***************************** ***************************** It is approximately 1,500 miles from Cincinnati, OH to Nova Scotia. To give you an idea of how far it is, itâs a little bit less than the drive from where Iâm standing to Phoenix, Arizona. Itâs a fair piece. So if you had a week and two children that didnât get along that well, you probably wouldnât imagine that driving from here to Phoenix and back is a great idea. My parents, however, really wanted to see Nova Scotia, I guess, because one family vacation found us driving from Cincinnati to Nova Scotia and back. What I learned on that trip is that spending an entire vacation in a car is not a great way to spend an entire vacation. There were some pleasant parts to that vacation, but mostly it consisted of the general idea that it was time to get back in the car. We had a destination, and we werenât close to it, so it was time to get back in the car. My family spent a lot of time facing the fact that it was time to get back in the car. Growing up in Cincinnati while your family was on the west coast meant that going to see Grandma entailed 3 days in the car. Each way. If youâre curious, Kansas does actually take forever to drive through. Iâve done scientific measurements that confirm this. Many mornings consisted of one focusâhow quickly can we get back in the car. What I discovered is that such a model makes for lousy vacations. If all you remember is how many hours you spent in the car, thatâs not so relaxing. If all you can think about is that you donât want to get in the car for another week, thatâs not relaxing. Just as a vacation in constant motion doesnât allow for true rest, a life in constant motion never develops spiritual rest. We donât practice Sabbath because we are too busy moving. The impending pressure of what must be done presses in on us to the extent that we are unable to relax, unable to let God take over and lead us into the meadow. We are the sheep, and the shepherd commands us to restâhave you ever considered how important it is that obeying the Sabbath is a commandment? Itâs not just a suggestionâitâs a command. 10% of the commandments are dedicated to helping you rest. When we live in constant motion, the danger is that everything becomes transient. We donât slow down enough to develop deep roots. We donât build relationships when weâre moving at warp speed, because weâre too busy thinking about what comes next to listen to the person next to us. Weâre so wrapped up in what weâre doing that we become unavailable to the people around us. When we are in constant motion, we miss out on the life God has in store for us. Constant travel and motion is a bad thing. When we think about Paulâs life, we think about all the places he went, but he usually spent months, if not years, in a city, investing in the life of the church there, teaching and preaching and leading the people into a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ. He loved the people, and they loved him, and this was made possible by the deep commitment he made to the people. If he only stayed for a few days, preached a few nice sermons and then moved on, I donât know that Paul would have impacted the people in the same way. But what was Paulâs impact? Paul came, in the first verse of chapter 20, to encourage the disciples. The church needed encouragementâthere was much chaos in the world around them, and they were all discovering what it meant to live as Christians in a world that wasnât particularly friendly to Christians. Many of their relationships were affected by their new faith, so they needed to hear Paul encouraging them to bind themselves together around the Lord Jesus Christ. Beyond that, Paul talked. A lot. Weâre told here in Acts 20 of a young man who came to hear Paul, doubtless eager to hear what the famed man had to say. Of course, that probably wore off after a few hours, and soon the man fell asleep, apparently in a somewhat precarious position, as he soon tumbled a few stories to his death. It is here that Paul performs a miracle, giving life back to the man he just bored to death, and then goes right on talking. What a guy! From there, Paul goes on to meet the elders of the church of Ephesus. Paul had spent three years in Ephesus, building deep roots and deep relationships with the church there, and it is here that we see the depth of that love. Paul warns the people of the danger that will surely come, and he reminds them that his sole purpose is to proclaim the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Paul had a solitary focus, and he invested much time and energy in helping the people see Christ as the son of God. Finally, Paul charges them with a missionâto care for the weak, and to remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Friends, today is the last sermon I will give at New Hope. For 6.5 years I have done my best to labor faithfully, to point to Jesus Christ at work in our midst. I have given roughly 300 sermons, but more than that, I have had the blessing of developing deep relationships. You all have opened your hearts to me, and I am eternally grateful for that gift. I am thankful to have been here long enough to let my roots sink into this place, not to jump straight back into the car and head off to the next place. Chattanooga, New Hope, has been home to me. In that time, I have encouraged you. I have encouraged you to know that Jesus Christ is Lord of all of life, and that nothing in this world shall separate you from his love. The love of Christ knows no bounds, and as we deal with the world around us, it takes a lot of work to figure out just how God is calling us to live. Itâs not easy, but itâs critical that we encourage one another to stay faithful, to recognize that we are not alone, and that the Lord Jesus Christ is constantly with us as we seek to be faithful to our calling. Also, I have talked a lot. I am grateful that we do not have a balcony here, so that we donât have to worry about anyone falling asleep and falling to their peril. I love that Luke includes this story in ActsâPaul must have hoped everyone would forget about the time a guy died because he fell asleep listening to Paul. It gives all pastors courage, for we know that no sermon we give will put anyoneâs life in danger if it gets too boring. Friends, I do not know exactly what lies ahead for me. I know that I am being called to get back in the car and travel somewhere else, down the road of ministry. I believe I am being called into a life of ministry and service, and that I will continue to use my gifts to encourage and preach and teach, but I donât know exactly what thatâs going to look like. As I leave, I will share Paulâs charge, for I canât think of a better way to go. As disciples, we are called to care for the weak, and to remember that our blessings are not meant for usâthey are meant to be shared, to be given freely to those in need. Every blessing you have, from the very life within you to the money in the bank to the voice and talents you have, is given with a single, solitary purposeâto bring glory to God. When you share those gifts, I believe we multiply how much glory is given to God, because then others join with us in praising God. May we have hearts open and available to look for the weak around us, and to admit our own weaknesses, and may we go out into the community and seek those who are broken, those who are struggling, and may we seek to share our gifts with them, that they may come to recognize Christ as work in and through us. May we not shine for our own glory, but may the light of Christ burn brightly to beat back the darkness and invite all to come into the light of Christâs love that is seen fully on the cross, and may we glorify and serve God, and God alone. Let us pray
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Acts 19 ********************** ********************** I was 16 when I tore my ACL for the first time. I was playing a high school soccer game when someone hit the side of my knee with their knee and made my knee bend in a way that the good Lord did not design my knee to bend. As a result, I was soon writhing on the ground using words that they would have preferred we not use in the small Catholic high school I attended. The intensity of the pain was at a level I had never before experienced. That, however, was nothing compared to the pain I would experience the day after the surgery. See, for the month before the surgery, everything had settled in. It was comfortable. I could even walk on it. Just when everything had calmed down, a doctor cut it open with the knife. That evening, when I slept longer than the duration of the pain medications, I woke up feeling like someone had screwed a new ligament into my bones. Which, curiously enough, is exactly what had happened. I have never had pain like that, and when I had knee surgery twice more, I was sure to wake up in the middle of the night to take pain medication. It doesnât really make sense, does it? Why does it hurt more when we try and fix things? My knee should have realized that the doctor was setting things up for the best, right? My body should have been happy that I would once again have lateral stability. Instead, my body reacted like someone was trying to cut off my leg. Itâs not only surgery that causes this reaction. Think about what happens when youâre standing in a dark room and someone flips on a very bright light. Youâre blinded, right? You canât see a thing, and it can be so bright that you have to shield your eyes from the very light thatâs helping you see. At first, the things sent to help can actually hurt us. I could go on and on listing examples of how the things that are here to help actually end up hurting us at first. The point is that change is difficult, even change for the good. What happens is a system has hardenedâit knows its limits and has routines in place. After an injury, a body adapts to a new way of being. In the dark, your pupils dilate and seek out as much light as possible. To change this system, there is enormous resistance that must be overcome. To alter the direction, it takes great effort, and there is no guarantee that what is currently there will not resist. So when we view the response of the city of Ephesus to Paulâs arrival and his time spent preaching the Gospel, we shouldnât be so surprised at some of the reactions he received. First of all, notice the time Paul spends in Ephesus. So often, when we think of the Biblical narratives, we picture instant conversion, moments in which the light switch flips on and the Gospel is suddenly made real in someoneâs life, and then we imagine that they never struggle again. When we look at our own lives and donât see something similar, we feel inferior. Here, Paul spends three months preaching in Ephesus. During those three months, he does his best to make the Kingdom of God real. He was introducing the people to the way God works in the world, and the people, we understand, began to change. But just as the people were changing, resistance was forming. Evil rumors began to spread, because Paul was challenging the status quo. To follow the Gospel with our whole hearts implies that there are certain societal practices that weâll have to give up, and when enough people start to do that, those with interest in keeping things the way they are begin to get upset. So what does Paul do? Give up? Noâhe spends the next two years preaching the Gospel in Ephesus. He invests two years in spreading the message. Itâs not necessarily one big dramatic movementâitâs showing up, day after day, and trusting God to work through his efforts. What we see is amazing change that goes on in the city. Pieces of clothing that touch Paul are able to heal the sick. Witches and warlocks willingly burn books full of incantations. Lives are changed. The city begins to change. See, when the church is at work in the world, it affects more than just ourselves. If our faith is kept bottled up within us, within these walls of the church, then weâre missing the point. Faith in the New Testament always leads the church out into the world, and the two often end up in conflict because the world doesnât care much for the change. The same is true in Ephesus. The silversmiths, the ones who make models of Artemis to sell, see the change taking place, and theyâre worried about losing their economic place in the city. Theyâre worried that if the folks in the city stop worshiping Artemis, they wonât keep buying silver models, and then theyâll start losing money. So they riot. Paul narrowly avoids getting caught up in this, but the important thing to note is that when change threatens the economic model in the city, people get angry. This isnât a theological battleâitâs an economic one. But the church canât be afraid to make waves. The church canât keep itself squirreled away where it is safe just to avoid conflict. The word leads us out into the world, and we cannot be afraid of conflictâthe world will resist the change, but that doesnât mean we are wrong. Itâs easy to stay inside, where itâs safe, to practice spirituality that avoids the conflict. The world will resist the change the church seeks. Systems donât like to change, and when you threaten peopleâs income, youâre treading on dangerous ground. But think about thisâhow does a light bulb work? Light bulbs, at least the old fashioned ones that are supposedly going to be illegal at some point, have a filament, and when the current passes through it, the resistance causes the wire to glow, giving off light. In the same way, the Word of God can only spread when it goes out into the world. If we keep it bottled up inside the church, it never meets the world, will never engage with the resistance, will never spread light to the world. If we try and keep it bottled up to keep ourselves safe, we miss the point. But if we follow the Word into the world, weâll meet resistanceâbut in that resistance, Christâs light will shine even brighter. After all, it was on the cross, the moment of the worldâs greatest resistance to the Gospel, where Godâs love was most magnified, and it paved the way for Godâs greatest victory. So may we go and engage with the world, trusting that our witness will help the light shine. Let us pray Click Here: Acts 17:16-34 ***************** ****************** Letâs dive into something controversial, shall we? Letâs talk about desserts. Now, some of you are equal opportunity dessert lovers. If it has sugar in it, youâre interested, and dinner is often the meal to be endured before you get to the good stuff. You donât have to be pickyâas long as itâs dessert, youâre happy. Now, others of you have favorites. Iâm a favorite kind of guy. Ice cream and cookies is as good as it gets, and Iâm often not too interested in the other options. Others of you, well, you might prefer cake. Or maybe pie. But we have our favorites. Now, letâs just say I made it my personal mission to convert everyone in the church to choosing ice cream and cookies for dessert. The worst way to do so would be to stand up and tell you that youâre a terrible person for liking cake, and that choosing cake will rot your brain and lead you into perilous moral choices. What if I belittled you for choosing pie? Would that work? Or, would it convince you if I ignored anything you said or anything about you and simply shouted over you? What if I ignored your lactose intolerance and simply told you that ice cream was right for you anywayâwould you find that appealing? Now, if I really wanted to win you over to ice cream and cookies, what would be the best way to do so? Iâm guessing it would be to learn what you like, to get to know you, and then maybe invite you over to my house to try some homemade ice cream and cookies. Maybe youâd convert right then. Maybe youâd be curious enough to come back and try it again later. Maybe youâd lead unconvinced. Any way it ended, youâd have had a positive experience with someone whom you believed deeply cared about you and getting to know you and your interests. So this is the ideal way Iâd convert you to a lifelong love of ice cream and cookies. Itâs much more reasonable and, probably, appealing than any alternative. So when we come to talking about something much, much more important that dessert, how are we going to approach others about our faith? When we find Paul in Athens in Acts 17, heâs in a city filled with idols. Itâs a place foreign to Christianity, and note how he approaches the people in the city. We know that his spirit was provoked within him, but rather than rant and rave and hope that his anger converted the Athenians, he instead spends days in the synagogue engaged in conversation with the Jews. Heâs in the marketplace every day talking with the philosophers. He spent time getting to know the people and the city, and only then does he begin to address the Athenians. When he does speak, he speaks to the people, rather than over them. He starts with something they can all relate toâtheir hunger for God. See, the Athenians were a religious people, a people who were eager to worship. They simply had the target of their worship wrong. They knew they were supposed to be worshipping, and so Paul started with that, because it was something they had in common. From there, he redirected their efforts, their worship, pointing out to them the error of their ways. They had this statue of the unknown god, where they basically admitted that they werenât sure what they worshipped, they just intrinsically knew they were supposed to be worshipping. Paul points out that statue and tells them that this doesnât have to remain a mysteryâthat God has pulled back the curtain so that the truth might be revealed. And that truth is not some esoteric point to be debatedâitâs a person, Jesus of Nazareth. So Paul points to Christ, crucified and risen from the dead. He starts with the darkness, where the Athenians are, and he brings them into the light. He is compassionate, yet firm. He does not waver from the centrality of Jesus Christ, but he also does not bludgeon them for getting it wrong. They are welcome to repent, invited to repentâbut they have to do so around the person of Jesus Christ. Now, at this point some of them depart. Resurrection from the dead is too much for them. Some of them convert, and many others want to hear more. Theyâre intrigued. Theyâre curious. They have questions, and before they convert their lives to follow Christ, they want answers. Friends, the great news for us is that Christianity doesnât have to be afraid of questions. We donât have to hide behind secrets and mysteriesâwe believe that Christianity is robust and rigorous enough to withstand examination. For 2,000 years, the opponents of the church have been trying to tear it down. They have not succeeded, and will not succeed, for not even the gates of hell itself are strong enough to prevail against Christianity. So what do we learn from this? First of all, we were made to seek God. Paul says this in verse 27. He notes that God didnât need to create us, that God wasnât missing something without us, but that God wanted to create us and knows that we are at our best when we are seeking God with our whole hearts. God wants the best for us, and our sin interferes with this life, so God longs for us to seek him. In verse 27, Paul spells out the purpose of life, and our greatest hope. We are all made to seek God, and those who choose not to pursue God substitute something else. We all choose to worship something. Secondly, when we speak to others about God, we need to relate to them. We need to know them, to care enough to understand where they are coming from. Paul spent days speaking with Jews and with philosophers. Paul learned their poetry, which he quotes here. Paul cared enough to get to know the people he would preach to. We, too, are called to know our neighbors, to love them enough to know them, so that when we speak to them of faith, we can talk to them in language theyâll understand. Itâs no use talking over peopleâpeople want to know you care. Finally, Christianity can stand up to examination. We can stand tough questions. Paul spent days debating philosophers, people who questioned everything. He didnât give up or throw in the towel, but had deep conversations. Many who are curious about Christianity have a lot of questions. Itâs ok. Itâs also ok to not know all the answers. Just because you and I donât know the answers doesnât mean there are no good answersâit just means we need to learn more. Iâm not afraid of science or medicineâthey can throw whatever they want at the faith, and I am comfortable knowing what I believe. We donât have to be scared. Friends, all of this points to Christ, crucified and resurrected. Paul held this in the center, and it needs to be the center of our life, too. Without it, we drift off course. If we let Christianity become a set of rules or some method to happiness, we wander from the centrality of what God is doing in Jesus Christ. God is defeating the power of sin and death in Christ. Each and every one of us was lost, without cause for hope, until Christ intervened and saved us from our sins by the power of his death on the cross. We cannot lose this at the middle, for without it we are no different than anyone else. May we base our lives around this central truth, and may we never deviate. Let us pray Acts 16:16-40 English Standard Version (ESV) 16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, âThese men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.â 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, âI command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.â And it came out that very hour. 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, âThese men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.â 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, âDo not harm yourself, for we are all here.â 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, âSirs, what must I do to be saved?â 31 And they said, âBelieve in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.â 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God. 35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, âLet those men go.â 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, âThe magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.â 37 But Paul said to them, âThey have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.â 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed. *********************** *********************** Picture two men. One is locked in a jail cell, his feet bound in chains, the door to the world locked. The other is the jailer, the one who holds the keys, the one who can come and go as he pleases. Two men. Which one is free? Friends, our circumstances dictate a lot. Trust me, this is something I understand. Iâve spent a large portion of the last 18 months feeling lousy. In previous times, Iâve been depressed and anxious. In my life, Iâve struggled to cope with stress and grief and all sorts of other emotions. Iâve wandered the land of uncertainty and known loneliness. Iâve seen the view from the mountaintop and have also wandered the valley floor, desperate to know where God was in the midst of my situation. I understand how we experience a vast array of circumstances throughout our lives. Our circumstances can shape us. They can shape our moods and the conditions of our hearts. Whatever is going on in our lives, it has a powerful possibility to determine how we feel, what we say and how we act. Imagine youâve just won the lotteryâthat will probably change the way many of us feel about our lives. Imagine youâve just lost every penny youâve ever hadâthat will probably affect the way you feel about yourself and the world around you. Our circumstances have great power in our lives, because we give them great power. Philippians 4:12 is a particularly confounding verse if youâre like me, if youâre someone who allows what is going on in the world around you to shape how you feel about yourself and life. In it, Paul writes, âI know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.â He then continues in verse 13: I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Itâs an amazing declaration. Paul is saying that he has experienced every circumstance that is out there, and heâs learned how to face them all, because he has the power of Christ within him. His circumstances no longer have power over himâhe has a greater power within him. Think back, for a moment, over the previous week. Try to identify one circumstance that powerfully affected you. Did it change your mood for the day? Did it alter something within you? Now, letâs talk about Paul and Silas. There they are, in Philippi, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. It just so happens that Paul casts a demon out of a slave girl that has been annoying him for days, and when he does he ends up making some very powerful opponents. The men who owned the slave girl, caring nothing for her demonic possession, have been hit in the wallet, and theyâre unwilling to take such a hit sitting back, so they go on the offensive, finally getting Paul and Silas thrown in jail. Now, let me set the scene. Paul and Silas are in jail, with their feet fastened in the stocks. This is not a good situation, especially in a day when Christians were being killed for what they believed. Paul should knowâhe used to be the one orchestrating their arrests. Instead, what happens? Paul and Silas stay up all night praying and singing. Their circumstances look bleak, right? They are in the innermost part of the jail with their feet bound in the stocks, and yet they are praying and singing like there isnât a problem in the world. They find such joy in Jesus Christ that their circumstances do not affect them at all. This is weird, right? We can confess this. Itâs ok. If we heard of such a thing in jail today, weâd still think it was weird. Surely, all the other prisoners in the jail thought it was weird. I sure do. But this is what Jesus means when he tells us not to fear the one who can kill the body but has no power over the soul. When we truly understand what faith in Jesus Christ is all about, we are freed from fearing even the most intimidating situations. When we grasp that faith in a resurrected Savior is transformational because it elongates our timeline to help us understand that our eternal life consists of so much more than just life on earth, we can live with such a sense of groundedness that we can sing from the depths of the deepest prison. We can have such faith in Christ that the greatest obstacles in life can be seen in comparison to the awesome power of God. Not long after we see Paul and Silas singing, the awesome power of God dwarfs the prison walls. An earthquake, which is often associated Biblically with the presence of God, shakes the foundations of the prison and opens the doors to the cells, also setting loose Paul & Silasâ feet. The jailer, the free man, sees this and despairs, for he recognizes that he is not freeâhis life is bound by his job, by his boss, and his failure at work means his life is over. As he is about to kill himself, Paul reorients his vision. The fact that Paul could do this is rather extraordinary. Think about itâPaul is in jail, and the doors open and the chains fall off. A man concerned first about himself would run for it, right? Only a man who is unbothered by circumstances around him would see this as an opportunity for evangelism. The jailer sees this faith in Paul, and he is so startled by their reaction that he asks them what he must do to be saved. Now, before this moment, he may not have even realized that he needed to be saved, but now he recognizes clearly the light of Christ shining in these men, and he hears the Good News: Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. This is the good news! This is the hope that should calm us, that should center us, that should give us peace. Notice, here, how complicated this scheme is that gets the jailer and his family saved. God could have done this in another way, right? But think for a momentâwhat would make such a powerful man come to faith in a resurrected Savior? Only a true understanding of his actual lack of power, right? But God pursues the jailer in the only way possible that would bring the jailer to faith in Christ. God works through a slave girl, Paul and Silas and an earthquake to bring this man to faith. And the man and his household are saved through it. So friends, rejoice. Rejoice in the God who goes to great lengths to save his people. And rejoice in the fact that you need not let the circumstances of life topple you. You are saved by Christ, and because of this, nothing can separate you from the love of God in Jesus Christ. Nothing. There is no greater joy, and no sorrow or grief can tear that from your hands. So, no matter what happens to you this week, may your heart be centered on the one who loves you enough to die and rise for you, the one with whom your heart shall dwell forever. With every beat of our hearts, may we focus on him, and let this lead us out confidently into a world where we donât have to worry about our circumstances, but are free to serve others. Let us pray Acts 14:8-20 English Standard Version (ESV) Paul and Barnabas at Lystra 8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,[a] 10 said in a loud voice, âStand upright on your feet.â And he sprang up and began walking. 11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, âThe gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!â 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 âMen, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.â 18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them. Paul Stoned at Lystra 19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. *********************** *********************** How many of you know someone with more money than you have? How many of you know someone with a bigger house? How about a better job? Know anyone who seems happier than you are? How many of you know someone who goes to church at a place where the sermons donât try to make you feel inadequate right off the bat? The point of this is that if you want to be number one in a category, youâve probably got some work to do, right? All of us know someone who might be doing better in one category or another, someone who might seem like they have it all together in some way, shape or form. Advertising is great at reminding us of our inadequacies, because someone out there has a product or system they want to sell you that will enable you to do better in a certain category. Want to make more money? Get a bigger house? Be more attractive? My email spam filter is filled with people promising just such results. We are inundated with reminders of our how inadequate we are. Why start out talking about this? Because I believe that itâs important to think about our sense of self and how we allow ourselves to be defined. Hopefully, over the last 6.5 years youâve heard me emphasizing that you are a child of God, precious in his sight, worthy of love. The message of the Christian church should be that each and every person on the planet is completely worthy of Christâs, and therefore our, love, not because they have earned it but rather because we worship a God who lavishes love on his unique creations, each one made in the image of God. We carry an inherent dignity within us because of who made us and how we are made, not because of what we have done. But the world wants to label and define us based on its standards, and this is very, very easy to buy into. Think about itâif you meet someone, what one of the first questions theyâre going to ask you. Easyâtheyâll ask what you do. Itâs a way we define each other. We form impressions of one another by our interior judgments of certain jobs. Also, we judge one another based on how we look and what we drive and where we live. We do this to one another, and we do this to ourselves, and we often find ourselves not measuring up, and what happens is we end up in these vicious cycles trying to keep up with a certain level of living only to discover that, once we have achieved what we thought was a comfortable level of living, there is still more work to do. Itâs impossible to ever get ahead, because the world is telling us that there is always someone ahead of us, and that we have to be number one. Weâre never allowed to rest. See, this all matters because if we believe what God says about us, rather than what the world says about us, I believe it can fundamentally alter the way we think, live and treat one another. Todayâs Scripture lesson is a great example of what can happen if you place your sense of self in the hands of others. Paul and Barnabas are in Lystra, and they are there to proclaim the Word of God. Paul has been talking about Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world who loved us enough to die for us, and all the while a crippled man has been listening intently. Paul notices him, and he reaches out by the power of God to heal him. The man leaps up and begins to walk, and the crowd is amazed. In fact, the crowd is so amazed that they believe that Paul and Barnabas are gods who have taken on human form. Theyâre ready to worship Paul and Barnabas. The fatted calf is about to be killed and the entire city is going to celebrate Paul and Barnabas! They are enraptured by the presence of these two men. Now, letâs pause for a moment. This probably feels pretty awesome, right? An entire city suddenly thinks that you are a god. Youâre going to get a ticker-tape parade, right? Everyone is going to adore you. People will throw parties for you. They will give you food and money and fancy clothes and nice things just because they think youâre the best. You are awesome, and everyone wants to be near you. You could get used to this, right? In America today, we have such a celebrity culture that it doesnât take much of an imagination to think about what this might be like. The paparazzi spend their lives chasing celebrities to take pictures of them, and we buy their products. We want to dress like the celebrities, do what famous people do, and it comes dangerously close to idol worship. Entire magazines are dedicated to celebrities. And most of them love the attention. They love having the eyes of the nation upon them. If I were in their shoes, I might, too. Itâs an easy thing to get caught up in, right? When we let the world, define us, things like this can make us feel on top of the world. But here, in a few short verses, we recognize how fickle the worldâs attention can be. We see the danger in allowing ourselves to be defined by the opinion of the world, by the adoration of the masses. If we pursue worldly fame and adoration, we may get it. But we may lose it, too. Here, Paul and Barnabas are about to have a sacrifice made to them, but in verse 19, suddenly the passion of the crowds is stirred against them, and suddenly these folks who were worshipping Paul and Barnabas are ready to kill them. Just like that, the crowds are persuaded and Paul is dragged out of the city and stoned, and the crowd only leaves him when they believe he is dead. Like flipping a switch, the world turned on Paul and sought his life. Friends, if we allow the opinions of others to define us, we will find ourselves crushed, because the world is a fickle place. If our sense of self depends on the affirmation of others, weâre in big trouble, because you canât please everyone, and if you spend your life trying you, too, will feel like youâve been run over. So where does your heart receive satisfaction? Do you hear the still, small voice of God reminding you that you are precious in his sight? Do you let God satisfy you? Is your identity rooted in the fact that you have been made in the image of God and called to a life of discipleship? Or are you so busy trying to catch up with the people ahead of you that youâve missed the voice of the Holy Spirit calling you into authentic discipleship, in which the ears of your heart listen to Godâs voice, and it is God that defines your life and its purpose. If you let God, the one who made you and calls you by name, satisfy the desires of your heart, which he created, I promise that you will not live your life chasing other people. You will spend your life pursuing the vision of God, serving him by loving others, and your life will be a witness to his glory. But itâs hard work to ignore the siren call of the world, who wants to offer you its adoration. Itâs much harder work to let God satisfy us. But it is the work that will last forever. Let us pray Acts 12:6-19 English Standard Version (ESV) 6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, âGet up quickly.â And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, âDress yourself and put on your sandals.â And he did so. And he said to him, âWrap your cloak around you and follow me.â 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, âNow I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.â 12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, âYou are out of your mind.â But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, âIt is his angel!â 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, âTell these things to James and to the brothers.â Then he departed and went to another place. 18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there. ****************** ***************** Pizza tastes better when it is delivered. As a kid, our house was too far away from any pizza chain that would deliver, so ordering pizza meant we had to make the long trek to go pick it up. At one point, though, an Italian restaurant began a pizza delivery service, and we thought it was the greatest pizza ever. It didnât matter that the pizza didnât actually taste that goodâit was great because it was delivery, because all we had to do was make a phone call and an hour later, fresh, hot pizza showed up at the door. We werenât the ones responsible for picking it up. Delivery is a great option in many cases. Once, at IKEA, our eyes were bigger than our car and we ended up with more than could fit in the car. Delivery would have been perfect. If you order something from Amazon, you have to choose deliveryâyou canât swing by the warehouse on your way home from work and hope to pick up your order. Only delivery can get you what you want. What is delivery, essentially? Itâs the act of someone else to bring you something that you are unable, or unwilling, to get yourself. To be delivered from a situation is to have someone get you out of a situation that you could not have extricated yourself from otherwise. Which brings us to todayâs passage, the story of Peterâs deliverance from prison. Peter is in jail, bound by chains. There is a soldier on either side of him, and two more at the door. All told, there are sixteen soldiers guarding Peter, who has been arrested on Herodâs orders. In other words, Peter isnât going anywhere on his own accord. If this were a James Bond movie, it would be no problem for James to beat up sixteen soldiers and waltz out while the jail exploded behind him. Instead, this is real life, where there is no hope for Peter to escape on his own. But Peter isnât on his own. Scripture promises that we are never on his own, and pretty soon an angel shows up. Soon Peterâs chains fall off and he walks out of the jail, free as can be. He thought it was a dream, but when he was standing in the street he soon realized that this was indeed real life. Peter had been delivered from jail. Now, imagine how smug the Roman empire had been in the moments before this. They had Peter trapped in jail, with 16 soldiers surrounding him. Thereâs no escaping from this, right? What hope did Peter have? Now, this is an important story, because each and every one of us is Peter. Each and every one of us is surrounded by the powers of sin and death, and they have this smug, false confidence that we are under their power, that they are in control. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The great news is that Peter had a deliverer. Peter has a God who is mightier than whatever forces oppose him. Peter has a God who can deliver him from whatever situation he faces, even though he may not be able to deliver himself. Peter is set free by the power of God. Now, we have a deliverer, too. We have a God who is able, who is stronger, who is bigger than whatever opposes us. We have a God who wants to free us from the forces that enslave and set us free into the world. We have a God who is able to deliver us from death into life. Itâs an amazing story, one that demonstrates the power of God and his great love for us. But itâs not just about Peter, just like itâs not just about us. Because what happens when Peter is in jail? Go back to verse 5âthe church never stops praying for him. The Christian Church, friends, should be a place where, when one of us is suffering, the entire body rallies around us. When someone is hurting, we should all be affected. When sin is imprisoning and threatening one of us, we need to all be concerned. This also means that when one of us is delivered from difficult circumstances, we need to tell the story. This is exactly what Peter goes and does. He goes to the house of Mary and tells his story. It takes him a little while to get in, on account of the servantâs excitement, but eventually he goes in and tells his story in the hopes of encouraging the entire congregation. See, when one person is delivered through difficult circumstances, this serves as an encouragement to others. When the story is told, those who are suffering are encouraged, because they recognize the power of God to deliver them through their own difficult circumstances. See, hereâs what I believeâthere are two types of imprisonment from difficult circumstances. The first is the type from which we have been delivered, the type that has stories that we need to tell. The other is the type through which we will be delivered. This is the suffering in which people are currently in the midst of. This is the state of those who suffer with medical problems. This is the state of those who mourn. This is current suffering, but it will never overcome us. We will be delivered through it, we just havenât been yet. So, when weâre in the midst of this suffering, we need to hear the stories about people who have been deliveredâwe need to hear this encouragement, to be reminded about Godâs greatness and power. We need to be reminded about Godâs ability to deliver us. This is what Peter is getting at in verse 17. The story needs to get out, so that the whole church can rejoice at Godâs great love and deeds of power, and then as we tell the story to others in the world around us, they, too, want to come and worship this amazing God, the one who has the ability to deliver us from evil. So friends, you have a story to tell. Youâve been delivered from sin and death. Difficult circumstances in your life have imprisoned you, and you have a responsibility to share that story to encourage others. And if youâre in the midst of suffering and mourning and pain, may this be a reminder to you that there is a deliverer who cares about you, and he promises to deliver you through this. It may not be easy, but I promise it will come, because God has never left someone behind. God does not abandon or forsake us, but delivers us through sin and death and into eternal life. Let us pray ********************** Friends, I don't know about you, but the mystery and tragedy surrounding the disappearance of this Malaysian Airlines flight has fascinated me. Whenever planes crash, the tragedy of the situation always overwhelms me as I think of the stories of the people on board. Lives are devoured in the unexpected, and the ripples carry throughout lives, through families, for decades to come. This situation has proved particular tragic, as the search goes on for the missing plane. There are far more questions than answers, and for so many families the sad saga has drawn on, increasing their pain with each passing day. It seems as though new information is coming to light with each passing day. One day, we're learning about stolen passports and wondering if that lead will bring us closer to a conclusion. Another day, we're learning about transponders and how they work and whether they would have been turned off. We've learned about the pilots and mysterious radar readings and Chinese satellite images. With every new piece of information, the search changes. One day, people are scouring the sea in one area, and the next another search area has been added. With each passing day and each new piece of information, the reality of the search is transformed, and the search broadens. They initially began searching in one place, and now the area has expanded to include more and more possibilities. It has become a far greater challenge than initially thought. I'd like to propose that this can be fairly common in life. Often, when you start working through a problem, you believe that things will go one way, and the deeper you get, the more information you learn, and the more the situation changes. By the time you've finished, the solution looks very different then when you first imagined. Have you ever taken a car in for an oil change and then discovered that you need $800 worth of work done? New facts change the situation. My mom recently had someone come do some work on her house, and she's discovered she needs entirely new siding on the house. A rather simple project has transformed into a massive, multi-year undertaking. New facts change our mission. In the early church, everyone was Jewish. Even Jesus was Jewish, a fact that is often forgotten by the church. Christ didn't come to set up a new church—he came to reform Judaism. The disciples, all Jewish, wanted to convince their Jewish communities to believe that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. The Jewish tradition had been anticipating the coming of Christ for centuries—Jesus was the realization of the promise made to the Jews. While Jesus constantly reached across established societal lines, the early church, that group of disciples trying to be faithful after the ascension of Jesus, was still primarily focused on the Jewish community. But new facts changed their mission. Here, in Acts 10, we see the introduction of something new, a transformation that is going to alter the direction and focus of the early church. God sends visions to two men, Peter and Cornelius, and by the end of the chapter, the arc of the church will have fundamentally changed and the focus will no longer be merely on the Jews—it will now include the Gentiles, meaning you and I. We are directly affected by this story. <Read Acts 10:1-16> So Peter and Cornelius, a Roman centurion who is devout towards God and humble towards others, both have visions when they are praying. Notice when this happens—when they are praying. I do not believe this is an insignificant point. If you want to hear from God, you need to put yourself in position to listen to God. You need to pray more. I need to pray more. We can't complain that God never speaks if we're not busy listening. Cornelius gets the easier vision—he is called to bring Peter to his house, even though he doesn't know why. Peter has the tough one, a vision that threatens to undermine the Jewish dietary laws that serve to separate Jews from the larger community. This is a core part of their identity, and Peter doesn't understand why he's being asked to set it apart. This will all become clear later, as God is setting the stage to have nothing outside that distinguishes and defines the community, but rather God is hoping for a community that is primarily defined by worship of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and service to all people. So Cornelius obeys his vision, and he sends men for Peter. Peter is still trying to work out his original vision when these men show up, and God gives Peter and extra nudge and tells him to go with the men. Peter obeys, and when he arrives at Cornelius' house he asks why he was sent. At this point, Cornelius reveals to Peter the details of his vision from God, and Peter recognizes that God is reaching out to the Gentiles. New information has changed the direction of the church. The mission has been altered because God has revealed something new to Peter, who suddenly realizes that the church isn't meant to be filled only with the Jews who believe, but with all people who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The traditions that limited the community are altered because of this new information. Life is transformed. So Peter begins to preach. <Read Acts 10:34-43> This is a foundational shift in the history of the church. No longer do we believe that God shows partiality toward anyone. Everyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to God. It's no longer about having the right background or lineage. You can't be excluded from the community because of your background or heritage or origin—you are welcome if you fear God and do what is right. You belong in the house of God if you're willing to serve others and worship Christ. Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness, regardless of age, race, sex, etc. It's no longer about worldly culture, but it's now about belief in Christ alone. New information transforms the mission of the church. They're no longer sent by God to just a certain community. They now recognize that they are sent by God to the whole world. Their mission is huge, and only God can make this possible. With this new information, the disciples see God's radical, non-exclusive love in action. The Holy Spirit falls on Cornelius and his entire household, and all are baptized. They are welcomed by Christ into life in Christ. And so it falls to us, the church today, to look at the world around us. Do we believe that we are sent to the whole world? Are there traditions that are keeping us from serving certain communities, certain people? Is there new information from God that sends us in new ways to proclaim the endless and inclusive love of God? Are we willing to follow God into the world, no matter where he leads, to proclaim salvation in his name alone? These are all questions we need to wrestle with. We are the reformed church, always being reformed according to the word of God. We need to listen, to pray, and to have the courage to reach out to all the world with the Good News of God's great love. Let us pray Acts 9:1-22 Common English Bible (CEB) 9 Meanwhile, Saul was still spewing out murderous threats against the Lordâs disciples. He went to the high priest, 2 seeking letters to the synagogues in Damascus. If he found persons who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, these letters would authorize him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 During the journey, as he approached Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven encircled him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice asking him, âSaul, Saul, why are you harassing me?â 5 Saul asked, âWho are you, Lord?â âI am Jesus, whom you are harassing,â came the reply. 6 âNow get up and enter the city. You will be told what you must do.â 7 Those traveling with him stood there speechless; they heard the voice but saw no one. 8 After they picked Saul up from the ground, he opened his eyes but he couldnât see. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind and neither ate nor drank anything. 10 In Damascus there was a certain disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, âAnanias!â He answered, âYes, Lord.â 11 The Lord instructed him, âGo to Judasâ house on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias enter and put his hands on him to restore his sight.â 13 Ananias countered, âLord, I have heard many reports about this man. People say he has done horrible things to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 Heâs here with authority from the chief priests to arrest everyone who calls on your name.â 15 The Lord replied, âGo! This man is the agent I have chosen to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.â 17 Ananias went to the house. He placed his hands on Saul and said, âBrother Saul, the Lord sent meâJesus, who appeared to you on the way as you were coming here. He sent me so that you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.â 18 Instantly, flakes fell from Saulâs eyes and he could see again. He got up and was baptized. 19 After eating, he regained his strength. He stayed with the disciples in Damascus for several days. 20 Right away, he began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues. âHe is Godâs Son,â he declared. 21 Everyone who heard him was baffled. They questioned each other, âIsnât he the one who was wreaking havoc among those in Jerusalem who called on this name? Hadnât he come here to take those same people as prisoners to the chief priests?â 22 But Saul grew stronger and stronger. He confused the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. ********************* ********************* 18 months ago, I went to the doctor with a terrible infection. I had a fever of 104 and thought that this was, perhaps, a bad thing. So I wandered into the office and told them about my day. Then, they told me that it was pretty tough luck that I had gotten sick, and they wished me well. Right? Of course not. Thatâs not how the doctorâs work. When you go to the doctor, you expect them to cure you, right? If they know how to relieve you of your disease, theyâll do everything possible. In my case, I received a strong dose of antibiotics and a steroid shot to bring the fever down. By the next morning, I was better. We expect the doctor to do everything in their power to bring us back to health, right? If they have the ability to restore health, they will. The same is true of a car mechanic, right? If your car is broken down you have it towed to the mechanic. If your mechanic can figure out what is wrong with it and is able to fix it, they will. It may be astronomically expensive, but we expect them to fix the car. Sometimes, this may require replacing the engine or doing something similarly dramatic, but if they have the power and know what is wrong, we expect them to fix it. So why would we expect anything less from God? If we believe that our mechanics and our doctors will do everything possible to restore a car or a human to full health, then wonât God do the same for his beloved creations, the ones he made in his own image? In todayâs Scripture, we dive into the story of Saul. Saul was not a fan of the early Christian church. In Acts 8:3, we find Saul ravaging the church, entering houses and dragging off men and women to prison for their worship of Jesus Christ. Saul was a leader in the Jewish church, and he believed this new development of faith was a terrible thing, errant thinking that was destroying the Jewish tradition, and he was willing to fight to save Jewish purity. Who knows how many Christians died whom Saul was responsible for? Saul was sick. He would never have admitted it, but his mind was not healthy, for he refused to believe the truth about Jesus Christ and, as a result, he was actively persecuting the church. He was a thorn in the side of the church, and if he was successful the consequences could have been catastrophic for the church. If there was ever someone that God should have smote, it was Saul. Saul was approving of the killing of Christians. Saul was committed to destroying the very church God was hoping to build. Saul was trying to banish the legacy of Jesus Christ from the earth. The church could have been much more successful without Saul around. But God didnât smite Saul. God didnât have Saul killed. God saw Saul as in need of redemption. Saul, the foremost enemy of the Christian church, was going to be redeemed. God was going to intervene in a dynamic way, and Saulâs life would be transformed. Rather than just tell Saul that he had chosen wrongly, God heals Saul and begins to use his life to further the cause he once actively resisted. In the beginning of chapter 9, we find Saul breathing threats and murder against the church, and he is on his way to Damascus to have the Christians there arrested. Instead, on the way there a bright light shone from heaven and God himself asked Saul why Saul was persecuting God. From this, we can learn that the violence done to the church is violence done to God himself. Saul, once the master of his fate, the one proud to go and persecute, is then put in a humbling position. His sight is taken from him, and for 3 days he has to be led by others. 3 days. Sound like a familiar length of time? For 3 days, Saul was dead. When his sight was restored, he, too, would be raised to new life in Christ. The old has died. The new life has begun. Friends, Saulâs encounter with God forever changes his life. God reaches out to Saul, despite the fact that Saul has given no indication that he would react positively to this, and Saul is transformed by Christ. He sets down his old ways and begins to be a passionate advocate for the church, spreading the Good News about Jesus Christ around the known world. But Saul couldnât have done this without the faithful love of a community. God reached out to someone else, someone who would have every right to be nervous about what God was asking him to do. God appeared in a dream to Ananias and asked him to go visit Saul. Ananias is understandably nervous about this, because Ananias knows what kind of man Saul is. Ananias knows that Saul is there to punish, to arrest, to persecute, and Ananias isnât excited about the thought of becoming the next target of Saul. But Ananias trusts God, and so he follows. And with Ananiasâs help, Saulâs vision is restored. Then Ananias baptizes Saul. Saul then begins to proclaim the glory of Jesus Christ in the synagogues, and while the Jewish community is shocked, the Christian community is thrilled. Their greatest enemy has now become an asset, and he will use his knowledge and passion to proclaim the Gospel. Saul needs help, though, for the Jewish leaders are plotting to kill him, and the Christians help Saul escape using a basket. Saul canât do this on his ownâhe needs a community. And so, friends, we gather around this text today. We wonder at the amazing thing God did in the life of Saul. We wish we could have such a dramatic story to share, for we feel that our own stories pale in drama to the story of Saul. But this is good newsâit means you are not off persecuting the church. Your heavenly Father does not want you to wander this far from the path, but the amazing part of the story is that God is willing to restore you to life if you do wander. Friends, God is the seeker of the lost, the one willing to do whatever it takes to restore you to the Christian community. Saul was not too far gone. You are not too far from the grace of God. God could heal Saul. God can heal you. God wants to transform your life, reaching in by the power of the Holy Spirit to change the way you think, speak and live. He will sometimes go to dramatic lengths to do so. But it also takes a community. When we have been blinded, it takes a friend, even a nervous friend, to help us see once more. When we are in danger, it takes a community to help us take the next step. When we are alone, we need the strength of friends. So do not be afraid to lean on the community with which God surrounds you. It may come from uncertain places, as this story tells us. Also, perhaps you are called to be Ananias to someone else. Who needs to hear about the grace of God? Whose eyes can you help open? Who can you bring into the Christian community? May we go with courage, trusting in the God who can restore and redeem. Let us pray Click here for a link to Acts 6:8-8:1 *********************** *********************** How many of you had a bad day this week? This month? Today? How about a good day? Is today a good day? Or perhaps youâre waiting to find out⦠We have good days and bad, but the thing that makes the days good or bad usually revolves completely around us, right? We can admit that, canât we? If you had a good day this week, was it because the US Ice Dancing team won a gold medal, or was it because something good happened to you? Did anyone here have a bad day because they were so upset by the violence in the Ukraine capital, or did you have a bad day because someone said something that upset you? Our emotions usually revolve around what happens to usâwe notice other things in the world, and often weâll react to them, but the primary determinant about how we really feel usually revolves solely around us. The world encourages this viewpoint. Advertising certainly doesâit sells us a world of which we are the center. Companies are eager to cater to what you want, eager to encourage you to pursue your own wants and desires regardless of the effects on others. Itâs all about creating a customer-centered experience, in which oneâs own happiness is the center of attention. The world reinforces that it needs to be all about us. And Iâm not here to say that we are bad, or that itâs bad to think about ourselves or to seek our own happiness. What is bad is when we lose perspective and forget about everything that is bigger than us. Whatâs bad is when we forget about the larger world and the larger church. What I want to focus upon today is the central idea that each and every one of us is a critical part of the church, the Body of Christ. Christ has redeemed you, called you by name and wants to use your life as a part of the tapestry he is weaving that will comprise the Kingdom of God. And not everyone is thrilled about this. To better understand this, we need to turn to Revelation 12. In it, there is a woman who has given birth and a dragon. This is a very important image. What happens is the child, which symbolizes Christ, is caught up to heaven, and the woman flees into the wilderness. The dragon, which symbolizes Satan, tries to attack the heavens but is rebuked, so since he cannot defeat Christ, he goes after the woman, which is a symbol of the church. Verse 15 tells us that the dragon tries to flood the church, but that doesnât work. Then Satan gets mad, and decides that since the whole church seems impregnable, heâll go after her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Thatâs you and me. See, whatâs happening is that the Devil wants to destroy the church. But Christ is too strong, and Satan recognizes that the church will stand forever. But he knows that he can pick off individual people. Itâs like a horror movie. How many of you have ever watched a scary movie? They are all the same, right? There is a person lurking, waiting to kill people, but he knows that if he attacks 12 of them at once he will be defeated. So he waits until people are alone. We all know whatâs going to happen when the group of 12 are together and one person announces they need to go get something from the dilapidated old shed out back, and that theyâll go alone. We know that is the moment when they will be attacked. Even the ominous music starts. The Devil is doing the same. He isolates us from the community and then attacks us, knowing how much weaker we are on our own. He assumes that if he can eliminate us one by one, then the overall church will be much weaker. Even if he canât defeat the whole church, this is a strategy to do as much damage as possible. And thatâs where we turn to the story of Stephen, the churchâs first martyr. Let me just say this: itâs not so much a story about Stephen as it is a story about the Devilâs hatred of the church. How do we know this? Acts 6:8 tells us that Stephen is doing great wonders and signs among the people, and we know that he has just been assigned to feeding the widows in the verses prior to this, so it doesnât sound objectionable, right? Those who oppose him are enraged by, we read in verse 10, the wisdom and Spirit with which he was speaking. These were the things God had given him. In other words, Stephenâs opponents hated the news of God that Stephen was delivering. They despised the message, but Stephen was just the messenger. What happens is that they bring him before the council and set up false witnesses to accuse him. The entire thing is rigged from the start, because the opponents of the church need someone upon whom they can take out their aggression, their anger. Stephen is just in the wrong place in the wrong time. He just happens to be the person available when their anger boils over. Theyâre not angry and Stephen in specificâthey are furious at what God is doing in the church. When Stephen begins to speak, which he does for all of chapter 7, what he is doing is telling his opponents that the truth of his message, of his proclamation, is rooted in the texts that the chief priests hold dear. God hasnât done something to break away from traditionâit is anchored in tradition! The chief priests just need to open up their deliberately closed eyes to see this. But they donât want to see it. They have made the world their own, and they have found their place in the church, and they donât care what God has in store for them. Furious at all of this, they interrupt Stephenâs message at the end of Chapter 7, stopped their ears and rushed at him, stoning him to death. They plugged their ears, unwilling to hear what God might have to say to them through Stephen. They didnât want to hear, so they killed the messenger. Stephen was just playing his role in the bigger picture of the churchâs work in the world. Friends, you and I are part of something much bigger than ourselves. The church is a huge organization, spanning millennia and including billions of people. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, it is an organization that is eternal, lasting forever. It is the bride of Christ. We often feel so small within it, but let me assure you that each and every person that bows the knee to Christ and his Lordship are vital players within the church. That fact enrages Satan. He hates you, and he will work to destroy you. So when you have a bad day, when things seem to turn against you, when it feels like life itself is fighting against you, recognize that itâs not because youâre a bad person. There is a force of evil that is opposing us, trying desperately to strip away all that is good. Our physical struggles with health, our relationship struggles with each other, our personal battles within ourselvesâall of that is because of sin, the war that Satan is waging against God. But this is a war Satan cannot win, and God cannot be defeated, so he comes after us. When we choose despair and hopelessness, weâre falling prey to the lie that the Devil is telling us that we cannot win, that evil will triumph, that chaos will win out. When we lash out against each other or choose to ignore the needs of our neighbors because we want to accumulate more for ourselves, believing it is all about us, weâre buying into the lie that our lives are only about us, that we arenât part of a bigger community where we depend on each other, that this life is all that matters. The Devil is the Father of lies, and the lies are easy to believe because of the despair all around us. On a similar note, we need to recognize that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, and that this will win. Itâs not us against the world. Weâre not on our own. Weâre not isolated. We donât have to face the world all by ourselves. God is with us. God will give us victory, in this world and the next. God will never abandon or forsake us, and life wins out. The team on which we are a part will reign victorious forever, and that needs to remind us to be a people of hope, joy, light and life. God wants to remind us of this constantly so that we donât despair when things turn against us. Our opponents are momentaryâour victory is forever! Notice, here, how this story ends. Stephen is about to be stoned to death because his opponents despise the Good News of God with such energy. Even here, though, God is reminding Stephen that he is part of something bigger, that this isnât the end, that there is Good News even in death. God gives Stephen a picture of heaven as consolation, as hope in the midst of despair, pain and death. Stephen sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This is meant as a reminder to Stephen that the fight is worth it, that our lives are worth it, that the choices we make are worth enduring any persecution. Donât give up. Donât give in. Donât buy into the lie that we are small and insignificant, that we cannot possibly triumph over evil. Christ already has, and he will share that victory with you. He will walk with you through every day of your life, through every valley. Do not despair. He wants to give you hope, strength and endurance, and whenever you face hardship, Christ wants to reach out and remind you that you are not alone, that God is with you, and that he will never abandon or forsake you. Christ conquers, and because he does others will hate you, but they cannot defeat you or him, so take hope, find joy, and life a life courageously dedicated to the selfless love of God, and we will finally recognize that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves, in which we have a unique role to play. Let us play our part with faithfulness and integrity, trusting in Christ in all things. Let us pray Acts 6:1-7 English Standard Version (ESV) Seven Chosen to Serve 6 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, âIt is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.â 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. ******************** ******************** Whatâs the most important thing? Anybody remember the movie City Slickers? It had Billy Crystal in it and came out several decades ago, so the answer may be no, but in it Jack Palance taught Billy Crystal that there was a most important thing. He never told Crystal what it was, but eventually Crystal figured out that we each had to figure out what was our own most important thing. It changes, too, depending on whatâs going on around us. For example, letâs imagine you work at a bobsled track. Whatâs the most important thing? Not standing in the track when bobsleds are coming down it. On Thursday, a man forgot this important thing and was found standing in the track when a sled came down it, breaking both his legs and giving him a concussion. Heâs lucky to be alive. For unknown reasons, he had ignored the warning given to clear the track and remained there on the track, just before the finish line, when he was struck. He forgot this important thing. Each activity has its own most important thing. If youâre the type of person who likes to throw yourself out of airplanes recreationally, the most important thing is to have a working parachute. Nothing else really matters if that doesnât work. If youâre a parent, my first rule is to never wake a sleeping baby. If youâre in a relationship, remembering a card on Valentineâs Day may well be the most important thing. It depends. What about the church? Whatâs the most important thing for a church? We can say, without debate or equivocation, that keeping the Gospel at the center of our life together is the most important thing. We simply cannot afford to let Jesus Christ slip away from the center of our congregation, be it in worship, fellowship or service. It is vital, because it is Christ who defines us, it is Christ that redeems us, it is Christ that promises to lead us forward into a future with hope. If we allow Christ to slip from our view, then we are no different than any other social gathering. If our gatherings are not defined by the presence and worship of Christ, we may as well stay home and watch the Olympics, right? The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important thing for us. It was Paul that said that if the resurrection is not true, then Christians are to the be the most pitied of all peoples, for we would have set our hopes on a false thing. The early church recognized this. Here in Acts 6, the Greek Jews have started to complain because their widows were being neglected when the other widows were being cared for daily. They brought a complaint to the Jews, and this is a critical junction. What could have happened is that the church could have chosen to focus all of its energies to alleviate the complaints of the Greek Jews, which were perfectly valid complaints. They could have directed a whole church effort to care for these widows, and certainly the widows and the Greek Jews would have been alleviated. But then another concern would have cropped up, and the church would have shifted its vision once more. And then again. And undoubtedly again, until the church was being constantly jerked around by whatever the conflict of the day was. They would have become firefighters, consistently going from conflict to conflict in the hopes of alleviating everyoneâs concerns. It would certainly have been a nice group of people doing good works, but they would have lost sight of the most important thing. The disciples, however, did not choose this approach. Instead, they recognized that the church was growing, and that it was doing so because of their proclamation. They were preaching the Word and living the Word, and because of the fact that the Gospel was the center of their fellowship, the disciples were increasing in number. So when they heard of this conflict, the first thing they did was acknowledge that the preaching of the Gospel had to continue. They would not stop this activity, for it was the lifeblood of the church, and it was the way others were coming in to the church. They kept the Gospel at the center and allowed the most important thing to continue. But, while doing that, they also acknowledged the importance of feeding all the widows. They knew that the preaching of the Gospel and the existence of the church led them out into the world, and so they set apart separate resources to serve the community. Notice, too, that they didnât just take the leftoversâthey picked men who were full of the Spirit and wisdom, men with good reputations to do the task well. They werenât going to do anything halfway, so they fully committed themselves to the task of feeding the widows. They intentionally set aside resources, some of their best resources, for service to others. And having done so, they continued to preach the Word, to keep the Gospel at the center, and the number of disciples continued to grow. It was an ongoing miracle that God was doing, and you and I are legacies of this tradition. Because the early church committed to keeping Christ at the center, the church continued to grow, and its legacy spans millennia. So what does this mean for us today? I think it means that we, too, need to be aware of the fact that the Gospel needs to be in the center of our lives. There are so many distractions vying for our time and attention, and we often chase them, from one minute to the next, and we drift through our everyday lives like that, constantly chasing things and feeling like weâre behind. We are called to be a people with intentionality, keeping Christ at the center and going throughout our day with an ever growing awareness of his great love with which he loves us. We are called to be a people with our minds, hearts and bodies focused on glorifying God. We donât want to chase distractions, but rather we want to go with purpose and focus. So how do you keep the Gospel at the center? Does your day begin with a reminder to let this day be Godâs? Do you let Scripture start your day? Do you focus yourself first thing? How do you remind yourself throughout the day that the Gospel needs to be at the center? And how do you let the Gospel guide your big decisions? Do you pray through things, trusting the Spiritâs wisdom to lead you? And when youâve done this, do you let the Gospel lead you into service? Do you set aside some of your best resources to serve others, to meet the needs of those around you? Do you serve others with intention? Or just hope that a good opportunity arises? Friends, we need to let the Gospel be the most important thing. We need to keep the Gospel at the center, and to serve those who are around us. If we do so, we are doing our job and weâre letting God do his job. How did disciples join the church? God brought them in. God opened their ears and their hearts. God was doing a mighty work here, and the disciples allowed their lives to be centered on that. We donât have to have all the answers. We just have to let the most important thing be just that. Let us pray |