Common Sense and the Holy Spirit January 24, 2010
Posted by roberttalley in Acts, Apostle Paul, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Body of Christ, Christian Liberty, Guidance, Holy Spirit, Leadership, Religion, Sermons.add a comment
During the past four weeks, we have seen that the Bible teaches that those who put their faith in Christ alone for salvation, receive the person of the Holy Spirit for indwelling. The power of the Holy Spirit for witnessing of Christ is promised. This power or ability to witness of Christ is displayed in us through the filling of the Spirit.
There are, however, those who resist the Word of God, the gospel of Christ but even among them, the power of the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by the life of the Apostle Paul, can wake a man up and bring him to salvation.
Further, every believer is selected by the Spirit to function within the body in reaching the world with the gospel of Christ as well in edifying one another.
There are, of course, many obstacles (which is part of why the book of Acts is such fascinating reading) but the body of Christ is equipped with COMMON SENSE FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT. This common sense guides us in overcoming some of these obstacles.
Acts 15:1-33
If ever there is an area of life open to the non-sensical, it is that of guidance. Haddon Robinson in “Decision-Making by the Book” tells the oft-repeated story of a man who was “…attempting to discover the mind of God by taking his chances with the Bible. He simply shut his eyes, opened up his Bible, and put his finger on a passage. Opening his eyes, he read this passage from Matthew 27: ‘Then he went away and hanged himself.’ Somehow, the fellow didn’t think that gave him any direction for his problem, so he closed his eyes again and opened his Bible to another passage. He looked and read Jesus’ statement in Luke 10: ‘Go and do likewise.’ That wasn’t quite what he was looking for either, so he tried one more time. He shut his eyes, opened his Bible, and read the statement in John 2:5, “Do whatever he tells you.’”
Now this is a humorous story but it points out that there are times when we face difficulties and problems so difficult that the temptation to forsake common sense is great.
Now there are many ways to maintain common sense. Being married to a good spouse, listening to the advice of wise parents, and seeking the counsel of experts in a certain field are all ways to maintain common sense in our actions and decisions. We, however, also have, as these people in Jerusalem had, the Holy Spirit within us both as individuals and as a church. He is the source of all knowledge and of all common sense. Today I would like for us to look at three lessons that the common sense given by the Holy Spirit teaches the body of Christ.
A. The common sense given us by the Holy Spirit teaches us to depend on God’s Word for guidance (Acts 15:15-19). This should not surprise us, since we know that the Holy Spirit is the divine author of the Scriptures. Yet we have already seen that it is possible to use the Scriptures without the common sense given by the Holy Spirit.
What then do I mean when I say the common sense given us by the Holy Spirit teaches us to depend on God’s Word for guidance? It teaches us to understand God’s perspective of this world. These people had a tough problem to solve. It potentially could lead to the first division within the church along religious/ethnic lines and to the weakening of the body of Christ. The problem could not simply be solved by the apostles proclaiming, “We said so!” That is why, after Peter spoke from his own personal experience and Paul and Barnabas reported on what God had done among the Gentiles, James, the writer of the epistle of James stood up and quoted or read from Amos 9:11-12.
Now Amos is talking about the millennial kingdom which is still future for us. It would seem that this might not apply. James, however, understood God’s plan for mankind as revealed in the Old Testament and understood that God’s plan is not to make Gentiles into Jewish proselytes but rather to make Jew and Gentile alike one people in Christ. God’s plan is to join the two groups of believers spiritually and not culturally.
WHY WE NEED A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
It is important for us to have a biblical perspective on life because perspective answers the “why” questions of life (idea from Rick Warren). Perspective will cause us to love God more. It will help us to handle trials, “My brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (James 1:2-3, 12). It will help us to love God more and to resist temptation, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity towards God” (James 4:4). I was speaking with one of our men this week who pointed out that his awareness that sin will keep him from some of the blessings of God helps him to resist temptation. Where does that come from? It comes from a biblical perspective of temptation and blessings.
This Holy Spirit taught dependence on God’s Word for guidance will protect us from error. This is what is happening in this chapter. Will the church fall into the error of performing rituals for salvation or will they continue to teach that Christ alone is the way of salvation? Because of the biblical perspective taught by James and accepted by the church, they did not fall into the trap of salvation by good works. Biblical perspective is not about being right about truth. It is about knowing how to live truth. That is why we have been looking at the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts and why on Wednesday nights we have been tackling the issue of perseverance in salvation. It is one of the reasons I encourage you to be in Sunday School. You need a biblical perspective of life. We need to know how to live the truth.
Now this does not mean that all the problems you will ever have are addressed in the Bible. There are many times when we have no specific answer in the Scripture for our particular problem. These people did not have a clear Old Testament verse that directly addressed their problem. They did though have the Scriptures and they had the Holy Spirit to give them common sense in discerning what they should do.
B. The common sense given by the Holy Spirit teaches us to work together for solutions (Acts 15:1-7, 22-27, 30-33). Again, this should make sense to us. Just as the Holy Spirit is the author of the Scriptures, He is the one who unites us together into the body of Christ. So it seems reasonable to conclude that if we are all baptized by the same Spirit into the body of Christ, we should be able as a body to work together for solutions. We know, however, that this is not always easy. Some issues are especially tough.
a. We cannot get around these issues because particularly tough issues often demand solutions (Acts 15:1-7). There are several reasons for this. Tough issues demand solutions, because the consequences of a decision made are significant. There are times when the consequences are clear but we do not like them. Sometimes, though, the consequences are unclear. In either case, it can make coming to a solution difficult.
The consequences of the tough issue facing the church in this case are made clear for us by Peter in verses 7-11. There was a danger of sinning against God by tempting Him (verse 10). Peter says that God has already spoken in this case. He has already made it clear that all, both Jew and Gentile are saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and not through the yoke of the law. James followed that with his statement in verse 19, “We should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”
b. Particularly tough issues demand action by the body (Acts 15:22-23, 30-33). Now it would have been easy for Peter and James to have simply dictated to the people the proper action. They had apostolic and pastoral authority to which they could have appealed. Paul also by reason of his apostolic call from God with Barnabas also could have bypassed the other apostles and the church in Jerusalem and simply done whatever it was that they wanted. They were after all both prophets (Acts 13:1-4). The church at Antioch could have declared its independence of the church of Jerusalem and kicked the troublemakers out. None of these things happened.
i. First, the church of Antioch chose to consult with the apostles and elders of Jerusalem (15:2). There was mutual accountability that went beyond apostolic authority. Paul in Galatians 1-2 makes it clear that his authority was equal to that of the original apostles. What we have here is an understanding that we as churches are accountable to each other.
ii. Secondly, the view point of other believers within the body was heard (15:5). For fifteen years there had been no doctrinal controversy within the church. There had been many changes. Now the problem arose and within the body there were believers (not outsiders) who wanted to require circumcision for Gentile and Jew alike. Rather than attacking the people, the leaders met together for serious consideration of the issue.
iii. Third, considerable time was given to consider the truth. God could have given them a revelation at the time to settle the matter but He did not. He allowed the body of Christ to function through the guidance of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. Peter, recounted the story of Cornelius which was well known but was important to the issue. Paul and Barnabas then recounted according to verse 12 how that God had worked in the Gentiles in Asia Minor similarly to how He had worked in Cornelius’ situation. Then James confirmed that this was consistent with the Word of God by quoting Amos and then giving his judgment of how to deal with this problem.
iv. After all this, the leadership and the congregation decided to follow James’ recommendation, sending two of their leaders and prophets to encourage the church of Antioch in their carrying out the requirements given. Notice that both congregations acted within their own membership and in their relationship to each other as the body of Christ. They did not act as a democracy. A physical body is not a democracy and neither is the body of Christ. Neither, however, did the leadership as a whole act as a dictatorship. You see, the apostles and elders and prophets and other leaders are not the head of the church. Christ is the head. They function merely as a part of the body. Both extremes much be avoided. We are not a democracy nor a monarchy but rather a body under the headship of Christ and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. That is why these two churches and their leaders acted with common sense and that is what we should seek to do also.
C. The common sense given by the Holy Spirit teaches us the right balance of boldness and sensitivity (Acts 15:7-12; 20-21; 28-29). This balance comes when we give priority to what the Holy Spirit gives priority to, the truth of the gospel of Christ.
a. Boldness is needed to protect the truth of the gospel (15:7-12). Those who wanted to require circumcision were a powerful group. They continued to plague both the church at Jerusalem as well and Paul throughout the next few years. In fact, Paul recounts for us in Galatians 2 where Peter later lacked the boldness he needed to stand against these very same people. And lest you think that Paul was perfect in this matter, he recounts for us in 2 Corinthians that he was not always as bold as he could have and perhaps should have been. We need, however, to understand that we need to be bold for the gospel of Christ. If we had been as bold for the gospel of Christ as we have been for moral values over the last two hundred or so years, the spiritual landscape of this country might look much differently. We cannot do anything about the past but we can right now at Grace Bible Church make the gospel of Christ our top priority. We can do it and we must do it. It is the priority of God’s Word and it is the priority of the Holy Spirit and it is the priority of Jesus Christ. His gospel must be our priority also.
b. Sensitivity is needed to propagate the truth of the gospel (15:20-21; 28-29). Notice particularly verse 21. The reason given for these requirements is because of unbelieving Jews. James and the church at Jerusalem did not want the gospel to be hindered because of Gentile liberty. Now some of the things in the list are clearly sinful and some are debated even today. The point of this list is that there are certain behaviors both sinful and possibly non-sinful that can hinder the propagation of the gospel of Christ and we need to take that into consideration.
An example of this might be in a Moslem country where to lay a Bible on the ground would be highly offensive to a Moslem. A holy book deserves the respect of the high place. While that may seem silly to us, if we are aware of that, then we will avoid appearing to blaspheme God through careless behavior.
An example that hits much closer to home might be my approach to abortion. I am convinced from Scriptures that we should oppose abortion and in democracy we have the right to oppose abortion. Our opposition though should not blaspheme the gospel. When Christians in their opposition to abortion take on or defend unbiblical actions and attitudes, then they have forgotten the common sense that the Holy Spirit gives to the body.
Are you practicing Holy Spirit given common sense in your decisions, in your life? Let us learn the Word and accountability within the body and witness to the Word of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is in those activities that the Holy Spirit teaches us the common sense we need to be the church in this world.
Next Week: Proverbs 30:1-6 “Confidence in Life”
Resisting the Holy Spirit (Acts 7) January 10, 2010
Posted by roberttalley in Acts, Holy Spirit, Religion, Sermons.add a comment
RESISTING THE HOLY SPIRIT
Acts 7:37-60
When I was a kid, there was an evangelist who preached a certain sermon for which he was well known. In it, he told a story about preaching in a certain town and how that there were three young men who were sitting in the back of the audience and were making fun of everything that was going on. After the service, these three young men went out and were killed in an automobile accident. The subject of the sermon was blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
Now, I do not know if those teens were blaspheming the Holy Spirit but it is clear that they resisted the Holy Spirit. They rejected the Word of God. We have in this passage an example of people resisting the Spirit. We overlook, I am afraid, that these people are typical and common in life. In fact, some of you might be resisting the Spirit and certainly many of you have loved ones who are resisting the Spirit, who are rejecting Christ.
A. You or your loved ones may be very moral or religious and still resist the Spirit of God (compare Acts 6:8-15 with 7:41-51).
We have two groups of people in chapter 6. The first are those from the Synagogue of the Freedmen (verse 9). They were not from Jerusalem but were foreign-born Jews from Egypt and what is now modern day Turkey. They were devout men who came from a great distance to worship God in Jerusalem. They heard Stephen speak and saw his miracles and did not like at all what they were hearing, so they plotted to have lies told about his teaching. Based on these lies, they brought Stephen before the council, the Sanhedrin, who were the leading religious leaders of the land. Some on the council were Pharisees and some were Sadducees. These two group had significant doctrinal differences but all of them claimed to believe God’s word and obey it. They were outwardly moral and inwardly religious but they did not believe the message of Christ but rather rejected and resisted it. They even went so far as to set aside their morality and religiosity so that they might lie and murder.
Obviously, they had a spiritual problem. Stephen identifies for us what that problem is. In verse 41-43 he points out that the forefathers made the mistake of worshiping what man could create. He then answers the charge that was made against him in 6:13. He was accused of speaking against the temple. He exposes them as idolators who worshiped the temple rather than the God of the temple. Jesus Himself made the same point several times. He told the woman at the well in John 4 that the time was coming and now is when God would be worshiped neither on a Samaritan mountain nor in Jerusalem but that those who worship God would worship Him in spirit and in truth.
These moral people were different in many ways but can be loosely grouped into two camps. The first group was made up of traditionalists, of whom Paul is representative (see also Philippians 3:4-6). They included religious legalists as well as political nationalists. They were sincere in their morality or religiosity or patriotism. In fact, they were quite proud of their consistency in holding to the path they viewed as traditional. They believed in the supernatural. To sum up, they were proud of who they were. They were self-righteous. Self-righteousness is more than an attitude but is a deeply held, sincere belief about one’s self.
The second group was made up of opportunists, of whom the high priest is representative (the two cleansings of the temple are evidence from Jesus’ time of the opportunism of the high priestly party). Some were religious secularists, rejecting all things supernatural although there were probably also sincerely religious men in this group. Many of this group was in the pocket of the heathen Roman government. Some used religion for political advancement or financial gain. Their pride was found in what they could gain for themselves.
Their motivations varied, their backgrounds varied, their doctrines varied. They were, however, united in their pride and were for that reason united in their rejection of Christ. In both cases, they were blinded by their pride.
B. Those who reject God’s Word might see God’s works, even miracles, and still resist the Spirit of God (Acts 7:36). There are those who claim they would believe if God sent them a miracle. The truth though is that a miracle often does nothing to bring someone to God. Stephen performed miracles and they resulted in his death. Jesus Himself performed miracles openly and although He attracted much attention, few people believed because of the miracles. Stephen mentions how Israel saw the ten plagues of Egypt and experienced the crossing of the Red Sea and the blessings of water and manna and quail in the wilderness and yet did not believe God’s promises. The rich man in hell prayed to Abraham that Lazarus would be sent from the dead to preach to his brothers so that they would believe. Abraham said, however, that if they would not accept the Old Testament which they already had neither would they believe because someone rose from the dead. You see the problem is not an intellectual or scientific problem but rather a spiritual problem.
Because it is a spiritual problem, people might hear and even understand intellectually God’s Word and still resist the Spirit of God (Acts 7:37-41).
Christianity is fact based. The Bible is true in every statement it makes. Archaeology, science, history, logic are all on the side of the Bible and yet some archaeologists, scientists, historians, and logicians reject the Scriptures, not because of facts but because of spiritual unbelief. This does not make our archaeological, scientific, historical, and logical arguments unimportant but reminds us of their limits.
The children of Israel were the first to receive the written Word of God. It was given to Moses by God through angelic means. The people themselves heard the voice of God boom from Mount Sinai but they would not obey. They rejected God. They had a heart problem. They loved the slavery of Egypt more than the land of rest which was promised them by God, the Promised Land.
Stephen said to these people, you have been just like them. You have come to the Temple, you have offered sacrifices, you have paid lip service to God and to His law but when the Prophet of whom the law speaks came, you betrayed Him to the Romans and murdered Him. You are guilty!
Folks, if you have heard the message of Christ and still continue to reject him as the only way of salvation, you are resisting the Holy Spirit. You may not be using blasphemous words but that is not what resisting the Holy Spirit is. It is rejection of the gospel of Christ. If you do not trust Him as your Savior then you have rejected Jesus Christ and through that rejection have resisted the Holy Spirit.
This is a bleak situation. Some of you have shared with me the sorrow and frustration you have in trying to reach your loved ones and neighbors who are not receptive or even indifferent but rather are antagonistic to Christ, who are resisting the Spirit of God. Yet there is hope.
C. There is hope for those who resist the Spirit of God and His Word (Compare Acts 7:58-8:3 with 9:1-6 and 20-22). We find that Saul in Acts 8:1 was consenting to Stephen’s death. Although he did not actually throw a stone, he was one with authority, perhaps even as part of the council (see Acts 26:9-10 for Paul’s account of this). Saul had rejected Jesus Christ and was resisting the Holy Spirit. In Acts 9, however, we see a different picture. Christ intervened and brought Saul to Himself. We have already seen that the power of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Holy Spirit in individuals are effective in opening the eyes of the spiritually blinded.
I think of Dietmar, a nuclear physicist in West Berlin. Dietmar’s wife was a believer in Christ but He was not. He could not believe in what could not be poured in a test tube. However, on November 9, 1989 Dietmar woke up to find that the Berlin Wall had fallen. Most of his life, he had lived with the Wall as a daily part of his life. Suddenly it was gone. Dietmar realized that he had witnessed a miracle and began at that point to study the Word of God and eventually turned to Christ. What happened? Exactly what had happened with Saul. He heard the Word of God, was prayed for and the Holy Spirit did its work in His life.
Saul heard the truth. We cannot get by this point. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. It is the Word of God that the Holy Spirit uses to bring men to faith. He may knock down a Berlin Wall or use some incident in someone’s life to get their attention but they must hear the truth concerning Christ.
1. Verses 2-3: The God of glory has a plan for His creation and for that reason we are accountable to Him.
2. Verses 7-8: God has shown us His way by which we are to live.
3. Verses 38-43: We, however, have chosen our own way (See Isaiah 53: 6, “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way…”).
4. Verses 37, 52: Jesus Christ, the Prophet, the Just One was sent from God to bring us back to God and to His ways.
5. Verse 37b: Hear Him!
Stephen told them as much as they would allow Him to. Saul heard the truth. At first He resisted but on the road to Damascus, he heard and believed. He said to King Agrippa in Acts 26, “I was not, O King Agrippa, disobedient to the heavenly vision.” He believed what he had heard from Stephen.
Not only, however, should we tell the gospel of Christ in all its fullness but we need to pray. Stephen’s prayer was not long. It was his dying prayer but it was a prayer of love for those stoning him, for the young man, Saul, who voted for Stephen to be killed.
You see, we need to turn to God for His power and His filling. I know many of you pray for lost loved ones. Let’s not stop. Let’s intensify our prayers and our witness to those around us, not just to those who are receptive but also to those who are resistant. They need to hear the Word and we need to pray that God will open up their hearts to the gospel.
Some are thinking, how can I. They’ve told me they do not want to hear of Jesus and the Bible. What should I do? I can pray but how do I get the Word into their hands?
The book of 1 Peter reminds us that our lives give our witness authenticity. If your life is not authentic then begin today following Christ with your whole heart and put away those sins that hinder your loved ones from hearing the gospel of Christ. Become like Stephen a person who loves even when hated, who forgives even when forgiveness is not asked for or even wanted. Become like Christ who did not fight for His rights but rather died for His enemies. That is the teaching of 1 Peter.
Take gospel literature and leave it where those people can find it and read it. Listen openly to good gospel radio and TV, so that they also might hear. Invite people to Christmas programs and Easter Sundays and baptismal services and Sunday morning services. Look for opportunities to start conversations about God’s purpose for us, our failures, and Christ’s remedy for our sin. Converse about the truth! And pray! Pray! Pray!
Perhaps you need to trust Christ for your salvation. Christ came to bring you back to the ways of God. The consequences of rejecting Christ, of resisting the Spirit are eternal and damning. Trust Jesus and His death on the cross for your sins today!
Next Week: Selection by the Holy Spirit
The Filling with the Spirit as seen in the book of Acts January 3, 2010
Posted by roberttalley in Acts, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Evangelism, Filling with the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Religion, Sermons, Signs and Wonders, Spiritual Goals, Spiritual Power, Tongues, Witnessing.1 comment so far
THE FILLING WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
Acts 2:1-39
People often pray that I would be filled with the Spirit and I need to be. I need the filling of the Spirit so that I might have the capability to witness of Christ. I need that capability in my preaching, my praying, in my ministry. The mother, however, who is trying to teach her children the ways of Christ also needs the filling of the Holy Spirit to enable her, otherwise her efforts will be powerless. She will not be able to pass on to her children the witness of Christ. The ladies who keep our nursery and teach our preschoolers need this filling. Our teenagers need this filling. Our retirees need this filling. We all need this filling so that we might witness of Christ.
A. It is clear from the book of Acts that people can be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13). Now the word “with” can be used a couple of different ways.
In Ephesians 5:18 we are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In the context of Ephesians, it seems that the Holy Spirit is the filler. I am normally the one who makes the coffee in our house. There are specific things that I must do to make coffee. One of those things is to place the coffee filter into the coffee maker and then I fill the coffee filter “with” a plastic scoop “with” ground coffee. To fill a coffee filter “with” a plastic scoop is a much different meaning than to fill a coffee filter “with” ground coffee. Ephesians 5:18 seems to be indicating that the Holy Spirit is the means, “the plastic scoop”, by which we are filled. Now this is a subject for a different sermon but if you want to know with what the Holy Spirit fills us, Ephesians 3:19 indicates that it is the fullness of God with which the Holy Spirit fills us.
1. Luke, however, both in his gospel and in the book of Acts uses the phrase “filled with the Spirit” differently. The Holy Spirit is the content (the ground coffee) of the filling (compare 2:2, 4). If you look at verse 2 we have an example of a filling. It says a sound like a rushing mighty wind filled the whole house. Now we are all familiar with the way in which the sound of a blowing wind can drown out all other sounds. It is not that the other sounds do not exist but the sound waves do not go very far. They are overwhelmed by the sound of the wind. On that day, no matter where in that house you were, you could hear that sound. You could not get away from it. In fact, according to verse 6, I think you could have heard the sound outside of the house also. The people who Luke interviewed for his book were in the house, perhaps in different parts of the house but wherever they were in the house the sound like a rushing mighty wind was to be heard. It filled the house.
That is what Luke means when he says that these people were filled with the Spirit. He was in them and there was not a part of their being in which He was not.
2. His filling results in action from the ones who were filled (2:4-11). In this particular case, they were given the ability to speak in tongues, that is, in other languages. Now we need to be careful and not try to become “monkey-see, monkey-do Christians.” The filling with the Spirit is real but it does not always result in tongues speaking. In Acts 4:8, 13, 31 we see that the filling of the Spirit resulted in boldly proclaiming the gospel of Christ. That was also the main characteristic of Stephen in chapters 6-7, a man filled with the Spirit and bold to speak the gospel of Christ. After Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 9:18-25, we find him boldly preaching Jesus as the Christ.
In this chapter we find that boldness to preach the wonderful works of God also accompanied those who spoke in tongues. Miracles may or may not occur but the filling of the Spirit of God resulted in action, most often bold speaking of the gospel of Christ.
Now these actions are not always understood. On the day of Pentecost, it was assumed by some that these men were drunk. In Acts 4:13, the rulers recognized that these men had been with Jesus. In Thessalonica, the people saw Paul and Silas and Timothy and became followers of them and of Christ to such an extent that their enemies claimed that these men had turned the world upside down. It is clear that these men and women acted because of the filling with the Spirit in their lives.
B. People then can be filled with the Holy Spirit but generally it is only God’s people who are filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:14-21, 38-39). This is really the point of Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost. It is not just that people can be filled with the Holy Spirit but that God’s people are the ones now filled with the Holy Spirit and that you can become part of God’s people only through faith in Jesus as the Christ.
Peter is here making it clear that the outpouring of the Spirit on God’s people had been prophesied (2:14-18) and was to a certain extent being fulfilled before their eyes. Obviously, not everything that Joel predicted was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. That fulfillment is still to come when Jesus returns to set up His kingdom. What was fulfilled though was the filling of all God’s people with the Spirit of God, young and old, free and slave, man and woman and that the purpose of this fulfillment was to call people to turn to Christ as the Messiah, the Savior of the world.
At the top of your bulletin insert there is an outline from Ray Pritchard covering what the Bible teaches about the filling of the Holy Spirit.
“What Moses wished for (Numbers 11),
What Joel predicted (Joel 2:28-29),
What Peter explained (Acts 2:16-20),
Is now available to every believer (Acts 2:21).”
I might also add that this filling of the Spirit will reach it zenith when Christ comes to set up His kingdom on this earth.
It is important that we recognize that these people, although God’s people, were simply people. Peter continued to have problems with prejudice and cowardice despite experiencing the filling with the Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit enables you to minister effectively but it does not take you permanently to a higher spiritual plane that insulates you from sinful and selfish behavior.
Being filled with the Spirit also did not hinder Paul and Barnabas from disagreeing with one another so vehemently that they parted ways because of a difference of opinion. People wonder how it is that people who appear to be filled with the Spirit can strongly disagree with one another. It is as if they assume that being filled with the Spirit removes all hints of my own personality from my actions, opinions, and decision making. That is just not so. Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 14, “The spirit of a prophet is subject to that prophet.” So being filled with the Spirit does not make me a mindless automaton incapable of controlling my own actions but rather it takes my being and empowers me, enables me, emboldens me to do consciously as God would have me to do.
C. The filling with the Holy Spirit is through Jesus Christ (Acts 2:22-36). As I mentioned earlier, this is the point of Peter’s sermon. The key to being filled with the Spirit of God is faith in Christ.
1. Our witness of Christ is the reason for the filling (2:32-33). This is easily overlooked but is clearly stated in these verses. We have already seen how that in this case, the ability to prophesy or to speak in tongues was the immediate method God used to testify of the wonderful works of God (Acts 2:11). God has not always used these methods and in fact, I believe, does not use these methods anymore because they are no longer needed. We have the completed written Word of God. The significance, however, is not in the method God chooses to use but rather in the message that He is revealing to men and women through our witness.
We have also seen that this boldness to witness is really the primary earmark in Acts of someone who is filled with the Spirit. You see, the Spirit’s main concern is that people know Christ. If your main concern is for people to know Christ, if you have a passion for presenting Christ to a world on its way to hell, then it is likely that you as a believer are while presenting Christ filled with the Spirit. The filling with the Spirit is not identified by passionate feelings but by Spirit-enabled actions of witnessing of Christ and bringing others to discipleship of Christ.
After almost forty years in the faith, I find it relatively easy to determine when I am filled with the Spirit because during those times when I am filled with the Spirit there is great boldness to speak the gospel of Christ. When I am more concerned about what others think of my witness than of being Christ’s witness, I am not filled with the Spirit. I want to be a pastor who is filled with the Spirit. I want to be a father and husband who is filled with the Spirit. I want my wife and my children to be filled with the Spirit. I want this church to be filled with the Spirit. I want us to be bold in our witness for Christ.
2. Not only is Jesus the reason for the filling but He is also the provider of this filling with the Holy Spirit. He receives for us from the Father what we cannot obtain for ourselves (2:33).
“…the Spirit on the day of Pentecost came to these people in answer to the prayer of Jesus, not in answer to their praying…but entirely and absolutely in answer to the request…of Christ Himself (G. Campbell Morgan)” (see John 14:16). This waiting was evidence of their faith and trust in the promise of the Father and the prayer of Christ.
The believer can receive directly from the Father through Christ just as Christ Himself has received from the Father (John 14:12-14). This is why we pray. Jesus Christ has taken the place of authority by sitting on the right hand of His Father. When I pray to the Father, based on my faith in Christ, Christ is saying that the Father will answer my prayers in the same way that He gave to Jesus. The reason He does this, though, is because of Jesus Christ and not because of anything which I may bring before the throne of God. I cannot do anything in my prayers that will guarantee that they are answered. You see, Jesus is my access to the Father. He is the guarantee to answered prayer. That is what it means to pray in Jesus’ name.
Now I typically end my prayers with some variation of “in Jesus’ name.” That phrase though is not what guarantees that God answers my prayers. Prayer is not about phraseology. It is about access. I have access to God not because of the way I pray but because I trust for my salvation, Jesus Christ. So it is appropriate to pray for the filling of the Spirit but remember it is because of Christ and not because of you that the filling comes.
Are you filled with the Spirit? If you are, it is because of Jesus Christ and it will be evident to the world because you will have power to tell others about Jesus Christ and your faith in Him.
This, however, cannot be forced. LeRoy Eims tells in his book “The Lost Art of Disciple Making” of being “…asked to develop a summer training program for some high school and college students…” He writes, “During the course, my associates and I kept them on a daily schedule of tough spiritual discipline. We demanded they have a quiet time. We required them to memorize a certain number of Bible verses each day. We forced them to do a daily Bible study. We jammed it down their throats. It was mind over matter; we didn’t mind and they didn’t matter. The whole thing had the air of a Marine Corps boot camp. After the program was over, many of the young people left the camp disillusioned with these things. We had not yet learned that faithfulness and consistency (and I might add, power through the filling with the Holy Spirit) are the result of the promptings of the Holy Spirit within, not human efforts from outside.”
That does not mean that there is nothing we can do though. In Acts 2:42 we find out what the disciples did that allowed the early church to be consistently filled with the Holy Spirit. These were not new things but simply extensions of what the original disciples were already practicing before the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (See Acts 1).
1. They learned and obeyed God’s word together (doctrine).
2. They partnered with one another (fellowship) by meeting together for communion and prayer.
We can learn from this pattern. Some of you need to start going to Sunday School and Bible studies so that you can learn the Word of God and be filled with the knowledge of Christ. Others of you need to partner, fellowship, with other believers, in some cases, with this church, with the body of Christ. Your communion with Christ needs to be communion with His body. Some of you need to start praying with us on Wednesday night or if you cannot do that then begin praying with other believers in Christ. These are simple things that we all can do that will help us in our devotion to Christ and will make us available to be filled with the Spirit. Will you do them?
Next Week: Resisting the Holy Spirit
Why the Reception of the Holy Spirit is Not Always Accompanied by Tongues/Prophesying December 30, 2009
Posted by roberttalley in Acts, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Evangelism, Holy Spirit, Joel, Religion, Signs and Wonders, Tongues, Witnessing.add a comment
First, let me apologize for not getting yesterday’s promised links up. I hope to have them up by Sunday.
Many teach that the reception/baptism/filling of the Holy Spirit is always accompanied by tongues, prophesying, some other type of miracle, or at least some supernatural power in service (R. A.Torrey, for example). It is easy to understand why. When Moses in Numbers 11 wished that all Israel would be filled with the Spirit, it was for the purpose of supernatural service, particularly prophesying. The prophesy of Joel also specifically indicates miracle gifts like prophesies and visions as being characteristic in the last days of those on whom the Spirit is poured out. It is also true that several times in the book of Acts, not just on the day of Pentecost, that miracles often accompanied the filling with the Spirit.
Yet they did not always, even in the book of Acts. Acts 3:8 speaks of Peter speaking with boldness but not of performing miracles when he was filled with the Spirit.
There are three reasons why I believe that miracles do not always accompany the reception/filling/baptism of the Spirit.
1. Hebrews 2:3-4 teaches that the purpose of these signs and wonders were confirmation of the eyewitness testimony of the disciples. Acts also indicates that these signs and wonders served as confirmation that those believing in Christ were truly believers (Acts 8 and 10-11). We do not need such confirmation today because of the confirmation(s) found in the book of Acts. Also, we have the completed Word of God today which makes confirming signs and wonders unnecessary.
2. The main result of being filled with the Spirit seems to be boldness to witness rather than miracles. Compare the various passages with 1 Thessalonians 1-2, where Paul describes the missionary experience in Thessalonica.
3. The main doctrinal passage on the work of the Holy Spirit within the believer (especially 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 8) do not emphasize the sign gifts. In fact, Romans 8 does not even mention them. It seems that the main work of the Holy Spirit within us and within the church is quite independent of signs and wonders.
For these reasons, one should not require a miracle to prove one’s salvation, to confirm one’s preaching, or to verify that someone has the Spirit of God. The Bible just does not back that up as a present reality.
The Holy Spirit though is of great importance. That is in a sense the theme of the book of Acts. The importance of the Holy Spirit, however, is not in that miracles are performed through men by Him but rather that He enables men to spread the gospel of Christ throughout the world. For that purpose, we certainly continue to need the filling with the Holy Spirit today.
The Power of the Holy Spirit December 27, 2009
Posted by roberttalley in Acts, Holy Spirit, Promises of God, Religion, Sermons, Spiritual Power, Witnessing.add a comment
Later this week:
Tuesday: Links For Investigation – the Holy Spirit
Wednesday: Why the Reception of the Holy Spirit is Not Always Accompanied by Tongues/Prophesying
THE POWER (Capability) OF WITNESSING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Acts 1:1-8
Luke’s first book, his gospel begins with the Christmas story. It is, however, just the beginning. Luke goes on to tell us of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The other writers of gospel did not as far as we know write any further histories. Luke was different. He wrote a sequel. He wrote a man named Theophilus and told him that the story of Jesus did not end but continued in those who believed in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
This sequel we call Acts. Although Jesus is still an important figure in the book of Acts and men like Peter and Paul play important parts in the history, it is the story of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who follow Christ. Since many of us are followers of Christ, it is important that we know this story. This story, like Luke’s gospel begins with a promise and its fulfillment. That promise is to us as believers in Christ and its fulfillment defines the reality of the Christian. This promise is the Holy Spirit and this reality can be described with one word, “power”, that is, the power of the Holy Spirit in a believer that enables us to be witnesses of Christ.
A. Now, this power of the Holy Spirit to witness of Christ’s salvation is available the moment you believe. If you compare the passage we have just read with Acts 2:37-38, it is obvious that all that comes with the Holy Spirit is available at the moment of faith. Sometimes the gift of the Holy Spirit was accompanied by miracles but not always. Look again at Acts 2:37-47. It seems that the only ones at this time performing miracles were the apostles but they all received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In the case of the power of the Holy Spirit to witness, you receive that power at the moment you believe. This was the promise given by Jesus in Luke 24:44-49. It is referred to here in Acts 1:4-5. Jesus compares here the baptism of John with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. There are some significant differences between these two baptisms. The one is physical, the other spiritual. The one is by man, the other is by God. The one could be seen; the other could not normally be seen. The two baptisms have this in common: both baptisms come after one receives in faith the message of God. When one believed John’s message, John would baptize him. When one believes Christ message, the Holy Spirit baptizes him.
Think about the significance of this difference. John could have baptized someone by mistake. There were those who came to John, in whom he recognized that there was no faith in them and whom he refused to baptize. It is possible, though, that he could have baptized someone who had no faith. John was not all-knowing. The Holy Spirit, however, never baptizes the wrong person. All who he baptizes are true believers in Christ (1 Corinthians 12). That is why I am certain that every believer has the power of the Holy Spirit to witness because every believer in Christ is baptized by and with the Holy Spirit.
The Great Commission is closely connected with the Holy Spirit power (John 20:21-23). Although the word for power in Matthew 28:18-20 is “authority” rather than our word here “capability,” Matthew’s version of the Great Commission also makes it evident that “capability” from God also plays an important part. Jesus ends with this phrase, “And, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” Everyone who God wants to fulfill the Great Commission has the promise of the capability through the Holy Spirit to fulfill that commission. We cannot plead lack of ability. God the Father gave us, under the authority of Christ, the ability and capability to witness of Christ the moment we were saved and He will never leave us nor forsake but rather has given us the Spirit of God to be with us, to aid us, to enable us to proclaim the gospel of Christ.
Of course, we should prepare and learn. That is what Jesus is doing in this passage and what he had been doing during the past three years, teaching them and preparing them for the day when they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit. Even at this late date, it seems that they still had some gaps in their knowledge. Look at verses 6-7. Here the disciples are asking about the timing of the kingdom.
The reason these disciples are asking about the kingdom is clear. They know the Old Testament prophecies of Joel 2. In fact, in the next chapter, Peter uses that passage to explain to the multitude at Pentecost that what they were doing in speaking in tongues was simply a manifestation of God’s power as was connected in the minds of every Jew, that when the Messiah comes, the people would be endued with the Spirit of God for the purpose of prophesying and revealing God’s Word. It was just a foretaste. That prophecy will ultimately be fulfilled when Christ returns to this earth sometime in the future.
Of course, the disciples did not understand that there would be at least two thousand years before Christ would return. You would not have understood it and neither would have I. I think that is why Jesus answers them the way He did.
Jesus tells them two things…
First of all, you do not need to know when the kingdom will come. You need to trust that the Father’s timing is perfect and you need to be patient.
Secondly, you need to know how to spread the news of the kingdom.
1. He told them what to do, “…be witnesses of Me…” Jesus is the news of the kingdom. It is not primarily about a Jewish kingdom but about a Jewish king. It is not simply about an ethnic people but about a spiritual change to the world order. The only way to accomplish that is for the world to hear about the Jewish king, Jesus the Christ.
2. He told them where to start. “…in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
3. And He told them how they were going to accomplish this. “…you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…”
This power was accompanied by believers boldly or plainly witnessing of the gospel of Christ. Look at verses 32-36. Peter says in verse 32, we are witnesses of his resurrection. Boldness is implied in the word witness. It is translated occasionally “martyr”, one who is willing to die. I do not usually recommend that you witness in such a way that you get fired from your job. We are to be wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. Our witness, however, should be such that we are willing to pay a price to be a witness. I am afraid that most of us, if we had to choose between our job and our witness, we would choose our job. If we had to choose between our family and our witness, we would choose our family. If we had to choose between being accepted and witnessing of the one who has accepted us, who would we choose?
Let us continue reading verses 33-36. Peter’s witness was so bold and so plain that many of the hearers, according to Acts 2:37, were cut or pierced to the heart. Perhaps you remember the tragic story how that Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, was suddenly pierced to the heart by the stinger of a stingray and how that he himself pulled the stinger out and then almost immediately died. This is same picture. It was sudden! It had immediate consequences! It resulted in immediate actions! In this case, however, it resulted not in death but in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let me again emphasize that witnessing by the power of the Holy Spirit was accompanied by boldness, that is, plain speaking (Acts 2:29; used three times in chapter 4). We do not live in a time of bold speech for Christ among Christians. This era we live in is commonly called the postmodern era. Simply put, it means that what is right and wrong changes as culture and standards change. In other words, what is sin in Michigan may not be sin in Ohio and what is good and acceptable in Indiana may be shameful and sinful here. In other words, there is no certainty, there is no plain speech. We look at each other and try to figure out what is right or wrong. Unfortunately, we at times reflect in our lives the post-modern culture.
Some believe that we cannot go long with this type of attitude. Humankind gravitates toward certainty and hope, even if it is a false certainty and hope. The growth of cults and Islam and even of some aspects of evangelical Christianity is evidence to the fact that many people want Yes to mean Yes and No to mean No. In Acts 2 and 4 and other places, we see that these men spoke plainly. They did not dance around issues but plainly gave the truth. The Holy Spirit led them in that and empowered them in that and enabled them with boldness and wisdom to just tell the facts.
Why do we not want to share with each other much less with an unbelieving world, what Christ has done in our lives? I do not have the answer but it surely has nothing to do the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit gives us plain speech, ready speech, boldness to speak of what we know.
Do you have the power of the Holy Spirit to witness? If you are a believer in Christ, the answer is yes. You need to tap into that power. There is no alternative source. the ability to tell the world of Christ is in you right now in the form of a person, the Holy Spirit.
If you have not received Christ, you do not have this power. You need a different power, the power of the gospel. Paul in Romans 1:16 writes, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God to salvation, to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Gentile).” You are incapable of saving yourself but the gospel of Christ will save you from your sin if you will believe it. Peter said to the crowd on the day of Pentecost, “Repent and be baptized and you will receive the Holy Spirit.” There are two actions implied in that invitation. You need to turn from your sin and you need to turn away from any other way of salvation and turn only to Christ. Turn to Christ today and receive the Holy Spirit!
When Mother’s Day and Pentecost Sunday fall on the same day (a sermon) May 11, 2008
Posted by roberttalley in Acts, Mother's Day, Religion, Sermons.add a comment
THE WOMEN OF PENTECOST
Acts 1:12-15; 2:14-18
There has been a lot of talk about how early Easter was this year and how that none of us will probably see Easter come again as early in the year as it has this year. Because of the quirks of the calendar, this year Mother’s Day lands on the same day as Pentecost Sunday, which means that mothers have to share their holiday this year with the Holy Spirit. The last time this happened was 1951. The next time this happens will be in 2035. I will probably preach this same sermon on that day, so you can go ahead and make plans to be elsewhere.
Mother’s Day became an official national holiday in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a decree that the second Sunday of May be a day “for a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” This year, the fiftieth day after the Resurrection and the second Sunday in May are on the same day — May 11, 2008. Now usually, we do not think of mothers, or of women in general as being important at the first Pentecost but the Scriptures indicate that they were important.
We know that at least one mother, Mary the mother of Jesus, was present in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost and as we will see later, possibly several. Certainly, there were a number of women present on the day of Pentecost and they were not there simply as window dressing. They had an integral and important part on that day which we will look at today.
These women were from the very beginning recognized as an integral part of the body of Christ (Acts 1:14).
They were devoted disciples. They continued to follow Christ after He ascended to heaven. Luke’s tells how that a group of women from Galilee accompanied Christ on His last trip to Jerusalem (Luke 8:1-3; 23:49; 23:55-24:10). Some of these women like Mary Magdalene were notable for the miracles Christ had performed in their lives in either casting demons out of them or in healing them of some infirmity. Others of these women were known because of their husband or because of their sons. They had ministered to Jesus and to the disciples during this last trip. They had heard many of the great teachings that we find in the book of Luke regarding following Christ. They had been there as He was crucified. They had watched as He was laid in the tomb. They were the first ones to see the resurrected Christ. It is no wonder that they were also there, as devoted disciples.
They were waiting with the apostles for the promise of the Spirit (Acts 1:4-8). They were not there ignorant of Christ’s purposes. They were waiting for the promise of the Spirit. John the Baptist had proclaimed that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself had promised that baptism. This promise had not been fulfilled but Jesus had assured them that it was coming.
“…the Spirit on the day of Pentecost came to these people in answer to the prayer of Jesus, not in answer to their praying…but entirely and absolutely in answer to the request…of Christ Himself (G. Campbell Morgan)” (John 14:16). This waiting was evidence of their faith and trust in the promise of the Father and the prayer of Christ. Probably there is nothing that shows more evidence of trust than patience especially when you are out of the limelight.
One night, a group of ladies were having dinner celebrating the return of a friend form a fabulous trip. One of the ladies was a mother who felt sorry for herself when she compared her life mired in Little League car trips and peanut butter with that of her traveling friend. As she was feeling sorry for herself, her friend turned to her with a package and said, “I brought you this.” It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. Later she read the inscription: “To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.” It does not matter whether you are a mother or whether God has you in some other position that is overlooked and ignored. God sees and it is the patience you have when no one is looking that indicates the depth of your trust in God.
These women were waiting for the promise of the Spirit. They did not know what would come of this promise or how it would work exactly in their lives but they knew that it was necessary for them to wait with the apostles and the other men for that promise. They knew that it was meant for them also.
They were involved in worship with the apostles (Acts 1:14). It is interesting to see what they were doing as they waited. They were praying continually. One of the most common words for worship in the New Testament is connected to continual prayer. It is service to God. When we despise prayer, whether as individuals or as a group, we are despising the service and worship of our Savior.
This prayer meeting strengthened those who were sad and sorrowing because Christ had gone away. Remember, many if not all of these women had spent many days with Christ, serving Him and listening to Him teach. Their lives had been radically transformed by Christ. Their hearts had a huge void that was aching with longing for their Lord but He was gone. I’m sure they were praying for wisdom and strength and praising God for His greatness and mercy but no doubt they were also pouring out their heart in longing for Christ.
The successful prayer meeting is the place where God’s will and the carrying out of God’s will intersected one another. Perhaps I should mention what I mean when I say that the prayer meeting was successful. If they had not prayed in this manner, it is still possible they would have received the Spirit of God. The reason we can consider this prayer meeting successful is the fact that God’s will and man’s will melded together in that upper room. The prayer meeting in a sense is the evidence of this melding and welding together of God’s will. Successful prayer is not my changing God’s mind and will but rather the evidence that God is changing my mind and my will.
The prayer meeting was possible and successful because they were of one accord. This is obviously unnatural. In those days women were not considered significant. There was no Mother’s Day in the Roman Empire. The Pharisees used to thank God that they were not a woman but Jesus had made a change in the lives of these people. The apostles had the positions of authority and the women were at the bottom of the religious and social ladder but they were all in one accord praying. It is likely that some of the apostles’ mothers were there. We know that at least two of them had traveled with Jesus. The mother of James and John had tried to politic for her sons in the kingdom of heaven. There is no hint of such a thing now. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, is there but notice she is mentioned as an equal with the others in her involvement in prayer and waiting for the Spirit as a follower of Christ. Oh, that we had such a unity in worship. How pleasing that would be to our Lord and Savior.
These women received the same Holy Spirit as the apostles even though their responsibility was not the same (2:14-18). Now before we see the implications of this for women, we need to understand what Peter is trying to tell his listeners.
He is making clear that equality in the Spirit was prophesied (2:14-18) and that it was to a certain extent being fulfilled before there eyes. Obviously, not everything that Joel predicted was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. That fulfillment is still to come when Jesus returns to set up His kingdom. What was fulfilled though was the indwelling of all God’s people with the Spirit of God, young and old, free and slave, man and woman and that the purpose of this fulfillment was to call people to turn to Christ as the Messiah, the Savior of the world.
What Moses wished for (Numbers 11),
What Joel predicted (Joel 2:28-29),
What Peter explained (Acts 2:16-20),
Is now available to every believer (Acts 2:21).
And will be completed when Christ comes to set up His kingdom on this earth.
Now in this case, the ability to prophesy or to speak in tongues was the immediate method God used to testify of the wonderful works of God (Acts 2:11). God has not always used these methods and in fact, I believe, does not use these methods anymore. The significance is not in the method God chooses to use nor in the persons He chooses to use but the Holy Spirit which empowers those persons and methods enabling the gospel of Christ to be revealed through our witness and testimony. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that takes away any excuse not to be bold in our testimony for Christ (Acts 1:8).
Ladies, you need the power of the Holy Spirit just as much as I do. People often pray that I would be filled with the Spirit and I need to be. I need the power of the Spirit to preach, to pray, to work, to minister. The mother, however, who is trying to teach her children the ways of God needs the filling of the Holy Spirit also to empower her, otherwise her efforts will be powerless. She will not be able to pass on to her children the witness of Christ. The ladies who teach our preschoolers need this power. Our teenage girls need this power. Our teenage boys and retired men need this power. We all need this power, otherwise, we will fail in our witness for Christ.
There is more to this though that is implied but not directly taught in this chapter. Equality in the body of Christ was accomplished on that day (I Corinthians 12:12-14). On the day of Pentecost, the believers were empowered and they were indwelt by the Holy Spirit but they were also baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ. When does this baptism take place? Galatians 3:26-27 answers the question clearly: “You are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.” The order here is crucial. First there is faith which makes you a son of God, then you are baptized into Christ with the result that you are “clothed with” Christ. All of this happens at the moment of conversion. (Parts of this paragraph with thanks to Ray Pritchard). Let’s go on to verses 28-29, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” There may be a difference in gifts or position but every person, no matter there status is equal in the body of Christ because they were all put there the same way. They put their faith in Christ and the Spirit baptizes them into the body of Christ. Now just in case you still doubt that the Spirit makes us equal in Christ, look in the next chapter of Galatians (4:6), “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’”
This Baptism by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ is important because it takes away any excuse we have not to work together, love each other, or forgive each other (Galatians 5:13-16 and 5:22-26). It allows us to walk in the Spirit and not according to the ways of the flesh.
This unity with each other in Christ is the basis of the effectiveness of our service to God (I Corinthians 12-14 and Ephesians 4:7-12).
This unity with each other in Christ is the basis for the way we treat each other as believers (I Corinthians 13; Ephesians 4:1-6).
Ladies, I trust you see the importance you have in God’s family. People, tend to evaluate themselves by what they have and why they do not have. Some women see themselves as lacking because God has not blessed them with children. That pain is real. Those who are mothers often see their weaknesses or compare themselves with career women and feel inferior. Please, let me remind you that your importance as a lady, as a mother, as a person is not based on your outward circumstance but is established in Christ. If you have trusted Him, you are a part of His body by a special working of the Holy Spirit by indwelling you and empowering you and baptizing you into the body of Christ. Walk in that Spirit. Witness in that power. Live with confidence that you are significant to God and to His people as a member of Christ and His body.
Next Week: The Fold and the Feast – Psalm 23:1-6
Dorcas or Tabitha October 28, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Acts, Prayer, Religion, Sermons, Will of God, Witnessing.add a comment
SERVANTS IN ACTS: DORCAS – A PART OF GOD’S GREAT PUZZLE
Acts 9:31, 36-43
We have a Bugs Bunny Puzzle. Some of the pieces of the puzzle are fairly large. Other pieces are considerably smaller. Then there are some pieces that are really small. Even though they are not all of one size, they all interlock together to create a complete puzzle.
Some of the pieces are easy to pick out. If you look through the pieces, the ones with Bugs Bunny’s eyes are immediately noticeable. Others you look at and you wonder what could that possibly be. You cannot even tell by looking whether it is right side up or not. Eventually, though, as you continue to work through the puzzle, you come to a point where it is obvious where the piece belongs.
There are corner pieces and side pieces and inside pieces to the puzzle. Which ones do you think are the most important? You are right. Every piece has its place. Without every piece the puzzle cannot be completed.
We have another puzzle of a castle in Germany called Neuschwanstein. This puzzle has several hundred pieces. We have put it together several times and every time that we put it together we remember, there is a piece missing. We have had that puzzle for years and every time we fail to complete it, to finish it because there is one piece missing.
CHRIST’S PUZZLE
Jesus Christ has plan that appears to us as a puzzle. There are big pieces and little pieces. It is clear where some of the pieces belong and other pieces only Christ Himself knows how they fit in. There are corner pieces and there are side pieces and there are inside pieces but there is never a pieces missing.
The Bible makes it clear that from all eternity God had a plan. His plan and His purposes do not always make sense to us but every piece will fit exactly in the puzzle where He plans on it to fit and will result in His glory. We find in the book of Acts in the story of Dorcas a picture of how each individual believer fits into the plan of God.
THIS IS WHAT ACTS IS ALL ABOUT.
Christ is accomplishing His purposes (verse 31). This is the theme of the book of Acts. In Acts 1:8, Jesus stated His plan and His purpose for the believers. In Acts 9:31, Luke, the author of the book of Acts, takes a short breath to point out that His plan is being accomplished. For the first time we find the word “churches” in the Bible. On Pentecost, the 3000 believers were called those who believed. In Acts 4:32, the believers in Jerusalem are called the multitude who believed. In Acts 5:11, they are first named the church but they are all still in Jerusalem. In Acts 6:2 they are called the multitude of the disciples. Then in Acts 8:1 the church, thanks to Saul, is scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. They cannot come together in Jerusalem anymore. What do they do? According to verse 4 those who are scattered are preaching the gospel everywhere.
Saul does not stop in Jerusalem though. He is hunting down the believers wherever he can. On his way to Damascus to find the Jewish believers there, he is struck with blindness by Christ and becomes himself a disciple of Christ. A time of peace comes and we find that there is no more a church in Jerusalem but that there are churches in all Judea, Samaria, and Galilee and at least scattered believers in other parts of the world as far away as Damascus and Ethiopia. In all this Christ is accomplishing His purposes, He is putting together His puzzle. The gospel is being preached, believers are being baptized, and they are gathering together for the purpose of encouragement and teaching and serving and all those other things that Christ commands us to do. Christ’s church is expanding as He promised.
OUR LIVES ARE THE PIECES.
In the passage we are looking at, Christ uses the lives of people in accomplishing His purposes, in putting together His puzzle (verse 36-43). How then does He do this?
He uses our church relationships (verses 37-38). We do not know a lot about the church in Joppa but we do know that this was a church that cared for each other. There are three indications in this passage that these people truly cared for each other.
HOW DO WE KNOW THEY CARED?
They cared for each other as evidenced by the two messengers sent to get Peter. This woman was important to the church. She did not preach, prophesy, perform miracles, teach, give huge sums of money, or manage important ministries but the church cared for her just the same and went to find Peter for the purpose of having her raised from the dead. They obviously cared for this woman very much.
They cared for each other as evidenced by the ministry of Dorcas to the widows in the church. Widows played a very prominent part in the New Testament church. We find that the first great dispute in the Jerusalem church had to deal with taking care of widows. Paul wrote extensively on the subject. James deals with the subject. Caring for others in tangible ways is of importance in God’s Word.
They cared for each other as evidenced by the fact that Simon the tanner was counted among their number. From the very beginning, although it took a while for the believers to understand it, Christ’s body has included male and female, free man and slave, Jew and Gentile. Simon the tanner worked in an occupation which was considered unclean because he had to handle dead bodies of animals, an occupation which was considered outside of the realm of the holiness of God. This church by including this man and Peter by staying with this man showed that he himself was not outside of the realm of the holiness of God. That is after all, why Christ died, that those who are sinful might be made holy in Christ Jesus.
GOD USES NOT JUST OUR OUTWARD RELATIONSHIPS BUT ALSO OUR INWARD RELATIONSHIP.
Not only does God use our church relationships but He also uses our character (verses 36 & 39). Notice I did not say talents or gifts although that is also important but what God really uses in our lives is our character. Now God can use you even if you do not have a good character but it will be in a limited way. The limit, however, is not that God is limited or that you have limited God but that you have limited yourself and your availability to be used of God.
He produces in our lives good works. Romans 2:5-7 tells us that good works are the proof that one is continuing in the faith. 2 Corinthians 9:8 tells us that God blesses us and enables us for the purpose of showing good works. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we were created for the purpose of doing good works. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that the reason for the Scriptures is to prepare us for good works. In this passage we see a woman who was full of good works and God uses these good works.
He uses her good works to produce charitable deeds. The word we use is benevolence. We do not have a benevolence fund to find an inroad into people’s lives. Sometimes it looks like we are wasting our time helping people. They have no spiritual interest. Sometimes they are not thankful for the help they receive but Christ can use those funds to expand His kingdom, to further His purposes, to put a piece in the puzzle. We have seen that here in this church.
This is why we are making special appeals for the benevolence fund and why we participate in benevolent projects like Operation Christmas Child. We want our good works which come from our faith in Christ to produce charitable deeds. This is money that does not go into this church. Benevolence is not an investment in missions but God does use benevolence for His purposes. Not always in the way that you and I might expect but He does use it.
GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS AND PUTS A PIECE IN THE PUZZLE.
In addition, He uses our prayers (verse 40). Even those prayers for the sick have a higher purpose than getting people well. The point of this passage is not that God answers prayer or that He answers prayer for the sick or that He sometimes answers in miraculous ways. The point of the passage is God’s plan and purposes are advanced through His answer to prayer. Let me make a bold statement. God never answers a prayer that does not further His purposes. Could Christ have raised this woman from the dead without Peter’s prayers? Absolutely, but Christ accomplishes His purposes through His people and one of the ways that He uses us is through our prayers.
We do a lot of praying for sick people here. On Wednesday night at least half of our requests are dealing with physical needs, often of people who we do not know. It is easy for us to discount those requests and not pray for them because we do not know the people (as if that had anything to do with whether God is going to answer our prayers or not). God does not answer my prayers based on whether I am feeling right about my prayers. God answers my prayers because I am His child and He is my God. If I pray to Him, He works in the situation effectually. The main passage of teaching on healing in James 5 uses the example of Elijah as a man of such passions as we are but he prayed and God answered his prayers. James then goes on to say that the effectual prayer of a righteous man makes a big, a BIG difference.
GOD CAN USE BOTH PETS AND POLITICIANS
Recently, we had a discussion on Wednesday night about children praying for pets and how we should handle that situation. I was reminded this week of what G. Campbell Morgan said when someone said that they did not pray about the little things. The British preacher said that in the sight of God, all our requests are little. Rather than teaching our children to only pray for big and important things, we need to teach them that everything, from sick people to sick pets can be used of God to bring others to them. That is how we should pray? Lord, use this thing in my life to put another piece in the puzzle.
This is clearly how God wants us to pray. When Paul taught Timothy about praying for the government in his first epistle, he made it clear that the purpose of our praying for the government is that we might more effectively reach others with the gospel. If Mike Huckabee will make us better witnesses, Lord, give us Mike Huckabee. If Hillary or Rudy or Kucinich or McClain or whoever it might be, Lord, give us a president that will result in God using us to put the pieces in the puzzle. Forget the Supreme Court and forget the balanced budget and the Iraq War and abortion and all the other issues, God give us a government that will enable us to please you, whether through persecution or peace to be better witnesses of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTS OR MISTAKES WITH GOD.
He uses our church, our character, or prayers but, finally, He uses our circumstances (verses 37-42). The circumstances here are not good. This woman is dead. This is a tragedy. She has suffered great pain going through sickness and death but Christ uses these horrible circumstances in combination with a caring church, her good character, and a praying apostle to bring about a situation where more people would come to Jesus Christ as Savior.
Not every tragic situation is used so obviously by God but He does use our circumstances to accomplish His purposes. Think of the circumstances of your life. There are those here who came to Christ because they wanted premarital counseling. Others have come to Christ because they wanted their children to get some religious training. Others were in circumstances where there was no tragedy but God opened their eyes through some sermon or statement or in at least on situation that I am aware of through a rock opera. Some of us were reared in Christian families and God has used that. Others were raised in non-Christian families and God used those specific circumstances to bring us to Him. Circumstances vary as much as people but in every circumstance God’s hand was and is at work.
THE PIECES
Who was most important? Peter? Dorcas? The men who came and got Peter? The widows that Dorcas helped? The church that cared for each other? Everyone of them was essential in Christ’s plan, to make the puzzle complete.
Whatever He is using in our life, it is a part of the puzzle of Christ’s purpose for the universe (verse 42). We are a vital part in Christ’s plan. Why? Because Christ desires it.
LOOK AT YOUR LIFE!
What did Christ do to bring you to this service this morning? You might say, well I decided for myself to come this morning and that is no doubt true but God could have kept you away. Christ has given you an opportunity this morning. What are you going to do with it?
There is no guarantee that you will have another opportunity to take what you have heard this morning and apply it to your life. Do you need to trust Christ as Savior? The same power that raised Dorcas from life and that raised Jesus Christ from the dead will give you eternal life if you will trust Christ as Savior. Take that opportunity today!
Believer, God is working in your life. Are you working with Him? Some of you need to be involved in this church so that God can work more effectively in your life. Others of you need to begin serving others rather than yourselves. Prayer needs to become a greater part in many of your lives. Whatever your situation, you need to be depending on Christ to use the circumstances in your life for His purposes. God wants you!
Links to Sermons on Dorcas and the Surrounding Context October 24, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Acts, Links, Peter the Apostle, Prayer, Sermons.add a comment
An Encouraging Sermon from John Piper
The Forgotten Couple (A Sunday Morning Sermon) October 21, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Acts, Jesus, Religion, Sermons, Teamwork.add a comment
SERVANTS IN ACTS – AQUILA AND PRISCILLA – SERVING AS A FAMILY
Acts 18:24-28
When one reads the New Testament, it is striking how few couples are mentioned in the first century church. We find men, both married and single, who are prominent and we find women who are prominent in the church but we find very few couples. Of those few, Aquila and Priscilla, especially stand out.
There is something else that stands out in the New Testament and that is that there are very few instructions of family members. There is a reason for this. Paul and James and John and Peter and Luke and the other writers of the New Testament are writing to a larger family, the family of God, the body of Christ, the Church. Usually, they assumed that what they were writing to the church should be applied to the family. In fact, when they are writing to the family, we find that it is always in the context of the local church. We are not going to be able to look at these verses this morning but what we are going to do is look at Aquila and Priscilla and see what principles that were written to the church at large and how they practiced these principles as a couple.
In fact, that is why they seem to be singled out as a couple. They practiced the principles of God’s Word as a couple. They were of one mind in spiritual things. Certainly, this is the ideal for each and every one of us but if you are not able to be of one mind as a couple in spiritual things, it is still possible for you to apply the principles of the Word of God to your life that Aquila and Priscilla applied to their lives.
THIS COUPLE WAS HOSPITABLE.
They Exhibited The New Testament Principle of Hospitality to Strangers. That is the meaning of the word – “love strangers”. The Bible makes it clear that we are not to pull back from each other, even from those believers who we do not know. The leadership of the church is commanded both in 1 Timothy and Titus to be hospitable. Hospitality in the lives of Abraham and Lot and Rahab is shown to be signs of their faith in God. Paul included a passion for hospitality in the lives of the believer as a characteristic of a believer, who is a living sacrifice. A couple of times during the past two years we have preached on this subject. Have you applied what you have learned from God’s Word? Is your attitude toward people an attitude of love?
Now you may ask, what difference does it make? Why does it matter if I make it a point to talk to someone different every week at church? Why does it matter if I seek fellowship with those who are not my closest friends in the church? Why does it matter if I open up my home to visiting Christians? Why does it matter if I show spiritual interest in other people? What difference does it make if I visit or call those who cannot or do not show up at church on Sunday morning?
THE REAL “PILLARS” OF THE CHURCH
Their Hospitality in Corinth to Paul (Acts 18:2) aided the establishment of the church. “When Paul first reached Corinth he was experiencing a great deal of discouragement.” At Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, Paul had preached the gospel and then was run out of the town. He went to Athens and the response was under whelming. He comes to Corinth, alone because he had sent Timothy and Silas to Thessalonica to make sure that they had remained in the faith. This couple took Paul in gave him work and gave him a home. They sustained him until such time that he was able to renew his strength and throw himself again fully into the work of preaching the gospel of Christ to the city of Corinth, which he did for the next year and a half. Who are you helping and encouraging so that they might be able to minister more effectively in the future?
Their Hospitality in Ephesus to Apollos (Acts 18:24-28) resulted in the transformation of a man. Aquila and Priscilla had moved to Ephesus with Paul and had remained there. Although they were Christians, they continued to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath and hear the Word of God. A visiting preacher by the name of Apollos came to town. This man was a powerful speaker and preached the message of John the Baptist and how that related to Jesus being the Messiah. That was the baptism to which he had committed himself. There was something, however, that was missing. Perhaps Apollos did not know about the resurrection of Christ. Maybe he was not aware that Jesus was not just the Messiah but God Himself. It is possible that he did not understand the implications of the cross. One thing is for sure, Aquila and Priscilla explained the missing component and Apollos was transformed.
Their Hospitality in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 6:19: “The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.”) and in Rome (Romans 16:3-5b: “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house.) within the Church. Because they consistently and constantly hospitable, whether in Corinth or in Ephesus or in Rome, wherever they were they were open to the people of God and had a positive impact on others throughout the whole region of Asia Minor and Greece and Italy. Being hospitable next week will not make a difference. One time going out of your way to encourage a fellow believer has limited value. However, when you day in and day out show the love of God to others, you will have an impact beyond what you could ever do with finances and great gifts like preaching or teaching. One of the greatest needs of the church today might be a revival of love and hospitality among God’s people.
HOSPITALITY MEETS EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL NEEDS.
The two greatest emotions felt when people come to church are often fear and loneliness. Fear that they will be embarrassed and loneliness because no one seems to care whether they are there or not. A friendly church is not one where you greet the same people week after week with great joy. That is a “cliquey” church. If perfect love casts out fear, then let us show God’s love by casting out fear and loneliness through hospitality to others.
PARTNERS IN THE LORD’S WORK
The New Testament Principle of Partnership in Ministry as shown by Their Move from Corinth to Ephesus (Acts 18:18) As Paul’s Fellow Workers (Romans 16:3). When you join a church, you become more than a member. You become a fellow worker. Now what is the task of the church. Reaching the world with the gospel. Everything that we do here is to have as its ultimate go the transformation of men and women, boys and girls through the message of Jesus Christ. That is the basis on which we be rewarded according to 1 Corinthians 3:5-15.
I am afraid that we sometimes misunderstand what it means to be rewarded when we stand before Christ. Just as it is impossible to do enough good works to please God and get Him to forgive us of our sins, it is impossible to do enough good deeds and to avoid enough sins and to have a good enough attitude to get Christ to reward us. Our reward is based on how we build others up in Christ Jesus.
The basis of our reward being in a large part based on our impact on the lives of others cannot be underestimated. Paul wrote the Thessalonians and said that they were his crown of rejoicing at the coming of Christ.
It is interesting that both Paul and Apollos, the planter and the waterer were sustained by they same two people: Aquila and Priscilla. If Paul and Apollos are rewarded for the transformation of the lives of the Corinthian believers than surely Aquila and Priscilla will not be forgotten.
MY WIFE’S THANK YOU…
There is no insignificant work in Christ’s kingdom. When we were on deputation, my wife used to give her testimony to the churches in the form of a thank you. She would tell how that Edgar and Oleta Mitchell came to their town and started a church in their home and how that the young St. Onge family was saved in that little house church and how that from that church came missionaries to German-speaking Europe and to Argentine and to Canada and leaders of other churches came from that little house church but that all the credit was not to go to the Mitchells but to the dozens of churches and hundreds of believers who supported them financially and prayed for them daily and weekly and monthly. My wife was never able to say thank you to those people who supported the Mitchells but she was able to say thank you to those in other churches who were supporting missionaries and praying for missionaries around the world. The Mitchells planted and watered and God gave the increase but certainly those churches and individuals will be rewarded also.
THE GREATEST PRINCIPLE
The New Testament Principle of Expounding Christ Accurately (Acts 18:24-28). Once again we come to the guiding light of our Christian life. It is possible for an unsaved person to be hospitable, to show love to strangers. It is possible for them to partner together with others for the common good. It is not, however, possible for them to expound the gospel of Christ, as Luke puts it, “more accurately.”
I understand that it is possible to be saved without full knowledge of many of the doctrines of Jesus Christ. When I was saved at the age of eight, I did not understand what the Virgin Birth of Christ. I did not understand the meaning of Justification and being made righteous in Christ. I did not know that the Holy Spirit came to live in the heart of the believer or what the Body of Christ was. What I did have though was a very clear picture of my sin and my inability to do anything about my sin but that Jesus through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead guaranteed salvation from the lake of fire to all who trust Christ. That is the more accurate understanding of Jesus Christ that is absolutely essential to salvation.
As we have already seen, Apollos knew the Scriptures but did not have a fully accurate understanding of who Jesus is. It is amazing that Apollos was willing to listen to this couple but he did. Spurgeon tells of a young man with great gifts and ability but with a different attitude who accompanied a minister friend to the city jail to observe his friend preach.
“…As the minister looked at the audience, he preached to them Jesus with so much earnestness as deeply to impress his companion. On their return home, the young man said, ‘The men to whom you preached to-day must have been moved by the utterance of such truth. Such preaching cannot fail to influence.’ ‘My dear young friend,’ answered the minister, ‘were you influenced? Were you impelled by the words you heard to-day to choose God as your portion?’ ‘You were not preaching to me, but to your convicts,’ was quickly answered. ‘You mistake. I was preaching to you as much as to them. You need the same Saviour as they. For all there is but one way of salvation. Just as much for you as for these poor prisoners was the message of this afternoon. Will you heed it?’ The word so faithfully spoken was blessed of God.” from My Sermon Notes, Volume 3, Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Apollos heard the message and his ministry was changed. The change is evident in 1 Corinthians 3. Apollos is no longer building on the foundation of John’s baptism but on the foundation of Jesus Christ. The reason Paul could write that the church in Corinth has all knowledge was because both the planter and the waterer built on the foundation of Christ. It is vitally important that people understand who Christ is.
The popular thought today is that the only way to keep our young people from leaving the church is to make church more appealing to them. That will not work in the long run. There is nothing wrong with trying to make a church service enjoyable or even more culturally appealing. We desire every week to put our best foot forward in our church service but that will not change people’s lives. They need to see Jesus more accurately. They need to understand Him more fully.
