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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.
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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. Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim.
Tonto’s Forsaking-- I don’t know how many of you have seen the old television show “The Lone Ranger”. If you have, you might remember one episode where [Tonto and the Lone Ranger were riding through a canyon together when all of a sudden both sides were filled with Native American warriors on horses, dressed for battle. The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto and asked, "What are we going to do?" Tonto replied, "What you mean 'we,' Whiteman?”] It’s amazing how adversity can drive people apart, isn’t it? The Church’s Resolve Strengthened-- Well you might expect that to happen at this point in the story of the book of Acts. You will remember that Peter and John have just been tried by the Sanhedrin, who command them to no longer teach or preach in the name of Jesus. And so for the first time the Church is facing political persecution. Now Peter and John resolve to continue to preach the Gospel of Christ because (as Peter had put it, and states again in 5:29 as well): “We must obey God rather than men.” Now that wasn’t a universal rejection of authority; but they understood that when authority and the Word of God are in conflict with each other, you always have to side with God. But one of the things that amazes me about this passage is that what you would think would happen at this point in the Church’s history doesn’t happen. You’d think that the Church would become divided on this issue. Who do we obey? Who do we follow? But what is so fascinating is that this persecution only serves to drive the Church together; together in prayer and together in unity. And the depth of this unity is truly profound. It says in… Acts 4:32a (ESV)— 32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, One-- So the first thing that we see is that the Church has become one. But what does that look like? Which One?-- It has been said that [When a man marries a woman, they become one but the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.] And you know, there’s some truth to that. We often think that there could be peace and unity if everybody would think and act just like us. But let me tell you, in all honesty, if all the people of the world were like me, we’d be in trouble. And if all the people of the world were like you we’d also be in trouble. And a Church filled with people who are all trying to be like one another is destined for trouble as well. And actually, the Church’s central aim ought not to be to strive for unity with one another, but to strive to be at unity with Christ. It is in becoming like Jesus that we are consequently brought into unity with one another. Tuned to The Same Fork— This is why A.W. Tozer once asked: [Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.] And you know, he’s right. If a congregation will commit to draw closer to Jesus as individuals, they will consequently find that they will also be more at one with each other. One Heart & Soul— Now the text says that these believers were {(v.32)} of one heart and soul. And that phrase means more than just that they had something in common; or had a common bond in Christ Jesus. No, they were of one heart and soul. Now that language intrigues me. καρδία— First that word “heart”. It is the Greek word (all you in the medical field know it well) “καρδία” (cardia) (like cardiology). But here it does not mean physical heart, or even just our emotions. No, the literal definition involves the mind, the character, the inner self, the will, our intentions; our very center. So they were united in mind (having the same mind of Christ), they were united in character (the holiness of God made real in their lives), they were united in the inner self in selfless agape love of God, and were even united in their will and intentions with one another. The very center of who they were was united one with another. Now what does it mean to be united with your brother or sister in Christ at that kind of level? And what implications does that have for how we think about the unity of the Church? What could a Church do that was united in Christ like that? ψυχὴ-- Now the second word also astounds me. It says that they were also one not just in their heart, but in their soul. And the Greek word used here for soul is “ψυχὴ” (psuché). And as I was looking up the meaning behind this word ψυχὴ, I was amazed to discover that the first phrase used to help to define this word “ψυχὴ” was the vital breath; the breath of life. In fact, it is from the very word that means "to breathe, blow”. And that harkens back to the very creation of mankind. “The soul is the direct aftermath of God breathing (blowing) His gift of life into a person, making them an ensouled being.” And in thinking about how God’s Holy Spirit is synonymous with His breath (that same Hebrew word “Ruach”) we see once again that the source of their unity of soul (or breath) was the very Spirit of God. They are united by the very breath of God. But “ψυχὴ” also refers to a person's distinct identity; who I am as an individual. So in a sense, in Christ, we become so one with one another in such a deep way that our very identities become intermingled; intertwined with one another, to the point where scripture even calls us one singular body. Romans 12:5 (ESV)-- 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Now every body has a head. And scripture teaches us that Christ Himself is the head. Colossians 1:18 (ESV)-- 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. All-Encompassing Oneness-- So as we come under the headship of Christ, we also become united with one another as we are together brought under His control. And this oneness was so profound, it encompassed every area of the lives of those in the early Church, beginning with their very possessions, wealth, and property. Look with me at verse 32… Acts 4:32b (ESV)-- and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. Nothing Their Own-- Now that phrase “no one” is so profound to me. You mean to tell me that there was not a single Christian convert who thought it appropriate to call anything his or her own? Everything; all of who they were was surrendered fully and completely to the body of Christ? I don’t know about you, but that is incredibly convicting to me. “My”-- It is amazing how much of our lives and culture is centered around the word “my”. You know, there were many words I had to spend a lot of time teaching my kids as they grew up; words like “thank you” or “please”. But you know, “my” was not one of them. They learned that word very quickly with little assistance from me. “That’s my stuffed bunny.” “That’s my cookie.” “My, my, my.” Now that’s pretty expected when it comes to young children, but as we mature there ought to be a growth into a new reality of seeing outside the walls of our own personal needs and wants. But I know adults; you know adults who are very difficult to be around because (unfortunately) they have never grown out of that self-centered way of living life. And relating with them can be extremely difficult, especially if that person has any kind of power over you. But you know I don’t think we ever really just grow out of that. That re-orientation of our hearts doesn’t just happen automatically. No, there has to come a point in our lives when we allow God to actually put that old self-centered self to death. That is what it really means when Jesus says to Nicodemus back in John 3 that he needs to be born again; and what He means when He says to His disciples that to follow Him they must take up their cross. To follow Jesus means to put to death our “my” way of doing life and experiencing an awakening into a brand new way of living; under a recognition that all of who we are (our hopes, our dreams, and our futures) and all that we have (our homes, our finances; all of that) belongs to God and are His to do with as He pleases. That is what happens when we allow ourselves to become turned outwards upon Him. And when that happens; when we become focused on Him, then what and who He values will become what and who we value as well. And as Jesus gave His life for the world, so also will we give of our time, our finances, and YES even our very lives to meet the spiritual and physical needs of those around us. Complete Surrender-- The question is, are we that surrendered? Does God have full control over my life; my time; my plans; and yes, even my finances? Does He truly have all of my heart and all of my soul. Power in our lives as individuals and power in the Church collectively is directly connected to the full surrender of all of who we are to Christ and to His Body. And we see the results of this played out in a really magnificent way, as it says in the following verses… Acts 4:33-35 (ESV)— 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. May we also, as children of God who are men and women who claim to be part of the body of Christ, be that sold out. And as we are sold out to Jesus, may we also find ourselves to be of one heart and one soul with one another. Let us do so. Amen. Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. We have been taking a look at Peter and John’s healing of a lame beggar here in Acts chapter 4; we have seen the crowds gathering in response, Peter and John’s using this as an opportunity to share the Gospel, the angry response from the Jewish leaders, their duplicity in overlooking the evidence in front of them, and their command for Peter and John to no longer preach or teach in the name of Jesus, which of course invokes a response from Peter and John that no doubt shocked and angered them. It says in…
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.” Their Release & The Growth of The Church-- Now the Jewish leaders don’t really have a strong case against Peter and John. Plus Peter and John obviously have the strong support of the people. And also the man who was healed was standing right in front of them; and so they have no choice but to let them go. And following this we see that despite this persecution the Church grows in an incredible way. From 120 praying men and women in Acts 1 to more than three thousand on the day of Pentecost, to now, where (in response to this miracle) the Church grows to over 5,000 disciples. [In the days that followed, “believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women” (Acts 5:14; and see 6:1,7). {And so we see that} Satan’s attempts to silence the Church only led to a stronger witness for the Lord.] And that is often how it is today as well. The harder the Church is persecuted, the more multiplied is the spread of the Gospel. Now it says in… Acts 4:23-26 (ESV)-- 23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘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’-- Entering Into Prayer-- Now I love this. The first thing that happens after this righteous protest is Peter and John immediately start praying with fellow believers. And that’s a good test of a righteous protest. If you can immediately enter into Spirit-filled fellowship with God and fellow Christians in prayer after a protest, you have probably done it right. And this is truly one of the great prayers recorded for us in scripture. And I love how it is born out of the Church coming together to unite in the midst of adversity. "One Accord"— But you know, that was typical of the early Church. Over and over again throughout the book of Acts we run into the phrase “of one accord”, which shows up again here in verse 24. The disciples always fought hard to keep that spirit of unity. And one of the chief ways they so often managed to do this was in and through prayer. They prayed with fervency, because they knew it was absolutely critical to maintaining unity in the Body of Christ and to further the work of helping to build His Church. In and through prayer they (together) sought the heart and mind of God and God was therefore pleased to answer their requests. Referencing the Entire Psalm-- Now remember what I told you several weeks ago. Jewish men and women during that time would have massive amounts of scripture memorized that they could quote at any moment verbatim. Many still do. Men would often have the entire Old Testament memorized and could (at the drop of a hat) recite and portion of the Old Testament you asked them to. Even women (who were less educated and rarely received training from rabbis) were all expected to have Psalms, Proverbs, and Deuteronomy memorized. By the way, that is why you notice that whenever Jesus is talking with women, he only speaks to them using passages from those three books; from the books they would have known by memory. Now keep in mind that the chapter and verse references were not a part of the text during that time. And so the way that you would reference a passage is by quoting the first line. And then your audience (who had the entire text you were referencing memorized) would mentally pull up and have it (in its entirety) in their mind. It was like our saying “Open your Bibles to…” Only they didn’t have to open up their Bibles. They would just mentally turn to the text you were referencing. Now you need to understand this key part of Jewish culture because note how the passage they quote (from Psalm 2) is the very beginning of the Psalm. And so why are they doing this? You see, the disciples here are more than just pulling a nice little pithy passage to use in their prayer time. No, they are quoting the first line in order to bring to the minds of all those who are a part of that prayer meeting the entirety of Psalm 2. And since most of us don’t have it memorized, let me go ahead and read it. In this psalm David writes… Psalm 2 (ESV)— 1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Why Psalm 2 Encouraged Them— Now why do the disciples use this psalm as the basis of their prayer meeting? It may interest you to note that [This psalm is often mentioned in the New Testament (see Acts 4:25-26; 13:33; Hebrews 1:5-6; 5:5; Revelation 2:26-27; 12:5; 19:15 ).] It was one of those psalms Christians found very encouraging, particularly during times of persecution. Why? Well, first of all, it’s because this is a Messianic psalm. And there are [Several psalms {that} are called “messianic” because of their prophetic descriptions of Jesus the Messiah (Christ)—his life, death, resurrection, and future reign.] And this psalm in particular [describes the rebellion of the nations and the coming of Christ to establish his eternal reign.] And [David may have written these words during a conspiracy against Israel by some of the surrounding pagan nations.] And so what this reminded the early believers of (and should remind us as well) is the fact that Satan has always been at war against God’s plan of salvation. All who were chosen and anointed by God had to face intense persecution in the midst of Satan’s attempt to thwart God’s plan. And the disciples here in this prayer meeting are acknowledging this reality. And you know Satan is still at war with us. The nations are still raging. And Peter and John’s rejection and persecution by the Sanhedrin was just another one of Satan’s many, typical attacks. But in David’s case, note how he didn’t lose faith. He knew that he had been chosen and anointed by God. And because of that, he [knew that God would fulfill his promise to bring the Messiah into the world through his bloodline (2 Samuel 7:16; 1 Chronicles 17:11-12).] And what this Psalm shows us is that the disciples (in a similar way) were trusting in God to work out His plan of salvation regardless of the resistance they might meet along the way. They (as the last verse says) take refuge in him knowing that though the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain, the Lord will eventually break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. The Lord will be victorious; and their mission will succeed because it is a mission that is endorsed and empowered by God Himself. God’s anointed (Jesus Christ) will sit on the throne; and nothing can thwart the coming of the Kingdom of God. Can you begin to see the roots of their boldness? They stood in a very real and tangible way on the promises of God. Now after referencing this psalm, they say in… Acts 4:27-28 (ESV)— 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. Prayer and Politicians-- Now I love this because while many pastors are told to keep politics out of their service (which means don’t mention the name of your president, your governor, or any other politician), we find here in the early Church the early Christians mentioning two politicians by name whom they recognized had set themselves against Christ. But we also find that the early Christians did so in a spirit of prayer, praying for their leaders; even those at enmity with them; at war against Christ and His Church. And that was no doubt the spirit here as well. But note also how they acknowledge the actions of these politicians to still be under the sovereign hand of God. God had a plan that was not only not thwarted by these men who had set themselves against God in their feeble attempts to de-rail God’s plan, but had actually only succeeded in helping to further His plan. And listen to what these Christians pray. It says in… Acts 4:29-31 (ESV)— 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. “With Boldness”-- And note that word “boldness”. It comes up again and again. The early Christians were bold. But it wasn’t a boldness that came from arrogance or righteous indignation. It was a boldness that came from the Holy Spirit of God. A Right Pattern-- And so today I want to encourage you, as we continue to face a government that is increasingly at odds with us, to follow the pattern set by these early Christians. The temptation to divide is only going to become stronger. And so we need to be Christians who are committed to unity with Christ and with one another; Christians who are committed to truth; Christians who are committed to following the clear mandates of God as revealed to us in scripture; Christians who are committed to taking a stand for God (even against authority when necessary), but to do while demonstrating the love and self-sacrifice of the one we are proclaiming; with a conviction and integrity that touches every area of our lives. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. If you have been following our study of the book of Acts, you will know that for the past several weeks we have been taking a look at chapter 4, in which Peter and John find and heal a crippled beggar outside of the temple gate. And seeing the crowds that gathered around them as a result of that miracle, they use it as a launching point to tell them about Jesus, in whose name the miracle was performed. And they’re proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. Now the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees don’t appreciate that; because remember the Sadducees rejected the concept of a resurrection and an afterlife); and so they seize Peter and John, hold them in custody until the following day, and then make them stand before the Jewish religious court known as the Sanhedrin, the members of whom were supposed to be the keepers of truth in the land. And yet here we find them ignoring the truth; being unwilling to follow where the evidence pointed because of what it would mean for their own personal worldview. And we see in the text that they are not even willing to deal with the evidence. They choose to ignore it. And they resolve amongst themselves to try to silence Peter and John. So they threaten them and order them to no longer preach or teach in the name of Jesus.
Satan’s Strategy-- And you know, that is what Satan always does; he seeks to stifle the Gospel by getting Christians to remain silent. And sadly, this often works. Christians have often allowed themselves to become the “silent witnesses” of the Church, even in a day and age of unparalleled freedom (at least here in the United States). And I just wonder “Why is that?” Why are we so reluctant and timid when it comes to sharing the Gospel? Penn Jillette’s Encounter With A Christian-- Recently I re-watched a video of famous magician Penn Jillette as he shared about his encounter with a man who sought to give him a Gideon Bible and to share with Him the good news of the Gospel of Christ. And Penn of course is a stout atheist. But in this video he shared about his encounter with this Christian and what an impact this man had on him in the few moments he had contact with him. And he said this. “…I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever and you think that “well it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward.” And atheists who think that people shouldn’t proselytize; just leave me alone; just keep your religion to yourself. How much do you have to hate someone to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that. I mean if I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you and you didn’t believe it; that truck was bearing down on you; there’s a certain point where I tackle you; and this is more important than that….This guy was a really good guy. He was polite, and honest, and sane; and he cared enough about me to proselytize and give me a bible…”. Albert Camus-- I love what [the existential philosopher Albert Camus said, “What the world expects of Christians is that Christians should speak out, loud and clear … in such a way that never a doubt, never the slightest doubt, could arise in the heart of the simplest man.” They Cared Enough-- Part of the reason Peter and John were unwilling to comply was because they cared enough about the people they were ministering to to take a stand. Why? Souls were at stake. And so they chose to openly defy the Sanhedrin. It says in… 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.” Commanded to Proclaim-- Now one of the key prerequisites to Peter and John openly choosing to disobey these authorities was that they had a clear inarguable command from Jesus Himself to proclaim the Gospel. It says in… Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)-- 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Standing on The Word-- And similarly, if we are going to take a stand, we need to do so being sure that we are following the clear directive of the Word of God. This is especially important when we are challenging the authority of our government. We need to be sure that we are standing not on the basis of our own perspective or our own righteous indignation, but on the clear teaching of the Word of God. And I say this because there are many groups today that seek to oppose and defy government. But they do so on the basis of what they think is right or wrong (or merely on what is popular at the time) rather than on the basis of what the Word of God says. How to Stand-- Now while at times it is important and necessary for Christians to practice "civil disobedience", we need also to understand how to do so while still living out the teaching and principles of scripture. Peter and John were obviously not the first ones to take a stand for what they knew was right. Think of the Jewish midwives in Exodus 1 who refused to follow the command of Pharaoh to (when delivering the Hebrew babies and if they see that the baby is a boy, to) kill it because of the (what was perceived to be) the overpopulation of the Jews. Or think about Moses’ parents who hid their child against the edict of the king (Hebrews 11:23). Or you might think of Daniel, who resolved not to eat the king’s food in Daniel 1, or later in chapter 6 when he refuses to cease praying to his God and pray only to the king. Daniel’s three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (also known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) also took a stand and refused to pray to the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had made of himself and commanded that all should worship (Daniel 3). Now on the surface their protesting might look similar to other modern protests. But when we look closely, we see that each of these biblical characters were operating on a specific set of principles. The midwives who refused to murder the Hebrew babies did so out of a recognition that to do so would go against God Himself. That is what it means when it says in Exodus 1:17 (and please note carefully how it opens; it says)... Exodus 1:17 (ESV)-- 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. Fearing God-- You see, they feared God, which meant they knew where He stood on the issue of the sanctity of human life and therefore chose to act in alignment with His will rather than Pharaoh’s. Moses’ parent’s no doubt refused for similar reasons. Daniel refused to eat the king’s food for reasons that are highly debated; we don’t know all the reasons. Some have suggested that it was because the food was not kosher; some have suggested that it was food that had been offered to idols; others say that it merely represented Nebuchadnezzar’s overall attempt to get these young men to acknowledge that he was the center of their lives; replacing their former God. Or it may have been a combination of those three. But regardless, Daniel knew where God stood on the issue and therefore he knew both where he stood and what he needed to do (or not do). And later Daniel couldn’t worship the king and Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah would not fall down and worship the statue of Nebuchadnezzar because they knew… Exodus 20:2-3 (ESV)-- 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 34:14 (ESV)-- 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), Now in a similar way Peter and John knew they could not obey the command given them to not speak of Jesus and the resurrection because of how it went against what Christ had so clearly commanded them to do. And so (at least in this instance) it would have been wrong for them to obey. An Integral Conviction-- But note something else about each of these examples of conscientious objectors given to us in the Old Testament. Not only were all of them obeying the clear directives of God given to them in scripture, but they also protested out of a conviction that touched every area of their lives rather than just manifesting itself when it came to that particular issue. Does that make sense? Unrighteous Protest-- For example, take the man who has no qualm about cheating on his taxes, cheating on exams, driving while drunk, or beating his wife but who (for whatever reason) is suddenly moved to take a stand against police brutality. Now there may be a place for that kind of protest; and there is a right way to do that, but you see there is a lack of integrity in the whole of that person’s life that gives credibility to that particular area in which he is choosing to take his stand. And sadly we often see a lack of integrity in much of the mob violence taking place today. Somebody who loots and burns is obviously NOT demonstrating the righteousness of their cause. No, it is the righteous people who seem to command the most attention when they protest because people recognize in them an integrated conviction. Love-Centered Conviction-- The Biblical characters we mentioned were all people of integrity whose convictions touched every area of their lives, not just what they happened to be protesting about in that moment. And if you look closely, you will note also that each of them (though they were defying the law) were also at the same time maintaining an attitude of both respect and courtesy. Daniel took special measures to make sure that the chief of the eunuchs did not get into trouble because of his refusal to eat the king’s food. Similarly here Peter and John used their arrest as an opportunity to tell the Sanhedrin the good news of the Gospel of Christ. And really all the apostles and Christians in and throughout the book of Acts used their arrests as an opportunity to bless and witness. And so we learn from this that it is important for us as Christians to (when we must disobey) to at the same time show respect and love for those persecuting us (see Rom. 13; Titus 3:1–2; 1 Peter 2:13–25). And this obviously is in keeping with the pattern of Christ, whom 1 Peter 2:13-25 calls us to imitate. Christ also protested against injustice, but He always did so with a spirit of self-sacrifice and with a central motivation that people might come to know God and experience the joy and love that comes through a right relationship with God, made possible through the shedding of His own blood. What’s Your Motivation?-- And so we must always (when we choose to take a stand) ask ourselves what our motivation is. Are we clearly standing on the Word of God? Does our protest flow from a conviction that touches every area of our lives? And does that protest flow from a spirit of love and self-sacrifice? Answer those questions truthfully and you will know if, when, and how to take a stand. Let us (like Peter and John) be willing to take a stand for Christ and His Word. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. I hope all of you are keeping safe. I’m not sure how the weather is where you are, but here in and around the Seattle area this week the winds have been absolutely unbelievable. The other night my wife and I were laying awake in bed terrified, positive that one of the trees surrounding our house back in the woods was going to keel over on top of us. And though that didn’t happen (thankfully), the following morning we found branches strewn all over our yard. Unfortunately in our neighborhood it was trash night and so everyone had put their trash out just before this windstorm. And so these gusts of wind toppled many a trash can and strew garbage all across the streets. I got to speak with our trash man and I said, “I’m sure glad I’m not you today. And he said powerlines in nearby neighborhoods were down. I mean, a real mess. It’s amazing what a little wind can do. But you know it’s interesting, I read that the fastest windspeed possible on our planet is 250mph. And I mean nothing survives that kind of force. However, on the planet Saturn, the windspeeds there actually reach a whopping 1,118mph. Now I cannot even begin to wrap my mind around how fast that is. Good luck trying to stand up there. I am very glad to be from planet earth where the windspeed (at least most of the time) is just perfect to allow for life; the atmosphere is just right (don’t even get me started on Saturn’s atmosphere; it’s all gas). In fact they say that if you were to put Saturn in an ocean of water (if you could) it would float; it can’t sink, it is that gaseous. But we have clear air to breath; water, which is so rare and yet absolutely essential for life. The earth is just the right size so as to provide the perfect level of gravity. We have the moon to give us the tides we need, not to mention light at night; we are precisely the right distance from the sun to provide just the perfect amount of heat where we’re not iced or burnt; we are perfectly placed. Our rotation around the sun; the tilt of the earth; the speed that earth rotates on its axis; I mean all of those things are just right; I mean to the point where it really (if we are going to be honest) defies comprehension. You could not create a planet more conducive to life than ours.
Grandma’s Violin-- The other day I was playing my Grandmother’s violin (actually I should say “attempting to play”). And in studying its construction, I marveled at just how many things have to be perfectly right to create music. I struggled for a while just to get the thing in tune; all the micro-adjustments that needed to be made. The bow needs to be tightened to a certain degree. And not only that, but the bow has to be rosined, where you rub this stuff (rosin) on it to give the horse hair on the bow to give it friction enough so that it will create sound. I mean everything has to be fine-tuned just perfectly. And then I put the bow to the strings and play sweet, melodious…….(okay, let’s be honest) mind-destroying screeching. Yeah, I’m still at that stage. But you know the universe is fine-tuned just like that violin. No matter how you look at it, the world has been engineered according to a blueprint that right down to the structure of our DNA speaks to the incredible design of a Creator. Scientists are discovering day by day new levels of that design that are making it harder and harder for any rational, thinking person to hold to the belief that all of what we know (and more) exploded from a grain of sand so many trillions of years ago and slowly self-created itself out of some kind of primordial soup, which is what you have to believe if you don’t accept that God did it. That’s why I confess I could never be an atheist. I don’t have that kind of faith. I feel like I would have to shut my eyes to what so clearly seems to me to be the work of God around me. Avoiding The Evidence-- But that is what I believe is happening in our passage today with the religious leaders here in Acts chapter 4. John and Peter (whom they have taken into custody) have just healed a lame beggar in the name of Jesus. And yet (despite the evidence) which was absolutely irrefutable, as there were a plethora of witnesses; and witnesses who had known this lame beggar for a long time, these religious leaders refused to believe. But they cannot refute the evidence, because the man with the shriveled legs was now standing right there in front of them with Peter and John. And so, not knowing what to do, they have Peter and John (and the man) removed so that they can secretly confer with one another. And it says in… Acts 4:15-16 (ESV)-- 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. Not Truth-Seekers-- Now if anything is clear from our passage today, it is that the council (the Sanhedrin) were not really seeking the truth. They were not seriously considering the evidence and allowing the evidence to lead them to the only possible conclusion, which is that Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world. Instead, we find that they avoid the truth! They allowed their pride and the hardness of their hearts to keep them from accepting the truth of what Peter and John were proclaiming to them. Their hard hearts stood in the way. And because of that, they actually saw the healing of the man as a problem rather than a mighty work of God; perhaps even a problem that needed to be removed. And you know that was nothing new. Remember that after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, everyone was starting to follow Jesus. And the triumphal entry was actually the avalanche that had been started by that miracle. But listen to what it says in… John 11:47-53 (ESV)— 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. (SO INSTEAD OF ACCEPTING WHAT THE MIRACLE REVEALED, THEM DECIDED TO KILL THE MIRACLE WORKER) But that’s not all! It says in… John 12:10-11 (ESV)-- 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. Get Rid of The Evidence-- You see, it’s was much easier for them to get rid of the evidence than to deal with where the evidence pointed; because to accept the evidence would be to allow God to re-shape their worldview. And that was not something they were willing to let God or anybody else do. And you know the same is often true today. But remember that they had done the same thing with the empty tomb, saying the disciples had stolen the body. By the way it’s interesting that nobody ever really seems to make that claim again anywhere in the book of Acts. The religious leaders themselves don’t even seem willing anymore to back that story anymore. And yet they are still unwilling to follow where the evidence points. And note how they never seek to answer any of Peter’s arguments. Instead they just agree (amongst themselves) that a notable sign has indeed been performed and to try to hush this movement up. And so they say… Acts 4:17-18 (ESV)— 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Pillars of Justice-- Now I love this next part, because these are the guys who are supposed to be the pillars of justice and truth in Israel. You know how you always see statues of Lady Justice (with her eyes blindfolded). Well, if you were to picture justice in the 1st century world, you would have a statue of these guys. They were supposedly the most righteous judges in Israel. And yet listen to how Peter chooses to answer them. Acts 4:19-22 (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.” {You see, he plays right on the position they say they hold. And they can’t really do anything at this point so it says…} 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old. Who’s More Crippled-- Let me ask you a question. Who is the more crippled in this story, the lame beggar or the Sadducees. Whose situation was more hopeless? The beggar was healed and saved (according to the text), and stood for Jesus with Peter and John. The Sadducees ducked the truth. And so who was really more crippled? Resurrection In Us-- You know, this passage challenges us because it reminds us of just how much the resurrection of Jesus Christ ought to challenge and re-shape our world-views. We might not have the same objections to Christ that the Sadducees had, but there are beliefs and patterns of thought in us that the truth of the Resurrection challenges and demands we change. You might believe in the empty tomb, but what condition is the Jesus in your heart in? Has He be raised in you? You might believe in God’s healing of this lame beggar, but do you believe in His power to meet your physical and spiritual needs right here and now; and to heal you completely of sin in and through His Holy Spirit. If you were to describe your spiritual position today, what would it be. Are you standing? Are you lame? Maybe even spiritually dead? As Peter and John stood before the Sanhedrin in our passage today, so the Holy Spirit I believe is standing before you and I right now in this moment. And He’s asking, just like Jesus asked the blind man in Mark 10:51 “What do you want me to do for you?” And basically He’s asking, as he asked the lame beggar by the pool of Bethesda “Do you want to be healed.” (John 5:6) Are you going to accept the truth of the Resurrection for your life and the healing that Jesus is offering you now in this moment? I want to challenge you as we close today to accept the truth of Christ’s resurrection for you. Ask God to bring the healing to your heart and life today that He so greatly desires to bring to you. And He will touch as much of your life as you are willing to give Him. Give Him your whole life today. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. In recent weeks we have been discussing Acts chapter 4; a marvelous chapter in which Peter and John heal a crippled beggar outside of the Temple in Jerusalem. And everyone is captivated and eager to learn from them the means by which this man was healed; and so Peter and John explain that it is by the power of Jesus that this man was healed. And that prompts a very negative reaction from the religious leaders, who seize Peter and John, hold them for the night, and them make them stand on trial before the Sanhedrin, the very council that was responsible for condemning their Rabbi (Jesus) to death not long before this. And they pointedly ask/demand of them the answer to a question, which is given to us in verse 7. It says…
Acts 4:7 (ESV)-- 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” By God or Satan?-- And the reason they ask this is because they don’t know if this is a miracle done by an evil power or a good one. If it was as work of God or a work of Satan. And (when you think about that) don’t you find that rather sad? I mean to think that these guys are the spiritual leaders of Israel; and yet apparently they have become so spiritually blind that they cannot even distinguish between a miracle of God and a miracle of Satan. Having noted that Peter and John had been with Jesus (which we see in verse 13), they should have been able to recognize that this was the same power and authority that Jesus had Himself demonstrated throughout the course of His ministry. And Jesus did things that only God could do (or someone working for God), so they should have recognized that this miracle as also having come from God. But, having been blind to the source of Jesus’ miracles (often willingly), it is no surprise they are here blind to the source of Peter’s and John’s as well. But Peter declares it boldly. It says in… Acts 4:8-12 (ESV)-- 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Peter’s Hutzpah-- Now in studying this passage, I was amazed at the Hutzpah here of Peter. I mean Peter had not long before this (out of fear) denied three times that he even knew Jesus. And yet here (before the very council that condemned Jesus; the chief leaders of whom were Sadducees and therefore denied that there even is a resurrection and an afterlife) Peter was willing to respectfully yet forcefully declare their guilt in having killed the Messiah and to declare (basically) that their whole theology about the resurrection was wrong and that Jesus (the One they crucified) has not only been raised, but is their only Way of salvation. And it is clear from verse 8 that this boldness and fearlessness came directly from the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit who wrought the greatest transformation in Peter and was now empowering His messages. And you know, if we are to have that same boldness, it doesn’t matter how many speaking seminars or witnessing books we read; what is going to give our message authority and power is the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the One who gives us understanding and who moves in the hearts of those we are witnessing to, bringing conviction and (hopefully) change. Peter’s War Cry-- Now the members of the Sanhedrin (like many in the crowd) had no doubt seen this crippled man many times. They had no doubt even given him alms or perhaps even piously prayed for or even over him. He was a common fixture there at the temple Gate Beautiful. But now (apparently) he’s right there in the courtroom with Peter and John (as verse 10 seems to indicate); a living testimony so to speak. You might say Peter and John’s testimony stood. And Peter declares that it is through the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom they crucified and whom God raised from the dead that this man is standing before them (v.10). And considering what their beliefs were and what they had done to Jesus only a short time before this, just think about how these words must have pierced and convicted the hearts of these Jewish leaders. They had thought that when they killed Jesus, they were finished hearing about this small-time prophet from the back hills of nowhere (which is what Nazareth was). But now two of His disciples are standing before them in all the might and power of their Rabbi Jesus, declaring to them (and all the people) that Jesus is alive! I mean, these guys (the Sadducees) reject the resurrection. And so on two fronts Peter’s declaration must have sounded to them like a declaration of war! “You killed the Messiah, but then God raised Him.” And in saying this, Peter is also implying that they had set themselves against God Himself. The Rejected Rock-- Now after this Peter (as he always does) starts quoting the Old Testament, this time from Psalm 118:2 when he says This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. (v.11) And this is a messianic reference, one which Jesus Himself quoted in Matthew 21:42 (and which Peter uses again later in 1 Peter 2:4-8). And [They knew that the “Rock” was a symbol of God {Himself} (Deut. 32:4, 15, 18, 31; 2 Sam. 22:2; Ps. 18:2; Isa. 28:16), and that the prophet Daniel had used the rock to picture the Messiah and the coming of His kingdom on earth (Dan. 2:31–45).] And so Peter is using imagery that they were familiar with; and he interprets the Psalm for them. They (the members of the council) were “the builders” and Jesus (the Son of God) was God’s Stone that they had rejected. They had stumbled over the Rock (Rom. 9:32; 1 Cor. 1:23) and rejected Him, just as Psalm 118:22 had predicted. And yet that rock (for those who have trusted in Him; in Jesus) that rock has become the chief Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:4–8, Eph. 2:20); the very source of Salvation itself (as Peter declares in verse 12). A “WHOLE” Salvation-- And this healing of the beggar was a picture of that, which Peter indicates. He says in verse 9 that the man was “made whole”, which in Greek is the word σῴζω (literally meaning “saved”) which is the foundation for the word he uses for salvation in verse 12 (σωτηρία). And this is very Jewish, because the Jews saw a [human being as a psychosomatic unity, an indivisible amalgam of body and soul in which if either goes wrong, the other is affected.] This is why [the Greek verb sozo was used in Jesus' day to mean both ""to save"" and ""to heal,"" and soter could signify either ""savior"" or “”physician.""] And that fits Jesus so perfectly. He is our Savior and our Great Physician. And as such, He and He alone can heal mankind of its greatest disease, the sickness of sin (Mark 2:14–17), which Peter highlights when he says in verse 12: 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” And you’ll remember Jesus’ own words in… John 14:6 (ESV)-- 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. The Life-- Jesus is Life itself; He’s not just living or life-giving. No, He is the source of all life; He is Life. And therefore there can’t be salvation in anyone else. To choose Jesus is to choose life. To reject Jesus is to reject life. It’s that simple. And Peter is very clear on this, which is why he says in verse 12: there is salvation in no one else, Acts 4:13-14 (ESV)-- 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. It’s A Trap!!!-- You see, they recognized that they were “trapped.” Either way they approach this, they lose. They couldn’t deny the miracle (which would be tough to do with the man standing right there in front of them; a man everyone knew had been lame since birth; whose legs and even his mental capacity to walk had never developed; and therefore could not be healed any other way). Neither could they explain how these (the text says) “uneducated, common men” could perform such a miracle. They weren’t mighty Rabbis (at least by the standards of the Sadducees) and certainly didn’t have the backing of the Jewish authorities as ministers and scribes. They were simple fishermen from an unholy place (Galilee; known as Galilee of the Gentiles) whose only qualification on their resume was that they had been with Jesus. Now the council could say that the miracle they performed was powered by Satan, but the problem is that false prophets and workers of demonic miracles always seek to undermine the Word of God, something that Peter and John were clearly not doing. In both sermons that Peter has preached, we find Peter preaching straight from the Word of God (in context), using the Old Testament [to support and explain his claims, {which}… is one evidence of a true prophet of God (Deut. 13:1–5; Isa. 8:20).] He is standing on, not undermining the Old Testament. And the Sanhedrin doesn’t know what to do. The miracle, coupled with what Peter and John were saying, was clear [evidence that Jesus Christ was alive and at work in the church by His Holy Spirit.] And yet (as we will continue to see as we proceed) these Jewish leaders continue to choose to look away; away from the sign; away from the evidence; even a piece of evidence that could not only speak, but stood (literally) in their presence, bearing testimony to them of Jesus. The Mundane Miracles-- You know, the thing that bothers me the most about both myself and our culture is how completely oblivious we so often are to the magnificent power of God moving in our midst. There is so much we take for granted. And some intentionally look away for the same reason the Sanhedrin looked away. Others are like me; we have just become so desensitized to the mundane, everyday miracles. I was reading in bed with my kids the other night a devotional book; and in that devotional book the author was talking about the development of the eye in an unborn child and how the optic nerve slowly moves from the eye towards the brain while at the same time the optic nerve is growing from the brain towards the eye. And the end of each of those nerves growing towards one another contains 2 million connection points, all of which have to match up perfectly. And when the two ends of that optic nerve meet, all the connections somehow manage to find their way to each other. It’s funny, I was taking a parishioner to his eye appointment this past week. And I told him this. And he and I sort of laughed together. We just thought that it is so funny how often we complain when things go bad, never realizing the miracle in their ever having worked at all. What evidence is there of the presence of Jesus in your life? Are you overlooking the miracles He has worked in and through you? Maybe this year, the challenge we can take from this passage is simply to look; to truly see and acknowledge what God has done for us, even in the mundane everyday miracles that you and I take for granted. Because if we can do that, I think we will recapture the awe of what it means to know in Jesus the One who is both our Creator and (as with this man) also our Re-Creator as well. Let’s commit to look. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. In our study of Acts chapter 4, you will remember that Peter and John have just healed a crippled beggar outside of the temple and (seeing the crowds) used that as a launching point to declare the Gospel to them. Now you’d think that everyone would be thrilled to hear the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and what that means, but there was a group of people who were not happy about it. It says in…
Acts 4:1 (ESV)— 1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, Burst Upon-- You know, I have always been fascinated with nature shows; have been ever since I was a kid. And now I enjoy watching them with my kids. And this week I watched some particularly amazing footage of the Kingfisher bird. Now the Kingfisher bird is a bird of prey that dives into the water to catch fish. And in this footage the perspective of the camera was below the fish. The fish was going about its business and you could see the bird above the fish plummeting down towards the water. And suddenly the bird broke through the water and the beak of the bird was wrapped around the fish. And it plucked that fish out of the water and flew away. Well, that imagery is similar to that which is behind this phrase “came upon them” here in verse 1. These religious leaders [Burst upon them suddenly or stood by them in a hostile attitude]. The Afterlife-less Pastor-- I remember back when I was ordained, the leaders of our denomination put me through quite a thorough doctrinal examination. They wanted to make sure that I held to the essential teachings of the Christian faith and that what I would preach and teach had its anchor in scripture. Now this is not what happened, but let’s say that in the course of the follow-up interview, one member of the board, looking over my answers, says, “Hey Cameron, I notice that all you put in the section on your beliefs concerning the resurrection and afterlife was ‘not applicable’. What do you mean by that? And I say, “Well, I put that because (simply put) I don’t believe in resurrection or an afterlife. There’s a long silence. “Ummmm, what?” “I don’t believe in either a resurrection or an afterlife. Is that going to be a problem?” Another long silence. What do you think? Would it be a problem for you to have a pastor who doesn’t believe in a resurrection or an afterlife? Let me put it in a slightly more focused context. I have done many funerals over the years. And funerals (for anybody) are difficult. The grief of being separated from a loved one (even when we know it is only temporary) can be excruciatingly painful. But what would it be like to have a preacher for your loved one’s funeral who doesn’t believe in or preach a resurrection or an afterlife? Would you be okay with that? The Afterlife-less Leaders-- Now I want you to think about that because (as you know) the Sadducees of Jesus day rejected the concept of a resurrection and an afterlife. But did you know that the High Priest and his family were all Sadducees? The spiritual shepherds of Israel during the time of Christ and the Early Church did not even believe in an afterlife. Pretty astounding to think about, isn’t it? And so you can begin to understand then why so much of their focus was on the here and now; why the focus of their concern was on their danger from Rome (losing their position, their place); how their perspective was always temporal. Because that is all they believed in. He’s Moving!!!-- Once a Pharisee, a Scribe, and a Sadducee were once discussing what they would like people to say after they die and their bodies are on display in open caskets. Pharisee: “I would like someone to say, ‘He was a righteous man, an honest man, and very generous.’” Scribe: “I would like someone to say, ‘He was very kind and fair, and he was very good to his parishioners.’” Sadducee: “I want someone to say ‘LOOK! HE’S MOVING!!’”] When you’re a Sadducee, that’s how it is. There’s nothing else you’d wish for because (for you) there’s no afterlife! Beliefs of the Sadducees-- Contrary to the Pharisees (a rival faction) […the Sadducees denied the resurrection of the dead (Mt 22:23 – 33; Ac 4:1 – 2 ; 23:6 – 8 ), the immortality of the soul, the doctrine of reward and punishment and the validity of the oral law (regulations passed down by rabbinic tradition). They accepted as binding only those laws based directly upon the written text of the Pentateuch {(Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy)}. It is for this reason that Jesus defended the doctrine of the resurrection to them from the standpoint of Exodus 3:6 rather than from the prophets (Mt 22:32).], who were much clearer on the resurrection. Now, as we see in the Gospels (and we see here and in and later in the book of Acts as well), the Sadducees vehemently defended their beliefs, which is why they seize Peter and John. It says they were… Acts 4:2-4 (ESV)-- 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. Reading Them Their Rights-- So they arrest Peter and John, and not doubt read them their rights in typical Sadducee fashion: [You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted then used against you.] Unfortunately that seems so often to be the case in and throughout the book of Acts (not to mention the ministry of Jesus). And it says… Acts 4:5-6 (ESV)— 5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. Why Annas and not Caiaphas?-- Now you may be wondering why (instead of Caiaphas) this guy [Annas is designated as high priest. {Well} (Much like U.S. presidents, high priests seem to have retained their title for life.) He had served in that role earlier (A.D. 6–15) and was the controlling figure in the high-priestly circle, which may also explain why he is given the title here. His son-in-law Caiaphas was the official high priest at this time (serving A.D. 18–36), and Annas’s son John would serve in the role later (36–37).] Now this was not how things ought to be, because essentially what this meant was that [The court was essentially composed of the high priest’s family. The Jewish religious system had become so corrupt that the offices were {simply} passed from one relative to another.…In fact, five of Annas’s sons held the office of High Priest at one time or another. Somebody has defined a “nepotist” as “a man who, being evil, knows how to give good gifts to his children.” Annas certainly qualified.] Now it says in… Acts 4:7 (ESV)-- 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” A Right to Investigate— Now what is going on here is not unusual. [This was an official meeting of the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:15).… {And} The Sanhedrin {was the Jewish court of the land that} was charged with the responsibility of protecting the Jewish faith, and this meant that they had to examine every new teacher and teaching that appeared in the land (see Deut. 13).] And that is not in and of itself a bad thing. A lot of times when John the Baptist or Jesus was questioned, it wasn’t always malicious. Sometimes they were just being tested to see if what they were teaching matched what the scriptures teach. And the Sadducees certainly had the right to investigate this new movement and to enquire as to what this new teaching was and on what authority Peter and John (not to mention Jesus) were preaching. The problem is that they weren’t do so honestly. They arrested innocent men and ignored the evidence presented in their favor. And they had done the same with Jesus. Keep in mind, this was [the same council that a few months before had condemned Jesus to die. In fact, these officials recognized Peter and John as the associates of Jesus (Acts 4:13).] And they had done everything wrong at that trial. You will notice here that (because it was evening) they postponed the meeting until the morning. That was how things were always supposed to be done. But remember that Jesus had been tried at night, which was actually against Jewish law. They were law-breakers. And their willingness to subvert justice is seen here as well, as (despite the miracle) they [did everything they could to avoid admitting that a miracle had taken place (Acts 4:14).] Note that in verse 7 they say “By what power or by what name did you do this?” It’s interesting that (publicly) [They were evasive and merely referred to the miracle as “this.”] It is only later in v. 16 that (in private amongst themselves) they acknowledge it is as a notable sign. Avoiding Christ’s Lordship-- And so here are a group of guys who are trying to avoid the full reality of what has taken place; they are trying to deny that it truly is God who is at work through Peter and John. And as we will see next week, Peter has no problem telling them exactly whose name is the source of this healing. But of course they will not want to accept that because if God is at work through them, then their message is validated; and therefore their indictment against them would stand. Remember the same thing had happened to Jesus. The religious authorities always seemed to avoid what the signs Jesus was performing actually pointed to; that He truly was the Son of God. Because if Jesus is more than just a man speaking on His own behalf; if He is the Son of God speaking with all of the authority of God, then His indictment against of their sin would stand. And you know, the same is true today. People don’t want to look too closely at the person and works of Jesus or the evidence that supports His divine claims because if He truly is who He claimed to be, then He has authority over my life. And we don’t like that. We want to be in authority over our own lives. Even us Christians can often fall into (as we begin the New Year) this mentality of “This year I’m going to take the bull by the horns and achieve all the things I want to accomplish.” Now it’s not wrong to want to become a better person. That is what Christianity is all about. But it is amazing how quickly we can go from the manger (to a celebration of Christ being born into our existence to bring the very presence and authority of God into our flesh) to thinking that we are going to take better control of our own lives. There is something missing in the lives of many Christians; and that is the sincere belief that Jesus truly is Lord of your life and mine. But if we make Him Lord this coming year, His favor will abide on us and He will see fit to grant us success in those things we purse that are in keeping with His Lordship. And so let us this year seek to (in every way) honor Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. I hope all of you had a good Christmas this past week.
The Frozen Lock— I don’t know where you are listening from today, but let me tell you, it has definitely been cold here in the Seattle area. Particularly this past Wednesday, I remember I went outside to warm up my wife’s car before she left for work and found ice all over both our windshields. Knowing that she would not be able to see, I went ahead and got the defroster going. But, not wanting to open the gate while the car was going, I waited until she began pulling out of the driveway before I attempted to unlock the gate. And she was running a little bit late for work and so I was anxious to get the gate open as quickly as possible. However, to my dismay, I found that the lock was frozen. I remember I could not even get the key into the keyhole. I kept pushing and pushing, but it simply would not go in. But after a great deal of effort, I finally managed to get the key in and turn it and get the lock off. After which she was able to leave. But you know, it made me think. I could not open the gate because the lock was frozen. And it was frozen because the world (or at least my world) was touched by a bitterly cold frost. Narnia Thawing— It is interesting how in C.S. Lewis’ book "The Chronicles of Narnia" the way that Lewis describes the sin-enslaved land of Narnia is in terms of winter. It is bitterly cold in Narnia, under the spell of the White Witch. And (as Lewis says through one of his main characters) "It is always winter, but never Christmas”. And it is not until Aslan (the great lion; representative of the lion of Judah) comes that the world begins to thaw and come back to life. In a similar way, our world was frozen until Jesus came. The warmth of that quiet stable in Bethlehem marked the beginning of the thawing of the world. And it is through Jesus that the lock to the gate of heaven has been made unfrozen and opened; not by a merely human hand, but by a human hand that was at the same time the very hand of God; a person who was (at the same time) both God and man. That is what was needed in order to break the power of sin and death; the Son of God in the person of Jesus Christ. It is through Him that the defroster was set on the world, as through Him we are enabled to be united again with the sin-melting, holy-making, love-creating presence of God. Their “Ignorant” Crime-- And it is this person that Peter and John are seeking to connect the crowd with here in Acts chapter 3. They have just healed a lame beggar; and so Peter is explaining to the crowd how this beggar was healed; by the very name of Jesus, the one they had crucified. And Peter tells them point blank that they committed the greatest crime in human history; they killed the Son of God. Before salvation could be offered, they first had to come to terms with that reality; with an understanding of who Jesus is and what they had done to Him. Now at this point Peter begins to use a softer tone with his audience. He tells them that he understands that they (and the Jewish leaders) killed Jesus out of ignorance. He says… Acts 3:17 (ESV)— 17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. Sins of Ignorance-- And this ignorance is key. Because [In the Old Testament law, there is a difference between deliberate sins and sins of ignorance (see Lev. 4—5; Num. 15:22–31). The person who sinned presumptuously was a rebel against God and was guilty of great sin. He was to be “cut off” from his people (Num. 15:30–31), which could mean excommunication and even death. The defiant “high-handed” sinner was condemned, but the person who sinned unwittingly and without deliberate intent was given opportunity to repent and seek God’s forgiveness. {Now} Ignorance does not remove the sinner’s guilt, but it does mitigate the circumstances. {Remember} Jesus had prayed {from the cross,} “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34), and God had answered that prayer. Instead of sending judgment, He sent the Holy Spirit to empower His church and to convict lost sinners.] Peter continues… Acts 3:18-19 (ESV)— 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. {And so Peter encourages them by telling them how all of this was foretold by God through the prophets and was a part of his divine plan for the salvation of the world. Then he says…} 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, Erasers-- Now I’m the dad of two amazing kids; I am blessed with both a son and a daughter; both of whom are in school now; and both of whom have a considerable amount of homework. And every time my wife and I sit down with them to help them, there are two things we need personally. The first is patience, which I confess I am not always the best at. And the second is an eraser. We use a lot of erasers at my house. We have big erasers for big mistakes and little erasers for little mistakes. But you know, none of them work perfectly. No matter how hard you scrub, most of the time you can still see where that mistake was and can often times even read what was written there. However, not so with God’s eraser. Blotted Out-- This phrase [“Blotted out” {that Peter uses} compares forgiveness to the complete wiping away of ink from the surface of a document (Col. 2:14).] Once again, this is Old Testament theology. God had said in… Isaiah 43:25 (ESV)-- 25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. A Clean Slate-- How awesome it is that God when we confess our sins to Him and receive His forgiveness in and through Christ Jesus, we have a clean slate; God remembers our sins no more. And at any moment you are ready to repent, you can have a fresh start with God. Anybody listening need a fresh start with God today? It’s available to you. All we have to do is (as Peter says here) “repent” and “turn”. A Communal Blessing-- And Peter is offering this crowd not only the opportunity of experiencing the overwhelming joy of having the weight of their personal sins removed, but he is also promising them they they will experience a communal blessing if they corporately turn to faith in Christ. Peter says in… Acts 3:20-22 (ESV)— 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. The 2nd Moses-- Now Peter is here quoting [from Deut. 18:15. Moses {(if you remember)} was revered by the Jews as their first and greatest prophet, and the Jews viewed the prophet “like him” to refer to the Messiah.] And Jesus really was like Moses in so many ways. [Both were born into a Hebrew world under Gentile domination (Egyptian and Roman). Both had unusual cots at birth (basket and manger). Both were saved from death at the King's order (Pharaoh, Herod). Both were raised in the home of one who was not their father (Pharaoh, Joseph). Both had to put up with criticism and persecution from their own people. Both appointed 70 chosen helpers (Numbers 11:16, Luke 10:1). Both sent out 12 men on special missions (Numbers 13:1-2, Matthew 10:1,5). Both experienced 40 day fasts (Exodus 34:38, Matthew 4:1-2). Both fed multitudes through miraculous means (manna and quails, bread and fish). Both were touched by God so that their faces shone (Exodus 34:29-30, Matthew 17:1-2). Both heard God as an audible voice (Exodus 19:9,19, John 12:23,27-28). Both acted as mediators of a covenant that was sealed by blood (Exodus 24:7-8, Matthew 26:26-28). Both interceded for their people with God (Numbers 11:1-2, Luke 23:33-34). Both delivered their people from bondage (Exodus 3:9-10, Acts 7:25). Both performed miracles (Exodus 3:20, John 5:19-20). Both appeared after death (transfiguration, resurrection)]. And so Peter is saying that this is who Jesus is; the 2nd Moses they had been waiting for. But Peter warns them, saying… Acts 3:23 (ESV)— 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ Losing Blessings-- And once again Peter is quoting [from Deut. 18:19 ; cf. Lev. 23:29. Peter’s audience was in the precarious position of losing covenant blessings by rejecting the Messiah.] Peter says… Acts 3:24-25 (ESV)— 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ The Fulfillment of The Covenant-- And here Peter is quoting [from Gen. 22:18 ; 26:4. Jesus Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant and its blessings (Gal. 3:16), which are still available to the Jews.] And he concludes once again with the resurrection and what God’s purpose was in sending Jesus into the world. He says… Acts 3:26 (ESV)— 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” Repentance & Faith-- And that is the ultimate healing that Jesus offers to us. And it is a healing that comes through faith and repentance. Now the two go hand in hand. You can’t have faith without repentance and you can’t have repentance without faith. It is not enough to believe in Jesus; no, we must (like true disciples) choose to follow Him; to leave our old lives behind (our self-destructive, crippled, wicked ways) and embrace lives that (like the beggar’s) are made entirely new. Let us embrace that life today, made possible in and through Jesus Christ. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. I hope all of you are doing well as you prepare for what promises to be a very unusual Christmas; I know it will be for my family. It can be hard celebrating when we cannot be with friends and loved ones to the extent that I know many of us would like to be. But you know, I think this may actually prompt us to think a little more about what Christmas really means.
The other night my family and I drove around a nearby neighborhood looking at all the Christmas decorations, many of which were absolutely beautiful. I mean, what better way to celebrate the Light of the World than to look at all the Christmas lights. But I remember in the midst of all the decorations one item in particular; a snowman (you know, the inflatable kind) who wasn’t quite making it. For some reason or other, it was a bit deflated. And you know, honestly, while I’d say that that is often times how we feel at Christmas time (which is true) I kind of feel like our entire year has been kind of like that (at least for many people). It has been a tough year. And for some, Christmas is sort of an escape from all of that. It is a time to forget about the problems of the world and to pretend (at least for a little while) that everything is okay. It’s kind of like how we often tend to think about Church. We escape our normal week for a day and think higher, happier thoughts before setting them aside again when we return to our regular schedule on Monday. Now something like this happened the other night when my family and I were looking at all those Christmas decorations. We left our worries at home for an hour or so and simply went out to enjoy something beautiful. But ironically, after cruising around looking at all the beautiful lights, we came home; and after we got settled I got a phone call from a lady in my church that utterly deflated me. Her father (also a member of our church, who always made sure that I had a cup of water by the pulpit should I need it during or after I preach); he had passed away. And man, I will tell you, I became just like that snowman, as all the harsh reality of the world we live in just kind of came flooding back in that moment. And today is the first Sunday I preached today where his seat was empty and I knew wouldn’t be occupied by him again. And I will miss him dearly. But you know, Jesus keeps challenging me with the way that I tend to think about Christmas. He keeps asking me about the nice pretty nativity scene picture that we tend to imagine; all the perfection. And He keeps asking me, “Is that what it was really like?” “Was it really as perfect as what we like to think it was?” “Was the first Christmas a nice pretty picture or was it something else entirely?” The Wright View of Christmas— There’s this quote by N.T. Wright that I keep coming back to; and it is one of those quotes that has become more and more dear to me as I walk through periods of personal suffering. Listen to what he says. He captures it so beautifully. He says “For many, Christianity is just a beautiful dream. It's a world in which everyday reality goes a bit blurred. It's nostalgic, cosy, and comforting. But real Christianity isn't like that at all. Take Christmas, for instance: a season of nostalgia, of carols and candles and firelight and happy children. But that misses the point completely. Christmas is not a reminder that the world is really quite a nice old place. It reminds us that the world is a shockingly bad old place, where wickedness flourishes unchecked, where children are murdered, where civilized countries make a lot of money by selling weapons to uncivilized ones so they can blow each other apart. Christmas is God lighting a candle; and you don't light a candle in a room that's already full of sunlight. You light a candle in a room that's so murky the candle, when lit, reveals just how bad things really are. The light shines in the darkness, says St John, and the darkness has not overcome it." And you know, the more I read the Christmas story, the more I find that statement to be proven true, as Jesus keeps showing me new levels of pain and suffering I hadn’t seen before; or at least allowed to sink in as deeply as I ought. For starters, think of the fear of rejection Mary no doubt feared when she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Even though she knew it was of God (because the angel had told her), what did she think Joseph would say? And God (for some reason) saw fit to allow Joseph to also wrestle with this for a time after finding Mary to be pregnant. He knew it wasn’t his child, and so he was no doubt uncertain as to the faithfulness of Mary; and just as uncertain about what path he should take. And when God reveals that path to Him, it isn’t an easy one. He’s to take a pregnant woman as his wife knowing that doing so might impinge on his own personal reputation. And that is a microcosm of God’s relationship with us by the way; as God welcome us into relationship with Him even though we (unlike Mary) are truly unfaithful; at least until Christ gets ahold of us. Think about Joseph and Mary’s having to travel to Bethlehem at the whim of a tyrannical leader imposing a census. Think about the poor birthing conditions; the manger; the stench of the animals; the subsequent dream revealing that Herod would be after them to kill the child; their flight to Egypt; the murder of all the young boys in Bethlehem by Herod (and think about it; some of those boys may have been part of the families of the very shepherds who had come to see Jesus. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around that one). Think about Joseph, Mary, and Jesus’ return to Israel only to be warned that Archelaus (who was reigning in place of his father Herod) might also try to kill the child; and finally their settling in Nazareth (the no-wheres-ville of Israel) to eek out a humble existence that we know left them barely scraping by. And the reason we know that is because of the level of sacrifice Joseph and Mary had offered at the temple not long before that; “a pair of doves or two young pigeons” instead of a lamb. This was a concession that was given in Leviticus 2:28 for the poorest of the poor who could not afford a lamb. Amazing to think the Lamb of God was born into a family that was so poor, they couldn’t even afford a lamb? And maybe that’s the message of Christmas in a nutshell; God giving us a sacrifice (the perfect gift) that none of us could afford. But my point is that the reality that we are confronted with when we come to the Christmas story is that the Christmas story is not a story of escape from trouble; it is the story of a God who loved us so much that He was willing to enter into our struggle; into our suffering; into our death. He was part of a family that was in turmoil right from the start; He grew up in poverty-stricken conditions; He knew what it was like to be cheated by tax collectors as he helped his dad with the family business. And we know (though we don’t know when or how it happened; other than that it definitely happened before Jesus began his ministry); but we know that Joseph (Jesus’ non-biological earthly father) died. And Jesus had to go through the process of grieving and burying his father. Now I don’t know about you, but that says something to me. It says to me that Jesus was not willing to try to escape from one single dimension of the way that you and I suffer in this life. Every element of suffering that we face, He also was willing to face. And you think about it; He could have raised Joseph again in a heartbeat. He (the author and sustainer of all things) could have kept his earthly father alive till the end of time; keeping himself from having to go through that pain. But He didn’t. He didn’t take the easy way out. No, He chose to weep, cry, bury, and mourn right along with us. Now I feel in my heart of hearts that that is the message of Christmas we most need to hear right now; the reality that in the flesh of Jesus Christ (born in that stable 2,000 years ago) God met us (and continues to meet us) in all of our brokenness; in all of our pain in order to offer us life. You know, over the past few weeks we have been taking a look at Acts chapter 3, which of course tells of the lame beggar who was begging at the temple gate called “Beautiful”. And I don’t know about you, but the more I look at that story, the more I think of the many ways it perfectly embodies the experience (at least in symbol) of every single person alive today. Here was a man sitting in darkness; in absolute hopelessness. The text says he had been lame since birth. And you know, that is how all of us come into the world (at least in a spiritual sense). We are born into this world lost in sin and darkness; incapable of walking with God. And in ourselves, we are hopeless, just like this man was hopeless. We don’t have what it takes to be the men and women God has called us to be; has designed us to be. No matter how hard we might try on our own strength, we will always fall short of the glory of God. You can never be good enough or do enough to merit or earn your salvation. No; just like this lame beggar had to happen with this lame beggar, healing had to come from outside of himself. He couldn’t find healing by tapping into his inner goodness; or by simply trying to engage in more positive thinking. No, he needed a healer; a Savior. Because without the touch of the Savior, we know that there was no chance for him to ever be healed. Now (like any of us would have) this lame beggar no doubt resolved in himself that that is just how things were always going to be for him; that was how he was destined to live out the remainder of his existence. But then, lo and behold, Peter and John come to the temple at the hour of prayer. And seeing this lame man, who had asked them for money, Peter speaks into this man’s brokenness the name of Jesus. And the moment Jesus’ name is called upon, the impossible takes place. The man is healed; so healed in fact that the next passage finds him not just walking, but also leaping and praising God. From hopelessness to restoration in a single moment. What do you think Jesus is trying to offer you this Christmas season? Maybe it’s the message that when we are weakest and most broken, He is right there with us offering us life in Himself; a light that (in the end) will not be overcome by the darkness but will overcome all the temporal suffering that you and I face. It is my hope and prayer that He may be God with you this Christmas season; that through His being born in you, He also might be the light in your darkness this day and every day. God bless and Merry Christmas. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. We are glad you are with us today as we continue looking at Acts chapter 3 together.
A Beggar Healed— You will remember that we have been talking about Peter and John’s healing of a lame beggar outside of the Temple Gate Beautiful in Jerusalem following Pentecost. And the crowds are amazed at the healing, so they are running together to share in this miraculous event. But (like we said before) Peter responds by guiding their focus towards the source of the healing, which wasn’t either him or John; no, it was the name of Jesus Christ. He says in… Acts 3:12b-16 (ESV) Peter Speaks in Solomon's Portico— “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. Guilty-- Now Peter uses the word "you" four times here to confront his listeners with what they had done to the Messiah. And he doesn't pull any punches. He wants them to feel the enormity of what they’ve done. And this wasn’t to be cruel, but rather flowed from his desire for them to find the healing and forgiveness that comes through faith in Christ. But before they or anybody can do that, there has to be a reckoning. We have to come to terms with our guiltiness before God and the severity of what we have done. Peter’s Names for Jesus— And in order to highlight what they had done not just to a man, but to the Messiah, Peter uses several different names and titles for Jesus that each had significant Messianic meaning for those in his Jewish audience. And the first of these is: His “Servant” Jesus-- “His (God’s) Servant Jesus”; a title that is only used four other times in the New Testament (v. 26 ; 4:27 , 30 ; Matt. 12:18 ), but many more times in the Old Testament in reference to the Messiah who was to come. Especially in Isaiah 52:13–53:12 (the last and most memorable of the 4 Messiah/Servant songs) we see the Messiah depicted as God’s Suffering Servant. Isaiah 53:2 talks about how the suffering servant had no special beauty or majesty to attract others to him. Now this doesn’t mean Jesus was ugly or anything like that; but there was an ordinary-ness to Jesus’ appearance. He wasn’t a supermodel or anything like that. He didn’t glow, as he often does in the paintings. No, there was this beautiful ordinariness to Jesus. He didn’t come to wow us with His appearance, but rather to identify with ordinary people like you and me, which is pretty extraordinary when you think about it. Isaiah 53:3 discusses how mankind despised and rejected this servant of God. And when Jesus was on earth, we do see that many (including His own people) rejected Him; because Jesus wanted more than just to save them from Rome. He wanted to confront and deal with their sin. And many people (just like nowadays) didn’t want that; and so they rejected Him and handed Him over to be killed. Now in Isaiah 53:4-5 we find that it is through suffering that the Messiah would take our place as the recipient of God judgment against sin and bring us ultimate healing. And when you think about it, this really could not be used to describe any of the Old Testament prophets. Although many of them did suffer, Israel (or the world in general) wasn’t healed by their wounds. And that’s the distinction. Isaiah is very clear that by the wounds of this suffering servant, we would be healed. In Isaiah 53:7 we see that the Suffering Servant doesn’t open his mouth in the face of execution. And you’ll remember that when Jesus was on trial, he didn’t answer any of the charges (Matthew 27:14) brought against Him. No, He remained silent. In Isaiah 53:9 we find that the Suffering Servant would be assigned a grave with the wicked and yet in death he would be assigned with the rich. And we see that when Jesus dies, He does so between two thieves (the wicked), and yet He is buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea (the rich). Now the chances that any man could fulfill all these prophecies without actually being the Messiah is astronomical. [The details are so minute that no human could have predicted them by accident, and no imposter fulfilled them by cunning.] Surprised By Prophecy-- In fact there’s a true story of a Christian man I heard of who took a piece of paper with Isaiah 53:5 on it to his secular place of work; only he left out the reference. But he took that piece of paper to all his coworkers and asked them to read it and tell him who the passage was writing about and where it came from in the Bible. And of course the passage reads… Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)-- 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. And without fail, every one of his coworkers said that that passage was about Jesus and it comes from the New Testament. And the Christian man would smile and say “No, that’s what’s so awesome. It’s not from the New Testament at all. It is from the Old Testament, written 700 hundred years before Jesus was even born.” And when he said that, he could tell that many of his coworkers were a bit jarred by this, seeing in this prophecy such a clear description of Jesus. And that’s why Peter draws his people’s attention to it; because it so clearly reveals how Jesus is the Suffering Servant that Isaiah had prophesied about. The Holy One— Now the next title Peter uses is the title “The Holy One”; and “The Holy One” is another Old Testament title for the Messiah, seen particularly in Psalm 16:10, which Peter had quoted in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost. It reads… Psalm 16:10 (ESV)— 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. And we see that even during the ministry of Jesus, Peter already recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of this title. Speaking for the rest of the disciples, Peter had said to Jesus in… John 6:69 (ESV)— 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” There was not a Jew alive who would not have recognized the Messiah by that title. The Just/Righteous One— Next, Peter calls Jesus the Just/Righteous One. And this title [carries the idea of being innocent of any crime.] You will remember that Pilate would at every Passover release to the Jews a prisoner. And so he had given them a choice between Jesus, their innocent Messiah, and the guilty murderer Barabbas. And (instigated by the Jewish leaders) the people chose Barabbas. And what makes this story so unbelievable and tragic is that even pagans, such as Pilate, Pilate’s wife (Matt. 27:19) and the Roman centurion (Luke 23:47) standing near the cross recognized what Israel could not; and that was that Jesus was innocent and righteous. And so Peter’s indictment here of this grave sin of hiss people is both devastatingly direct and convicting. Prince of Life-- And the next title Peter uses to describe Jesus is “The Prince of Life.” And the Greek word here for “prince” actually [means originator, pioneer, or beginner of something. Both Heb. 2:10 and 12:2 translate it “author.” {And your translation may have that here as well. But} It describes Jesus as the Divine Originator of life (cf. Ps. 36:9; Heb. 2:10; 12:2; 1 John 5:11, 20 ).] [That is a claim of deity for Jesus, since Psalm 36:9 describes God as the “fountain of life.”] He is the source of all that is living. The Resurrection— Now in verse 15 Peter shifts from talking about the gravity of their sin (the murder of the Messiah) and states two very important facts. The first is that God raised Jesus from the dead and the second is that they (the apostles) are witnesses of that. Now you’ll notice that every sermon in the book of Acts is built around the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That historical event was the foundation of everything else. And the reason for this is most clearly stated in… 1 Corinthians 15:17 (ESV)-- 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Validation-- If Jesus has been raised, His claims to be the Messiah, the Son of God, and his ability to forgive sins would all be validated. If Jesus was not raised, Christianity would fall apart. Now Peter is able to proclaim the resurrection boldly because really at this point it was undeniable. If Jesus had not been raised (because the disciples went to the wrong tomb or some other mistake had been made) all the Jewish leaders would have had to do would have been to produce the body; to say “No, wait! Here it is!” But they never did. And what would have made Jesus’ resurrection even harder to refute at this point was the fact that this lame beggar was healed. You see Peter and John had healed this man in the name of Jesus. And they themselves were only ordinary fishermen. How could they do this unless God was with them; and God would not validate men preaching in the name of a false messiah. And so what we see Peter doing is he’s basically turning the temple here into a courtroom, laying out clearly irrefutable evidence that Jesus is that very messiah. And I mean it would have been pretty hard for anybody to argue against their claims because (think about it) the beggar was standing right there in front of them all in (the text says) “perfect soundness” (Acts 3:16; 4:14). And yet if they were to accept this miracle, they would have to accept what this miracle pointed to; namely that Jesus is the Messiah and the very Son of God. Believe in His Name-- And similarly with us, our salvation must begin with our belief in Jesus as the Resurrected Son of God. If (as John 20:30-31 says) we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, we will have life in his name. Let us believe in Him today. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. We are glad you are with us today as we continue to take a look at Acts chapter 3 together.
Becoming Like Your Rabbi-- Now over the last couple of weeks we have been talking about what it meant to be a disciple of a rabbi in the 1st century world of Jesus. Being a disciple meant so much more than just studying so that you could know what your rabbi knew. No, it was about becoming what your rabbi is. You wanted (in every area of your life) to be just like your rabbi. Well, Rabbi Jesus has gone into heaven; and His disciples are left behind to follow in His footsteps; to image Him; to be miniature copies of Him in the world so that the world might look to them but (in doing so) to experience Him. And that is what we see here in the opening chapters of the book of Acts; people are looking to Peter and John, but are discovering Christ. They are seeing in Peter and John the same authority over sickness that Jesus Himself had demonstrated while on earth. And this was experienced first right here at the temple gate called “Beautiful” in the healing of this lame beggar here. This man had been lame since birth and had been laid there by someone else in order to beg. And that in itself is a picture of prevenient grace. The man had been carried to the very place where he could meet the presence of Jesus. And the same is true of us. At my church (Renton Park Chapel) we have been talking about the reality of the fact that very rarely does anybody come to faith in Christ on their own. There is almost always somebody else involved; somebody who is pointing us to (or even carrying us into) the presence of Jesus. Calling the Disciples-- And the same was true even at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. You know, we often have this idea that Jesus was the one to find His first disciples and initiate that first point of contact. But that isn’t true. [According to the gospel of John, only one of the first five disciples was reached directly by Christ. That was Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me” (John 1:43). The other four were reached by someone else’s witness to Christ. Andrew and an unnamed disciple, perhaps John, came as the result of John the Baptist’s witness. Simon came because of his brother Andrew, and Nathanael came because of his friend Philip.] Now that has huge implications for how we think about how Jesus calls men and women to Himself. He doesn’t always call them directly, but does so through the ministry of another person. There is always somebody in the background (like whoever it was that brought this lame beggar to the temple gate; perhaps who did so faithfully for some time) who is helping us to come to Jesus. And that is what we see here. Now this lame beggar came this day only to beg; to have his financial needs met. And that is often when we come to Jesus; when there is a need. But what is amazing is that the healing that Peter and John provide for this beggar in the name of Jesus goes so much further than anything he could have ever hoped for or even prayed for himself. His legs were restored, yes. But even more importantly, he experienced a restoration of his heart as well, as he came to faith in Jesus Christ. His healing was a complete and total restoration. What About Our Healing?-- Now what does the story of this healing mean for you and for me? How do we apply this passage? Sometimes (if I am going to be honest) I struggle with passages like this because (unlike those who encountered the disciples or Jesus Himself), we don’t always get to experience the physical side of the healing. Often times there is that “thorn in the flesh” we have to deal with like Paul had to deal with; there’s that illness or struggle or burden that God doesn’t see fit to remove right away (or at all) while we are on earth. And so the question we often ask is, “How ought we to participate in Christ’s ministry of healing?” Are we to perform healings in the same way that Peter and John did on a regular basis? Or did God use healings to validate the truth of the Gospel, but then withdraw much of that healing power after the Church was established? That’s a tough question. There is no question that to image Jesus must involve our being agents of healing in culture. But what does that look like, especially considering that while God sometimes does heal through us (which I myself have experienced in and throughout my years of ministry) there are other times when you pray for that person who is sick or lame and God doesn’t heal them, at least in the way we might have originally been praying for. You may be grappling with that question now. Maybe you or someone you love is battling a very serious illness. And you want to know what (if any) healing is available to you for your own situation. And there are often no easy answers to those kinds of questions. But I love what Tony Campolo shares… [He Was Healed-- Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, “You prayed for my husband. He had cancer.” Campolo thought when he heard her use the past tense verb that his cancer had been eradicated! But before he could think much about it she said, “He died.” Campolo felt terrible. But she continued, “Don’t feel bad. When he came into that church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn’t take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence.” But the lady told Campolo, “After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We’ve sung. We’ve laughed. We’ve read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they’ve been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing.” And then she said something incredibly profound. She said, “He wasn’t cured, but he was healed.”] The Right Healing-- Today you and I need to recognize that while healing might not always look the way we want it to, God does answer our prayers and does bring the kind of healing that He deems right for us at that time. And in this instance in our passage today, it meant total healing for this man who had been lame since birth. It was physical; it was mental; and it was spiritual. And in this instance it is evident that God wanted to give everyone there at Solomon’s Porch a picture of what He hoped to do spiritually in their hearts in and through faith in Jesus Christ. Now, as you can imagine, the beggar is beside himself with gratitude. We already read of his walking and leaping and praising God. But his joy is further evidenced in verse 11, where it says… Acts 3:11-16 (ESV)— 11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. Refutations-- Now [In his sermon at Pentecost, Peter had to refute the accusation that the believers were drunk. In this sermon, he had to refute the notion that he and John had healed the man by their own power. (Paul and Barnabas would face a similar situation after healing a lame man. See Acts 14:8–18.)] Directed to Jesus-- Now in this we need to notice something foundational to the pattern of Peter's preaching; and really all true Christian preaching. And that is that he doesn’t ever allow the miracles themselves to become the main focus. No, he chooses rather to emphasize the power of the presence of God moving in the midst of His people; that is the focus. And so notice how he directs the attention of the people away from the miracle itself and towards God (particularly Jesus Christ). Even after Pentecost, when so much of the focus of Peter’s message could have been on the gift of tongues and how awesome that was, he instead immediately moves into how it was something God prophesied about, had come to fulfillment, and then he immediately moves into talking about Jesus. And so it is here as well. Right off the bat, the miracle becomes the launching point for talking about Jesus. And that is how it ought to be for us as well. If we truly believe that Jesus is the best thing we can offer the world, we won’t let our conversations get bogged down with much else. We will always find those avenues through which we can begin to share Christ with others. Coronavirus: A Launching Point-- And by the way, one avenue that God has given you that might not have dawned on you yet is the Corona Virus. I don’t know how things are for where you live, but here in the Seattle area we have an incredibly diverse population; so many cultures so vastly different from one another jam packed together. And think about it; one year ago you would have had little (if anything) in common with many of those cultures, but now you have a touching point. God has given every one of us a common experience; a shared pain that can be a launching point for our talking about the root of all sickness (including spiritual sickness); and that root goes back beyond any lab in China. It stretches all the way back to a garden in Eden, where all our problems first began; and that root is sin. And yet God saw fit to help us by bringing a cure to mankind in and through His Son Jesus Christ. Common Experiences-- Now in our passage today almost all the people present had recently had a number of shared common experiences. They were all of the same culture (they were all Jews), they had all been there for Passover and Pentecost, and (in being there) they had witnessed (and some even participated in) the death of Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth. And it is that common experience Peter chooses to capitalize on and use as his launching point for sharing the Gospel. Let’s Carry-- And similarly, you and I need to be taking advantage of every opportunity we can to tell people about Jesus. Because God’s greatest means of bringing healing to culture isn’t any vaccine or drug; it isn’t a shower of healing power from on high. His greatest means of healing are you and me. You and I are the hands and feet of Christ. And so let us commit today to (in every way that we can) be the ones who will carry into the presence of Jesus Christ those who need His touch. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. We are glad you are with us today as we take a look at our next passage in our series on the book of Acts. Last week we started chapter 3, talking about the nature of a true disciple; which was to mirror your rabbi in his character, in his actions, and even in his authority. And here in chapter 3 we find Peter and John doing this together. They are following in the pattern of their rabbi. Now it says in…
Acts 3:1 (ESV)-- 1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. Peter & John Together-- Now [Peter and John are often found together in Scripture. They were partners in the fishing business {together} (Luke 5:10); they prepared the last Passover for Jesus {together} (Luke 22:8); they ran to the tomb {together} on the first Easter Sunday morning (John 20:3–4); and they ministered {together} to the Samaritans who believed on Jesus Christ (Acts 8:14). {And} Now that they were filled with the Holy Spirit, {they and really all of} the apostles were no longer competing for greatness, but were at last working faithfully together to build the church {of Christ} (Ps. 133).] Like Their Rabbi— But notice something else about these two men. Peter and John were two of the first three disciples Jesus had called to come and be like Him. And now their Rabbi has gone, it is up to them (and really to the Church as a whole) to demonstrate to the world who Jesus is. And it is so interesting how that imaging of Christ begins here, on the steps of the temple, with their doing exactly what their rabbi had done; allowing their schedule to be interrupted by a poor and needy person. It says in… Acts 3:2 (ESV)— 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. The Beautiful Gate— So the man is laid down [at the Beautiful Gate. {Now} There were nine gates that led from the court of the Gentiles into the temple itself. Scholars are not agreed, but the Beautiful Gate was probably the “Eastern Gate” that led into the court of the women. Made of Corinthian bronze, the gate looked like gold, and it certainly was a choice place for a lame man to beg.] The Role of Alms in Jewish Society— Because remember that [The giving of alms was an important part of the Jewish faith, so beggars found it profitable to be near the temple.] And for them it was […the best site to operate because {(as we see when Jesus came to the temple and observed people coming to make their donations)} the daily throngs came to impress God with their pious good works, including offerings at the temple treasury.] But keep in mind also that this was around the time of Passover and Pentecost; so a much larger crowd was there than usual. So it was probably looking like it was going to be a good day for the beggar; though he had no idea how good of a day he was about to have. It says in… Acts 3:3 (ESV)--3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. Atrophied Asking-- Amazing to think that of two of the most important men in history; the two who had walked with Jesus the closest, this beggar asks for money. Now he simply didn’t know yet the power of God available to him through Peter and John. And so his asking is limited to what is only going to be the pavement in heaven when you think about it. But it leads us to wonder how often our asking is limited; how often our prayers are as atrophied as this man’s legs simply because we don’t know the power of God available to us. And yet God is merciful. Even when we don’t know the greatness of what He can provide, He is often already on the way to bring it to us. Eye Contact-- You know, I have been honored and blessed to have visited many different countries in the world; some of which were very poor or at least had very high poverty levels. But I don’t think I have ever seen anywhere else the level of homelessness I have seen in and around the Seattle area. I mean everywhere you go you find people begging on the street corners. And there are rules that we have learned (subconsciously often) about how to deal with the homeless. First of all, don’t look at them. Right? Don’t make eye contact. Because you know what will happen when you do. You pull up to that stoplight and there’s that guy with a sign looking for anyone who looks like they might be willing to give them money. You don’t want to make eye contact because either you don’t want to give them money or you feel ashamed of them; or you feel ashamed of yourself (maybe even a little bit guilty that you get to sit in an air-conditioned car while they have nothing). But I want you to listen to the next phrase in this passage and really let sink in how Luke chooses to phrase this verse; he’s very careful here. It says in… Acts 3:4 (ESV)— 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter Noticed— Peter and John looked; they directed their gaze. The text is very specific. They didn’t happen to make eye contact inadvertently. No, they looked intentionally. They allowed God to break into their schedule with a more immediately important divine appointment. And by the way, it is interesting that while Acts 2 (the Pentecost chapter) is filled with the mention of the Holy Spirit, in chapter 3 the Holy Spirit is not named one single time. NOT ONCE! And yet He’s just as present. Because while [No doubt thousands of people were near the temple (Acts 4:4), and perhaps scores of beggars, …the Lord {directed the gaze of Peter and John and} told Peter to heal …{THIS}… lame man lying at the Beautiful Gate.] And the fact [That Peter noticed …{THIS}… lame beggar is … evidence of the Spirit’s ministry.] Now the man sees that Peter and John have made eye contact. So naturally (like all beggars would) he expects that that means he’s about to get something. And so he’s probably already sticking out his beggar’s cup. But it says… Acts 3:6-8 (ESV)— 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. {Now catch this. It says} 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. Jumping Before Walking-- Isn’t it amazing that the man jumped before he had even walked? Now keep in mind the man had never walked before. The Bible says he had been lame since birth. So he had little to no muscle tissue. His legs were not developed; they were atrophied. HE HAD NEVER EVEN LEARNED HOW TO WALK!!! His brain didn’t even know what to do; he had no muscle memory; any of the mental capability to walk, much less jump. And yet when Peter had lifted him to his feet, he felt his legs grow strong. And his mind was touched. He got his muscle memory (and the whole mental side of walking) straight from God; sent heavenly express mail right to his mind and legs!!! [Through the power of the name of Jesus, the beggar was completely healed, and he was so happy and excited that he acted like a child, leaping and praising God.] A Picture of Salvation— And I love what one author I read said on this. He said that [It is easy to see in this {(and in the joy and excitement) of this} man an illustration of what salvation is like. He was born lame, and all of us are born unable to walk so as to please God. Our father Adam had a fall and passed his lameness on to all of his descendants (Rom. 5:12–21). The man was also poor, and we as sinners are bankrupt before God, unable to pay the tremendous debt that we owe Him (Luke 7:36–50). He was “outside the temple,” and all sinners are separated from God, no matter how near to the door they might be. The man was healed wholly by the grace of God (Eph. 2:8–9), and the healing was immediate (Acts 3:7). He gave evidence of what God had done by “walking, and leaping, and praising God” (v. 8) and by publicly identifying himself with the apostles, both in the temple (v. 11) and in their arrest (4:14). Now that he could stand, there was no question where this man stood!] [Now that he could stand, there was no question where this man stood!] This man now stood for Jesus. And he is so filled with joy, he can’t stop walking and leaping and praising God. He himself could have sang (as we in my church sing on a regular basis), “On Christ the solid rock I stand.” And the whole crowd joins in. It says in… Acts 3:9-10 (ESV)— 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. A New Living-- Now God more than just gave this man’s feet back; but rather God (through healing his feet) completely transformed the way that he would live his life. Directing Our Gaze-- And that is what Christ does for us as well. He touches us and heals us; he regenerates the crippled-ness of our own hearts so that we might embrace a whole new way of living life; in holiness, free from sin and in love for our neighbor. He touches our minds as well as our hearts, transforming the way we think; elevating our thoughts so that we think as God thinks. Our calling is changed; our mission is changed. And we begin to truly see people; to truly care. We start directing our gaze to them and truly look. Because we have something far greater than anything they might think they need or be asking for. We have the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And being bearers of that Gospel, we have the power (the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven) to lead people from death to life in the name of Jesus. But it takes time; a willingness to allow God to interrupt our schedules; to allow Him to work in us and make us like Him (to make us true disciples); and to allow Him to use us to pour into the lives of those around us. And so let us be true disciples from this moment onwards. Let us turn our eyes upon Jesus and (having our hearts united with his) let us also turn our eyes upon those who need Him. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. Thank’s for tuning in to us today as we continue our study of the book of Acts together. Today we will be beginning chapter 3, which opens with Peter and John’s healing of a lame beggar outside of the Temple gate called “Beautiful”. But before we get into the meat of our study, I would like to give you a bird’s-eye view of one of the central themes in Acts 3 and 4; and that is the name of Jesus.
Fruit Stand-- You know, it’s interesting. [When the 1960s ended, San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district reverted to high rent, and many hippies moved down the coast to Santa Cruz. They had children and got married, too, though in no particular sequence. But they didn't name their children {common names like} Melissa or Brett. {No,} People in the mountains around Santa Cruz grew accustomed to their children playing Frisbee with little Time Warp or Spring Fever. And eventually Moonbeam, Earth, Love and Precious Promise all ended up in public school. That's when the kindergarten teachers first met Fruit Stand. Every fall, according to tradition, parents bravely apply name tags to their children, kiss them good-bye and send them off to school on the bus. So it was for Fruit Stand. The teachers thought the boy's name was odd, but they tried to make the best of it. "Would you like to play with the blocks, Fruit Stand?" they offered. And later, "Fruit Stand, how about a snack?" He accepted hesitantly. By the end of the day, his name didn't seem much odder than …{Moonbeam’s}… or Sun Ray's. At dismissal time, the teachers led the children out to the buses. "Fruit Stand, do you know which one is your bus?" He didn't answer. That wasn't strange. He hadn't answered them all day. Lots of children are shy on the first day of school. It didn't matter. The teachers had instructed the parents to write the names of their children's bus stops on the reverse side of their name tags. The teacher simply turned over the tag. There, neatly printed, was the word “Anthony.”] It is amazing what can happen when we miss somebody’s name. Names are significant; names are important. And that is why we find so much emphasis in the book of Acts on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Name of Jesus Christ-- [The {overarching theme and} emphasis in Acts 3 and 4 is on the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 3:6, 16; 4:7, 10, 12, 17–18, 30). {Now} A name, of course, implies much more than identification; it carries with it authority, reputation, and power….If an order is given in the name of the President of the United States…, those who receive the order know that they are obligated to obey. If I were to issue orders at the White House…(even if I could get in), nobody would pay much attention because my name has no official authority behind it. But the name of the Lord Jesus has all authority behind it, for He is the Son of God (Matt. 28:18). {And} Because His name is “above every name” (Phil. 2:9–11), He deserves our worship and obedience. {Now this is important for us to understand because} The great concern of the first Christians was that the name of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, be glorified, and {we as} believers today should have that same concern {that (in everything we do) we are bringing glory to the name of Jesus}.] Dust of The Rabbi-- But how do we bring glory to the name of Jesus? Sometime I would like to talk about that in greater detail. But, to keep it simple and relevant to our passage today, just remember this. When a rabbi called a disciple in the 1st century world of Jesus, it was not so that the disciple would follow him around and simply learn what the Rabbi knew. All of us here have at one time been students. And being students we all had teachers in whose classes we (either willingly or unwillingly) sat because they or somebody else thought we should be there to learn what they know. And we had a whole string of teachers from whom we wanted to learn so that we could get the facts we needed to pass the tests and hopefully get into a good college and eventually go on to get a good job; and so on and so forth. But in Jewish culture, the Talmudim (the disciples of a Rabbi); their concern stretched far beyond that. It was about so much more than simply knowing what the Rabbi knew. No, it was about becoming what the Rabbi is. Now that has enormous significance for how we understand the call of Jesus. And I just don’t have the time to get too into it now. But for now, just remember that the call of a rabbi was a call to be like him in his practice, in his nature, in his character, and even in his authority. And disciples of a Rabbi would dedicate every moment of their lives to following and observing their Rabbi. It didn’t matter where he went; they would be right behind him. And because the ground was always dry and you would naturally kick up dust everywhere you went, there developed this concept that Talmudim would be so close to their Rabbi that the very dust he kicked up would cover them. And that is right where you wanted to be; covered in the dust of your Rabbi. That is the heart of what it meant to be disciple; to be covered in his dust because of your desire (and his promise to make you) to be like him. Now I say this because in the 1st century world, how would someone learn what a rabbi was like without ever meeting him? Well, they would look at the Talmudim; the disciples. And they could see in those disciples the very image of their rabbi. So let me ask you this, how is the world going to know what Jesus is like? By looking at us. "Christian": Little Christs-- In the coming weeks we will find that it is in Antioch that those of what was then known as “The Way” would first be called Christians, a title of mockery; but one which the early believers gladly accepted; because the word “Christian” means “little Christ”. And that’s exactly what the believers wanted to be. Why? Because they were Talmudim. They wanted the world to experience in them the very image of the Savior. So, let me ask you again, “How do we bring glory to the name of Jesus?” By being a miniature copy of Him. That is the whole idea behind this word “Christian”. It is a title in which the holder is claiming to be like Jesus. And so the question is “Are our lives characterized by what it means to truly be a Christian?” One excellent gauge of this is this: Do we care about who Christ cared about? Is the drive of His heart the drive of our hearts? If so, this mission statement of Jesus will be your soul-cry as well… Luke 19:10 (ESV)-- 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” The Diamond Chandelier-- Just the other day I watched a mystery show in which the criminal was searching for his victim’s stolen diamonds. And during the whole show everybody was looking for these diamonds. But then at the end of the show, the detective, leading the criminal into one of the victim’s rooms (which the criminal had been in many times) pointed up at the chandelier. And there (interwoven into that chandelier) was ten million dollars worth of diamonds; hidden right there in plain sight. Divine Interruptions-- You know, I discovered something a number of years ago that absolutely blew me away about the ministry of Jesus. It is something so obvious I overlooked it (like those diamonds hidden in plain sight). And that is this. Jesus embraced interruptions. In fact I read a quote several years ago by G.H. Morling that completely affected the way I saw much of Christ’s earthly ministry. It was a little pebble that started an avalanche of thinking in my own mind. He said… G. H. Morling: Jesus Interrupted-- [“A valuable study of the Gospels could be made, noticing how many times Jesus gave some of His greatest teachings in circumstances where he had simply been interrupted. How different this is from us; we hate to be interrupted. To Jesus, the importance seemed to lie in the person whose path had crossed His own. Things don’t just “happen” in the providence of God. The interruption may well be our highest task at that very moment.”] “The interruption may well be our highest task at that very moment.” Jesus’ Interruptions-- Now that was a life-changing quote for me. What would have happened if Jesus had not stopped for those who interrupted Him; what would have happened if He hadn’t taken time? Most of his miracles would have never taken place! Just think of [Jesus’ visit to Zacchaeus' house, the widow at Nain whose son was healed, and the man let down through the ceiling by his four friends who was both forgiven and healed?] Think of the healing of the bleeding woman. Jesus had interrupted His schedule to heal Jairus’ daughter. And then {(in the midst of that interruption)} he’s interrupted again by this woman who suffered from bleeding. He even allowed His interruptions to be interrupted!!! All these miracles were interruptions. But Jesus never saw them that way; He saw them as divine appointments! [The same went for His teaching. Yes, He did lay out systematic discourse in the Sermon on the Mount, the Kingdom parables, and the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 5–7, 13, 24, 25). {But} Look at a sampling, however, of what He taught as a result of responding to interruptions. An expert in the Law tested Him on “Who is my neighbor?” and we gained the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law muttered against Him welcoming sinners, and He responded with the stories of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son (Luke 15). We would have missed the discipleship of Matthew and Zacchaeus if Jesus had not interrupted His schedule. We would not have the teaching on the new birth had Jesus not taken time with Nicodemus (John 3), or the teaching on worship had Jesus ignored the Samaritan woman (John 4).] The fact is, if Jesus had never allowed His schedule to be interrupted, our Bibles would be pretty thin. Now what does that mean for us? Exactly what G.H. Morling said: “Things don’t just “happen” in the providence of God. The interruption may well be our highest task at that very moment.” Now I say all of this because of the context of this story that is given to us. It says in… Acts 3:1 (ESV)-- 1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. Our Flexibility-- You see, they were on their way to do the spiritual stuff. But (as we’ll see next week) they were willing to put that on hold in order to enter into the world of a crippled beggar and to bring him both physical and spiritual healing. And you know, one of the things I’ve learned in ministry (but you know, I think it applies to all of us) is that we have to allow our schedules to be interrupted; because those interruptions may be God’s divine appointments. And like with Abraham, Moses, and Paul, those divine appointments may even result in their (or someone else’s) commission. And so let us allow God to interrupt our schedules so that He can use us to meet the physical and spiritual needs of those who need Jesus. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. We’re glad you are here today. In our study of the second chapter of the book of Acts, we have been taking a look at some of the fundamental practices of the early Church that began to take place in the wake of the Holy Spirit’s coming. Devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship were the first two. And the temple was still very much the central place they would go together to to receive that teaching. But then we come to the next one: the breaking of bread together.
Breaking Bread— And this third fundament practice of the early Church continues to show the depth of their unity. And there is actually a lot of debate about whether this was a common meal they shared together or actually the Lord’s Supper. In Luke’s Gospel, [The {Greek} word…κλαω is used of breaking bread at the ordinary meal (Lu 24:30 ) or the Lord's Supper (Lu 22:19 ). {But} It is generally supposed that the early disciples attached so much significance to the breaking of bread at the ordinary meals, more than our saying grace, that they followed the meal with the Lord's Supper at first, a combination called αγαπα or love-feasts.] And I just think what a great concept, by the way; love-feasts. The fellowship of Jesus Christ is characterized by feasting together on a shared receiving of the love of Christ pictured by the body and blood of Christ! I LOVE THAT!!!! But it’s more than just the Lord’s Supper. To say it is just about taking communion together [is to…mar the picture of family life, which the text places before us as the ideal of the early believers”.] These early believers really saw themselves as family. They were regularly eating and fellowshipping together. Forgiveness-- Now there is something else I would like to add to this. In Jewish culture, to break bread with somebody was a very intimate thing. Keep in mind that you always laid down at table, with your head at the chest of whoever was sitting next to you. So you are very close, intimate and personal. And so you would only eat with people that you were one good terms with. Now keep in mind that Jesus intentionally ate with tax collectors and sinners; something that no self-respecting Jew (and especially a Rabbi) would do. Because to do that was a way of saying that they are part of your crowd; they are your friends; there is a special relationship you have with them, which is why the Jewish leaders reacted so strongly to Jesus’ eating and associating with people like that. But they were the very people that Jesus most wanted to reach; and so He breaks bread and eats with them. Now there is something else you need to know about Jewish custom in that time. If you had a fallout with someone and the relationship was broken and needed to be mended, you could verbally try to fix the situation. But in Jewish culture the forgiveness process was never considered complete until you actually shared a meal with that person. That was the outward sign that forgiveness had taken place. Zacchaeus’ Reconciliation-- This is part of what makes the story of Zacchaeus such a radical thing. Because remember that Zacchaeus was a wicked, cheating tax collector; and yet Jesus invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ home, which meant that he was going to break bread with Zacchaeus? Do you begin to see now what Jesus was visually communicating to everybody and why Zacchaeus was probably bawling his eyes out in joy. Because Jesus was saying (with a picture) that forgiveness had taken place. Now how did the people react? They went crazy! ARE YOU KIDDING US JESUS?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? And yet Jesus says in… Luke 19:9-10 (NIV)-- 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house {which by the way implied that God had forgiven Zacchaeus his sin}, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Zacchaeus Excited-- Can you begin to understand why Zacchaeus reacted to this meal the way that he did? He knew what it meant for him personally and spiritually. Now I say all of this because here (and throughout the book of Acts) you have people from all over the empire (from different walks of life; different social statuses; different races; different political alignments; democrats; republicans; men, women, boys, and girls; barbarians, scythians, slaves, and free) who are all breaking bread together. What does that tell you? Forgiveness and healing has been made between them all at the deepest possible level. And where does this take place? AT THE VERY TABLE OF CHRIST JESUS. Coming To The Table-- Now I don’t know how much that impacts you. But let me tell you, THAT is the key to healing culture. Social reform? We need it. Fighting for a good government? That is our responsibility (especially in the United States where we have a say in who comes into office). But let me tell you, our differences are never going to be reconciled and true healing is never going to happen until we are willing to come together to the very table of Jesus Christ. Christ and Christ alone is the starting point of true forgiveness and healing; because He offers reconciliation with God Himself out of which comes the overflow of healing in all our earthly relationships as well. Prayer-- Now the fourth practice is one of the biggest things that brings us into unity with one another. And sadly it is something that we often neglect. And that is [Prayer. Prayer was a constant practice in the early church (1:14; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 10:4, 31; 12:5; 16:13,16). The apostles prayed for those they ministered to.… But prayer was not only in response to crises and needs. Because of the references to worship, we can assume that prayers of praise were a significant part of the community life of the early church.] The air of prayer was the lifeblood of the Church. And these [prayers {were made both} in house meetings and likely also in the temple (vv. 42, 46).] So all these Christians are eating together, worshiping together, and praying together. And it’s interesting; anywhere in life you find lack of prayer, you will always find tension. From Hate to Love through Prayer-- A number of years ago my wife and I went to Dublin, GA for our former denomination’s annual conference. And after one of the evening services we headed for the fellowship hall. And there we had the privilege of talking with a couple (the Pastor and his wife of a local Church there in Dublin). And they were obviously deeply in love with one another. And during our conversation with them they told us that they were celebrating their anniversary. They had been married for over 30 years. And I asked them what their secret was; because it seemed to me that they had the perfect relationship. But then his face grew very serious. And he confessed that during their first years of marriage; there was actually a lot of tension. And it actually led them to hate one another. That’s the word he used. But then he said everything changed when his wife was led by God to begin praying for him more. And she said that as she did, not only did God bring about change in his life, but God began revealing her own faults as well. And then he began praying fervently for her. And their marriage grew to becoming totally and completely healed. And now they experience true unity and true love in their marriage. The Secret To Unity-- What is the secret to unity in the Body of Christ? Prayer with one another and for one another. And that ought to lead us to ask ourselves, “Are we lifting one another up before the throne of grace on a regular basis? Are we interceding before God on behalf of one another?” If we want to be a Spirit-filled Church, we have to pray. Prayer always precedes healing and transformation. Just look at what it produced in… Acts 2:43-45 (ESV)— 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. “I Have A Dollar-- Once there was a Junior Sunday School Teacher who was teaching her kids. And [The Junior Sunday School Teacher asked her eight eager 10 year-olds if they would give a $1,000,000 to the missionaries. “Yes!” they all screamed! “Would you give $1,000?” Again, they shouted “YES!” How about $100?” “Oh, yes we would!” they all agreed! “Would you just give a dollar to the missionaries?” she asked. The boys exclaimed, “Yes!” just as before, except for Johnny. “Johnny,” the teacher said as she noticed the boy clutching his pocket, “Why didn’t you say ‘yes’ this time?” “Well,” the boy stammered, “I have a dollar!”] How great is our attachment to those things we have? Generosity and Service-- The fifth practice of the Early Church that we see here is: [Generosity and Service. The sharing of personal belongings and financial resources among members of the early church was impressive. {And} This generosity was not dictated. There was no obligation to pool their resources, as in modern Communism, or to unselfishly serve each other or reach out to strangers. Rather, it was voluntarily done for the sake of those in need (see the example of Barnabas in 4:36, 37, and later the Macedonians in 2 Cor. 8:1-4).] By the way, you can tell a lot about the level of someone’s salvation by observing their relationship with their stuff. What comes first? People and the fulfilling of the ministry and mission of Jesus? Or their stuff? A Release of Possessions-- You know, some ancient groups (like the Pythagoreans) rejected having private property altogether. But Christianity (interestingly) never went there. It was okay to have your personal property and possessions. Rather [the early Christians {(when it was necessary)} sold property whenever anyone had need (4:34–35 ); they valued people more than property without rejecting private property altogether.] This was incredibly rare during that time; and what made it even more rare was that it wasn’t something done just by a small group of radicals, but was something that was characteristic of all the followers of Christ. And what this shows us is that when we walk in the Spirit, we cease to see our possessions and our money as our own; it’s God’s. And when we see our possessions like that, we allow God access to them in order to do with them what He wills. The question is, “Is all that we have accessible to God to meet the needs of another person?” If not, they need to be. Joy Overflowing as Evangelism-- Now the sixth practice we see is [Joy Overflowing as Evangelism. Whether corporately in the temple or within each other’s homes, the believers lived “with one accord” and “with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (2:46, 47). {And what I want you to note here is that} Evangelism wasn’t a program in the Jerusalem church; it was a way of life. The believers’ lives and behaviors created such favor with the population of Jerusalem that people were drawn to the Lord.] And that is why [In our churches today, we should examine our mission {and practice in order} to ensure these basic tenets are being fully lived out before {anything else}. Whenever a group of believers return to their foundation {(as lived out in these foundational, life-giving practices)}, they find the strongest connection to the heart of Christ. And seeing His heart on display will draw others to Him.] “Day By Day”-- Now I want you to notice three final words given to us here that ought to re-shape how you and I think about Church. It says in verse 46 that they were doing these things together day by day. Not once a week, but daily. The Secret Service-- Once there was a church service that took place; and [At the end of the service the minister was standing at the door of the church shaking hands. He grabbed a man by the hand and pulled him aside and asked him, “Are you a soldier in the Army of the Lord?” The man replied, “Why, yes I am.” The minister then asked, “Then why do we only see you at Christmas and Easter?” The man quickly whispered, “I’m in the Secret Service.”] Now we laugh at that, but what we need to ask ourselves is “Are we true Koinonia Christians or are we Secret Service Christians?” Are we fighting to make our faith, our Church, and our abiding in fellowship with one another a DAILY reality? Because what we see here in this [daily sharing…is {so} unusual in antiquity and most resembles how people treated members of their own family.] But you know that is exactly how we are supposed to think of the Body of Christ; we ARE TRULY the FAMILY OF GOD! And so Christ’s challenge to us today is for us to live our faith together in community in a real and powerful way. Let us be a Church made of people who have allowed themselves to be filled with the presence of God; a Church that shares together; a Church that prays for one another; a Church that seeks to be united towards that single purpose of embracing the God who loves us; and let us be a Church that is reaching out to the lost so that they might also experience His presence. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. It is so good to have you with us today as we continue our study of the book of Acts.
“It wasn’t THAT good!”-- I’d like to open by sharing with you a story of a small church that met not too long ago. One particular Sunday, [The pastor was greeting folks at the door after the service. And a woman said, “Pastor, that was a very good sermon.” The pastor says, “Oh, I have to give the credit to the Holy Spirit.” “Oh,” she immediately responded, “It wasn’t THAT good!”] Now Peter’s sermon here in Acts chapter 2 (thankfully) WAS that good because he was filled with the Holy Spirit of God. And verses 40-41 reveal what can happen when we speak with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It says in… Acts 2:40-41 (ESV)— 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. Early Christian Practice-- Now immediately after these early Christians were baptized and received the Holy Spirit, they entered into community with one another; a community that was marked by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of God. And in that community we begin to see expressed the fundamental practices of the Church. We see Doctrine, Fellowship, The Lord’s Supper, Prayer, Generosity and Service, and Joy Overflowing as Evangelism. The Most Important Things-- And all these practices may seem basic without any higher hierarchical Church structure, but that doesn’t mean they are somehow less important. Picture them [like eating, breathing, and sleeping are to an infant]. Basic? Yes, but absolutely necessary to the growth of the Body of Christ. And they remain the most important things for mature Christians as well, which is why it doesn’t say that these disciples just made them a part of their lives (like some kind of tacked-on thing). No, it says they devoted themselves to these things. They became the absolute new foundation for their lives. And today we’ll be beginning to explore these practices one by one. Now the first thing it says they devoted themselves to was Doctrine. It says in… Acts 2:42 (ESV)-- 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching… Doctrine-- Now I find it interesting that the first practice listed was not fellowship, prayer, or evangelism. No, the practice that is mentioned first is Doctrine (what the Apostles were teaching). And that is because all those other things are meaningless without right doctrine. Many religions (including the cults) practice fellowship, prayer, and evangelism. And those things are important to the Christian faith as well, but the content of our belief is just as important as the practice. What we believe (doctrine) was and is of utmost importance. In fact, unity actually needs to come second to truth. Spurgeon: Truth before unity— Charles Spurgeon points out that you’ll hear a lot of preachers say, ["To remain divided is sinful! Did not our Lord pray {to the Father}, that they may be one, even as we are one"? (John 17:22). A chorus of ecumenical voices keep harping the unity tune. What they are saying is, "Christians of all doctrinal shades and beliefs must come together in one visible organization, regardless... Unite, unite!" Such teaching is false, reckless and dangerous. Truth alone must determine our alignments. Truth comes before unity. Unity without truth is hazardous. Our Lord's prayer in John 17 must be read in its full context. Look at verse 17: "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." Only those sanctified through the Word can be one in Christ. To teach otherwise is to betray the Gospel.] Not always agree— And you know, he’s absolutely correct. We cannot compromise on the essentials, or we will betray the Gospel. Now does this mean we have to agree on every theological point? Of course not. Even the early Church was comprised of people who occasionally had different opinions on things; but they had agreement on the essential points of the Gospel. They knew that their fellowship must be anchored in the truth of the Word of God and in sound theology and doctrine. And this was why the teaching of the Apostles was so vitally important because remember that [In the time of Acts, there was no written NT. The earliest letter from the apostles (probably either James or Galatians) did not appear until two decades after the birth of the Church at Pentecost. {Imagine being a Christian without having a New Testament! What would you do? You’d devote yourself to listening to eyewitnesses who could verbally convey the accounts and teachings of Jesus to you, as well as explain how Jesus was the hope and “consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25) promised in the OT. And so that is what we see;} …the church in Jerusalem took in the apostles’ teaching on Jesus of Nazareth as…the promised Jewish Messiah. {And} Their Bible was the OT, supplemented by what Christ had taught them. {Now} As the various epistles of the apostles were written and delivered to churches established beyond Jerusalem, their authority came to be recognized alongside the OT (“they were} “the rest of the Scriptures”; 2 Pet. 3:16).] But at this point the verbal teachings of the apostles were absolutely essential as the means by which they could be established doctrinally. Fellowship-- Now the second fundamental thing the believers in the early Church devoted themselves to was the fellowship. “Fellowship” in Context— Now some have taken this concept of fellowship to mean that all the early Christians drove Hondas. And I understand where they’re coming from. The text does say (elsewhere in numerous places in and throughout the book of Acts) they were all in one Accord. However (like good Biblical scholars) I think we need to put that word against the backdrop of it’s historical context. Because when we do, we see that the word here actually means has to do with the kind of “fellowship” they shared with one another. One Accord: OT-- [In the Old Testament, the phrase in one accord is always used to describe unanimous participation in a particular action. In Joshua 9:2, the pagan kings “gathered themselves together to fight with one accord against Joshua and Israel” (LEB). Speaking of the conversion of heathen nations, Zephaniah 3:9 says, “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord” (ESV){, which in the Hebrew is}…translated…literally…“with one shoulder.” It likely comes from the practice of yoking oxen together for plowing. The NIV translates the idea with a similar English expression, “shoulder to shoulder.”] So we are to be one of shoulder with one another. One Accord: NT— Now [In the New Testament, in one accord is used to emphasize the internal unanimity{/unity} of a community. In Acts 12:20, that community is “the people of Tyre and Sidon” who are angry with Herod. In Acts 8:6, it describes the crowd of people who are listening to Philip’s teachings: “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” (ESV). It illustrates how the community of Christian believers worshiped, prayed, and fellowshipped together (Acts 1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; Romans 15:6).] Koinonia-- Now we use the word fellowship often merely to describe social activities in the context of congregational life.] If it happens in our Fellowship Halls at Church, then it must be fellowship, right? Well, often that is the case. But the word here that we translate “fellowship” is the Greek [word koinonia {and it} signifies oneness or commonality—true community. (The adjective form of the word is found in 2:44: the believers “had all things in common [koina].”] And this type of community takes things to a whole new level because fellowship was more than just their talking together, joking together, or even just about discussing the latest sermon. No, it was about being united in mind, body, and spirit with one another as they were united with Christ. You will remember how [Jesus prayed that his followers would be one with Him and the Father, just as He and the Father are one (John 17:11, 21-23; 1 John 1:3, 6, 7).] Now we could spend weeks just beginning to unpack what that means. But suffice it to say, this kind of koinonia fellowship goes so much deeper; so much higher than what we typically mean by fellowship and is in fact the key to moving not only individuals, but the whole body of Christ on into maturity and fruitfulness. It is not just a group of people having a good time together; no, it is a common bond that drives that group to complete a desired task. This is why the NIV sometimes translates koinonia as “partnership” (which we see in Philippians). It is kind of like a sports-team; it is task-driven; it is goal-oriented. It is a kind of fellowship that exists when all who partake in that fellowship are driven to fulfill the same task; to accomplish the same goal. Now there may be some disagreements at times (and we will read of some of them here in Acts) but these early Christians were able to work through those growing pains because they were focused on the prize. They shared this like-minded desire to attain the prize. And so they learned to work together and utilize each other’s gifts because (to put it bluntly) THERE’S A GAME TO WIN!!!! THERE’S A MISSION TO ACCOMPLISH!!!! Souls (people’s eternities) were depending on their unity and strength. Our Unity-- And you know, the same is true today, which is why I think Satan is working overtime to try to divide and even fracture the Church by sowing division. And some of those issues are displayed in how we are reacting to Covid-19. Do we wear masks or do we not wear masks? Do we open our Church doors again or do we stay closed? Do we challenge a government that in so many ways has set itself against Christianity? Or do we practice submission to authority? Or do we do both? And so many people have different opinions on this; and I find myself amongst a group of Church leaders and pastors who honestly are trying to please people on both sides of the spectrum. But what concerns me the most (and I thing what concerns God the most) is whether or not we are keeping centered on His Word; and on maintaining the kind of unity with one another that Christ Himself prayed for; where instead of looking out for our own wants and desires, we are compassionately looking to meet the needs of those around us. What the world sees of Christ during these tumultuous days is greatly dependent how we choose to deal with these crises we are currently facing. Will we allow them to divide us; or will we stand together as the single body of Christ? Remaining Devoted-- This passage’s challenge for us today is to remain devoted to sound teaching and to the preservation of the fellowship. If we can do that, then not just us (but the whole world) will come out of this more blessed and much stronger for having experienced Christ in us. Let’s remain devoted to sound teaching and to the fellowship. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. It’s so good to have you with us as we continue to embark on our journey together through the book of Acts.
The Meaning of Life-- Today’s topic is on the meaning of life. Now that may seem a little too ambitious of a topic to cover in such a short radio segment. But actually for the Christian, the question of the meaning of life is not all that complicated. In fact, you can sum up the meaning of life in three very simple statements. 1) To know and receive God’s love for you made available through Christ Jesus, 2) to allow that love to enable you to love Him with all of who you are through the Holy Spirit, and 3) to join with God in His work (which on earth is focused primarily on making disciples of all nations). Those three elements constitute the meaning of life. And note that God is foundational to all three of those. He’s not just one of many categories. No, all the things we consider dear to us (friends, family, personal fulfillment, our sexuality, our future) all fit under and are rooted in one or more of those categories: Receiving God’s love for us through Christ, loving Him wholeheartedly in return in the Holy Spirit, and joining His work (which on earth involves making disciples of all nations). Building On Each Other-- But notice how each of these builds upon the other. You cannot have a heart broken for the world until you have a heart like Christ’s. And you cannot have a heart like Christ’s until you love Him with all of who you are. And you cannot love Him with all of who you are without first recognizing and receiving His own love for you. And so knowing God’s love for you; that’s the starting point. And that is where Peter begins here in his first sermon here in Acts chapter 2; he begins with the death of Jesus at the hands of the very people that he’s preaching to. Christ died for them and (even though they killed Him) Peter promises a path of forgiveness which must have sounded unthinkable; that God would ever forgive us for killing His Son. But Peter promises that not only will God forgive, but will also pour out His Spirit on those who receive Christ. It says in… Acts 2:38-39 (ESV)-- 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Is Our Love Enfleshed?-- And so the first step of salvation is receiving the love and forgiveness of God made available to us in Christ Jesus. That is the starting point of salvation. Because once we receive His love for us and the Holy Spirit enters into our lives, then the Holy Spirit can enable us to love God with all of who we are. And if we then love God with all of who we are, then out of that relationship with God will also come a love for others that will drive us to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them, so that they too might experience the love of God and the transformation He can bring to their lives. But if there is no evangelistic drive in our hearts, then there is something wrong in one of those three areas, even if you might feel that deep down you really do care about the lost. Because a true love for God will always work itself out in loving and ministering to others. There cannot be an inward work without producing external fruit. That is why when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, He met with such resistance from Peter. Was Peter too humble to have Jesus wash his feet? Is that why he said, “Lord, you will never wash my feet.”? Maybe. But what is more likely is that Peter recognized the power and the implications of what was happening to him. And Jesus points this out. He says… John 13:14-15 (ESV)— 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Does Love Move Us Into Mission?-- And so we see that our service, our love, and our mission of evangelism is the outflow of what Christ first did for us. It says in… 1 John 4:19 (ESV)-- 19 We love because he first loved us. Compassion Enfleshed-- We are called to make disciples of all nations because Christ first loved us enough to make us disciples of Him. We are to be shepherds of other peoples’ souls because He first shepherd our souls. So the question is “have we (in our own lives) experienced God’s transforming love in such a way so as to move us into joining with Him in making disciples of all nations? Are we moved? Is our love and compassion an active love and compassion?” Just as Jesus had to become enfleshed in order to become God’s instrument of love in our lives, so also our love and compassion need to become enfleshed by what we actually say and do. Because it is in-so-far as our love is enfleshed and lived out that it really becomes real. Screwtape’s Concentric Circles-- Now Satan doesn’t want our love to become real; He wants to keep it in the realm of our feelings; in our minds. C.S. Lewis stresses this so strongly in his book The Screwtape Letters. In it he describes a Christian as being a set of three circles; each inside the other. The innermost circle is our will (our actions), the next circle out being the intellect/mind, and then the outer circle as our imagination (or fantasy). Now what Satan’s strategy is is not to eliminate our love and compassion, but merely to paralyze them. Lewis says that while there is always going to be kindness in a Christian’s soul no matter what he does, he says that what Satan does is he tries to get us to move that kindness from our immediate neighbors whom we meet every day and to push our kindness out to groups of people in general (in a non-personal sense), and then eventually into the realm of fantasy. And Lewis is right on point here; and he masterfully points out that it is only in so far as the virtues in our life reach the will and are there embodied in habits that they actually become a threat to Satan. Loving Mankind But Not Liking Men-- You know, someone once pointed out how [a philanthropist {(a person who seeks the welfare of others)} may give money and/or time to help humanity but then treat individual men and women like dirt, loving mankind but not liking {individual} men {or women}. Charles Dickens paints a picture of such a person in Mrs. Jellyby, one of his memorable characters in Bleak House. Mrs. Jellyby is working on starting a philanthropic project at "Borrioboola-Gha, on the left bank of the Niger {River}.” And this engages her attention to the extent that, in her first scene in the book, one of her children gets his head caught in a railing and another tumbles down the stairs — yet she never notices. Dickens says her eyes seem "to look a long way off. As if . . . they could see nothing nearer than Africa!" {Now there’s nothing wrong with missions to Africa. That’s not his point. His point was that} She loves the idea of serving mankind corporately, but she fails to serve even her own children individually.] Fantasy Love-- Now I say all of this because many Christians (myself included); we love the idea of ministry and missions generally or corporately, but not individually; with our hands and our feet (which is what we see here in this early fellowship (koinonia) of the early Church. For many Christians today, it’s all in the mind. But it needs to get to the hands and the feet. But it can’t do that without first going through the heart. Until your heart is united with Christ, it will never be broken for the lost as His heart was broken for you. It is having the heart of Christ that moves us to reach a dying world. God Loved Us With His Will— God doesn’t love you corporately or in a general sense. No, He loved (and still loves you) individually. Seeing you redeemed was more than a nice idea in His head. No, His love became enfleshed. He entered into our sickness; into our death; He washed our feet; He touched our wounds; and He even allowed Himself to be executed on our behalf in order to pay for our sins. God’s love for us was enfleshed in the provision of Jesus for our sins! Isaiah 53:5 (ESV)— 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Are We Desperate-- And so the question is, what about our love. Is our love enfleshed in the lives of those around us? If it is Godly love, then it has to be. Are we desperate enough to see those around us find Christ? Are we willing enough to change our environment; to change our profession; to leave our worldly dreams behind in order to become instruments of salvation in another person’s life? John 1:14 (ESV)-- 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Not Ritual, But Heart Change-- It is so interesting how often, when I am talking with a person about their faith, when I ask about their relationship with Christ, how they will tell me how often they go to Church; or how they grew up in the Church; or when or where they were baptized. And you know, that bothers me because that is Pharisee talk; that is “Hey, I’ve got the temple; I’ve done the rituals; I am impervious to the judgment of God.” When It Becomes Real-- Let me tell you, while all those things are important, they will not do you one whit of good if you have not allowed God to touch you in the realm of your heart. It is when He touches your heart that everything becomes real; when you come to realize His love for you. Because then that love moves you to love Him with all of who you are (with a united; whole; complete heart); and then finally that love for Him moves you to seek to join with Him in His work. It all starts with the heart. The question is, has the Gospel truly reached our hearts? Because when it does, living out the Great Commission becomes as natural as breathing; because we will not be able to contain the love we have found in Christ Jesus. The question is "Are we there yet? What circle does our love fall into? Has your inner circle been touched by the Holy Spirit? Change Me— I want to encourage you today, if you have not yet experienced the kind of transformation we’ve been talking about, ask for the Holy Spirit to apply (or to apply anew) the death and resurrection of Christ to your life. Tell the Holy Spirit that you (now, in this moment) want to give full control of your life to Him. Ask Him to make you altogether new. If you receive that work of grace in your life today, every corner of your life will be forever changed and there will be no telling the lives that will be touched for the Kingdom of God. Please do so. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. In our study of the book of Acts we have been talking about the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, where the disciples of Christ were anointed with the Holy Spirit and given the gift to speak in other known tongues so that ALL might understand the Gospel and have it speak through their own mother-tongues (their heart languages) so that it might touch and resonate with them at the deepest possible level. And a crowd gathers because of this mighty outpouring and they want to know what all of this means. So Peter has been explaining how this coming of the Holy Spirit proves that Jesus (whom they crucified) was indeed the Messiah because Jesus had foretold that all this would happen following His ascension. And Peter goes on to show from the Old Testament how Jesus is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of the Messiah they had been waiting for. And it says…
Acts 2:37-41 (ESV)-- 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. Church on Fire-- [When trying to motivate Christians, Billy Sunday used to speak graphically of the well-known village atheist, who was seen running vigorously to a burning church building, intent on joining with others in subduing the flames. A neighbor, observing him, exclaimed facetiously, “This is something new for you! I never saw you going to church before.” “Well,” the atheist replied, “this is the first time I have ever seen a church on fire.”] OUCH!!!! The Source of Spiritual Power-- Some time ago I was asked a very difficult and troubling question by someone. And that was: Why is it that the Church (at least in America) seems to be losing its ability to affect culture; at least to the degree it has in times past? And you know that is an excellent question, especially as we talk about Pentecost; when the Holy Spirit came and birthed the Christian Church. And you saw so much change; this upheaval of culture. We look and see the explosion of growth that took place in the early church; how people were changed; how communities were changed; how cities were won; then nations; and eventually much of the world. Christianity spread like an uncontrollable wildfire. But now often we find ourselves struggling to maintain the ground we already have, much less gaining new ground. And the ground we have seems to be slipping away day by day. What is the source of spiritual power and how can we have a fresh outpouring of that power so that we can start gaining more ground? Relationship With The Spirit-- First of all, the key to having spiritual power lies in our relationship to the One from whom spiritual power comes; the Spirit of God. When the Holy Spirit came, He consecrated the Christian Church, setting it apart as holy unto God. It was no longer conformed to the pattern of the world, but became conformed to the image of Christ. It was in and through the Church’s being set apart to Christ and conforming to His image that it found its spiritual power. So the question comes down to this: “Are we truly consecrated to Christ?” Do our minds, our hearts, our patterns of behavior, our use of finances, and especially our use of time reflect a life consecrated unto God? Does what I fill my mind with build me as a Christian or steal the opportunity for God to give me something truly good. Time-- As a pastor, I have found that one of the chief causes of relational discord between couples is caused by a breakdown in communication. When we cease to communicate and give of our time, we lose closeness and intimacy with our spouses. And this is true in our relationship with God as well. I am finding more and more that the most sacred and important thing we can give God is our time; time in the Word; time in prayer; time in communal worship and fellowship. In and through these means of grace we are brought into the very presence of God; and it is in His presence that we discover His power made available to us in Christ Jesus. That is what these early Christians were discovering as it says in… Acts 2:42-47 (ESV) The Fellowship of the Believers-- 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Being Consecrated-- Now we will explore these practices more in the coming weeks. But the bird’s-eye message I want you to catch today is that these disciples lived life in such an incredible way as a result of a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit. And these verses give us a window into the hearts of what was driving these early believers; an energy and excitement that flowed out of their being consecrated to Jesus Christ. The Individual-- Let’s go back to the question we asked earlier. How does change (lasting change that can truly transform culture) take place? Well, it comes through Christians who have consecrated themselves (who have set themselves apart) from the world to Christ Jesus. And that begins on a personal level; with the individual. A man who has had an incredible impact on my life in and through his preaching and his writing is Dr. Dennis Kinlaw. Of all devotionals I have used over the years, his devotional This Day With The Master is the one I come back to time and time again; because it is both profound and yet simple enough for people like me to understand it. And in it he says this… People, Not Institutions-- “We live in a day when most people believe that institutions are the determining factors. They declare that if we could just change institutions, then we could change society. This is the appeal of the politician. Scripture tantalizes us with the amount of space it devotes to individual people rather than institutions. People seem to be the tools that God uses to bring change. The implication is clear. Ultimately, persons determine institutions; institutions do not determine persons. The decisions that are made deep in the heart of an individual in the intimacy of aloneness with God are the decisions that will be historically significant for deciding the future.” Personal Consecration-- The key to bringing spiritual power back into our churches and lasting change to our culture lies in our first becoming consecrated to God in our own personal lives; making the decision to conform to His image and to receive a new mind, a new heart, and a new nature. And that is something only the Holy Spirit can do. Awaiting The Spirit-- Now I really want to clarify this because Jesus was very adamant that the disciples wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. And that was (partially) because they did not yet have the spiritual equipment needed to accomplish all that He intended for them to accomplish. Because keep in mind the message of the Gospel is more than just information; about knowing what Christ did on the cross; more than about knowing that He rose from the dead. It’s not just about embracing these doctrinal statements as being true; no, it has to go further than that; to where we experience those realities in our own lives. Yes Jesus died on the cross, but then he tells His disciples (and us) to take up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24-25). Yes, He rose from the dead, but (as Colossians 3:1 says) we also have been raised with Christ. Our old self has died with Christ and we are given a new resurrected self. Christ’s death and resurrection are realities that you and I participate in. And the same is true of Pentecost. Pentecost is more than just an important event to remember. It is a present reality. Not Then, But Now-- And that why it is always so dangerous to preach a message on Pentecost, because we always talk about it in the past tense and never allow it to gain access to our present. But Christ wants Pentecost to be every bit as real and present in our lives today as it was then. Christ wants you to have a Pentecost in your home that changes your relationship with your spouse for the better; that enables you to be a better parent; that empowers you to be a spiritual leader in your home; that gives you victory over temptation and keeps you holy in Christ Jesus. Pentecost can happen to any of us right now; if we but remain open for the Holy Spirit to actually apply Christ’s death and resurrection to our own hearts. An Attractive Love-- I’m telling you, it was more than doctrine that drew all these people to become followers of Christ; it was doctrine enfleshed in these disciples; a transformation that was unexplainable except by the mighty work of God that drew all these people to early Christianity. And whether it was through their fellowshipping together, their praying together, their eating together, their compassionate acts of ministry, their selling what they had to meet one another’s needs, the thing that marked these early Christians the most was their absolute love and willingness to serve one another. Now this was a fulfillment of what Jesus had said all the way back in… John 13:35 (ESV)-- 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Love Caused Growth-- Well here the world is beginning to witness that love in the lives of the disciples. And that love is making them hungry to know just what all this Jesus business is about. And in discovering the secret, it says (verse 47) And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. A Pentecost for Us-- All this because of a personal Pentecost in the lives of each of these disciples. And I want to tell you today that the power of Pentecost is available to you as well. You can have done in your heart and life exactly what happened to these first disciples. All it takes is a willingness to surrender your life to Christ. So let us surrender to Him today. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. I am so glad you could join us today as we continue our study of the book of Acts. You will remember that last week we talked about the Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost and Peter’s explanation to the crowds of what they were witnessing. And it is that explanation that Peter continues in our passage today. He says in…
Acts 2:22-35 (ESV)-- 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ 29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ How It Happened-- Now the first part of Peter’s focus here was on what was happening. The Holy Spirit had come. And next [He explained how it happened: Jesus was alive]. Now Jews and proselytes to Judaism had come from all over the empire to celebrate Passover; and many of them stayed for Pentecost as well. And so everybody there was keenly aware of the events in and surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus. They had heard of His miracles, and had known (and in some cases witnessed) His arrest, His trial, and His crucifixion. Many of them had no doubt heard of the empty tomb, though the religious leaders had put out an official statement that Jesus’ disciples had stolen Jesus’ body in order to convince people that He had been raised from the dead as He said He would be. But Peter counteracts that statement with four major proofs of the resurrection: Proof 1: The Person of Jesus (vv. 22-44)-- And the first of these regarded the person of Jesus Himself. The people knew that Jesus was a teacher from Nazareth who had performed many signs and miracles. And those signs pointed to who He is. You will remember that Nicodemus (a member of the Sanhedrin) acknowledged this all the way back in John 3:2 when he said: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” They Were Witnesses-- And so this crowd is filled with witnesses to many of these signs as well, and to what and how Jesus had taught (with that amazing divine authority). These things were not done in a corner (as Paul states clearly to Festus and King Agrippa in Acts 26:26). Everyone could see that God’s hand was on Jesus in a special way. And yet (as Peter reminds them) Jesus died (which would ordinarily look like defeat). But Peter (interestingly) describes Jesus’ death in terms of pain/pangs (meaning “birth pangs”) thereby [suggesting that the tomb was a “womb” out of which Jesus was “born” in resurrection glory (see Acts 13:33).] Proof 2: The Prophecy of David (vv. 25-31)-- Now [Peter’s second proof was the prophecy of David (vv. 25–31). He quoted Psalm 16:8–11 {(which talks about One who was released from the power of death;)}, verses that obviously could not apply to David, who {at this time} was already dead and buried. {Rather, what Peter says is that David was a prophet; and} Being a prophet of God, David wrote about the Messiah, that His soul would not remain in hades (the realm of the dead) or His body in the grave where it would decay.] So (as always) there is a pointing back to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The Old Testament supports the resurrection of the Messiah. Proof 3: The Witness of The Believers (v.33)-- Now [The third proof {Peter offered} was the witness of the believers (v. 33) {themselves}], who (think about it) had just spent 40 days with a resurrected Jesus. Now you can say they were all hallucinating a resurrected Lord. Some modern theories suggest that there was a certain type of hallucinogenic mushroom that all of them were smoking (I’m not kidding) that caused this group hallucination. But any psychiatrist will tell you that people rarely hallucinate the same thing (and certainly not all at the same time). And here we would be talking about 120 believers all hallucinating the same thing simultaneously. And this is further complicated by the fact that the disciples were not even expecting Jesus to rise from the dead and had to themselves be convinced that it was true (Mark 16:9–14; Acts 1:3). And they had nothing to gain and really everything to lose (facing official opposition and even imprisonment and death) for embracing and teaching a resurrected Christ. So why would they do this if they knew it to be false? While there have been people throughout history who sacrificed themselves on the basis of false information, few (if any) did so knowing their belief to be false; and that’s the difference. But that is what the disciples would have been doing if they had stolen the body. Nobody does that. And so all this points to the reliability of the disciples as credible witnesses. They can be trusted! And this is further evidenced by their message being backed up (repeatedly) by miracles in and throughout the book of Acts, which we will see as we proceed. Proof 4: The Presence of The Holy Spirit (vv. 33-35)-- Now the fourth proof Peter offers is what the people are here experiencing: [the presence {and power} of the Holy Spirit (vv. 33–35). Follow his logic. {Peter is saying that} If the Holy Spirit is in the world, then God must have sent Him. The prophet Joel (whom we mentioned last week) promised that one day the Spirit would come, and Jesus Himself had promised to send the gift of the Holy Spirit to His people (Luke 24:49; John 14:26; 15:26; Acts 1:4). But if Jesus is dead, He cannot send the Spirit; therefore (because the crowds can see the Holy Spirit at work) He must be alive. Furthermore, Jesus could not send the Spirit unless He had returned to heaven to the Father (John 16:7); so, Jesus has ascended to heaven! To back up this statement, Peter quoted Psalm 110:1 {(which talks about One who would sit at the right hand of God)}, a verse that certainly could not be applied to David (note Matt. 22:41–46).] So Peter’s conclusion is clear. Jesus is the Messiah, He had risen and sits at the right hand of God, and has sent the Holy Spirit. Seeker-Friendly or Confrontational?-- Now there is a lot of discussion among many churches today about how to be more seeker-friendly; how to make your church a place new people will feel comfortable and safe. And the one thing they say you never ever want to do is sound judgmental or condemning. Why? Because you might offend someone and they won’t come back; and if they don’t come back, how will they ever find a relationship with Jesus? But I love this first sermon of the Christian Church that Peter preaches because Peter ignores all that “let’s try to be nice” kind of philosophy and preaches exactly how Jesus Himself had preached. His message directly confronted their sin. Now in verse 23 Peter says (basically) “Jesus is your Messiah, but you crucified Him!” And he says again in… Acts 2:36 (ESV)-- 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Not General, But Specific-- Now he could have presented this message in a general sense. He could have said that the cross was the place where Christ (as the sinless lamb of God) died as a substitute for the sins of the whole world. But no; Peter doesn’t gloss over the painful reality of how personal all of this was. They (Israel) killed their own Messiah. That (more than the any other atrocity every committed; greater than the holocaust; greater than any mass extermination ever committed on this planet); nothing even compares to what Peter said these men and women did. They killed the Son of God! Can you imagine preaching a message like that? Peter did. Why? Because it is often only when we come to grips with the full weight of our sin that we are willing to then seek forgiveness and restoration from that sin. Niceness doesn’t save people. A Gospel watered down to not offend anyone can’t save people. It is only through Christ crucified for you and for me that we can be saved. And that is why we also need to be confronted by the fact that it was for our sins that held him there on the cross. The Soldier’s Hand-- One movie that has had a great impact on the world is The Passion of The Christ, a film directed by Mel Gibson. But one interesting behind-the-scenes fact about that movie is that while the crucifixion scene was being filmed, and the soldier was getting ready to drive the nail through the hand of Jesus, the camera moved to a closeup shot of the soldier’s hand. But it was actually Mel Gibson’s own hand that hammered the nail into Jesus. And Mel Gibson wanted to drive home the point (literally) that all of us are responsible for the death of the Son of God. Now the people here (after hearing Peter) have happen to them exactly what always happens when the Gospel is presented as it is meant to be presented. It says in… Acts 2:37-41 (ESV)— 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. Their Season of Grace— Now unfortunately we don’t have the rest of Peter’s sermon. But it’s core message was one of repentance. Believe, repent, be baptized as a sign of that repentance and come and follow Christ. And we see that for these first Christians, it meant radical change; a change in their hearts; a change in their minds (through the Holy Spirit) that re-oriented the entire way they did life. And we will explore this more in the coming weeks. But God’s message to you and to me today is exactly the same. Peter said to the people “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” (v.40) You will remember that during Israel’s 40-year banishment in the wilderness, [the new generation “saved itself” from the older generation that rebelled against God.] [{And similarly here}…the nation {of Israel} would have about forty years before Rome would come and destroy the city and the temple and scatter the people. History was repeating itself.] And yet God was giving grace (another forty year period) to repent, believe, and be saved. And we see here that three thousand people did so. Our Season of Grace-- Now you and I are in another season of grace. And from the signs of the times it looks like that time of grace is coming to an end. God’s judgment is coming. And so now is the time to examine ourselves and ask ourselves, "Have we truly repented; have we truly let go of all our sin and chosen to follow Christ with all of who we are. Have we embraced the Spirit-filled life? If not, or if you are not sure, then Peter’s message of believing, repenting, and following Jesus is for you today. Tell Christ that you are giving your sins to Him today, that you receive His forgiveness, and that you (with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength) will follow Him. If you commit to do that today; if you give yourself to Christ like that, the Holy Spirit will enter into your life and your life will be altogether changed; altogether new. If you haven’t done that, do it today. Amen. Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim.
In our study of the book of Acts last week we talked about the outbreaking of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, where the disciples of Christ were anointed with His presence and given the gift to speak in other known languages so that ALL might understand the Gospel and have it speak through their own mother-tongues (their heart languages) so that it might touch and resonate with them at the deepest possible level. And we will continue speaking about the giving of the Holy Spirit today. Now this event naturally drew a crowd, many of which immediately recognized that something supernatural was taking place. And so naturally they wanted an explanation. And some hecklers try to write off this phenomenon as being the drunken ravings of these supposedly intoxicated disciples. It says in… Acts 2:13 (ESV)— 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” Divine Inebriation-- Now it is ironic that the mockers of the crowd should accuse the believers of being drunk, because of how completely opposite being drunk is from the filling of the Holy Spirit. During ancient times people saw drunkenness as a way of connecting with the spiritual world. We remember from our study of the book of Esther how much alcohol permeated the culture and dramatically affected countless people. The king banished Vashti while in a drunken stupor. And that was because [{as} The Greek historian Herodotus explained…the Persians drank as they deliberated matters of state (cf. 3:15 ), believing that intoxication put them in closer touch with the spiritual world.] And that is likely what King Ahasuerus was doing with his leadership as they were preparing to march against Greece. They thought you could be more spiritual by being drunk. And when we look at many of the [ancient writers, especially the Jewish philosopher Philo, {we find that they in fact} depicted divine inspiration as a form of spiritual inebriation.] Now I want to stress this to you because there is a tendency (even today) to see being filled with the Holy Spirit to be kind of like getting high. Rather than a focusing of the mind on God; an engagement of your mental faculties on Him and His truth, it is sometimes seen as an emptying of the mind (like pagan meditation) in order to connect yourself with the spiritual flow of the universe, as in many of the religions of the Orient. Now I’m not saying that alcohol is always involved, but the reason it sometimes is is because it supposedly gets the mind out of the way so that your spirit can more easily connect with the flow of the universe. That is what eastern meditation is largely about. Yoga is an excellent example of this. Emptying the mind and putting your body in pagan positions of worship to allow the flow of the universe to flow through your body more easily. In China, there is the art of Feng-Shue, which is all about ordering everything (your life, your home, your country) in such a way so as to allow the Chi of the universe to flow through it most easily. Buildings are often constructed with Chi in mind. In fact (I kid you not) there are buildings in China with holes in the middle of them as part of their construction that were designed with Chi in mind, so that the Chi could more easily flow through the building. Star Wars Theology-- George Lucas, in creating Star Wars, drew heavily from these eastern pagan religions when developing his concept of the force. In the very first Star Wars film, there is a famous conversation between the Old Jedi Knight Obi-wan Kenobi and the young Luke Skywalker. And Luke asks Obi-wan about the force. And Obi-wan says, “The force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.” Now that is eastern pagan philosophy. That’s why Darth Vader’s helmet (if you notice) is shaped exactly like the headdress of a Samurai. George Lucas admitted that this is because he is a Samurai; obviously one who has embraced the dark side of the Chi (the “yin” vs. the “yang”). Full-Mindedness-- But all this is deeply pagan and at complete odds with what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Aside from the fact that the Holy Spirit is a person; not an impersonal force, rather than an emptying of the mind, Christians are to fill their minds with God’s Word and to meditate on what it says about God. It is an active thoughtfulness. And drunkenness (and any supposed enlightenment that drunkenness might produce) is part of a larger system that is at odds with Christianity to the core. This is why Paul places the two in contrast in… Ephesians 5:18 (ESV)-- 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, Self-Control-- When a person is inebriated, he/she loses control and ends up doing things they would normally be ashamed of doing. Think of Noah; how he became uncovered in his tent after becoming drunk. Think of Lot’s daughters, who made their father drunk and committed incest with him; and they became pregnant with Moab (father of the Moabites) and Ben-ammi (father of the Ammonites). Interesting to think how two of the greatest persecutors of Israel came out of a man’s decision to allow himself to become drunk. However, a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit of God is characterized by self-control; a self-control that brings glory to God (Galatians 5:23). And though alcohol may give you a temporary exhilaration, the Holy Spirit can give you lasting joy; lasting fulfillment. Now at the suggestion of the gift of tongues being an alcohol-induced thing, Peter immediately stands up and denounces this false judgement. It says… Acts 2:14-15 (ESV)— 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 9:00am-- Now the Jewish day starts at 6:00am, so it was only 9:00am. People don’t usually drink at that hour and [Orthodox Jews did not eat or drink before nine a.m. on the Sabbath or on a holy day, nor did they usually drink wine except with meals.] So Peter immediately shows how that explanation does not make sense. Plus drunken people babble, a word that comes from Babel, where language was initially confused. But here (as we mentioned last week) we see a reversal of Babel. There is understanding; there’s coherence (nothing like a drunken stupor). And so Peter says in… Acts 2:16-21 (ESV)-- 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ Joel Not Fulfilled— Now it is important to note that Peter was not saying that Pentecost was a fulfillment of this prophecy given in Joel, at least in its entirety. The signs and wonders Joel here describes have not yet come about. We see in its original context that Joel was not writing about Pentecost but rather the nation of Israel in the end times, in connection with “the day of the Lord.” Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit has led Peter to see in this prophecy a present application for the Church. Peter said, “This is that same Holy Spirit that Joel wrote about. He is here!” Now that would have been astonishing for these Jews to hear because they had been under the impression that God’s Spirit was only for a select and privileged few. And yet here they were witnessing [120 of their fellow Jews, men and women, enjoying the blessing of the same Holy Spirit that had empowered Moses, David, and the prophets.] The Desire of Moses-- You will remember that when Israel set out from Mount Sinai to go to the promised land, the people started to complain about the manna they were tired of eating and began hungering for the food of Egypt; and God became angry with them. And Moses also was tired of their grumbling and complained to God about his having to care for all these grumblers. And so God tells Moses what to do. It says in… Numbers 11:24-29 (ESV)— 24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it. 26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” A New Age of The Spirit-- You see, Moses had a dream; and that dream (which was also God’s dream), was to see a people (a community) anointed by the Spirit of God and being used by God as His instruments to reach a lost and broken world. You see Moses saw the power of what was happening. And His heart began crying out for that reality to be experienced by all of God’s people. And then later down the road comes this incredible prophecy from Joel about the Spirit of God being poured out on all flesh. Moses’ dream would be fulfilled! Now while the full prophecy of Joel is yet to be fulfilled, we see that the arrival of the Holy Spirit has come. [It was indeed the dawning of a new age, the “last days”] in which God has put His Spirit upon men and women to minister to them, to prepare them for the coming of the Kingdom of God (which means enabling them to live lives like Christ; lives of victory over sin), and also empowering them to complete Jesus’ commission of reaching the world with the Good News of the Gospel of Christ. And that presence of the Holy Spirit of God is available to all who come to faith in Jesus Christ. When we receive Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and frees us from all worldly entanglements so that we can be like Jesus. Do you want to be like Jesus today. Well that begins by our saying yes to Him and allowing the Holy Spirit into our lives. If you haven’t done that, do so today. 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
September 2021
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