sin against him to further His plan and to save an empire and the surrounding countries from utter ruin. At the time of the Exodus, Pharaoh couldn’t stop God’s plan either. He tried to resist as well, but instead his resistance only served to make the deliverance of God’s people all the more fruitful, as Israel consequently gained favor in the eyes of the humbled Egyptians, who gave them whatever they asked for; and thus they were able to plunder the Egyptians (Exodus 12:36); and it was that plundering of the Egyptians that may have furnished them with much of the necessary materials they would need to build the Tabernacle. In the New Testament, Herod also set himself to resist God in his attempt to kill the Jesus, the Messiah, the true King of the Jews; but ended up only fulfilling many of the prophecies God had given through his prophets hundreds of year prior about the Messiah and the events in and surrounding His birth. Pilate couldn’t thwart God’s plan either; even when he sentenced Jesus to death; again, that only fulfilled God’s plan. And even the Israelites themselves who stood up against God’s chosen leaders all throughout Israel’s history could not thwart God’s plan. God’s Messiah came and His gift of salvation has been made available to all through the very cross they condemned Jesus to death on. And so what God’s Word is revealing to us in our passage today is that in the days ahead, no matter what the future holds, we know that God’s plan is not going to be thwarted. Personal Faith-- And if you grasp nothing else from our time together today, at the very least walk away with the knowledge that God is in control over all thing’s and wants you to live in a relationship of faith and trust in Him. If we can do that, the story of God’s salvation will be our story as well. Let’s embrace Him in faith in and through His Son Jesus today. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. Today we will be continuing to take a look at one of the most remarkable early Christians we find in the book of Acts; a man by the name of Stephen, whose life was characterized by “fullness”. In Acts 6:5 he is first described as being a man full of faith. And that faith was foundational to his life.
Full of The Spirit-- And flowing from that fullness of faith was also a fullness of the Holy Spirit (cf. 7:55). And it was the Holy Spirit who empowered him, taught him, and re-made him in the image of Christ so that he lived like Jesus. And that is always the mark of somebody filled with the Spirit; not miracles or prophecy or any other dramatic gifts, but whether or not they look like Jesus. And Stephen apparently did, which is why he ended up facing much of the rejection and persecution that Jesus Himself had experienced. Full of Grace-- Now the third spiritual reality that Stephen had fullness of was grace; a lovingkindness that flowed from his trust, obedience, and submission to the Holy Spirit. And it was probably for this characteristic that the Church chose him to help minister to the widows. But nowhere do we see the grace of Stephen more graphically lived out than in the final moments of Stephen’s life when (as he is being pelted with stones in 7:60) he looks up to heaven and (just as Jesus had done on the cross) asks God that this sin might not be held against them. Now I don’t know what I would say if faced with similar circumstances. But in those moments his heart didn’t burn with anger, or even fear or terror. He was both at peace with the death coming upon him in those moments and also able to (even then) demonstrate the love of God in a way that no doubt shook the hearts of many who were watching. Because that kind of grace doesn’t happen naturally. That is a God-empowered, Holy Spirit filled kind of love which can only come from a heart that has been transformed by the reality of what Christ did for us on the cross. And it is that kind of grace that will most draw people to Christ through us as well. Full of Power-- Now the last thing Stephen was full of was power. [Stephen was full of power. That was a direct result of his being filled with the Spirit (cf. Acts 1:8). That he was performing great wonders and signs among the people suggests he was far more than simply a deacon. Instead, his deeds of power show his close link with the apostles. In the New Testament church only the apostles, Stephen, Philip (Acts 8:6–7), and Barnabas (15:12) performed miracles. {And} The imperfect tense of poieō (was performing) shows Stephen was continually doing those mighty works, no doubt with the same impact as the apostles (5:12–14). {Now} Taken together, verses 5 and 8 give both the Godward and man-ward sides of Christian character. {Stephen was} A man full of faith toward God, and yielded to the Spirit’s control,]. And anybody who is like that [will be gracious toward others and manifest great spiritual power.] Under God’s Control— So [The emphasis in Stephen’s life is on fullness: He was full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3,10), full of faith (v. 5), and full of {grace and} power (v. 8).]. What a great description for a person. Are any of you full today? Stephen was a guy who was full; able to be used by God because He was completely surrendered to Him. Now in the midst of his proclaiming the Gospel, Stephen encounters a few different groups of religious leaders. It says in… Acts 6:9 (ESV)-- 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. The Role of Synagogues-- Now synagogues were places of worship that began during the inter-Testamental period all the way back to in and around the Babylonian captivity. Remember that Jews who were dispersed (of the dispersion) (usually Hellenists) (Because they did not have access to the temple in Jerusalem) needed a place to worship and read the Old Testament. Hence synagogues were developed. And because you had [Jews from many nations {who} resided in Jerusalem in their own “quarters,”…some of these ethnic groups had their own synagogues.] 3 Synagogues-- And here we likely have mentioned [3 synagogues: {the first being} the Synagogue of the Freedmen, a second composed of Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and a third composed of those from Cilicia and Asia. Cultural and linguistic differences among the 3 groups make it unlikely they all attended the same synagogue.] Freedmen-- But let’s look at these groups one by one just to give us an understanding of who these guys were. First, we have a group known as the Freedmen (“libertines”). You will remember from your history books about the city of Pompeii in western Italy, southeast of Naples. Mount Vesuvius would later erupt in AD 79 and the volcanic ash would perfectly preserve the remains of buildings, mosaics, furniture, the personal possessions of the people, and many of the people themselves in that city. Well the freedmen mentioned here were [Descendants of Jewish slaves captured by {the city of} Pompeii (63 B.C.) and taken to Rome. They were later freed and formed a Jewish community there.] Cyrenians-- Now for the second group; the [Cyrenians. {The Cyrenians were} Men from Cyrene, a city in North Africa. {You will remember that} Simon, the man conscripted to carry Jesus’ cross, was a native of Cyrene (Luke 23:26).] Alexandrians-- Now next we have the [Alexandrians. Alexandria, another major North African city, was located near the mouth of the Nile River. The powerful preacher Apollos {(whom we will encounter later in Acts 18)} was from Alexandria (see note on 18:24).] Cilicia and Asia-- Now the last group of men were from [Cilicia and Asia. {These were} Roman provinces in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Since Paul’s hometown (Tarsus) was located in Cilicia {(Acts 21:39)}, he probably attended this synagogue.] And [it is possible that he heard Stephen in the synagogue and may have {even} debated with him.] We don’t know. Formal debate-- So you have these men from each of these synagogues beginning to dispute with Stephen. Now [The word translated “disputing” signifies a formal debate. {It doesn’t say what they debated about, but} They no doubt focused on such themes as the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the OT evidence that He was the Messiah.] And though they no doubt disagreed with much of what Stephen was saying (particularly about Jesus) it says… Acts 6:10 (ESV)-- 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Stephen’s Victory-- And so we see that they were making arguments, but at every point Stephen proved victorious. And the text says that this was first because of his superior wisdom (which no doubt includes knowledge of the scriptures; but more importantly, understanding what the scriptures mean and how Jesus Christ had fulfilled them). And secondly, because he was full of the Spirit. He was being empowered by God Himself to deliver His message to these Jewish leaders. And so it says that none of them could withstand his wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit in which he was speaking. And this (in and of itself) was a fulfillment of prophecy; because Jesus had said to his disciples all the way back in… Luke 21:15 (ESV)-- 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. And that is exactly what we see here. They could not withstand his arguments. And we know that this will eventually lead to Stephen’s death. But even that was a fulfillment of prophecy. Because in the very next verse of Luke 21 Jesus had said… Luke 21:16-17 (ESV)-- 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name's sake. {And we definitely see here some of that hatred. It says…} Acts 6:11-14 (ESV)-- 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” Stephen Like Jesus-- Now because they could not win against Stephen with rational argument, we see that (because of their unwillingness to accept where the evidence pointed) they decided that their only remaining option was to kill Stephen. And so these men intentionally instigate others to make false accusations; skewing what Stephen was saying and obviously adding things that he himself had never said. And you know, their treatment of him closely resembles how the Jewish leaders had treated Jesus Himself. They hired false witnesses (as they had done with Jesus) and stirred up the people (as they had done with Jesus), who accused Stephen of attacking the law of Moses and temple, just as the Jewish leaders had done with Jesus (Matthew 26:59-61). And the reason this [group falsely accused Stephen of wanting to change Moses’ customs…{was}… because they knew that the Sadducees, who controlled the council, believed only in Moses’ laws.] And they would be highly offended by that. And they also knew the Sadducees’ love of the temple (which was their primary focus); and so they say that Stephen has been claiming that [Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place. {This was} Another lie, since Jesus’ words (John 2:19) referred to His own body (John 2:21).] But it was the same lie the Jewish leaders had used at Jesus’ own trial. Now you would expect that especially in light of what had happened to Jesus, Stephen might be afraid. But it says in… Acts 6:15 (ESV)— 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Face of An Angel-- And what this means was the Stephen was demonstrating [Pure, calm, unruffled composure, reflecting the presence of God (cf. Ex. 34:29–35).] Moses’ face had shown with the presence of God after encountering Him in and intimate way. And here we see Stephen reflecting that same glory that had been on the face of Moses; a glory that flowed from his intimacy with Jesus. And that shows that he was at one with God and even at one with Moses. Now I don’t know what word you thought of when thinking about the central defining characteristic of your life. I kind of like “angel-face”; having a face that reflects the presence of Jesus. You know we talked last week a bit about waves. Most waves start off pretty small. They don’t become large right away. And a wave that might become a large wave will have no idea the significance it could have later down the road. But you know, that is the same with us. Stephen had the steady breath of God on blowing upon his life; and in later chapters (after his death) we will see the incredible impact of this simple man’s life; this simple man who was called to wait on tables but who ended up moving mountains. If you think God can’t do the same through you, you’re wrong. He can. All you need is to be full; to be full of faith, to be full of the Spirit, to be full of wisdom and grace, and in so doing you will be filled with the very power of God. Be full today. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim.
Hittin The Waves-- You know, several months ago my family and I got to visit Cannon Beach in Oregon; one of our favorite places to go. Now the sun wasn’t out and the weather was a little chilly, but do you think that was going to stop our kids going into the cold water? No. They were determined to live out all that they had been looking forward to. And its fun collecting shells and dodging the waves. And the view of the waves crashing against Haystack rock is always breathtaking. And what’s also amazing is the drive we usually take from Cannon Beach to the Tillamook Factory; always my favorite place to go. But the drive there along the coast has some amazing views; at times you are very high up looking down at the ocean; and you can see not just the waves hitting the shore, but you can see them long before they reach the shore; slowly moving inwards towards land. And waves are funny things. [Waves on the ocean surface are usually formed by wind. When wind blows, it transfers the energy through friction. The faster the wind, the longer it blows, or the farther it can blow uninterrupted, the bigger the waves.] And those waves can grow tremendously by the time they reach shore. And perhaps the imagery of waves is most helpful when thinking about the rapid outward growth of early Christianity. The Holy Spirit came with the sound of a mighty rushing wind and got the waters moving; and those ripples slowly began to move outwards and gain more and more strength. And by the time we reach Acts 5, we see just how big the wave has gotten; as the high priest says in verse 28… Acts 5:28 (ESV)-- 28…“We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching,… A Rogue Wave-- Wow! Filled all of Jerusalem?!!! That’s a pretty big wave. Remember back when Hurricane Dorian hit back in 2019? That was a pretty massive hurricane. Did you know that [hurricane Dorian…created a wave over 100 feet high in the northern Atlantic]? And even farther away from shore there are special waves that often form called “rogue waves”. And let me tell you, you don’t ever want to encounter a rogue wave. There are reports of rogue waves reaching 112 feet high; just imagine!!! And they [can be extremely unpredictable. To sailors, they look like walls of water. No one knows for sure what causes a rogue wave to appear, but some scientists think that they tend to form when different ocean swells reinforce one another.] Well, that is what the Church is experiencing. They have that initial ripple effect from Pentecost, but the Church is continuing to grow and the throngs of Christians are reinforcing one another like great ocean swells. And the Church is just like this massive rogue wave crashing through all the sin; all the darkness; all the brokenness; and is shaking the core of the establishment that had grown “comfortably numb” to spiritual things. And now the apex of the wave has reached such a height, look what it says in… Acts 6:7 (ESV)-- 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. Converted Priests-- Now, like we said before, [These were, of course, not the chief priests or members of the Sanhedrin, but a very large number of the rank and file priests who ministered in the temple.] [It has been estimated that there were eight thousand Jewish priests attached to the temple ministry in Jerusalem, and “a great company” of them trusted Jesus Christ as Savior!] Now that decision could cost them greatly, as it was an [obvious violation of the wishes of the high council that would endanger their position.] But it shows that the Gospel message had now gotten to the point where it [had infiltrated the entire city and all levels of society.] Stephen-- Now in our passage last week, we saw the appointing of seven men who would wait on tables (dealing with the food and money distribution) so that the apostles could focus more on the ministry of the Word. And today we are introduced further to one of these Hellenist disciples. And he was a man by the name of Stephen, a man whose [ministry {mainly to Jews from Gentile lands} was the catalyst that catapulted the church out of Jerusalem into the rest of the world (8:1).]; the next major wave. And the way that he did ministry seems to have been very similar to that of Paul in that he boldly confronts the synagogues of foreign Jews there in Jerusalem, [possibly even entering them to debate their members (6:9). {And, as we will see later, in a similar way whenever Paul}…entered a new city to minister, …{he}… would habitually go first to a synagogue (17:2). {And as we will see in in the coming weeks,} Like Paul, Stephen encountered fierce opposition, even to the point of physical persecution (7:54–60; cf. 2 Cor. 11:23–25).] And we will see that (because of his faith) he would become the first Christian martyr. Also Doing Miracles-- Now I find it interesting that right after this man is chosen to “wait on tables” so that the apostles might minister, we find this man fearlessly proclaiming the Gospel. And not only that, but he’s also doing miracles; which is strange because up until this point in the book of Acts, it has only been the apostles who have performed miracles (Acts 2:43; 5:12). But we see here that God also empowered Stephen in this special way as well, as it says in… Acts 6:8 (ESV)— 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Everyone Is To Witness-- Now the reason this is important for us to note is because often we can interpret the previous passage (in which we find men being chosen to wait on tables so that the apostles could devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word) as meaning that we need to allow the pastors to do the evangelizing and witnessing and the super spiritual stuff and those who have other gifts can simply use the gifts they have been given. But no, we don’t see that here at all. Instead, what this passage reveals is that it doesn’t matter what your position is in the Church; ALL OF US are called to be witnesses. God can anoint you and use you just as much as He can use any one of His pastor-types. And here He chose this common man to be his instrument [to bear witness to the leaders of Israel. Stephen’s powerful testimony would be the climax of the church’s witness to the Jews. Then the message would go out to the Samaritans and then to the Gentiles.] Describe Yourself-- Now have you ever had a job interview before and the person interviewing you asked you to describe yourself; perhaps even in one word. One pastor, when being interviewed by a Church board, was asked that question. And he responded “condescending”. And then he said, “That’s when….you know….you talk down to people.” They all got a laugh out of that. Now hopefully that is not your word. But what IS your word? If those around you were to describe you in one word, what would it be? Are you an encourager; maybe you’re a inspirer; maybe you are a servant; maybe you’re an anchor for other people. What is your central defining characteristic? "Fullness"-- Well, for Stephen it was the word “full”. Over and over again we will see that he is described by this word “full”. Now what does it mean to be full? Well [In Scripture, to be “full of” means “to be controlled by.”] It’s what has you. And so let’s look at what the scripture says Stephen was full of; what controlled his life. Full of Faith— First, we see that Stephen was totally controlled by faith; a faith he demonstrates in everything he does; whether waiting on tables or when sharing his faith. He is a man who seeks to live faithfully in every area of his life. Now when it comes to his faith, we are talking more than just a warm belief in something. No, keep in mind (like we talked about last week) the content of belief is just as important as the devotion to that belief. It is not enough to have courage in your convictions, you must be willing to examine your beliefs to make sure they are indeed true. And this is something that Stephen no doubt did; and in so doing he came to the conclusion that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. And in his sermon that he gives before the Sanhedrin later in chapter 7, Stephen clearly explains how his faith is deeply rooted in the historical facts agreed upon and accepted by all his fellow Jews, as he walks them through the main tenets of Jewish history. And in that we see that he accepts both God’s sovereign control over that history (7:1-51); but also God’s sovereign control over his own individual life as well. He didn’t just know God had a plan for the Jewish people as a whole; but he also knew that God had a plan for him. And so he was willing to face anything (even death) knowing that God was in control (7:59-60). God Is Small-- Now let me ask you something. Do you find it easier to trust God with your eternal destiny than to to trust Him with the concerns of your everyday life? I don’t know; sometimes we think that God can handle all that future religious stuff (by which we mean heaven) but we often have a hard time trusting Him with the concerns of everyday life. What about that battle with cancer? What about that loss of a job? What about dealing with that child who might have special needs? Or that family member who is giving you grief? Sometimes we don’t struggle with believing that God is big enough. Sometimes we struggle to believe that God is small enough; small enough to enter through the doorways of our homes; or even the doorways of our hearts. I’m gonna sound like a heretic today, but I want to tell you that God is small. Is He big? Yes. We all know that. But He’s also small. Jesus was the embodiment of that; He was God made small enough to enter into our everyday world. And if we can wrap our minds around that, I think we will come to the starting point of faith; Jesus is not just the world’s Savior; He’s your Savior; He’s your Redeemer. And Stephen understood this. And because of that (no matter what he might face) Stephen could say right along with Paul “If we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:8). May you and I be able to say that as well. May God bless your week and may you experience all the fullness of faith in your own life. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim.
The 1st Organizational Crisis-- In chapter 6 of the book of Acts we have been taking a look at the beginning stages of the Early Church, which in this passage we see is facing its first serious organizational crisis, as it is brought to the attention of the apostles that the needs of the Hellenist Jewish widows are being overlooked in the daily distribution. Due to the rapid growth of the Church, it was becoming harder and harder for the apostles to do all the work themselves; and so we see people beginning to slip through the cracks. And what is so admirable about the apostles is that they are smart enough to recognize that this way of doing ministry is simply not sustainable. They simply cannot handle the full weight of the ministry by themselves. And if the Church was going to remain stable and able to move on to the next stage of the Great Commission, moving out into Samaria and then beyond into the world and to the very ends of the earth, further planning and structuring would become necessary. And so it says in… Acts 6:2 (ESV)-- 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Table-- Now the word here for tables is “trapeza”, which is a Greek word that can mean the kind of table you eat at. But it can also mean “a table or counter of a money changer” or “money matters” (as we see in Matt. 21:12 when Jesus overturns the tables (the “trapeza”) of the moneychangers. But whether we are talking about serving food or dealing with the finances, the apostles recognized that performing these additional ministries themselves would take them away from their central calling, which was to devote themselves to prayer, preaching, teaching, and studying the Word of God. And so they demonstrate one of the rare gifts that any pastor of any successful church has mastered; and that is the ability to say “no”. A Black Hole Man-- You know, that is a word that I wish I had learned much earlier in my life; it would have save me and and my family a lot of pain. In fact, looking back, I wish that my college or seminary had offered a class called something like “100 Ways to Politely and Lovingly say ‘No’”; because when I first entered ministry, let me tell you, I was was like a black hole. I absorbed so many responsibilities, it was borderline insane. In fact, I don’t know how I survived into my 2nd year of ministry. Fresh out of seminary, I found myself preaching/teaching a bare minimum of three messages a week, each of which required a lot of sermon prep. And added onto that were preparations for our monthly men’s breakfast (during which I would share a devotional I had prepared) and also helping to lead worship at a monthly worship service at the local veterans home, during which I would also share another devotional. I was also leading a weekly prayer meeting, teaching the occasional Sunday school class, and (because our Church had no secretary) I absorbed all the secretarial responsibilities as well. And I remember one night at a board meeting the person doing our Church bulletins announced they no longer wanted to do them (it had become too much of a burden), and so I willingly stepped in on what I thought would be a temporary basis to take over that responsibility, but unfortunately never stopped. Now naturally, because it was a small church, I was also responsible for the pastoral home visitations and hospital visitations. But since most of our people wanted to go to the city for medical care (and hour and 15 minutes away), that meant 2 and 1/2 hrs travel time alone plus whatever time I spent there with the person. And what made matters worse is I did not even communicate with my leadership what I was doing and so they had no idea the tremendous load that I was carrying. Now thankfully I eventually did learn how to delegate, but it wasn’t natural for me at first because I thought it was wrong for me to say “no”. But it wasn’t. But there are many pastors (and people in general) whose lives and ministries are a constant burden to them simply because they haven’t experienced the liberation of that two-letter word “no”. The Best “Yes”-- And the reasons the apostles were restrictive of their time wasn’t because they were mean or because they didn’t want to help. It was because they recognized that in order for them to say their best “yes” to the things God had appointed them to do, they had to say “no” to a lot of other things that were not God’s will for them do to themselves. They knew where their priorities lay and decided (together) that they were not going to allow anything, however pressing, to distract them from those duties. And so they propose a solution. They say in… Acts 6:3-4 (ESV)-- 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Did The Apostles Err?-- Now there’s a mighty man of God I look up to in so many ways. And the insights he draws from the text are both very good and very applicable. But he has made the point on a number of occasions, saying that this decision of the apostles was not a good one because in their devotion to the Word they were neglecting to live out the Word in people’s lives in and through compassionate ministry. They had turned away from a key element of what it means to be a Christian and passed it off to somebody else, wrongly elevating the ministry of the Word over tasks that they thought were beneath them. But that viewpoint is wrong for a number of reasons. First, there is no evidence to suggest that the apostles were completely giving up the meeting of people’s physical needs themselves. They no doubt continued to wait on the occasional table (whatever that might look like) now and again. No, what we are are talking about here comes down to the nature of our specific callings. I agree with my friend that we are all to be involved in compassionate ministry. However, while we are all called to help to meet the physical needs of people to some degree, what we are talking about here is the importance of defining what a person’s central role in the Church is to be. Because the person who tries to do everything, will do none of it very well. That is why Paul says in… Romans 12:4-8 (ESV)-- 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. So while we may wear the occasion extra hat when needed (as is typical and needed in a small church), the goal must always be not to try to be the whole body of Christ yourself, but to be the best ear; the best toe; or the best mouth you can be. Because you try to be a toe AND a mouth; that’s just nasty. It tastes funny, if you know what I mean. But you know, it’s interesting… No Mowing-- I have a friend who, when he was being interviewed for a pastoral position at a church, was asked whether or not he would help keep up the Church grounds. And he said, “No.” And the board was shocked at first. And he said, “First of all, let me tell you. I can do that. But YOU don’t want me doing that. There are other areas you are going to want me to focus on.” And he was right. There were plenty of people in that church who could do it and (after the church hired him) those people did step up and found their place in the ministry of the Church. Now I admire his courage to help lead that church into a better way of doing things. Delegation is key; because my pastor friend was not the one God had called to do that job. And he didn’t want to rob someone else of their opportunity to follow God in serving in that capacity, which would also result in my friend having less time to devote himself to prayer and the ministry of the Word, which is a pastor’s central role. And that is why one of the key roles of a pastor is to recognize the gifts and abilities of others and help them to use them for God’s glory; and that includes connecting their gifts with the Church. Because if you don’t, you hurt the Church and you hurt the people who are receiving your services; because you’re not the one whom God has chosen for that. You may not be the best-equipped person in your Church for that or (as is often the case) you may be wearing too many hats to do all these services as well as they could be done by individuals who can make them their primary focus. But worst of all, you may be hurting the other Church members because you are denying them a means through which they can use and express the gifts that God has given them. And those churches that don’t delegate well simply do not grow. It’s as simple as that. And while a church may survive for some time like that, it (and the pastor) will be severely unhealthy and crippled. This is what Moses himself had to discover after leading God’s people out of Egypt. He quickly felt the weight of trying to do everything himself. And thankfully, he had a father-in-law who had the courage to confront him about it and say, “what you are doing is wrong.” And then he taught him how to delegate. And being the humble, teachable man that he was, Moses listened to his father-in-law and delegated; and the problem was fixed. But this is the Biblical pattern (Ex. 18:17-23). And what’s significant is that the early Church recognized this and accepted it unanimously. It says in… Acts 6:5-6 (ESV)-- 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. All Greek— Now notice two things. First, how many were there? Seven. And seven is God’s number; it symbolizes completeness and perfection. But notice something else; something about the names themselves. Does anything stand out to you about those names? Which of those names are Jewish? None. None of them are Jewish. All seven bore Greek names. So what group of people were these men most likely a part of? The Hellenists. Now that is important because in that we see demonstrated the love and unity of the Church. Because remember it was the Hellenists who felt they were feeling neglected. And so the Church appointed seven of the Hellenists themselves to oversee them. They chose people who would be the most in tune with their needs and who were most qualified to be a voice on their behalf. And it was that loving act that probably held the Church together when it so easily could have split apart. And so Satan’s 3rd strategy (his strategy of dissension) failed, because the Church was willing to come together rather than be driven apart; to restructure around what God was doing, and to (following the Holy Spirit) choose those best equipped for that ministry. The Closing: God’s Confirmation Blessing-- Now up until this point Luke has closed each major section of the book of Acts with a description of the growth of the Church. And this has been a way of Luke’s highlighting God’s backing and approval of the way the apostles were leading. God had no problems confronting sin in the Church and bringing it to light, as He did with Ananias and Sapphira. And if the apostles sinned or erred on this matter, God would no doubt have confronted them about it as well. Yet instead we find again a description of the blessing of God. It says… Acts 6:7 (ESV)-- 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. Converted Priests-- Now don’t miss this. It says a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. [These were, of course, not the chief priests or members of the Sanhedrin, but a very large number of the rank and file priests who ministered in the temple.] In fact [It has been estimated that there were eight thousand Jewish priests attached to the temple ministry in Jerusalem, and {so it is more than just some nice little bit of icing on the cake; this is a big piece of the cake. According to this} “a great company” of them trusted Jesus Christ as Savior!] It’s amazing what God can do through a Church that is flexible and malleable in His hands; a Church that knows how to delegate. And remember, flexible churches are always filled with flexible people; with moldable, shapeable individuals. And so I want to challenge you today to be shapeable in the hands of God. Be willing to adjust to the needs of those around you. And if you have a gift that God is calling you to use, give that gift to Him today. Let’s commit to do so. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim.
Models of Growth-- Being a pastor for close to a decade, I have read a lot about church growth; the different kinds of growth, what healthy growth looks like, how it happens, etc. And one of the things that any church growth book worth its salt will tell you is that there is a difference between the organizational structure of a small church and that of a large church. And though an organizational model may have worked out great when a church first started out, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will continue to be the best model moving forward. For instance, in every church I have pastored I have always been the primary source of pastoral care. I have been the one to visit people in hospitals, to visit them in their homes; to serve them communion; to perform all the funerals and those kinds of things. And that’s fine when your church is small. But let’s say a church grows to 200, 300 or more people. That pastor better not be the only source of pastoral care for that congregation because 1st) There’s too many people for him to be able to give quality care to, 2nd) It’s going to take away time from his sermon preparation and prayer time, 3rd) It’s going to rob his family of his time, and 4th) He’s eventually going to get burned out and probably leave that ministry. Churches must change as growth takes place if they are going to remain stable and effective. Growing Pains-- Now in today’s passage here in Acts chapter 6 we see that the Early Church is starting to face problems. And this wasn’t a bad thing. I don’t know if when you were young you ever experienced growing pains or not; l know I did. My bones would just ache for no apparent reason. It often happens when you are just growing really fast. My son now has the same thing going on in his body. But that isn’t bad pain; it’s good pain. And you are always stronger and more physically mature on the other side of it. Well, the same was true here of the Church in Acts 6. You have thousands upon thousands of people coming to faith in Christ, joining the Church; and (as with any organization) the system which worked fine when the organization was smaller didn’t scale up. Remember the Church is growing at an incredible rate. Early on they were able to keep track of the number of converts (2:41) and members (4:4). But even then those figures only represent the men. And now the Church has grown beyond count. According to some estimates, it was probably around 20,000 at this point. And so the apostles were finding it increasingly difficult to minister to everybody. The old structure wasn’t working. And so it is no surprise that it says in… Acts 6:1 (ESV)-- 1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. Satan’s New Strategy— Now up until this point there had been many ways that Satan had sought to cripple Christ’s Church. In 4:1-31 and 5:17-41) he had tried persecution. But that only caused the Church to grow faster; because they responded to that persecution in the right way. Next Satan (in 5:1-11) tried to introduce sin into the body of Christ in and through Ananias and Sapphira. But the Church immediately (with the God’s full backing) dealt with that sin. And so now Satan tries a third tactic: dissension. The Two Battleships-- There’s a story of two battleships that met in the night and began to attack each other. In the conflict, a number of crewmen were severely wounded, and both vessels were damaged. As daylight broke, the sailors on the ships discovered to their amazement that both vessels flew the English flag. Sometimes it is easy to forget that we are on the same team, even when we might not see eye to eye. And Satan can often use the smallest of issues (like the one in this passage) to divide the Church. And so was the threat in our passage today. The Hellenist Widows Overlooked-- Because the issue here in this passage had the potential to create a LOT of division in the Church. That word used to describe the first group of people is “Hellenists”; and here that term is referring to Greek-speaking Jews from other nations who had come to Palestine. Now the second description (the description “Hebrews”) here is referring specifically to the residents of Palestine; and they could speak both Aramaic and Greek and often Hebrew. But most of these Jews from outside may not have been able to speak Aramaic or Hebrew. And they used the Septuagint (a Greek version of the Hebrew Bible) rather than the Hebrew Scriptures. Now they had remained loyal to Judaism, but at the same time they had absorbed some of their surrounding Greek culture. And that made them suspect to the Palestinian Jews, especially the Pharisees. But they were a minority in the church, which helps explain why their needs were overlooked. Care For Widows-- Now care for widows was a traditional part of Jewish society; clear instructions for their care being given in numerous places in the book of Deuteronomy. God cares about widows, which is why He made sure the Law laid out specific guidelines for their care. And because at this point Christianity was mainly a Jewish phenomenon, this by default carried over into the early Church. Paul (in 1 Timothy 5:33ff) clearly defines care for widows as being one of the chief responsibilities of the Church. Meeting God Where He’s Working-- And so the Church had to deal with this problem of the Hellenist widows being overlooked in the daily distribution (which was an outflow of what you remember happened in Acts 4:32, where we saw how the Church came together to pool their resources to help any that were in need. Now if a Church is Biblical, it will align itself with what the Holy Spirit is already doing. It meets God where He is at rather than trying to pull Him into their own organization and structure. Does that make sense? And God is interested in the needs of people; every need, no matter what it is. And so the TRUE Church is always characterized by a willingness to respond to the needs of people. That’s why most of our hospitals have names like St. Mary’s or St. John’s or names like that; because people who are truly awakened by Christ are awakened to the needs of the world and have in their hearts an awakening of love that drives them to meet those needs. Now hospitals have structure, but it is structured in accordance with the needs of people; or at least it ought to be. The same with the Church. The needs of people ought not to conform to the structure of the Church. The structure of the Church needs to conform to the needs of people. A School’s Flexibility-- One of the things that impressed us about our kids’ school was how quickly they adjusted when Covid-19 hit. I mean they didn’t even miss a beat. They recognized the needs of the children for an unbroken education experience and immediately switched to an online format that honestly (even at its early stages) was very solid. But it’s no coincidence that the school was born out of and is an intimate part of a thriving Church. The Church is thriving because of its adaptability to the needs of people; and therefore so was the school. Our Flexibility During Covid— And similarly, those Churches that are doing the best during these Covid times are not those who have said “We are either going to meet in person or not at all”, but rather those that immediately recognized that the needs of people were going to change very dramatically because of this epidemic and were willing to adjust the way they did church in order to meet those needs. Now I’m happy to say that our church was one of those churches. Right off the bat we had online giving up and running; our worship went online; our messages went online; our website was upgraded. And though we had to make some tough decisions as a leadership team, we made them and not only did we maintain, but we even grew our numbers during that time. And that has been the experience even of churches that were willing to just make bare minimum changes. Our leadership here at Renton Park Chapel didn’t see Covid as just something to get through; no, we saw it as God’s means of doing something new in His Church. And because we strived to bring ourselves alongside what God was doing (and is still doing), He saw fit to bless us. And that has been the experience of many churches. Our Individual Flexibility-- Now what is true of the Church as a whole is also true of the individual. The people who make the best church members, the best parents, the best friends, the best employees, the best co-workers are those men and women who are malleable and shapable in God’s hands; who can take a hit without floundering and who are able to stand firm even when things get messy. The Flexible Church— And Churches that are going to be most effective at reaching the lost are those that are filled with people who are flexible. Because let me tell you; lost people are not always pleasant to be around. They may not act nice, look nice, or smell nice. And they will often drag all their brokenness and baggage right into the Church. The Drunk Visitor-- I remember a number of years ago a man came into the church I was pastoring at that time drunk. He hadn’t bathed in who knows how long and he smelled to high heaven. But he came and sat in the back pew. And it was not a pleasant experience to be around him. And you know how it is when an outsider like that comes; people are somewhat disturbed. And it is disturbing and disrupting when somebody like that comes; because we want our services to be nice and neat and distraction-free. And sometimes we just don’t know what to do. And we may wonder, “Why’s that guy here?” But you know why this man had come? He had come because his mother had just died (in fact I had just done her funeral) and he wanted to visit his mom’s church. Now I was proud of how the congregation responded. Yeah there were some who turned their nose up; there’s most often a couple of those in any church. But most were willing to pray for this man and come alongside of him in his grief. And you know that’s the kind of Church that God can honor. The Central Mission-- What we find with Jesus and will see with the disciples here in this passage is that the mission is always the focus; never deviating from the task of meeting the physical and spiritual needs of the lost. And so let us not deviate. Let us also keep Christ and His mission central. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. In recent weeks in our study of the book of Acts we have been talking about the signs and wonders being performed through the apostles, particularly in chapter 5. And these signs evoke a positive response from most of the people of Jerusalem, who are excited to see what God is doing through them; and yet the religious leaders are not so enthused, and have them arrested and thrown into jail. But amazingly, an angel delivers them and tells them to right back to preaching, which they do. And when the religious leaders find out, they have the apostles brought before the high religious court of the land known as the Sanhedrin, which interestingly was the very group of religious leaders who had had a hand in crucifying Jesus. And now these apostles, who are following in the footsteps of Jesus are seen by these religious leaders as a threat; and so they tell them to no longer preach or teach in the name of Jesus. But the apostles verbally commit to obey God rather than men; at least at this point where the command of these authorities goes explicitly against Christ’s command to make disciples of all nations. And Peter shares with them the Gospel message, during which he also indicts them with the crime of having killed the Savior. And this accusation invokes an immediate, furious response from the Jewish leaders, who suddenly begin plotting to kill them. But before things turn really ugly, someone intervenes. It says…
Acts 5:34 (ESV)— 34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. Gamaliel-- Now this teacher of the law named Gamaliel is actually a pretty famous guy. [He was easily the most prominent rabbi of that time and one of the greatest of all antiquity. He was the grandson of another prominent rabbi, Hillel, and his successor as leader of the liberal wing of the Pharisees. Gamaliel was one of the few honored with the title rabban, instead of the usual title “rabbi”…. How highly he was respected by all the people may be seen in the following quotation from the Mishna: “When Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, the glory of the Law ceased and purity and abstinence died”…. {So he was a pretty important guy. And of course} His most famous student was the apostle Paul (Acts 22:3).] And so this guy who is deeply revered by the Jewish people stands up, orders the apostles be put out of the room, and then it says… Acts 5:35-39 (ESV)— 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, Just Another Rebel?-- Now the fact [That the Sadducees {(who made up most of the Sanhedrin)} would heed the words of a Pharisee shows how distinguished a man Gamaliel was.] But when we look closely, we find that although Gamaliel was supposed to be this great Jewish thinker, the advice he gives is actually very bad. Now God uses that bad advice for the apostles’ benefit, but the advice itself is horrible. Now he’s trying to be the cool head in all of this, but he is also trying to sit on both sides of the fence. And you just can’t do that with Jesus. Jesus is somebody you cannot be neutral about. Now to start off with, Gamaliel classifies Jesus and the apostles as just another group of false prophets, like two of the recent rebels in Israel’s recent history; Theudas and Judas). The problem is that these two guys (whom we don’t know that much about) were unlike Jesus and the apostles in just about every respect; primarily in that they never did any of the miraculous things that Jesus and the apostles did. They didn’t heal everyone of every disease and neither of them ever rose from the dead. In fact, the fact that Theudas and Judas died (and remained dead) is the crux of Gamaliel’s argument. And so even at that point alone Gamaliel’s argument falls flat on it’s face; and it shows that he (like the Sanhedrin) had already chosen to reject the evidence before them; the evidence of the empty tomb and the evidence of the signs being worked by the Holy Spirit through the apostles. Will It Just Dissipate?-- Now Gamaliel continues, saying that just as these particular heretical movements fell apart, so will this one if it is not of God. Now that is another faulty statement because there are plenty of things that DO succeed that are not of God. Just take a look at the many false religions and cults in the world today. And many of them spread (by Satan’s power) at an alarming rate; often faster than the Church. It’s as Mark Twain said: “a lie runs around the world while truth is still putting on her shoes.” And that’s true. Now will God be victorious in the end? Of course, but in the meantime multitudes of people can be led astray. And so Gamaliel’s advice is for them to just wait and see when he really should have been calling them to action. What he should have done was call for the Sanhedrin to follow him in examining the evidence thoroughly and honestly. But instead he just adopts this whole “lets just see how this all plays out” kind of position. Now there are some issues you can remain neutral on; but there are others that require you to take a stand; to make a choice. And this was the time to stand. And yet Gamaliel chooses to play it safe and ends up missing out on salvation because He didn’t make a choice about Jesus. Now for whatever reason his advice seems reasonable to the Sanhedrin, and so it says… Acts 5:39b-40 (ESV)-- So they took his advice, 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Beaten-- Now the word “beat” here refers to the [beating of forty lashes, less one to avoid violating the legal limit (Deut. 25:3).] And it is important to note that [The flogging was {itself} criminally unjust and {was} done to frighten them…. {But} Apparently Gamaliel had no problem with the whipping, again revealing his {passive} indifference.] But it says… Acts 5:41-42 (ESV)— 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. The State of Evangelism-- Not long ago my father sent me some disturbing statistics on evangelism in the modern Church. They read: 99% of believers hold that ALL Christians are commanded to evangelize...and yet only 5% have ever won anyone to Christ! Only 2% are active in evangelism! 80% never share their faith! 49% of leaders never minister outside church! 63% haven't evangelized in the last 2 years. Yet amazingly, 96% believe churches would grow faster if ALL Christians were more involved in evangelism. “Little Faith”-- Now when we see this we ask, “Why is that?” Especially seeing as the men and women in the early Church had "boldness" to share the Gospel, it raises the question of what is missing in our day and age. Is it a belief problem? Is it a love problem? If having the mind of Christ means to be truly evangelical in our thinking and the way we live our lives, do we REALLY have the mind of Christ? It’s interesting, when I asked my dad about this, he said that (for the most part) it is a faith issue. He pointed out that all 5 times Jesus uses the word oligópistoi (ὀλιγόπιστοι)—meaning "little-faith"—He’s chastising the 12 disciples for not actually following His teachings. Bible dictionaries define the word as “dull to hearing the Lord's voice; disinterested in walking intimately with Him;” or “trusting too little!” And he said there are too many oligópistoi/cheap grace {disciples} today; not enough radical disciples who understand a costly grace. And you know, I think he’s right. These apostles knew what grace and salvation had costed God. They had just witnessed it first-hand on the cross. And that empowered them to live lives of radical self-sacrifice in their quest to make disciples of all nations. An Honest Confession-- Just recently I read a true account about something that happened in a particular church’s board meeting. And the board members [were listening to the pastor talk about evangelism. He shared from his heart about lost souls and caring for our neighbors. {But} One board member interrupted with something raw, real, and straight from his heart. {And} The essence {of what he said} was, “I don’t really care about my neighbors, at least not enough to move me to action, but I want to.” {And you know, I think} What an incredibly honest statement. {And if we’re honest, would we say the same thing? Now you’d think that would kind of kill the mood of the board meeting right there. But what actually happened is that} The board member’s candid and courageous admission broke him right in that moment. He had been praying that God would give him a heart of genuine love and concern, and that night, God answered his prayer. {Now} That {kind of} honesty and authenticity {is contagious; and it} caught fire among other board members, and then among leaders of the church. {And what ended up happening was} A movement swept across the church resulting in tremendous outreach, evangelism, and hundreds saying yes to Jesus. {How amazing it is that} God used a business executive who wasn’t sure he cared about his neighbors to start a revival in a local church. {Now this offers hope to you and to me. As the author I was reading pointed out:} If you don’t love others like you want to or feel you should, God can teach you to get there through his Word and prompts from the Holy Spirit. If you don’t care about others as deeply as you want to, God will place that emotion within you if you ask him.] From Obstacles to Living Sacrifices-- Now (looking back) we don’t know what the disciples prayed in Acts chapter 1 as they awaited the Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost. But what we do know is this. Before Pentecost they had little to no compassion on the lost. They were more obstacles to people coming to Jesus than anything else; and were rather focused on who was going to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus when He came into His kingdom; not on carrying the cross of Christ into the dark places of the world and being (as Romans 12:1 says) living sacrifices. And yet here we find that not only has God changed their hearts and given them a brokenness for the lost (as Christ Himself had) but that brokenness is so strong, that nothing (not even the ruling authorities of the land who had killed their Messiah) could stand in their way. And similarly, you and I are called to have that same boldness driven by that same brokenness for the lost. But that brokenness will never come until we also have our own personal Pentecosts; until we allow the Holy Spirit to create in us a perfect love of God that will translate into a perfect love of our neighbors. And so let us ask God to create in us that perfect love today. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello and welcome again to Lechem Panim. As you know, we are in the season of Lent, which is a time for us to seek the Lord in repentance from any and all sin and (especially as we approach Good Friday in the coming weeks) to reflect in a special way upon the sufferings of Jesus Christ. And I love one of the songs we tend to sing during this time: How Deep The Father’s Love For Us, which is a beautiful song that talks in a very moving and powerful way about the sufferings of Jesus Christ. But what I love about the song is that it doesn’t allow us to remain passive as we remember Christ’s death and suffering. The most memorable lines in the song read:
Behold the man upon a cross My sin upon His shoulders Ashamed I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished His dying breath has brought me life I know that it is finished We’re Complicit-- One of the things this song reminds us of is the fact that all of us have be complicit in the death of Jesus Christ; because (as Romans 3:23 says) all of us have sinned and therefore fall short of the glory of God; and all of us are therefore in need of a Savior. And in the book of Acts we see very early on a reckoning; people having to face the reality that they killed their Messiah. Peter and the apostles don’t hold back on this accusation, which they keep making it again and again; they don’t try to brush over what the people of God did to their Messiah; they don’t rush to the empty tomb and the resurrection so they can simply focus on the forgiveness of God made available to them in Jesus. No, there is a process. Just like us, the people first have to come to terms with their own personal sin and therefore their need of a Savior. Now the religious leaders have at this point in our study of Acts chapter 5 seized the apostles and thrown them into the public jail. But remember God sends an angel to set them free; and the angel tells them to go right back where they were arrested from and to continue to preach the Good News of the Gospel of Christ. And so they do. And when the Jewish leaders sent to have them brought, the jail is found empty, and then they of course hear that the apostles have gone right back to preaching; and so they have them brought (though not by force, for fear of the people; who are now standing is support of the apostles) and it says in… Acts 5:27-28 (ESV)— 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” “you intend”-- Now notice how the High Priest says to the apostles: “…you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” Did He Forget?-- You see, the High Priest doesn’t want to accept the guilt of having killed the Messiah. Now this is so important, because we have to remember back to what the High Priest had said along with the rest of the Jewish people to Pilate back in… Matthew 27:25 (ESV)-- 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Bloodguilt-- Isn’t it interesting how quickly the Jewish leaders are now trying to distance themselves from Jesus and what they did to Him? They had freely accepted His blood upon them. But now the High Priest recognizes the full weight of what that would mean if the people accepted that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. And so he and the rest of the Jewish leaders feign innocence. But what is so remarkable about this “trial” is that as it progresses, the apostles become the judges and the council becomes the accused. The council wants them to be silent, but it says in… Acts 5:29-32 (ESV)— 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” Accusing Testimony-- Now this testimony of Peter is so powerful for a number of reasons. First of all (once again) he is insisting that they must obey God rather than men. To be in alignment with God was to be at odds with the Sanhedrin. Now this was a very gutsy thing to say, because he was basically saying that the Sanhedrin had set themselves against God Himself and God was in fact working against them, not with them. And Peter highlights this in his pointing out how God raised Jesus from the dead despite their having killed Him by hanging him on a tree, which was a bad enough way for anyone to die, as it was associated with being accursed of God. But the Sanhedrin had done this not just to anyone, but to their Messiah! And the word Peter here uses that we translate “you killed” (Diacheirizō) appears only here and in Acts 26:21; and it actually means “to put to death with one’s own hands.” And so Peter is far from backing off here. No, he is intensifying the accusation. [He had previously charged the Jewish authorities with responsibility for Jesus’ death (2:23–24, 36; 3:13–15; 4:10). {But} Now he insists they are as guilty as if they had killed Him with their own hands.] And in the most shameful way possible. And yet despite that, God raised Jesus from the dead (cf. 2:23–24, 36; 3:13–15; 4:10) and lifted Him out of the shame to which they had subjected Him. Now when the Jewish leaders hear Peter’s accusation, they are livid. It says… Acts 5:33 (ESV)— 33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. Cut In Two-- And that word “enraged” in the original Greek literally refers to the cutting of something in two. But what is being cut? Well, they are! Remember what it says in… Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)-- 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Deep Down-- Well here the Jewish leaders are being convicted; yet instead of embracing the repentance Peter is calling them to, coming to grips with their sin and humbling themselves before God and seeking forgiveness, they choose to harden their hearts and treat the apostles (despite the evidence of the signs that proved otherwise) as blasphemers. And what this says to us is that whenever we share the Gospel, there will always be the possibility that the person we are sharing the Gospel with will reject us. And that’s people don’t typically like to be told that they are sinful; and that’s because most people have been raised on the philosophy that deep down inside all of us are basically good; and all we need to do to change society and become better people is to tap into our inner goodness. But that is not what the Bible says. What the Bible reveals is that that deep down all of us are sinful; full of sin. That’s what the word “sinful” means. Apart from the goodness shed abroad in our hearts by the mercy and grace of God, we are completely and utterly depraved. And the cross is the ultimate picture of that. No matter how good we think we are, we all have been bad enough so as to warrant the death of the Son of God. And until we come to recognize that for ourselves and also communicate that faithfully to others, we (and they) will never fully understand the grace and forgiveness of God. And that’s because we have to recognize we are sick before we will then be willing to accept the cure. And that’s Peter’s point. He isn’t interested in just making the people and the Jewish leaders feel bad, but wants them to go through the process through which they can come to repentance and embrace Jesus for who He truly is and the fullness of what He has done for them. And similarly with us, our Easter celebrations are made all the more meaningful when we allow ourselves to go through our own Lenten and Good Friday seasons; when we examine ourselves and freely confess to God our own personal sins and the part that each of us had to play in the death of His son. We grow downwards in order to experience the hand of God lifting us up, raising us unto new life as we participate in the resurrection of Jesus. Crisis Men— Now one more thing needs to be said about the apostles in this passage; and that is that they were crisis men. What do I mean by that? I mean that they were men whose lives and message forced those around them to make a decision. [JIM ELLIOT’S PRAYER-- {One great hero of the Christian faith was a man by the name of Jim Elliot.} Jim Elliot was one of the martyred missionaries {killed by the Auca tribe back} in 1956. He was a passionate Christian who journaled many of his thoughts and prayers. One such entry addressed his concern about impact. {Listen to what He wrote.} He wrote, “Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.” His impact continues on even though he died over sixty-five years ago at the age of twenty-nine.] All of these apostles were crisis men. They were forks in the road. You could not encounter them and simply go on your way. No, people had to make a decision regarding Jesus after facing them. And you know, that is how it is supposed to be with you and I as well. We are to be crisis men and women in the lives of others; men and women who cause people (after encountering us) to have to make a decision about Jesus Christ. And so let us commit today in a special way to be those crisis people in the lives of others. Closing Prayer-- Dear heavenly Father, we want to thank you today for the gift of your Son Jesus, who died on our behalf to take away the sins of the world. Help us never to forget the power of the sacrifice made on our behalf; and let us be faithful to share the good news of that sacrifice with the world. And let us, Lord, be crisis people, who through our message of Your love and forgiveness, might draw others into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It’s in His name we pray, Amen. Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. You will remember that last week in our study of Acts chapter 5 we talked about the arrest and imprisonment of the apostles by the Sanhedrin, who were upset that they were proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. But that night an angel came and set them free; and he told them to go right to the place where they were arrested and to continue proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which he calls all the words of this Life. And that’s because the Good News of the Gospel is that though we were spiritually dead, Jesus Christ came into our world to give us abundant and eternal life (cf. John 1:4; 11:25; 14:6; 1 John 5:20). And (without hesitation or fear; and with a courage empowered by the Holy Spirit) it says in…
Acts 5:21a (ESV)— 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Right Back To It-- So [Before the Sadducees were even aware that they had been released they were back preaching.] And it says… Acts 5:21b (ESV)-- Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. Before The Sanhedrin-- Now “council” and “senate” are both referring to the high Jewish court of the land known as the Sanhedrin. This was the court that Peter and John had just appeared before and was the very court that was responsible for the death of Jesus, which Peter will highlight. But they send for the apostles to have them brought in order to stand trial. However, there’s a problem. It says… Acts 5:22-23 (ESV)— 22 But when the officers {(meaning Levites of the temple police)} came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” They’re Gone!!!-- In other words: [Everything was as it should have been with one exception—the prisoners were gone!])} Now can [you imagine the surprised looks on the faces of the guards when they discovered that their most important prisoners were gone.]? But even more so the religious leaders! It says… Acts 5:24 (ESV)— 24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. Greatly Perplexed-- I mean [Here they were trying to stop the miracles, but their actions only multiplied the miracles!] Up until this point they had been besides themselves trying to figure out how to stop this new movement that was spreading so rapidly. And it was becoming quickly apparent to them (and to everyone) that their efforts were proving futile, which caused them great alarm. And the reason that they were so alarmed was that the apostles were openly defying their authority and proclaiming what was to them a heretical doctrine (a resurrection, which would have been bad enough; but a resurrection of one of the men they had killed; and not only that, BUT THE MESSIAH!!!). So at every point the apostles were undermining their credibility. And even though the signs that were being performed through the apostles were powerful confirmations that God stood with and was working through the apostles (and were drawing people from all over Jerusalem and the surrounding regions), the Sanhedrin seem resolute in their decision to ignore the signs entirely, as we see they will do here as well. Now when they hear of the apostles’ escape, they are really at their wits end as to what to do. What could have happened to the men they had securely locked away? But then their ruminations are interrupted by some very unexpected news. It says… Acts 5:25 (ESV)--25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” Open Defiance-- Now this compounded the problem because (once again) it was an open defiance of the authority of the Sanhedrin. [Had the apostles gone into hiding after their escape it would have been bad enough. That they had the audacity to go right back into the temple and resume preaching was the ultimate act of insolence.] And so these religious leaders take immediate action. It says in… Acts 5:26 (ESV)— 26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. Proceeding Cautiously-- Now they no doubt wanted to take extreme measures to quell this rebellion, but found that they could not lest they themselves be stoned by the people. And that just shows the level of support from the people; that the people were so convinced that God stood with the apostles that they would even be willing to stone the High Priest if he should lay hands on them; I mean that in itself is incredible. And so the religious leaders proceed with extreme caution. Now another reason the Sanhedrin found it difficult to move against the apostles more strongly was that although the apostles were defying their orders, they were not resisting arrest; neither had Peter and John. Even in the midst of their civil disobedience they are modeling respect and submission. And that’s because their goal is not to defy the Sanhedrin; but to obey God. And so they comply with the Sanhedrin as much as they can on those points that are not in conflict with what God has told them to do. And that is an important point to distinguish. We can practice civil disobedience without displaying a universal rejection of all we are being asked to do. We ought only to disobey at those points that are in conflict with what God has told us to do or not to do. And in doing so we can still demonstrate a Christ-like submission. So the apostles (in that submission) are brought. And the stage is set for the apostles’ second sermon before the Sanhedrin. It says… Acts 5:27-28 (ESV)— 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” 2 Indictments-- Now the high priest here opens the proceedings by giving the first indictment against the apostles; and that was that (in spite of the Sanhedrin’s having given them strict orders not to teach or preach in the name of Jesus, the apostles had instead proceeded to fill all of Jerusalem with their teaching. They had defied the court, which was true. And then he proceeds with the second indictment. And that was that the apostles were trying to bring this man’s blood upon them. And that was true as well. [Peter and the rest had boldly indicted the Jewish leaders for their role in Jesus’ death (cf. 2:23, 36; 3:15; 4:10–11).] And rightfully so. The Jewish leaders had been the ones who instigated and led the crowd to cry out for the death of Jesus. You have filled Jerusalem-- Now this opening rebuke by the high priest is fascinating. Because even though it is a hateful indictment against them, it reveals that in the midst of all of this the Church has already evangelized the entire city of Jerusalem. He says you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching,; quite an amazing admission when you think about it. Even the wrath of the Sanhedrin was being used to bring praise to God (Ps. 76:10). Doesn’t Mention The Escape-- Now the reason that people are coming to faith in Jesus is because of the signs and wonders being performed through the apostles, who are healing all who come to them with various sickness, diseases, and evil spirits. And this last sign (their being released from prison by an angel) is a mighty climax to all that the disciples have been doing up until this point. Yet, as we talked about last week, any mention of the apostles’ escape from prison is conspicuously absent from the High Priest’s address. And this was because the Sadducees could not explain it while at the same time maintaining their pre-conceived worldview and belief system (which rejected belief in a resurrection, an afterlife, and angels). And so, because they had already made their minds up, they didn’t want to be confused with the facts, so to speak. So they just simply choose to ignore the miracle entirely, just as they had done with the crippled beggar whom Peter and John healed. No Name-- Now notice that also absent in the High Priest’s address is the name of Jesus. Nowhere is the name of Jesus mentioned by the High Priest. He won’t do it. He uses the phrases “this name” and “this man’s blood”, but he is careful not to defile his own lips by speaking the name of Jesus. And there is also some strategy in this. You start mentioning somebody by name, it personalizes them. They aren’t “the criminal” or the “heretic”; he doesn’t say Rabbi Yeshua Ben Joseph of Nazareth; the one in whose name people found physical and spiritual healing; the one who left behind a grieving mother. The High Priest is very careful to keep Jesus nameless. It is a subtle way of de-valuing and de-personalizing Jesus while at the same time distancing himself from Him. But you know what is so fascinating is that here in Luke’s account the high priest himself is not named in the passage. Notice that? Luke (I think very intentionally) leaves his name out, emphasizing that while the High Priest may choose to forget the name of his Messiah (Jesus), the only name that really counts at all is the name of Jesus; the very name the High Priest would not mention. Do you know that we don’t even know who Luke is referring to in this passage by that title. It could be either Caiaphas or Annas; both were going by that title during this time. And so we don’t know who is even speaking here. But you know, I think that’s intentional. This past Wednesday in my personal devotions I studied carefully Proverbs 10. And I came across this phrase in… Proverbs 10:7 (ESV)-- 7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. Remember His Name-- Let me ask you something before we close today. How many of you know (or even heard of) anyone else named Annas or Caiaphas? I bet you can’t name one. But you know what, I bet every one of you listening today could name a handful of men named John and Peter. You know what I see in that? A fulfillment of Proverbs 10:7. And what that says to us is that if we are willing to stand with Jesus; to remember His name in the midst of a culture that is desperate to forget it, we will be blessed; and more than that, we will be a blessing to the world. Let us remember (always) to proclaim His name. Amen. Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. I’d like to start out today by reading the opening of the passage we will be discussing today; and that’s…
Acts 5:12-16 (ESV)-- 12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. 16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. Signs, Wonders, & The Gospel-- Now in this passage we see that signs and wonders are being performed through the hands of the apostles, as everyone who came to them with all sorts of diseases and illnesses were healed. And this wasn’t just for the people of Jerusalem. [Additional people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits; and they were all being healed. This is the first record of the church’s influence spreading beyond Jerusalem. They were beginning to fulfill the Lord’s charge to be His witnesses not only in Jerusalem but also “in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).] And this was glorious to see. The worst conditions imaginable were leaving the people by the hands of the apostles. And this demonstrated not just that God’s power was at work through them, but also that God was authenticating by these glorious displays of His power the name they were proclaiming; the name of Jesus, the one whom the people had crucified. And we see that it is that element of their ministry (the central element; the message of the Gospel) that causes such a strong reaction against them from the Jewish leaders; particularly the Sadducees. It says in… Acts 5:17-18 (ESV)— 17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. Satan’s Counterattack-- Now anytime the Gospel is preached, Satan will always launch a counterattack of persecution. And as difficult a reality as that is, it simply goes with the territory. Jesus Himself had said in… Matthew 5:10-12 (ESV)— 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. {(By the way, it’s interesting He says “when”, not “if”. If we follow Christ, persecution is going to happen. But Jesus says in the midst of that persecution:)} 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Opposition from The Sadducees-- And so it is no surprise, then, that those in power respond to this dynamic moving of the hand of God is a wave of opposition. And that wave comes mostly from the Sadducees. [While the Pharisees led the opposition to Jesus in the gospels, the Sadducees were the chief opponents of the early church.] And they are in opposition to the Church for three reasons. First, because Peter and John had not submitted to their authority in that they continued to preach and teach the Gospel. So they were (in the minds of the Sadducees) in open rebellion. But secondly, what they were teaching was at odds with the the theology of the Sadducees because the apostles were proclaiming that Jesus (though He had been dead and buried) was now alive, which (if true) would undermine their disbelief in a resurrection and an afterlife. But third (and this is something our text today highlights) they were also filled with jealousy. And the reason for that was that these apostles (who were untrained, unauthorized, ordinary men) had so quickly won such a great following; something that they themselves (with all their traditions and religious prowess) had been unable to do. They had had a hold on the people, but that hold was fragile; because at any moment the Romans could sweep in if they caught even a whiff of insurrection and take away their place of prominence. And so the Sadducees disguise their jealousy under a garb of concern for “doctrinal purity” and arrest the apostles (this time all 12) and throw them into the public jail, which is where the common prisoners were kept.] And notice again how the apostles are now living in the pattern of Jesus. Isaiah 53 had predicted that Jesus would be numbered with the transgressors (v.12) and that He would be chastised (v.5). And so the apostles are sharing in that same persecution. They are also numbered with the transgressors and (by the end of the passage) we will see also that they are chastised as well. Now you would think that after all the miracles that the Sadducees had seen they would have come to understand that prison bars could not hold them. If death couldn’t hold Jesus, certainly flimsy old prison bars would not be able to hold back the hand of God moving through His followers. And that is what we see. It says in… Acts 5:19a (ESV) — 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, Another Display-- And so the Sadducees had sought to contain the Gospel. However, they only succeeded in providing God with yet another opportunity to display his power, as an angel comes during the night and sets the apostles free. And [God’s use of an angel to free them was especially ironic, since the Sadducees denied the existence of angels.] And when we come to the section where the Sadducees are questioning the apostles, we will see that never once (amidst all the questions) do the Sadducees ask how they got out. Now I’m an amateur magician; always have been ever since I was a little kid. And what prompted my curiosity was this perpetual need to always know how a magic trick was done. Now what interests me about this passage (and we’ll see this) is that the Sadducees would witness the greatest escape act of all time; but notice how not one of them asks how they did it. Because (once again) their theology can’t handle the weight of the evidence. They were unable to look where the facts are pointing. So once again instead of dealing with the facts, they will look the other way. Now after the angel sets the apostles free, it says he… Acts 5:19b-21a (ESV) — brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” {In other words, “Where you were just arrested from; go right back there and continue preaching and teaching the Gospel. And there’s no protest; no fear. It simply says:} 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. No Conflict Please!-- You know it's interesting; there are many different personality types in any group of people. And I don't know if you have ever taken a personality test to see if you are the type a personality or perhaps some other letter. I took one not long ago and it was remarkably accurate and helped me to better understand myself. But no matter what personality you have, there are few people who wake up in the morning and think "boy, I just can’t wait for conflict today!" Maybe there are those kinds of people, but I have rarely (if ever) met one. Usually we shy away from conflict. Now we should try to steer away from unnecessary conflict; and we are to be peacemakers. But we are never to be peacemakers at the expense of the truth. Biblically, we have a mandate to stand up for what is right; and especially when somebody's salvation is on the line. This was what was behind Peter and John’s response when the Sanhedrin had previously said to Peter and John back in chapter 4 to no longer preach or teach in the name of Jesus, it says… Acts 4:19-20 (ESV)-- 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Truth & Deliverance-- Peter and John (and we see here ALL of the apostles) were willing to stand in boldness for the sake of the truth. But there was also something else. They weren’t just concerned about making sure a new mental concept got across to the people in Jerusalem; it wasn’t just a theological debate or them saying, “Hey, here’s a nice new teaching to follow. No, they were concerned about the people themselves; people who would be impacted (eternally) by this new revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Burning Beam— This past week my wife and I watched a scene on TV where a boy and his brother had just survived a bombing. And the older brother (after being knocked unconscious) slowly woke up and found around him piles of burning rubble. And he gets up and immediately starts looking for his brother; and finds his brother lying on the ground with a burning beam laying across his burning legs. And the older brother (without hesitation) seizes the burning beam with his hands and pulls up with all his might, freeing his brother. And afterwards, for the rest of his life, he carried those scars (those burn marks) on his hands. You want a picture of the cross this Lenten season? That’s it. Jesus grabbing the beams so that He could lift the weight of sin off our shoulders. We were important enough for Him to sacrifice Himself (His very life) for our salvation. And that reveals two things. First, His love for us… 1 John 3:16 (ESV)-- 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, {But listen to the rest of the verse:} and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. Feeling the Weight-- You see, we are to have in our lives that same kind of love. There ought to be in our souls a desperation to see people come to Jesus; a sense of urgency that causes us to move and head directly into the flames in order to pull them from death to life. Well, enter the apostles. These were men who were healing and preaching to the lost not because they thought it might be a good idea to grow their following. No, it was so much more than that. These were men who were awake to the spiritual war going on for people’s souls. These were men who felt on their shoulders the weight of eternity (as C.S. Lewis calls it, “The Weight of Glory”) and they were sold out hook, line, and sinker to their mission. Somebody says, “Sinners are going to hell.” You know what the response of the apostles would have been? “Over my dead body!” And they meant it! And you know, we ought to have that same tenacity when it comes to spreading the Gospel. Spurgeon’s Passion For The Lost-- Charles Spurgeon once wrote: “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for." Let Us Proclaim-- I love that. And so I want to challenge you today (and myself as well) to refrain from being the silent witnesses of the Church; let us speak out boldly (even in the face of persecution) so that others will come to know the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim.
God’s Triumph Over Satan-- In our study of the book of Acts, we have seen the beginning of the persecution of the Church at the hands of the religious leaders. And yet in our passage today here in Acts chapter 5 we see that despite this opposition, spiritual victory is still being won in an incredible way. You will remember that back in chapter 4 the Church cried out to God in the words of Psalm 2, saying in… Acts 4:25b-26 (ESV)-- “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’-- A Spiritual War-- Now in doing so you will remember that these believers were recognizing how even from times of old Satan has been at war against God and His plan of salvation for the world. But remember that although they only quoted the first line of the Psalm they would have known the rest of the Psalm by memory (even the women would have, who were less educated during that time). And the end of this particular Psalm says that the Lord will bring judgment on those who have set themselves against the Lord’s anointed. And they recognized in that a prophecy of Jesus Christ, His resurrection, and also the world’s rejection of Him. And in the Sanhedrin (this high council of Jewish leaders) we see Satan at work, trying once again to keep the message of the Gospel from spreading. And the bent of his aim was to divide and conquer the Church. Yet we see here in verse 12 that (despite his continued attacks) the Church actually became more unified than ever. In the very place the lame beggar was healed and Peter preached his second sermon (and where Jesus had Himself preached in John 10:23ff), these early believers formed their fellowship as they [met there daily for prayer and worship.] It says in… Acts 5:12b-13 (ESV)— And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. {Now the next phrase is very interesting. It says…} 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. Why The Hesitation?-- Now you would think that if the disciples were held in such high esteem, people would be eager to join the Church. Why then did so many hesitate? Well, remember what has just happened a few verses earlier; God struck dead a couple (Ananias and Sapphira) who had tried to lie to the Holy Spirit of God; they were counterfeit Christians masquerading as genuine disciples sold out to Jesus Christ. They had tried to appear like Barnabas, who really HAD sold out (literally) to Jesus when really they only wanted to have the appearance. And their death (which was also a sign from God; a negative one) sent the spiritual message very strongly that God would not tolerate sin in the Church. Ananias and Sapphira (with their sin) had brought discord into the Church. And [Now that the sin of Ananias and Sapphira had been dealt with, the church was again in one accord.] The Church being of one heart and soul God takes VERY seriously. God wanted a Church that was united in purity. And this is something we cannot fail to see. God values purity more than you and I can possibly imagine. And sadly, this is something that the Church as a whole has decreasingly emphasized nowadays. But it says in… 2 Timothy 2:19-21 (ESV)-- 19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” 20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. You Have To Be Pure-- Now what we learn from that is that if we want to be useful to God, then we have to be pure. [No one {has} stated that truth any more clearly than the noble nineteenth-century Scottish pastor and evangelist Robert Murray McCheyne. He gave the following sage advice to a young man entering the ministry: Do not forget the culture of the inner man—I mean of the heart. How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care. Remember you are God’s sword, His instrument—I trust a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hands of God. ] Confronting Sin— Now this is true both of the believer individually, but also corporately in the Church. If we are to be successful in reaching the world with the good news of Jesus Christ, then we must be a Church that is pure. And for that to happen, the Church needs to have the courage to confront and deal with sin. God was the first one to do this in the Church with Ananias and Sapphira. But now the responsibility of disciplining sinning believers falls to the local church. Now we just don't do that in this day and age; and that is largely due to the fact that we have come to believe that tolerating people (and their sins) and building up their self-esteem are the chief ways that we show God’s love to them. But that just isn’t Biblical. If you truly love someone, you are not going to let them continue in those patterns of behavior that are destructive for them. And you are going to fight for their purity. This is why it says in… Proverbs 27:6 (ESV)-- 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. Scriptural Support for Discipline-- And in Luke 17:3, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself commanded, “If your brother sins, rebuke him.” You will remember that [Paul put Hymenaeus and Alexander out of the Ephesian church because of their blasphemies (1 Tim. 1:20). He commanded the Corinthians to remove from their fellowship a man guilty of gross sexual immorality (1 Cor. 5:1–7). He instructed his young protégé Titus to “reprove [believers] severely that they may be sound in the faith” (Titus 1:13). Even church leaders are not exempt from public rebuke (1 Tim. 5:20; cf. Gal. 2:11–14). {But} The most extensive teaching on how to exercise church discipline comes from our Lord Himself: If your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer. Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst. (Matt. 18:15–20)] Context of Discipline-- Now we all focus on the last part of that verse; the promise of God’s abiding with those who are gathered in His name. But what we often fail to remember is why God comes in their midst in the first place in that context. That passage is connected and tied to Jesus’ discussion about discipline in the Church; it is about God coming alongside those who are gathered in His name to help lead others out of sin and into living lives of spiritual purity! A Holy Challenge-- Now we shy away from this because we don't want to be labeled as "judgmental". After all, who is going to want to join a church that might confront them about their sin? But what God demonstrated was that if the Church was going to keep its integrity and remain effective, it also had to keep pure. If it didn’t actually challenge and lead people into become more like Jesus, what is the point? And yes we see here in verse 13 that that kept some people away. It says… Acts 5:13 (ESV)— 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. You see, people respected them chiefly because they WERE that committed to purity. And that proved effective, because while verse 13 says some were kept away, it says in… Acts 5:14 (ESV)— 14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, The Count is Lost-- And it is fascinating to note that it is at this point where the multitude grows so much, everyone loses count. Luke stops recording the numbers. All he can say is multitudes of both men and women,. From that point onwards the Church was too big to count. And I want to highlight that for you; the point at which the Church can no longer keep track of it’s numerical growth is at this precise moment when the Church (through God) becomes radically committed to purity. Committed to Purity-- And what that shows us is that if we want to be effective and fruitful Christians (both individually and corporately), we have to be radically committed to living lives of purity and holiness. And it is our responsibility to help one another to achieve that purity, even if that might mean an unpleasant conversation or even Church discipline at times. If we truly love one another, we won’t allow one another to walk in sin; we will lovingly step in. We will encourage, guide, direct, and help God to re-shape that person. If we want the power of God to be made manifest in and through us both individually and corporately, there are no shortcuts. We have to go through the cross. We must, as it says in… Colossians 3:9b-10 (ESV)-- put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Mutual Support-- And so let us commit to live lives of purity and holiness; and let us support, encourage, challenge, and even discipline one another as we (together) become the very image of Christ to the world. If we can do that, the world will esteem us and God will be able not just to grow His Church, but to grow it in the right way; with people who are willing to live lives truly sold out to Jesus Christ. Let’s commit ourselves to Him, His Life, and His character in a special way today. Amen. Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. In our study of the book of Acts, we have seen how God has been establishing His Church. And in our passage today we see one of the means by which He is doing that. It says in…
Acts 5:12b (ESV)— 12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. Signs & Wonders— So right off the bat we see that the apostles are carrying on the healing ministry of Jesus. And these healings verse 12 calls signs and wonders. Now what is a sign? "Shoulder Use Permitted"-- The other day my wife and I were driving home and I saw a sign that brought me immediate joy. In fact I was so thankful I immediately turned to my wife and said. “That sign said ‘shoulder use permitted’”. And so I immediately started stretching and rotating my shoulders. And I said, “Awwww, that’s nice, to which she promptly rolled her eyes (as all wives do when their husbands make corny jokes). What’s A Sign-- But signs are important. They are there for more than just our admiration and wonder. They actually mean something; and what a particular sign means is important. And this is especially true when it comes to Biblical signs, which are a lot like road signs. We always think of them as being miracles; and they often are. But they are more than just miracles. They are miracles with a point. Just like a road sign, they point us to something; something we need to recognize, which is often a deeper spiritual (and often divine) reality that God is trying to make known to us. In the Gospels (particularly John’s gospel) signs play a key role in revealing to us who Jesus is. And they have the same purpose here in the book of Acts as well. And one of the things these signs clearly reveal is that God is at work through the apostles; they are a way of authenticating their ministry and the name of Jesus whom they were proclaiming. Now there have been many impostors who have tried to use miraculous signs to gain a following. A Fake Miracle-- Just recently I saw a purported miracle somebody posted on Facebook. A crippled woman in Africa was listening to a preacher preach. And her arm was all malformed and short. But the preacher suddenly claimed he was going to heal the woman. And he began ranting and raving and the woman hunched over and let her short deformed arm point towards the ground. And slowly but surely the arm began to extend. And the preacher kept ranting and raving; he started throwing water on her (probably holy water). And her arm kept extending until it was a normal length; AN APPARENT MIRACLE!!! Now I so wanted to believe this; but I looked it up and sadly discovered that it was a hoax. This woman was used on multiple occasions by at least two different charismatic pastors who wanted to display their healing powers. I watched two services where it looks like the same woman was healed twice for the same thing. She has missing bone structure in her arm that allows her to crush up her arm and then (as she relaxes her muscles) the arm extends. And that is why she needs to hunch over, because she cannot lift up her arm (because there is no bone structure inside). And you can catch it in one video where you see that arm flop back a little bit; farther than a normal arm would be able to do. And so the miracle was a fake, used by the pastors in a sinister way to manipulate people into thinking they had the power of God; so that they would follow them. A Genuine Miracle-- However, the miracles the apostles were performing were nothing like this. They weren’t isolated healings done to a few people no-one knew. Rather they were healing many people (too many to be some kind of elaborate hoax); and these were people that those around them could validate had indeed been crippled. The crippled man at Solomon’s Portico is an excellent example. Everyone knew he had always been crippled; his legs were deformed; he had never walked. And now he was walking and leaping and praising God. Miracles & Message True To God’s Word-- Now miracles don’t always come from God. Just because someone performs a miracle (or a supposed miracle) that doesn’t mean God is at work in them. It could (at times) be Satan. And we will see some of that later in the book of Acts. But what sets the signs of Jesus and the apostles apart was that the signs they were performing complimented a message that was true to the Word of God and His revealed mission. They were not proclaiming a new doctrine; they were proclaiming the fulfillment of an already existing promise of salvation. And I would argue further that the nature and authority of the miracles the apostles were performing was vastly superior to what any sorcerer would be able to perform. Their miracles were like that performed through Moses back in Exodus. The miracles of God could only be denied by those who could not accept His message (like Pharaoh, in whose image the Sanhedrin had allowed themselves to become fashioned into, as they demonstrate continuously that same hardness of heart; “We are not willing to go where the evidence points because we are not willing to change our position.”). The Same Healing Pattern-- Now I want you to also recognize something else; and this is something the Sanhedrin no doubt recognized; and that is that the apostles were not just healing people, but they’re doing so in a way that mirrored how Jesus Himself had healed people. Notice how the apostles (like Jesus) were healing EVERYBODY. It says in… Acts 5:16 (ESV)-- 16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. And this is of course reminiscent of… Luke 4:38-41 Jesus Heals Many-- 38 And he {(Jesus)} arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them. 40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. {And Matthew 12:15 also reveals that Jesus was healing all who came to Him.} Demons Banished-- Now notice how in both passages we find demons being driven out; something Satan would never do, for it would mean that Satan’s house would be divided against itself and therefore would not be able to stand, which Jesus Himself points out in Matthew 12:26. So there was no reason to doubt that it truly was the power of God that had been at work in and through Jesus; and that the apostles (who were preaching and teaching in His name) were carrying on that same power and authority. It was not just that people were getting healed. No, it was the scope and nature of the miracles being performed combined with a message that was true to God’s Word. And in the demons being driven out we see revealed how Jesus (through the apostles), is defeating the great enemy of God (Satan). The head of the snake was once again being crushed. The Role of Signs-- Now there is a lot of debate over the role of signs and healings in the Church today. And I don’t doubt for a minute that God does often heal when we cry out to Him. That is part of the role of the Church, as we read about in James 5:13-15. We are to bring the sick before the elders of the Church so that they can receive healing from God if it is His will to do so. But what we also have to recognize is that while there were ordinary Church members who performed signs and healings (like Stephen in Acts 6:8), verse 12 indicates that it was the apostles who were the primary ones performing these “signs and wonders”. And as we said before, that was God’s way of authenticating their message (Rom. 15:18–19; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:4). This was a new era in the Church (and really in the story of salvation as a whole). And in scripture we see that whenever God moved His people into a new era (the next stage of His great plan of salvation) He always made sure that the inauguration of that era was supported by miraculous signs that confirmed He was the one behind it. When the age of the Law began, God empowered Moses to perform signs and wonders. At the inauguration of the era of the prophets, God allowed those prophets at the beginning of that era (Elijah and Elisha) to also perform great signs and wonders. When the age of the Gospel was inaugurated, God validated that era with signs and wonders performed in and through His Son Jesus. And that is one of the reasons Jesus was always so careful to stress that the signs He performed were not done in His own power, but rather were God’s power at work through Him. He wanted to show that this was God’s way of validating this new era of the Gospel as legitimate; as God had validated the other eras in and throughout the Old Testament. And similarly, in this new era of the Church, as the apostles carry that Gospel into the world, God is allowing signs and wonders to confirm this new era as well. One scholar said: “Each time God opened a new door, He called man’s attention to it. It was His way of saying, ‘Follow these leaders because I have sent them.’”] Now [This certainly does not mean that God is limited and can no longer perform miracles for His people! But it does mean that the need for confirming miracles has passed away. We now have the completed Word of God, and we test teachers and weigh their teachings by their message, not by miracles (1 John 2:18–29; 4:1–6).] The Greatest Miracle-- And even more important than the physical healing, was the spiritual healing that was being brought to the people. It says that multitudes were being added to the fellowship. And so one thing we need to be sure not to overlook is the fact that the people were finding in Jesus the deepest healing they needed; healing from sin. That is the greatest miracle of all; seeing a lost person come into the fold of God and become one of His children; seeing a life that is broken be restored. [That is the miracle that meets the greatest need, lasts the longest, and costs the greatest price—the blood of God’s Son. And that is one miracle we can all participate in as we share the message of the gospel, “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom. 1:16).] This week, let us commit ourselves in a special way to helping to spread that Gospel message. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim.
Tricky Animals— You know, growing up, I was always a nature kid. I loved to be outside and I loved animals. And to this day every animal I discover speaks to me of the awesome creativity of God. And recently I had fun looking at a number of creatures with a very unique ability; the ability to disguise themselves as other animals that their would-be predators are afraid of; a butterfly that disguises itself to look like an owl, a caterpillar that disguises itself to look like a snake; it’s interesting, the hognose snake that can either mimic a cobra or simply play dead (even giving off an odor that smells like a dead animal). But perhaps the most interesting (at least to me) is an octopus called the mimic octopus. [This eight-armed sea creature is a master of disguise. It can make itself look like some of the other creatures that live in its watery home, including sea snakes, jellyfish, starfish, you name it. It changes the color and texture of its skin to match these creatures. And then it takes its trickery a step further. The mimic octopus even changes the way it moves its arms. For instance, when it’s imitating a sea snake, the octopus slips into its burrow and pulls in all but two of its arms. It leaves two arms resting on the ocean bottom, so they look like a venomous sea snake. {Now as I said before,} As for why it acts like other creatures, it all comes down to survival. By imitating other animals, like the deadly sea snake, the mimic octopus keeps its predators away and keeps itself out of danger.] It’s amazing how in nature one animal can mimic another. Now in nature that is pretty cool. However, a very similar phenomenon was taking place right at the outset of the early Church. And this was unfortunately NOT beneficial for the Body of Christ. You will remember that all the Church is unified at this point and out of that unity and mutual love for one another, people are selling their possessions and distributing to any who have need. And at the outset of our passage today we are given the name of one of these self-giving Christians. It says in… Acts 4:36-37 (ESV)— 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. Joseph Surrendered-- Now pay attention to this guy Joseph. Because the reason I believe he is mentioned here is because he is the undisguised “real deal”. He is the guy who embodies what it means to really live a life sold out to Jesus Christ. And because of that God uses him in some amazing ways. In fact, later in the book of Acts we see that he is the one who introduces the newly converted Paul to the apostles when everyone else is skeptical about him (9:27). He is the one who brings Paul to Antioch to participate in the outreach to the Gentiles (11:25-26). And he’s also the one who sticks up for John Mark after John Mark’s failing and Paul does not want to take him with them (15:36-39). And of course John Mark goes on to become of major importance, most notably in his eventually recording for us Peter’s account of the words and deeds of Jesus Christ in his Gospel; the gospel of Mark. A New Name: Barnabas-- But notice that Joseph is given a new name by the apostles. They call him Barnabas, a name meaning “son of encouragement”. Now in Jewish culture names were very very significant. Hebrew Names— In our culture names don’t have a lot of meaning. We name our children based on what names sound good; or the names of famous people or sometimes family members. But in Jewish and much of ancient culture names were much more significant. Names were not only a way of identifying you, but also a way of defining you; and I would even go so far as to say to even determine ahead of time who you are going to be. Biblical Names— Just think of some of the big names found in the Old Testament: Adam-- Adam is not just a name; it is the Hebrew word for “human”— Adam was the first Adam (the first human). His name also means “red”, which may even refer to the color of the earthy ground He was created from. Abram-- Think of Abram. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “father of a great multitude”. So in naming Abraham, God was determining to bring about His promise. Jacob— Jacob, whose name means “supplanter” supplanted his brother Esau. But God changed His name to “Israel”, meaning “who prevails with God”. Jonah-- In the Bible, the dove was a symbol of God’s grace and provision. It was a dove that brought an olive branch to Noah, heralding God’s deliverance. At Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus as a dove, heralding Jesus as God’s means of deliverance. And the Hebrew word for dove is in fact Jonah. Jonah’s name means dove. Now Jonah (remember) didn’t want to live up to his name, but God made him. God had determined in his very name that he would bring hope to Nineveh. But Jonah tried to deny his own name; God’s plan and purpose to use him in that way. Micah— In a similar way, the prophet Micah (whose name means “messenger”) was sent as a messenger to God’s people, actually foreshadowing (some think) John the Baptist’s ministry. Simon— Simon, likely [a contraction of the Heb. Shimeon] whose name means “hear” (notice the root Shema); he was one who heard the call of Jesus and followed (which is what Shema is all about). But Jesus changes his name to Peter (Gk. petros, “a rock”). And Peter you would definitely say now embodies that name in some amazing ways. Immanuel-- Even the name given to us in Isaiah in prophecy of Jesus Himself (Immanuel) means “God with us”; not just a name for Jesus, but an actual definition of who He is. He IS God with us. Jesus-- Even the name Jesus; it is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua (Joshua) (meaning “Yahweh Saves”). And this fits because in Jesus Yahweh was saving His people. Just as Joshua led the people to the promised land, so also Jesus leads God’s people to the Kingdom of Heaven. He (Jesus) is the ultimate Savior and Deliverer; the second, greater Joshua. Identity Change-- Now we have to understand this unique way names are used because for somebody’s name to be changed was a huge deal in the Biblical world. It showed a complete change in identity. That is why many of the early Christians took new names. And it’s interesting to note that whenever someone is given a new name in the Bible, the one giving that name is almost always (with very few exceptions) God. It is God who changes a person’s name; their identity; who they are destined to be. Now I say all of this because I want you to recognize the depth of change that Joseph (now Barnabas) has allowed God to work in his life and also what an honor this must have been viewed as by the rest of the Church. And (as we all know) any time a good person is honored, there are often sinful people who get jealous. And here the story transitions to two such people; a couple by the name of Ananias and Sapphira. Now Ananias means "favoured of the LORD” and Sapphira (sapphire) is a precious gem. But they certainly don’t feel “favored of the LORD”; they don’t feel like precious gems. It says in… Acts 5:1-2 (ESV)— 1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. “kept back”-- So we see that Ananias and Sapphira kept back some of their earnings. And that phrase kept back actually translates an uncommon word that, interestingly enough, is also used (in the Septuagint) of Achan who, in Joshua 7:1, was the one who held back some of the spoils of Jericho that were dedicated to God, burying them in his tent. And he was discovered and put to death for his crime. And so also were Ananias and Sapphira. Look at verse 3 and following… Acts 5:3-6 (ESV)-- 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? (Notice that word “καρδία” again; his “καρδία” was not in accord with the rest of the body of Christ. Peter says…)You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. “breathed his last”-- Now notice that Luke doesn’t simply tell us that Ananias died. No, it says he breathed his last. Isn’t it interesting that his soul; his ψυχὴ; the breath that God breathed into him; the breath that united the Christian Church, was taken from him? He lies to the Holy Spirit, the Ruach; the breath of God; and therefore his breath is taken from him. And we see a similar thing happen with his wife. The text says… Acts 5:7-11 (ESV)-- 7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. Lying About Their Surrender-- Now, I’d love to know what the offering was the following Sunday. I bet it was an all new record. But this passage is more than just about tithing or trying to be honest about what you have or what you don’t have. No, it goes even further than that. Ananias and Sapphira’s sin was that they had attempted to give the appearance of being as surrendered to God as wholly and completely as Barnabas had been when really, they had not. They wanted to live an illusion of surrender, but not really surrender. They were just a couple of hognose snakes; a couple of mimic octopi. Their keeping the money wasn’t the issue (as Peter himself had said); the issue was their trying to give the appearance to those around them that they had held nothing back from Jesus when (in reality) they had. The life they were living before their brothers and sisters in Christ was a lie. And God would not tolerate that lie; and so He therefore pulls His sustaining breath from them and they die. Are we real?— Now that ought to prompt us to ask ourselves “Are we the real deal?” Have we allowed God to touch us at the very heart; the very name; the very center of who we are? Or is it all a show? Now if your answer to that question is anything but “yes”, Christ is offering that transformation to you today. And He can do it. He can make you altogether new. But you have to want it. You have to ask for it in faith. You have to be willing to stop pretending and allow Him to make you the real deal; utterly and completely sold out to Him. Let’s give ourselves to him like that today. Let’s do so. Amen. |
Rev. Cameron Ury graduated from Asbury University in 2007 with a B.A. in Bible and Theology. From there he continued his studies at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS. It was there that he met his wife Tanya, who graduated from WBS with her M.A. and M.Div. degrees. Cameron and Tanya got married in 2009. Cameron then graduated with his M.Div. degree with a pastoral concentration in 2011.
After shepherding churches in both Mississippi and Ohio, they joined the ministry team at Renton Park Chapel in January of 2018, where Cameron serves as Senior Pastor and Teacher. Cameron is also the founder and host of Lechem Panim, a weekly radio show that airs on KGNW 820AM "The Word Seattle". The ministry of Lechem Panim is centered around leading people into the life-giving presence of God in and through Bible study, prayer, and active discipleship with the aim of ministering to a world that is in desperate need of the healing touch of Jesus Christ. Archives
January 2022
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