SERMON NOTES: Gen 1:26-28; 2:15-25 (Pursuing True Beauty sermon 2)

Sermon Notes are not exact transcripts of sermons preached at BBC. Instead, they are simply the notes the pastor took with him into the pulpit and preached from. As a result, the actual sermon that was preached may vary from what is posted.

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Helper – Equal but Submissive
Gen 1:26-28; 2:15-25

Introduction

1. Men and Women Were Created Equal as God’s Image-Bearers

Because we, in this country, are sons and daughters of liberty – and we have experienced the freedoms built into our country’s Constitution our entire lives, we can often forget that most of the rest of the world, has never dreamed of having many of our freedoms we regularly enjoy.

Similarly, when it comes to the Bible, we sometimes forget how high of a value it places on human life and the equality of men and women. Many of the ancient cultures did not have a high view of womanhood. In fact, Jesus was very counter-cultural in his approach to women. But what he presented was nothing new – it was simply an a life built on a right understanding of Genesis.

Consider how the major cultures of Jesus days regarded women. Traditional Jewish law had a warped God intention for marriage; a woman was thing, the possession of her husband. She had no legal rights. A husband could divorce his wife for just about anything, while apart from leprosy, gross immorality, or apostasy, the wife could not divorce her husband.

In Greek society, a respectable woman lived a life of seclusion; she lived in the women’s apartments and did not even join her husband for meals. Complete servitude and chastity were demanded of her, but her husband could go out as much as he chose, and enter as many relationships outside marriage, without anyone thinking less of him. One famous Greek orator named Demosthenes said, “We have courtesans for the sake of pleasure, we have concubines for the sake of daily cohabitation, and we have wives for the purpose of having children legitimately and being faithful guardians for our household affairs.”

Finally, there was the Roman’s view of marriage. This was a disaster. One pastor explains it this way: “one Roman woman . . . married her twenty-third husband – and she was the man’s twenty-first wife! There was a strong feminist agenda. Women did not want to have children because they thought it spoiled their appearance. Some of them wanted to do everything men did, so they developed women wrestlers and women sword throwers. The poet and satirist Juvenal records how women began lording it over their husbands, and then before long would vacate the home and flit from one marriage to another ‘wearing out their bridal veil.’”

In contrast to all of this worldview chaos, comes the foundation of Jesus’ view of wives – “[26] Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [28] And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

Humanity is set apart from the rest of creation because humanity is made in the image of God.
God says he made humanity in His ‘image’ and after His ‘likeness’ (1:26). Both of these phrases work together to describe the human race. These are not two separate aspects of man, but one described in two ways. The original word for ‘image’ means ‘to cut or to carve out.’ The idea is that you would cut or carve out and image of something from stone or wood. The original word for ‘likeness’ comes from the verb ‘to be like.’

Thus, to be God’s image-bearers means that we both represent God (image) and are somehow like God (likeness). At the very least this means that we are spiritual beings exhibiting traits like rationality, creativity, the ability to relate to one another, and so on. And best it means that “the image of God in man is the soul’s personal reflection of God’s righteous character. To image God is to mirror His holiness.”

Notice that both the man and the woman are both made in the image of God. He doesn’t the man in his image and then woman not in his image. There is an essential equality in the worth and value and dignity of all humanity – male and female. It is important to understand as the foundation for the rest of our message. Without this truth, the second reality we see form the text can be twisted and abused.

2. Men and Women Were Created to Fulfill Different Roles

[2:15] The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. [16] And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, [17] but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” [18] Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” [19] So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. [20] The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. [21] So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. [22] And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. [23] Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

Notice that God doesn’t create the woman right away. He creates the world, fills it with animals, birds, fish, and then creates the first man. God knows that man needs a counterpart, but he also knows that man needs to know he needs a counterpart. So, he parades every other species of animal in front of Adam, and charges him with the task of naming them. After he’s done, he realizes that there is no one like himself. With that knowledge firmly rooted in Adam’s mind, God administers divine anesthesia, and performs surgery on Adam, taking from him one of his robs and the tissue around it, using it to form what he says will be a “helper fit for him” (2:18).

This is where the train often derails in modern thinking. No one in mainstream Christianity denies the inherent equality of all people. But there is sometimes the assumption that equality in one area necessitates equality in all areas. That is to say, some Christians say since men and women are both God’s image-bearers, since they both are in equal in quality and worth, then surely it stands to reason that they are equal in every way. That ultimately, apart from biology, there is no distinction, no difference, in what men and women can or should do in marriage and the church.

But then you look at our passage which shows God saying, “I will make [the man] him a helper fit for him,’ clearly there is a difference here. But it is not one that many welcome with open arms. Not many like to think of themselves as a ‘helper.’ Barbara Hughes is right when she observes, “It’s a cultural norm for us to associate weakness and even inferiority with the one who assists. No one wants to play second fiddle.”

For the Christian, however, this is an odd response. because God himself is often called a ‘helper’ in the Scriptures. In fact, of the 19 times the word used, 16 of those times the word describes the Lord. We should conclude from that, that there is no disgrace, no indignity in having the role of helper. Furthermore, as God himself says, this is to be the role of the wife to the husband. So what kind of helper is the wife to be to her husband?

A. Biblical understanding of wives as helpers

From the rest of the Scriptures, we see this means at least two thing:

1. Help by support

Like God the father, so also the Holy Spirit is called a helper. In John 14, Jesus promised his disciples that another helper would come to them. As we look throughout the pages of the NT, we see that Helper – the Holy Spirit – described as one who is repeatedly… encouraging, comforting, and coming alongside. In all these things, the Holy Spirit supports God’s people in this life. Wives, you must do the same with your husbands.

One wife who understood this was Idellete Calvin, wife of the famous theologian and pastor, John Calvin. John once described her as “the faithful helper of my ministry,” and “the best companion of my life.” After only nine years of marriage, Idelette became sick, probably with tuberculosis, and died at age forty. John wrote to his friend Viret: “You know how tender, or rather, soft my heart is. If I did not have strong self-control, I would not have been able to stand it this long. My grief is very heavy. My best life’s companion is taken away from me. Whenever I faced serious difficulties, she was ever ready to share with me, not only banishment and poverty, but even death itself.” So incredible was Idelette’s impact on John’s life that while he was only forty years old when she died, John never remarried.

Wives, are you a supportive helper to you husband? Do you support him in the home and in ministry? How often and how hard do you criticize him? How often do you undermine his decisions for himself and the family? How often do you encourage your husband in his endeavors? Do you offer comfort for times of defeat; praise for times of victory? Or are you a dripping faucet of nagging remarks?

Recent tough decision regarding spiritual matter; clearly needed to do something, though I didn’t really want to. Made the decision to do it despite the difficulty Melinda knew about this struggle I had and one night put her arms around me, and simply said, “I’m proud of you.” The power of that encouragement was priceless. Wives, seek to lift up your husband, not tear him down. Be God’s ordained helper in his life by supporting him.

2. Help through submission

Today, this is about the biggest minefield a pastor can step into. Therefore, I want there to be sure that there is no misunderstanding here. For part of the reason this is such a hot issue, is because of the wrong-thinking related to the Bible’s teaching on submission. In fact, many today make the argument that, since the issue is so abused and misunderstood, we should essentially abandon it altogether. My reply to that is simply, ‘Do you really want to remove part of the teaching of God’s word simply because it has been abused, misunderstood, and cuts across our current cultural sensitivities?’ If we really followed that logic, there would be nothing left of the Christian faith. We’d all be Unitarians.

So what does the Bible say about submission? We see its importance because it’s at the core of a wife’s relationship to her husband. In Eph 5, Paul specifically says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” At it’s simplest level, submission is an acknowledgement that there is a leader and that you are called to follow after that leader. John Piper says that, for wives this means, “[submission is] the divine calling to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts.”

How is this helpful to husbands? Remember we are making the point that wives are to be a helper to their husbands, Specifically here through submission. So, how is submitting to his leadership helpful to him? Have you been next to someone when they lean on you with their full body weight? I can remember one time when I was a counselor with our youth group during summer camp. On the way down to the camp, our tour-bus had problems and we were stopped by the side of the road, baking in the summer heat with no air conditioning. I was told by the youth minister that one of the girls was feeling nauseous, and that I should tell her to step off the bus for some fresher air. In the process, she passed out and fell against me. I remember doing what everyone does in such situations, I compensated by exerting counter-pressure to hold her up.

In a very similar way, when wives willingly and joyfully submit to their husbands, They are exerting counter-pressure on them. They are putting godly pressure on them to realize the full weight of their responsibility under God to provide godly leadership. Wives, when you submit to your husbands, you help him become a better husband, and the kind of man that God would have him be.

That is submission at its most basic. In seeing how this is worked practically, however, I want to show what submission does not mean for wives –

B. Wrong ideas about wives as helpers

While there are more, I have picked four of the most common misunderstandings (with the help of pastor Ligon Duncan).

1. Being a helper is not seeing the husband is an absolute authority.

“wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord” does not mean submit to the husband as if he were the Lord. No, it means submit to him as an act of obedience to the Lord. Here I am simply meaning that wives should not feel compelled to give in to all of their husbands’ demands. Specifically, wives should not and must not commit sin because their husbands ask them to. That may seem obvious, but let me give you an example.

When we were first married, I used to ask Melinda to lie for me all the time. The phone would ring and I would tell her, “if it’s for me, I’m not home.” One day, she said, flat out – “I’m not going to lie for you.” Whether it is small or large, wives should not follow their husbands into sin.

2. Being a helper does not mean giving up independent thought.

It’s interesting that no where in the New Testament does any of the apostle write to the men and say, ‘go home and tell your wives to submit.’ Ladies, God thinks so much of you, that as he is inspiring the writers of the New Testament, he moves them to write directly to you. He expects you to be able to think for yourselves, to understand what he’s saying. He treats you like disciples. He’s not saying that you’ve got to shut your mind off and let your husband think for you. He goes directly to the wives and says, “Now here’s how I want you to relate to your husbands.” He is expecting independent thinking from these women.

this stands in contrast to the world’s view of submission; a few years ago, a book called, The Surrendered Wife. In an interview promoting the book, the author explained that to improve her marriage, she stopped nagging, complaining, and criticizing. She gave her husband every responsibility for their marriage (including the finances); she gave him sex whenever he wanted it; she always let him chose the restaurants, and make every other decision. This is surrendering, but wives aren’t called to that – they are called to submit.

Submission doesn’t mean losing your identity in your husband, You can disagree with him – on the interpretation of Scripture; who to vote for; what show you should watch on Friday night submission doesn’t mean giving up independent thought.

3. Being a helper does not mean that a wife should give up her efforts to influence and guide her husband.

Submission does not mean not having input in the decisions your husband makes, Or helping him grow as a father, husband, or Christian. By all means, tell him how you feel about decisions;
But be willing to submit to his leadership, even if he chooses differently than you would have.

4. Being a helper is not based on a woman having less intelligence or competence.

You know the old joke about Ginger Rogers right? That she could do everything that Fred Astair could, except she did it backwards and on heels? Well that’s kind of like it is in the home.

Remember 1 Peter 3 – “wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives.” Peter assumes that by the very fact that this woman is a Christian, that she has greater spiritual insight than her husband does! She’s seen the truth of Christianity and the Lord Jesus Christ, and he hasn’t.

Conclusion

Matthew Henry said, “[the woman] is not made out of [man’s] head to top him, not out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, near his heart to be loved.”

Mothers – Confident in God’s Word (2 Tim 3:1-17)

Mothers – Confident in God’s Word
2 Tim 3:1-17

Introduction

Every man knows that God has given us wives – at least in part – to many times catch us men in our blind-spots. This is important to know because it accounts for our unexpected break from our series on Acts. [why we are stopping; melinda said, 'not preaching on men on mother's day; darelene appraoching me about a ladies' bible study… ]I hope then, that this being the working out of God working in our lives, and our deviation from Acts being my obedience to God’s leadership.

For the next two months, We will be taking a break from our series on Acts to lay a foundation for two new ministries here at the church. Specifically, we will be starting a women’s ministry and a men’s ministry. But, before you fall asleep, you need to realize that these aren’t your parents’ ministries. What I mean is, the women’s and men’s ministries I am hoping we will have will not look like typical ministries in other churches.

I think the downfall of most mens and womens ministries is that they often focus on service.
Getting women and men to serve in some area of the church, or beyond it. That is not a bad goal, but it assumes to much and misses a direct command from Scripture.

The Bible is clear that men and women need to be discipled as followers of Jesus Christ. That means they need to be taught how to live like Christian men and women in their homes, relationships, work environments – wherever they go, whatever they do, they should live Christian lives. Thus, instead of focusing on the doing, we want to focus on the becoming.

And if we get that right – teaching our people how to become committed disciples of Jesus Christ, then the doing will take care of itself. As you train a person’s mind and heart, causing them to become more godly, then they will live like they are supposed to. Therefore, the new ministries we will be forming will be about discipleship. Yes, ministering together will be a part of it, the emphasis will lie in training men to be men, and women to be women as God desires.

So why do we need to focus on men and women? After all, isn’t our current discipleship program enough? Isn’t Sunday School enough? Aren’t the sermons enough? The short answer is ‘no.’ Like never before in our culture, the very question of what it means to be a man and women is being challenged and redefined. When this happens and God’s people becomes influences by the thinking of the world, then their thinking on what it means to be a Christian man or women will be challenged and redefined as well.

Let’s face it – things in the church are pretty out of whack. And that is simply reflective of society. One of our greatest needs in the church today is for men to step up to the plate, acknowledging their God-given responsibility, leading their families and churches. Though the need is more dramatic with men, there is likewise a need for Christian women to see clearly the role God has for them, and to pursue it by the grace he provides.

So, when the ladies are being addressed through the sermons, what should the men be doing?
And ladies, when I am preaching at the men in a few weeks, what should you be doing? First of all, you should be seeing what God expects of the others. Second, seeing the needs of the others will help you understand their struggles. Third, the knowledge of your brothers and sisters in Christ, and God’s will for their life should drive you to your knees in prayer, and to open your mouths with encouraging words.

Let me finally offer a word to some of our singles. Like this morning’s message, many of these sermons will be directed to men and women as they live in families. This does not mean that we do not acknowledge your position as singles. Most of you will not remain single, thus these messages will serve as preparation and training for your life to come, showing you what to expect, and how to even now begin cultivating your life for godliness. And single or otherwise, the ministries to come will be appropriate for all men and women.

1. The Sinfulness of the Times Demands Mothers Who Are Confident in God’s Word (3:1-9)

Look at the situation that sparks this teaching from Paul – “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. If I were to push your minds back several weeks we talked about the last days, and that according to the New Testament, they began with the coming of Jesus. Thus, Paul envisions not some distant future right before Christ returns, but the state of things that Timothy himself will face.

And it is not a pleasant situation. Rather, it is a state of affairs marked by pronounced sin. Specifically, sin that comes from a deep self-centeredness and pride of heart. Look at how Paul describes it – “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, [3] heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, [4] treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, [5] having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”

I recently read about a newly formed church. The young congregation had formed out of an older, existing one. It started when some of the church members felt there was a need for increased Bible knowledge. They began a small, community Bible study. And from those meetings, they quickly began to see that their pastor’s denials of such things as the virgin birth and resurrection of Christ, were at odds with the Bible’s teaching. In fact, the leadership had so twisted the meaning of the words of the Apostle’s Creed, that though they repeated them weekly, they believed nothing of what the creed actually said. Thus, like the false teachers described in our passage, they had the appearance of godliness, but no real love for God or his gospel. This is why Paul says, ‘avoid such people.’

But then notice something else Paul says about these false believers. “For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, [7] always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. [8] Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. [9] But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men” (2 Tim 3:6-9).

Paul is not intending to indict all women as somehow inferior. In fact, the word he uses is diminutive word for women, so ‘little women’ could be a translation.

Again, the point is not about physical stature or age, but about a slightness in spiritual maturity.
Notice that Paul says these women are weak “burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” These women do not know their Bibles, nor do they have a deep grasp of the gospel, which leads them to have much anxiety and guilt over their sins. They make easy prey for some to deceive them, listening to any teacher without discernment, and allowing themselves to live according to their sinful desires.

Clearly, this is not how Paul, nor God intends for the women of the church to live. We live in an age where such women still exist in the church. And the clear call of the passage is for us to guard against such things. I say ‘us’ because it is group effort. The church should be guarding and building them up, much like their husbands should be guarding them. But most importantly, ladies you must take ownership for your faith. You must determine to be one who finds confidence in God’s word, by studying it, understanding it, and living by it. To forsake God’s word is to allow yourself to be led by your sinful desires, and be open to any heretical doctrine.

2. The Steadfastness of Example Validates Mothers Who Are Confident in God’s Word (3:10-15a)

Notice what Paul says, beginning in verse 10 – In contrast to these week women, Paul tells Timothy, “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, [11] my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. [12] Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, [13] while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. [14] But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it [15] and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings,” (2 Tim 3:10-15).

Paul says, ‘Timothy, so far you have held your ground against the rampant sin of this age. You have followed everything I taught you. You caught from me a vision of the cross-centered life that is lived out even in the face of persecution. You know that every Christian who seeks to live a godly life will endure suffering and persecution. But take heart; be encouraged; continue living as you have been.’

Now, notice the incentive Paul gives Timothy. Look again at verse 14 – “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, [how? by remembering]; “continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings,”

Where did Timothy learn about the Scriptures? Where did he hear about the gospel? Notice, Paul says that Timothy knew the Scriptures from childhood. This gives us warrant to flip back to chapter 1, where we read Paul say to him “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (2 Tim 1:5). Now, from Acts 16, we know that Timothy’s father was not a Christian. So, here is where Timothy received his instruction in the faith – his mother and grandmother.

What’s more though, Paul uses that fact to encourage Timothy. ‘Remember from whom you received’ your teaching he says. So, Paul says to Timothy “one of the ways to strengthen your faith and persevere through hard times and not give up on the scriptures is to remember who introduced you to word of God and the way of salvation. Remember your mother, and your grandmother.”

Why does Paul say this? I think it’s because Timothy’s mother and grandmother didn’t just teach God’s word, they lived it before his very eyes. He not only heard them explain it as he grew up, but saw the effect God’s word had on their lives. And so now he can remember back to their example – the example of his own mother and grandmother and be encouraged to press on in the faith.

John Angell James was a pastor who lived about 150 yrs ago. He was faithful in his ministry all of his life, and wrote and taught much about the importance of the family. In one of his books, Pastor James wrote that: “At a pastoral conference, held not long since, at which about one hundred and twenty American clergyman … were assembled, each was invited to state the human instrumentality to which, under Divine blessing, he attributed a change of heart. How many of these, think you, gave the honour of it to their mother? Of one hundred and twenty, above one hundred! Here then are the facts, which are only selected from myriads of others, to prove a mother’s power, and to demonstrate at the same time her responsibility.”

Why do you, mothers, you who are busy with helping manage a house-hold, possibly work outside the home, fix meals, take care of a husband and children – why should you carve out time to teach your children the Bible, why should you pray and labor to live a life worthy of the gospel? Because such a life is the very means by which God calls your children to faithfulness to himself.

Commenting on this passage, John Piper says, “So let’s make very clear: the apostle of Jesus Christ in this text bestows on motherhood and grandmotherhood a great honor. You have a calling that can become the long-remembered ground of faith, not just for your children—mark this—but for the untold numbers who will be affected by your children. And that’s in addition to all the other thousands of ripple effects of faith in your life.”

Conclusion

Mothers – God has given you a unique place in the life of your children. Do not forsake it. Do not neglect the great privilege of training your children in God’s word; Do not neglect the great privilege of serving as an example of godly living for your children.

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editor’s note – this was presented before the first sermon motherhood

SERMON NOTES: Acts 4:1-22 (Acts sermons 8)

Sermon Notes are not exact transcripts of sermons preached at BBC. Instead, they are simply the notes the pastor took with him into the pulpit and preached from. As a result, the actual sermon that was preached may vary from what is posted.

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Suffering and the Supremacy of Christ in an Aspirin Age
Acts 4:1-22

1. The Inevitability of Suffering (4:1-4)

In my introduction to this series on Acts, and throughout the series in many of the sermons, I have talked about my desire for us to see the early church as a model for us to follow. And some of you have even ‘amened’ those comments.

However, we have to be careful when we say things like that. Yes, the early church in Acts should be a model, but we have to be make sure we do not romanticize the early Christians. We have to remember that the same church who saw many miracles, many conversions, amazing unity, Spirit-empowered ministry, also saw conflict from within and trouble from without. And, the most consistent and damaging trouble came in the tremendous suffering and persecution the church faced.

In fact, as you read Acts, beginning with this chapter through the end of the book, all but three chapters mention persecution. Our passage this morning begins with Luke telling us the result of Peter and John’s preaching about Jesus – “And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.”

What we see throughout the Bible, from the prophets of the Old Testament to the apostles and disciples of the New, those who proclaim God’s truth endure suffering and persecution from those who do not like the truth. In fact, Paul tells Timothy – “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” (2 Tim 3:12).

Again, you read the New Testament, and this shouldn’t be a problem. In fact, I would say that if you lived in the first century, it was less of a problem than it is today. But let’s be honest – we don’t like to hear this sort of message do we? Partly, because we live in an age of aspirin. We live in a culture that values a life free of pain. Think about it – We go into the hospital for major surgery and we get upset if we wake up with any pain. Our ability to manage the pain becomes as much a prayer request as the surgery was. That’s the small stuff. Consider this thinking taken to the end of its logical thought; We have older people today who find out they may have to live with chronic pain, and that seems so unthinkable, they want to be put to death.
In their minds, it is better to not die than live with pain.

Unfortunately, this kind of thinking is found among God’s people. But we must see this as contrary to God’s thinking. Suffering is a basic ingredient of the Christian life. Partly because we live in a fallen world – a world tainted and marred by sin – so like everyone else we will experience suffering.

But more than that, suffering is essential to the message of the cross. Deitrich Bonhoeffer was a German Christian who refused to follow Hitler in the years leading up to WW2. He was imprisoned and eventually killed at the hands of the Nazis. In 1937, before he died, he wrote from his cell, “Suffering . . . is the badge of the true Christian. The disciple is not above his master. . . . Discipleship means allegiance to the suffering Christ, and it is therefore not at all surprising that Christians should be called upon to suffer.”

If we seek to avoid suffering it at all costs, then we reveal that we desire to be less than Christian. If we truly proclaim the gospel, If we truly live a Christ-centered life, then we will suffer.

But God also tells us that suffering can bring great blessing. Doesn’t James say, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,” (Jas 1:2)? That kind of thinking can only come if we see suffering under the control of a sovereign God, and if we see suffering being used to accomplish good in our lives.

2. The Purpose of Persecution (4:5-12)

[5] On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, [6] with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. [7] And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’”

Peter and John are not just imprisoned. They are brought before the Sanhedrin. Though under the ultimate authority of the Romans the Sanhedrin was the ruling body and supreme court for the Jewish people.It was comprised of 71 members, including the high priest.

These were same people who had participated in the trial and death of Jesus just a few weeks before. They had desired to be rid of Jesus, but that hope was short-lived as his disciples now proclaim his message. They believed they had authority over all religious matters, so confront Peter and John, asking by what power and name – what authority – they healed this man of his lameness.

Though the disciples are technically on defensive, they quickly go on the offensive, responding to the questioning by proclaiming Christ to them. Luke says, “[8] Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, [9] if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, [10] let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. [11] This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. [12] And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

This is the beginning of an endless barrage of persecution. We have already taken about the reality of suffering. But for the Christian, suffering is not a random event. That is to say, it is not meaningless; it is not without purpose. Instead, Peter and John show us the purpose of persecution.

Notice what they don’t do – First of all, they don’t whine! they do not petition the Sanhedrin to recognize their rights; they do not get scared in the face of the threat; I am never surprised when Christians get slighted in the press. I am not a big conspiracy guy, but it is true that there is an evident bias against anything close to true Christianity in the media. We are often portrayed in a bad light, and often times many Christians get mad and complain. When I hear that, I want to say, ‘what did you expect to happen’? Jesus said it would happen, Paul said it would happen, Why are you complaining?

More than not complaining, we need to understand what we are to do with persecution. Jesus said that God brings persecution and suffering into our lives, so that we can preach the gospel.
In Matthew 10 he says, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, [why?] to bear witness before them and the Gentiles” (10:16-18).

Thus, we are told when we preach about Jesus we should expect to suffer and endure persecution. And then when persecution does come, we should simply see it as an opportunity to talk about Jesus even more.

Even in preaching this message, I know what you’re thinking, Because I’m thinking the same thing – “easier said than done.” We’re afraid. We don’t want to go through persecution. Jesus knows that, and he knew when he walked this earth. That is why he said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

3. The Significance of Ministry (4:13-22)

Many Christians feel like what they do doesn’t count for anything. After all, we are not great orators, we feel like we cannot answer every question people have about the Bible and Christianity. But here we see the significance of the ministry every Christian can engage in.
After Peter preaches Christ, Luke says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished.”

How many of you would call yourselves an uneducated, common person? Some of you are very well-educated, and yet here is a recognition that you do not have to be a professional minister in order to have significance for the kingdom of God. The apostles were not but ordinary laymen,
that were used mightily by God.

Even today, your ministry can have significance is you exhibit the same characteristics as Peter and John. First, you must be

A. Christ-like

Luke says when they heard Peter and John speak, the men of the Sanhedrin “recognized that they had been with Jesus.” All of us have weaknesses when it comes to ministry. Those of you who know me well, know that many of my weaknesses are evident. But what makes up for all of that is a likeness to Christ. This is why Robert Murray M’Cheyne would write to a younger ministry and say, “It is not great talent that God blesses so much as likeness to Christ.”

How do become more like someone else? The easiest way is to spend time with them. I love to listen to other preachers’ sermon. But I have to be careful. If I listen to the same person for an extended period of time, without realizing what I’m doing, I begin to mimic them when I preach. In fact, just a few weeks ago, right in the middle of my sermon, I realized the way I was speaking sounded like a whole lot like C. J. Mahaney. And I had to make myself stop speaking that way.

The same is true with Christ. If we will simply spend time with him through God’s word – seeing his example; hearing his teaching, reading what his disciples said about him. and without even realizing it, God’s Spirit will begin transforming us to look like him.

B. Confidence in the gospel

If we present the gospel as it is found in the New Testament, then we will present a message that is offensive. And as we are telling people about Christ, sometimes, we are tempted to buckle under the pressure of the offense of others. People get mad, ‘So you say I’m going to hell for not believing in Jesus?!’ ‘What about all those faithful Hindus and Muslims? Are they going to hell too!?’ And we shrink back – ‘well, of course only, uhh, God knows the heart and I suppose it could be possible …’ No! What does Peter say? “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

If we believe that – if we have confidence in that message – then like the apostles we will demonstrate, courage in the face of opposition; and a desire to share the gospel at every opportunity.

D. Devoted to God

Even with faced with the threat of violence or injury, the apostles were loyal and devoted to God – they obeyed him and his calling. Luke says that the Sanhedrin conferred amongst themselves,
saying, “‘in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’ So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.’”

God says, “make disciples to the ends of the earth.” So what do you do? Assuming you become an international missionary and leave your homeland to preach the gospel, do you only go where they speak English so you don’t have to learn another language? do you only go to countries where there is clean water and decent food? do you only go to the safe countries where there is no risk of violence? Or do you live a life devoted to God?

Karen Watson was one of our young missionaries to Iraq. On March 15, 2004, she was killed by unknown assailants. Later an envelope was found that said, “Open in case of death.” Inside was a letter that said in part: “Dear Pastor Phil and Pastor Roger, You should only be opening this in the event of death. When God calls there are no regrets. I tried to share my heart with you as much as possible, my heart for the nations. I wasn’t called to a place; I was called to Him. To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory my reward, His glory my reward . . . [later she writes] The missionary heart: Cares more than some think is wise; Risks more that some think is safe; Dreams more than some think is practical; Expects more than some think is possible. I was called not to comfort or to success but to obedience. . . . There is no Joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving Him. I love you two and my church family. In His care, Salaam, Karen”

That is the kind of devotion to God we need. The kind of devotion to God that is willing to look violence, even death in the face, and because of our joy in God, our confidence in the gospel, like the apostles we will say “we cannot help but speak of [Christ].”

Conclusion

SERMON NOTES: Acts 3 (Acts sermons 7)

Sermon Notes are not exact transcripts of sermons preached at BBC. Instead, they are simply the notes the pastor took with him into the pulpit and preached from. As a result, the actual sermon that was preached may vary from what is posted.

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A Model of Mission-Minded Ministry
Acts 3

Introduction

This past week [my failed attempt at witnessing at the Shamrock’s… ]

… most of struggle and may not get it right.
This morning, we want to see an example of how to do it right.
We want to see a model of mission-minded ministry.

1. Engage in Team Ministry (3:1)

Luke begins this passage by telling us, “Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.”

Though it may not seem like much at first, it is significant that the passage begins by telling that these two apostles were together at the temple. And though Peter quickly moves to the foreground, Luke nonetheless, does not let us forget that John is there. Verses 3, 4, 11 and 12 all remind us that these two were there ministering together. This shouldn’t surprise us considering Jesus himself sent out his disciples in pairs of two.

And throughout Acts, we continually see working together as a team – when Peter stood up to preach at Pentecost, Luke says he stood up with the eleven (2:14); later in chapter 8, Peter and John work together again; when a missionary team to reach the Gentiles is formed, the Holy Spirit sets apart 2 people (13:2); as we continue to read, from what we can see, Paul never traveled alone; even as a prisoner in Rome, Luke himself was wit Paul (27:2).

From Jesus’ ministry with his disciples, to the example of the apostles, to the plurality of elders and deacons in churches, when we look to the rest of the New Testament, its seems the normal pattern for ministry is a team model.

I can say from experience that this is not only the pattern, but practically speaking, is incredibly helpful for ministry. When I go to a conference and stay in a hotel with someone else, I almost always have a great time. But when I go by myself, I often struggle. You see, sitting alone at night in a hotel means I have to fight against the temptation to watch things on television I shouldn’t watch, and would never think of watching with someone else in the room. Yes, being a pastor doesn’t mean you get a pass on those kinds of temptation. In fact, from all that I have read and heard, I think the temptation becomes greater.

That’s just one small example of how helpful team ministry is. We could also talk about its benefits in, sharing Christ, making decisions about church programs, sharing burdens of ministry.

But notice the birthplace of team ministry. Luke says, “Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer.” Team ministry begins with Christian praying together. Pastor Derek Thomas says of these early disciples, “Prayer is what they relied on, and you can’t get away from it. We saw it [earlier]: that they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and the breaking of bread, and in the prayers. Prayer was one of those marks of the early church, of the early community. They did everything by prayer. That’s why Paul will say, ‘In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.’”

As we move forward as a church, we must grasp this concept of team ministry. We have to see the value of working with others, allowing ourselves to be held accountable to one another, depending on each other varied gifts and abilities. And it all must begin with us, shoulder to shoulder in prayer at the throne of grace.

2. Meet Physical Needs (3:2-10)

“And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, ‘Look at us.’ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, ‘I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”

The passage hardly needs any explanation. You can imagine this man who was living out his day as usual, asking for pious Jews attending the temple to show mercy and give him money, probably to buy food. What he couldn’t imagine the incredible mercy was to be shown by two of Jesus’ apostles. I can only imagine Peter stopping at the man’s request, calling him to fix his gaze on them instead of looking from person to person, desperately trying to make eye contact with someone, hoping they will take pity on him. Instead, Jesus’ apostles call for the power of the risen Christ to heal this man who was crippled from birth. So overwhelming was the realization of what had happened, Luke tells us the once lame man “began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.”

During the early part of the last century, as the world moved beyond the first Great War, some church denominations moved from preaching a gospel of forgiveness to a gospel of help. The emphasis moved from preaching Christ to doing good deeds in the name of Christ. Thus, some churches were quick to feed the poor and clothe the naked, and if the opportunity presented itself they might present the gospel. The immediate need became dominant with the greater, eternal need.

Then many churches reacted to this by not doing anything to help the physical needs of others. They made the gospel and nothing but the gospel their focus.

As this passage shows, God’s desire for our ministry lies in-between these two extremes. The model we have from the apostles is of a ministry that works to alleviate the burdens of another person. But it is not just meeting their physical needs, But rather meeting their real or perceived needs through Gospel driven deeds.

Pastor Tim Keller explains, “It will not be enough for Christians to form a culture that runs counter to the values of the broader culture. Christians should be a community radically committed to the good of the city as a whole. We must move out to sacrificially serve the good of the whole human community, especially the poor. Revelation 21-22 makes it clear that the ultimate purpose of redemption is not to escape the material world, but to renew it. God’s purpose is not only saving individuals, but also inaugurating a new world based on justice, peace, and love, not power, strife, and selfishness.”

In this way, mercy ministries are not to be separated from the proclamation of the gospel. Jesus does not advocate that we feed the poor and heal the sick, then send them on their way. No, on the contrary – as we see in this passage – preaching the gospel and healing people’s bodies are closely associated. Jesus himself didn’t just preach. He preached God’s word and then acted through deeds driven by love for others.

Yes, we must preach the gospel, But as Jesus shows us, we must also work for the common good of our city, and show our neighbors we love them sacrificially, whether they believe as we do or not.

3. Present a Complete Message (3:11-26)

If you listen to much of what passes for Christian teaching today, you may actually find it difficult to hear the gospel. You may hears parts of the gospel, you may even distortions of the gospel, but you actually have to work really hard to hear the biblical gospel. Here, Luke helps us see the essentials of the gospel message – the kind of message that we must proclaim.

A. Confront Sin (3:13-15)

Peter is not hesitant to confront the sin of his hearers. He doesn’t start small either –
No, he goes right for the heart of the matter. “[it was Jesus] whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him… you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.”

Just yesterday the Bay City Times reported that an international Catholic study committee presented its findings that they now say that original sin doesn’t exist. I cannot help but scratch my head at that, because the Bible is so clear that the opposite is true – In Romans 5, Paul says, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned,”

Sin is at the heart of the problem – literally. Peter identifies the wicked acts of his hearers, but those acts were simply the rotten fruit of a sinful heart. You see, the Bible says the gospel is not about solving our personal problems; the gospel is not about making lives easier; the gospel is not fundamentally even about us – It is about God’s gracious action to save sinners from judgment. In order to see how this can be called good news, one must first be confronted with the reality that he or she is a sinner.

B. Proclaim Christ

After the man is healed, everyone is staring at Peter and John. Many of us today would have begun pulling out our business cards, or handing out promotional dvd’s of our apostolic ministry.
We would have been quick to get people to look to us and what we did.

But the apostles knew better. Peter and John knew that they were simply the clay pots God had chosen to use for his glory. Thus, instead of promoting himself, Peter deflects the glory to God and preaches a Christ-centered sermon. It was Jesus – the Holy and Righteous One (3:14), the Author of life (3:15), who suffered and died according to the prophets (3:18), and was raised back to life and glorified by God (3:13). And it was by the power of his name that this was healed.

I know it seems almost unthinkable, but so many today who claim to preach the gospel, do not actually preach Christ – who he is and what he did according to the Scriptures. But this is the gospel. Without Jesus – without his work on the cross and resurrection from the dead – there is no Christian faith. We must tell about him living a life of perfect righteousness before God (a life we cannot live because of our sinful hearts); about him dying the death we deserve (bearing God’s wrath against our sin); about God raising him back to life as Lord of all creation.

C. Offer Forgiveness

In light of their sin, and in light of what Christ has done for us, Peter tells them, “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things”

This morning, consider the kind of sins you have committed. Consider some of the more obvious sins – lustful thoughts or other sexual sin; lying and deception; abuse of drugs and alcohol. Think about some of the less obvious, but in many ways more destructive sins – pride; bitterness; lack of love for God’s people; failure to trust God;

But what could be more heinous than killing Jesus? I mean of all the sins I have committed, I would do them against fifty times over rather than be one who stood there in the crowd yelling ‘crucify him! crucify him!’

And yet, Peter says even the worst of sins can be forgiven. That says nothing about the offensiveness of our sins, but everything about the grace and mercy of God. Regardless of the sin, God promises to forgive because Christ’s death was sufficient to satisfy God’s wrath against the sins of the world. All we must do is repent and believe. Repentance is simply a change of mind that results in a change of one’s life. It means turning away from sin towards God. It means believing Christ is our savior, and believing that the promise of life he offers is better than the promises of sin.

D. Contextualize the Message (3:22-26)

“…which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. [22] Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. [23] And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ [24] And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. [25] You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ [26] God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Peter not only presents the essentials of the gospel, he does so in a way that appeals to the specific audience he’s talking to. Peter is addressing his fellow Jews who, though in wrong ways, clouded by misunderstanding and selfishness, have longed for the promised Messiah. Thus, he seeks to show them that Jesus was that Messiah.

Likewise, as we have said before, We must contextualize our message to the lost. That means we must understand our audience and present these essentials of the gospel in a way that shows how Christ brings fulfillment to their desires.

Conclusion

SERMON NOTES: Acts 2:42-47 (Acts sermon 6)

Sermon Notes are not exact transcripts of sermons preached at BBC. Instead, they are simply the notes the pastor took with him into the pulpit and preached from. As a result, the actual sermon that was preached may vary from what is posted.

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The Spirit-Filled Church
Acts 2:42-47

1. The Priorities of a Spirit-Filled Church (2:42)

Luke begins by telling us that all of these new disciples, under the leadership of the apostles, devote themselves to four things

A. Teaching

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” What do you do with 3000 new Christians? You teach them the Bible. Isn’t that Jesus said to do? He didn’t commission his apostles to just make believers, Jesus said, make disciples. By definition, a disciple is one who follows and learns from another; they take in another’s teachings, living by them.

Furthermore, it should come as no surprise that a Spirit-filled Christian would have a desire to take in God’s word. After all, Paul tells us that the Scripture are the sword of the Spirit. They are the means by which God brings his grace into our lives, convicting us of sin, encouraging us and instructing us in godliness.

This past week as I was searching the internet for some information I stumbled across a new webpage. It was a page from a church I was already familiar with, so I stopped to look around and see what was new. The church is Covenant Life church in Maryland. It is one of the most enthusiastic, joyous church’s you will ever find. Emotions are not feared, and worship services regularly feature raised hands, tears, clapping. But Covenant Life is also a doctrinally sound church. It is a church that places a high value on hearing and understanding and living the Bible’s teaching. The sermons are never less than 45 minutes long, and are usually closer to an hour or more in length.

The page I was telling you about was announcing their new College. It’s not really a college, but a discipleship program that covers topics in 2 hour blocks for four weeks at a time. The classes focus on topics like justification, church history, cultivating intimacy with God. Mothers with young children, elderly couples, working class men, high school and college all take time to be there. Why? Because they are all filled with God’s Spirit, and so have a desire to devote themselves to the Bible’s teaching.

How much do you value even cherish the God’s word? Can you not get enough it? There is a direct correlation to being filled with the Spirit and devoting oneself to the teaching of the Bible.

B. Fellowship

“And they devoted themselves to … fellowship.” The Christian life is to be lived in community.
We often miss how important this is when we read our Bibles because English doesn’t handle plural pronouns with as much clarity as biblical Greek. The New Testament teaches over and over again that the Christian life – fighting temptation and sin; spiritual growth; serving God;
learning God’s word – all of these things are to be done with other Christians. Hebrews sums it up well – “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day [of Christ’s return] drawing near” (Heb 10:24-25).

In some ways, we live in a society very similar to that of the early Christians. In other ways, we live in a very different society. Part of the difference is the incredible amount of activities we are involved in – social clubs, charity events, school, team sports, jobs.

It requires a degree in cryptology to decipher some of our schedules. Nevertheless, we have to remember that God’s word transcends culture. For instance, when Christianity comes to a society that devalues women or has cannibalism as part of everyday life, We do not say, ‘we cannot change a culture’s values.’ In the contrary, we let God’s word transform the culture. Likewise, how we use our time must be determined by God’s word. And God says, if we are filled with and led by his Spirit, we will make fellowshipping with God’s people a priority.

C. Worship

“And they devoted themselves to … the breaking of bread.” The breaking of bread was not just eating together, but was a semi-technical phrase referring to the Lord’s Supper. We know from Paul’s letters and other places in the New Testament, that celebrating the Lord’s Supper was part of the weekly worship gathering. Thus, saying they devote themselves to the breaking of bread is Luke’s way of telling us they regularly met to remember the sacrifice of Christ and worship him as the risen Lord.

In many ways, worship has fallen on hard time today. Church’s still meet, but very often the focus isn’t worship – it’s entertainment. Make no mistake, worship should never be boring.
But it should never resort to cheep thrills to manufacture something later called a ‘worship experience.’ Rather, the truth of who God is and what he has done through his Son, Jesus Christ, should penetrate our minds through God’s word and the lyrics of the songs we sing, so that we are moved to joy in our affections – our emotions. In this way, our worship exalts Christ by its truth, and is expressed in humble joy.

D. Prayer

“And they devoted themselves to … the prayers.” We have already talked about how important prayer was to these early Christians. Here, we are told that they devoted themselves to prayer. That is, they committed themselves to spending time talking to God, not just as individuals on their own, but speaking to God in prayer gathered together in their worship, and in small groups in their own homes.

The truth is, you cannot cultivate a relationship with God without prayer. Not as individuals, or as church. More than that, you cannot have spiritual power from God apart from prayer. You will be impotent in your fight against sin, You will be less willing to live as God wants you to. But through prayer, the power of God comes to our lives. His grace and love are poured out upon us.
John MacArthur says, “Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscles of omnipotence.”

The New Testament repeatedly links prayer the Spirit together. …

These in many ways effects of the priorities….

2. The Character of a Spirit-Filled Church (2:43-47)

When God fills us with his Spirit, He will produce within us certain character qualities. Luke here, highlights four of those qualities. Qualities that – as Christians – should exist in our lives as well.

A. Fear (2:43)

“And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.” The apostle’s preaching and teaching was accompanied with many miraculous works.
These works came in power to validate the message they preached, and point back to God as the source of that power – the power to forgive sin, and save from its enslaving power.

The word ‘awe’ refers to a holy fear in response to the presence of God. It describes the feeling, the attitude of reverence that comes when you realize God is at work. This is important for us to understand today. We believe that God still performs miracles. But when he does, it is not for the sake of the miracle itself. That is, God doesn’t heal a person just to heal a person. He heals someone so that he will be seen as, omnipotent – having power over creation; a provider – giving us what we cannot get on our own; gracious – giving us what we do not deserve;

In all of this then, God is glorified. He is glorified as we praise him for his goodness and provision, he is glorified as we more deeply believe that he is the source of our ultimate satisfaction, he is glorified as our faith in him, and enjoyment of him increases.

If we are filled with God’s Spirit, then we will see God at work in the miraculous and the everyday events of life. And we will be filled with awe and wonder at his glory.

B. Love (2:44-45)

If you are filled with God’s Spirit, you will love other people. In Romans 5, Paul tells us that God’s love is poured into our heart by his Spirit. Galatians 5 say the fruit of the Spirit is love.
Thus, it should not come as a surprise that these Spirit-filled believers show love to one another.
Luke tells us, “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”

Think about the situation here. Thousands of pious Jews had traveled there for the Feast of Pentecost. Many had been saved after Peter’s message, and they wanted to stay longer to get grounded in their new faith. They needed hospitality and financial help to do this. To meet these needs, the church opened their homes and their pocketbooks to help the needy. Some even sold land and donated the proceeds.

We will see in a few weeks that this was not required. The apostles didn’t say, ‘hey you guys need to do this.’ No, they were filled with Spirit which led them to love their brothers and sisters in Christ, and this is how they showed that love. Love can take many forms and be expressed in many ways, but most Christians in this country have the biggest struggle loving with money. Let this be an example to us. We do not have anything that has not come from the hand of God. Therefore, we should be willing to use anything we have to serve God or show our love for other Christians.

C. Joy (2:46-47a)

“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God,” The fellowship of these early Christians didn’t just happen when they gathered in large worship services. Their fellowship extended to each others homes where they rejoiced in their salvation, and provision God had given them.
There was no pretense or performance mentality. Rather, there was a sincere, generous spirit of joy and a gladness in their hearts. This joy was evident as they praised of God.

This is not a kind of happy-go-lucky, rosy-colored glasses view of life. I had a friend in college who was like that for a while. Any time there was a struggle in her life, or I shared one in my own life, her response was the same – she would just shrug her shoulders and say something like, “His grace is sufficient.” At first, that sounded really spiritual. But then it became obvious that she was just not really trusting God in those times. Instead, she was just ignoring the issues, pretending there was no problem.

Joy isn’t like that. We can be beat-up by life, suffering horribly one tragedy after another. We can feel the weight of those things and we may not be happy, but we can be joyful. Joy is a deep pleasure, satisfaction in God that trusts in him regardless of the circumstances of this life, because it longs for him in the next.

D. Evangelism (2:47b)

“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Notice, Luke doesn’t say, ‘these Christians were telling everyone about Jesus.’ Nevertheless, there is no really no other way to understand this passage, than by seeing that as the implicit thought.

Luke does say that they had favor with all the people. this is not all the Christians, but all those who were not believers, the Christians had favor with all those outside the church. Furthermore, Luke says, “the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

How were these people being saved? God didn’t just “zap them” – someone shared the gospel with them! In John 15, Jesus God’s Spirit bears witness to him. That is, the Spirit’s role is to draw him to Christ, to bring glory to Jesus. Therefore, it is no surprise that Spirit-filled Christians would be sharing Jesus. The Times-Reporter of New Philadelphia, Ohio, reported in September, 1985 a celebration of a New Orleans municipal pool. The party around the pool was held to celebrate the first summer in memory without a drowning at the New Orleans city pool. In honor of the occasion, 200 people gathered, including 100 certified lifeguards. As the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in the deep end. They tried to revive Jerome Moody, 31, but it was too late. He had drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their successful season.

If we are filled with God’s Spirit, then we will not focus on ourselves to the point of missing the dead people all around us. Rather, with love and compassion and a desire to see Christ made supreme, we will share the gospel; we will be an evangelizing church.

Conclusion

Many years ago, John Stott met a group of Christian students in Argentina who had visited all of the Protestant churches in their city, but could not find any that satisfied them. They had dropped out of the church. He asked them what they were looking for that they could not find. He was startled when, without realizing what they were doing, they went down the list of Acts 2:42 in order. They said that they wanted a church where the pastor faithfully expounded the Bible and related it to where they lived. They were looking for warm, loving, caring, supportive fellowship. They sought a sense of the living God and His greatness in worship. And, they were looking for compassionate outreach (in Christianity Today [6/12/81], p. 21).

No church is perfect and none will come close this side of heaven. But as we continually devote ourselves to the Lord through His Word and through worship, as we devote ourselves to the fellowship of His people, and as we devote ourselves to His work in the world, He will use us to glorify Himself. I challenge you to be fervent in your devotion to the Lord and to His church, so that He uses us to reach many in this city and around the globe for His glory.

SERMON NOTES: Acts 2:14-41 (Acts Sermon 5)

Sermon Notes are not exact transcripts of sermons preached at BBC. Instead, they are simply the notes the pastor took with him into the pulpit and preached from. As a result, the actual sermon that was preached may vary from what is posted.

_______________The Sermon that Saved Three Thousand Souls
Acts 2:14-41

Introduction

1. God Pours Out His Spirit in Fulfillment of Scripture (2:14-21)

Peter’s sermon comes as an answer to the crowd’s response about what they have seen. Luke says, in v. 12, “And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others mocking said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’” Peter replies in reverse order. It is only the third hour of the day – around 9:00am, and the meals would not have ….
So, Peter say, ‘It’s too early to be drunk. What you’ve seen wasn’t caused by alcohol.’ Instead, he says, what you’ve seen was caused by God. And it was caused as a fulfillment of Scripture.
Peter says, “But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel.”

One of the marks of a good Bible teacher or preacher is that they do teach or preach from a systematic theology book. Hopefully, they had the books. But when it comes to teaching and preaching, they do so from the Bible. They themselves are teachable and base what they say on the Bible. When I came to study this passage, I was amazed how many good Bible teachers let their pre-set beliefs affect their understanding of the passage. Peter says, ‘this is that’ – This which you have seen is that which Joel foretold would happen. But so many said, it is not really what Joel foretold. More will happen later when Christ returns during the last days.

But that’s not what Peter says. He says, “This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.’” Peter speaks in line with the rest of the New Testament writers who say, the coming of Jesus began the ‘last days.’ People always ask, ‘are we in the last days?’ And biblical answer is, ‘yes, we have been for almost 200 years, where have you been?’ And just as God had promised through the prophet Joel – He has poured out his Holy Spirit on all flesh on this day of Pentecost.

Now, I know why people get confused here – it’s all the cosmic language of the passage. “And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood.” What do we make of these things? Frankly, it’s hard to know exactly. We know of some such things that occurred when Jesus died on the cross – the sun turned to darkness. Perhaps there were others that Peter is telling us about now. Or perhaps this should be taken as the regular OT language about life. In the OT, when things are going well they will say things like, the mountains are singing, the trees are dancing for joy. And when things are going bad, or there is some great spiritual calamity, then, the stars fall from heaven, the oceans rage.

Which is it? We don’t know, and frankly, it doesn’t matter all that much. It’s not the point Peter is trying to make. Peter is saying to the crowd, you just all these 120 people so full of worship that they supernaturally been proclaiming languages that you understood, but they have never spoken before – this isn’t because we all drunk. No, what you have seen has been the fulfillment of the promise of God. He has poured out his Spirit on all peoples. Why? Verse 21 – so “that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

What does this mean for Christians today? It means, brother and sister that what was only tasted in under the old covenant, has now come in fullness in the new. Under the old covenant, God’s Spirit came upon very specific people for very specific purposes. But the number of people was relatively small – kings, certain builders of the temple, prophets, and that’s about it.

And what’s more, that empowering for service was not permanent. Do you remember when David sins with Bathsheba and against Uriah, when he prays to confess his sins, he begs the Lord, as the king of Israel, “do not take your Spirit from me!” He’s not talking about losing his salvation, he’s talking about losing the Spirit’s empowering of David’s role as king. David has seen Saul sin grievously against the Lord, and the Lord removed his Spirit from him. David says, ‘don’t let that happen to me!’

Christians, we need not worry about this today. God says, he poured out his Spirit on all flesh. When my youngest son, David climbs up in a chair and finds a drink close enough to the edge that he can reach, and he pours it out, you can be rest assured, you not putting it back into the glass. The pouring out is permanent! Likewise, now during this new covenant age, God’s Spirit has been poured out – it’s been given with permanence and abundance. For it is not just a few people, but all flesh – all people – who receive it. God says, “your sons and your daughters … your young men … and your old men … even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” Sex, age, and position in life make no difference. If you are a child of God, if you are a Christian, then God has poured out his Spirit upon you and empowered you to serve him as part of the community of his people, the Church.

Thus, it is not by grace that you are saved, then hard work that you live the Christian life.
No, it is grace from start to finish. God calls you by his Spirit, God give you spiritual life by his Spirit, God gifts to you to serve by his Spirit, God empowers you for the Christian life by his Spirit – all in fulfillment of his promise in Scripture.

2. God Authenticates Jesus as Lord and Christ in Fulfillment of Scripture (2:22-36)

Peter says, God pouring out his Spirit was not some arbitrary act. The Spirit came so that salvation might come to all peoples. That salvation comes through one person only – God Spirit leads people to faith for salvation in one person only – Jesus Christ. So Peter, without concern for tact, or cautiousness, explains who Jesus is to the gathered company of Jews from all over the globe. And explains that he was exactly who God said Messiah was to be.

A. Jesus’ Life (2:22)

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know”
I’m not sure if it is still on, but I read about a program that used to be on NPR called, “The Pulse of the Planet.” It was completely naturalistic, talking about the science of the planet, from examples and effects of evolution and the problems global warming. But what made me shake my head was their motto – “the miracles of science.” The miracles of science? How does science perform miracles? Even some Christian talk about the miracle of childbirth. Hey, I love kids more than a lot of people, But there is no miracle in their birth – it’s unbelievably cool how God designed DNA to be encoded from two people to form another one – but it’s no miracle, that’s how things are supposed to work. You will find no miracles in science.

But Jesus performed some miracles. People blind from birth receive sight; A handful of fish and bread multiplies to feed from than 5000 families; A raging storm quiets at the sound of a few words; He walks on water – the man walked on water; Dead people come back to life – (and here you though the Sixth Sense came up with that line “I see dead people” – no it was the disciples!) Jesus did miracles – And Peter says, all of that was for your sake; to authenticate him as the Messiah.

B. Jesus’ Death (2:23)

“this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Peter, haven’t you read the books about being seeker sensitive? He says to these Jews – you were there, remember? You killed him! You delivered him to the Romans, You freed Barabbas instead of Jesus, You killed him by the hands of lawless men.

Nevertheless, it happened just as God said it would. Peter says, ‘don’t think you’re off the hook for killing your own Messiah, but realize what went down that day happened according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. Messiah was killed for sinners just as God said he would be killed. The prophet Isaiah looked forward in time and saw the Messiah, Isaiah says, “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows… Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows … he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

When Jesus died, he was taking the place of sinners. He was their stand-in, their proxy before God. Jesus received God’s judgment for the sins of his people. And so, today you and I can sing to Jesus,
You are beautiful beyond description,
yet God crushed you for my sin.
In agony and deep affliction,
cut off that I might enter in.
Who can grasp such tender compassion?
Who can fathom this mercy so free?
You are beautiful beyond description –
Lamb of God who died for me!

And yet, Jesus did not remain dead. Peter also tells them about,

C. Jesus’ Resurrection (2:24-32)

He says, in verse 24, “God raised [Jesus] up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” Peter again shows that this was part of God’s plan, promised in the Old Testament by quoting from Psalm 16. There, David says, “I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.”

At first, it seems like David talking about himself, But Peter points out – David is long dead and his body in the ground. Perhaps even in Peter’s day, they could have went to David’s grave.
Therefore, being taught by Christ, and now led by God’s Spirit, Peter can say with certainty that David was not speaking of himself, but the Messiah, Jesus himself. It was Jesus that God did not allow to see corruption, but raised him back to life after his death. And the apostles were witnesses to that.

Lesslie Newbigin was a missionary in India. In one of his books on the practice of missions, he tells about a conversation he once had with a committed Hindu. Newbigin says, “I have never forgotten the astonishment with which [this Hindu] regarded me when he discovered that I was prepared to rest my whole faith as a Christian upon the substantial record concerning Jesus in the New Testament.” In others, the Hindu couldn’t believe that his faith depended on the historical certainty. You see to be a Hindu doesn’t depend on any historical precedent. The same is true with Buddhism. If it were possible to some prove the Buddha had never lived. And you presented this fact to Buddhists today, it would not affect their beliefs at all.

But Christianity is not like that. If there was no Jesus, there is no Christianity. And the resurrection, though the most difficult to believe is nonetheless, the most important event in the life of Jesus.

D. Jesus’ Ascension (2:33-36)

Jesus was raised for a reason. Peter tells those that are listening, that after his resurrection, Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God in heaven. Again, he shows that all of this happened in fulfillment of Scripture. This time he appeals to Psalm 110. There David says, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” Who is David’s Lord? He says, the Lord – Yahweh, God of Israel – says to his Lord. He’s the king of Israel, who is his Lord? The answer is no one – No one was more highly exalted than David, than David’s greater Son, Jesus the Messiah. It was the Lord God himself who would exalt the Messiah until all his enemies were made to be his footstool.

Peter says, all of this leads to one unmistakable conclusion – “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made [Jesus] both Lord and Christ.” This is the same message we must proclaim today. Despite the pluralism of our day, despite the high level of biblical ignorance, we must proclaim that Jesus is Lord and Christ. He is the rightful King over every aspect of our lives, and Savior who brings us into right relationship with God.

Peter proclaimed this first Christian message, And Luke tells us that God honored it, “and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”

3. God Saves Sinners in Fulfillment of Scripture (2:37-41)

Whenever a minister preaches, or as a lay person you share the glory of the Christ with someone,
the one thing you are hoping for – the one response that you beg God for – is the very response the people give to Peter’s sermon: Verse 37, “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’”

[38] And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” [40] And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

Peter give an appeal to the people – He says, ‘Here’s what you do with the reality of Christ’ –
Repent, be baptized.

Longenecker: “Much modern evangelism tries to make becoming a Christian as easy as possible. We dodge the issue of sin. We don’t talk about the cost of discipleship. We wouldn’t dare call on people to make a radical break with their culture. But Peter called them to repentance and baptism. For a Jew to be baptized was a traumatic thing. They generally looked on baptism as a rite for Gentile converts or for notorious sinners, not for ‘good’ Jews.”

In v. 41, Luke tells us that, “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”

Conclusion

If you’re not a Christian, this is the message you must believe… that Jesus is Lord and Christ.
If you are a Christian, then this is the truth that must affect your life – that Jesus is Lord and Christ.

SERMON NOTES: Acts 2:1-13 (Acts Sermon 4)

Sermon Notes are not exact transcripts of sermons preached at BBC. Instead, they are simply the notes the pastor took with him into the pulpit and preached from. As a result, the actual sermon that was preached may vary from what is posted.

______

Pentecost
Acts 2:1-13

1. The Holy Spirit Reveals the Character of God

A. His sovereignty

Notice how verse 2 begins – “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” It is important not to pass over the words of the Bible too quickly. That word ‘suddenly’ is important to understanding the work of the Spirit.

You see some people today think of the Holy Spirit like something out of the Star Wars movies. The Jedi all seek to encourage and in some ways bless each other with the phrase, ‘May the force be with you.’ In the story framework of Star Wars, the force is an impersonal field of energy that surrounds and flows through all living things. By concentrating, individuals can tap into that force and wield its power according to their own purposes. Again, some think of the Holy Spirit like this – some impersonal force of energy that through faith or positive confession, or fasting or whatever, through some means, we can control for our own purposes.

But nothing can be farther from the biblical truth. “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound.” This word is important because it helps drive home the point that the Holy Spirit is God. As part of the Triune Godhead, he is free and sovereign and not bound to anyone’s timing or technique for how to get his power. We are to bank on his daily, indwelling presence and grace, walk in the obedience of this faith, and pray day and night for the outpouring of power from on high. But we cannot make the Spirit come. When he comes, he comes suddenly. He will never become anyone’s bellhop. He loves and he serves God’s people. But he keeps his own hours. Because is fully God, he knows what is best for us.

B. His grace

Some people like to look to the passage in 1 Kings 19, where Elijah is hiding out from the wicked King Ahab and the Lord comes to him, and find their theology of God there alone. “And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.” And then God speaks. And so they say, ‘see God is in the low whisper, or as another translation famously has – the still small voice – so you listen for that little inner voice and follow it’s guidance. Well, the problem is, here at Pentecost that theory is blown out of the water, isn’t it?

Luke says, “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” This is no still small voice, now low whisper.
It is more like the blast of wind that tore apart the mountains. The Holy Spirit comes in power.
But it is not the power to destroy mountains that is in view here. Rather, it is the power to forgive sin. The power to give freedom from sin.

You see in the both Greek and Hebrew, the word for wind is the same for Spirit. And it is only context that tells us which idea is in view. And in Ezekiel 37, we see God telling the prophet in a vision to go up to a valley covered in long-dead, dry bones, and preach to them. God says Ezekiel should say to them – “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live” (Ezek 37:5). Later, God says this vision is about his people who are spiritually dead. He says, it is not just breath that he will put in them. The Lord says, “I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live,” (Ezek 37:14). Earlier he explains what having the Spirit God means for our lives. God says, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezek 36:26-27).

This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. That undeserving, sinful people like you and me have and put his Spirit in our hearts. This is why we say this is not so much a display of his power as much as it is of his grace. We don’t deserve it. We deserve to be punished for our sinful rebellion. But when God pours out his Spirit, he calls us to himself, forgiving our sin and setting us free from our slavery to sin. He puts within us a heart that loves him, and leads us to obey and worship him out of that love. And all of this possible because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He lived a life of perfect righteousness, and he died to pay the penalty for our sinfulness,
so that we could stand righteous before God.

C. His glory

Verse 3 says, “And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.”
This thing – this patch of fire that resemble a tongue – comes down and then divides among them until it is hovering over each of them. What are we make of this? Well, when we look to the OT fire is one of the key images that represents the glorious presence of God. Heavenly fire fell from heaven to consume Abraham’s offering, sealing his covenant with God; God appears to Moses in a fiery bush that never burns up; Fiery and lightening pour out from the Mt Sinai as God gives the Law to this people. God appears as a pillar of fire to lead the nation of Israel by night; God’s presence is visualized a patch of burning glory hovering above the ark in the most holy place in the heart of the temple. Even the NT book of Hebrews declares “our God is a consuming fire.”

And so, we come to Pentecost and God’s glorious presence is poured out on all of God’s people.
God will never again dwell in a temple made of brick or stone, for his people are his dwelling place.

2. The Holy Spirit Empowers the Church’s Mission

A. Worship of God

“And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance… [7] And they were amazed and astonished, saying, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? … [11] both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.’”

The disciples experience something that utterly transformed their knowledge of God’s presence into the experience of God’s presence. They see fire on each other’s heads and they hear a loud wind. And they are filled not merely with a certainty of God’s present reality based on Scripture alone, but with an experiential certainty based on the extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The fire begins to burn in their hearts and in their mouths, and the sound of the wind surrounds them and envelops them with the tokens of God’s power. And they are simply overwhelmed with the greatness of God. And it begins to spill out in praise. Their fullness of the Spirit leads them to worship God.

We can say this because of what we read in verse 11. The people say, “we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” John Piper comments that “Being filled with the Holy Spirit here is being overwhelmed with the greatness of God. The literal translation of verse 11 is that they were speaking ‘the greatnesses of God.’ Since the Spirit was giving them utterance, and since the utterance was of God’s greatness, I take the fullness of the Spirit to mean that, the Spirit’s experience of the greatness of God becomes our experience of the greatness of God.”

There is a lot of talk about the forms of worship today. There is a lot of talk about what kind of music to use, when and how to pray in the service, how long and in what way we should teach God’s word. Those things are not unimportant. The leadership of any church should prayerfully plan out the service, and ensure that it flows well, that it makes sense, that as Paul says in 1 Corinthians, things are done in an orderly manner so visitors do not think we are all crazy.

Many of you know we are trying to enhance the musical part of our service. (In case you been asleep for the past few months, that’s why the drums have been up here!). But it has been difficult, and it’s been frustrating for me. But then recently I watched a special about churches on Nightline, and they interviewed a pastor who said, “We got contemporary music and we went from 30 to 300 in 6 months.” And that made me sad. Not because we don’t have contemporary music, but because that pastor didn’t build a church – He gathered a group who likes a certain kind of music. This doesn’t mean we are going to keep trying, It just means we have to be careful about why we do what we do in the service. You see, I believe that many churches have substituted the Spirit’s presence with trendy and entertaining music and talks. Instead of people coming filled with God’s Spirit and so worshipping him through prayer and song and hearing his word, regardless of the imperfections of the service flow, or the vintage of the music, they come and a genuine worship is replaced with an artificial one manufactured by an appeal to desire to be entertained.

Again, my point is not about the music styles or anything like that. My point is this – if we find gathering with God’s people, or living our lives spiritually flat, we have to ask ourselves if the problem is not them, but us – are we filled with God’s Spirit? For if we are genuinely filled with the Spirit, then we will worship God. We will declare his glorious deeds and the wonders of Christ – and nothing will stop us.

B. Witness for God

Look back to verse 1 – “When the day of Pentecost arrived.” Why did Jesus choose Pentecost as the day when he would pour out the Spirit on the disciples? In many ways, it was to bring to greater fulfillment that meaning of the Old Testament feast of Pentecost. It got its name, Pentecost – which means fiftieth – from the fact that it took place 50 days after Passover. Pentecost was one of the three Jewish feasts that called for a pilgrimage to the Holy City. During this time, there would be a lot of pilgrims in Jerusalem from across the known world.

Pentecost was also a feast of harvest. That’s what it is called in Exodus 23:16. In other words, there was a beautiful symbolic significance to God’s timing. The Spirit is pouted out on Pentecost showing that he has come to empower God’s people for their mission – taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, gathering a great harvest of people who have become God’s children through faith in Christ. As we will see next week, God gives even greater evidence of this in that 3000 people hear Peter’s sermon and are saved on this day of Pentecost.

And notice how it is done – “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. [5] Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. [6] And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. [7] And they were amazed and astonished, saying, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? [8] And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? [9] Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, [10] Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, [11] both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.’”

Through the Spirit, the disciples are speaking of God in other languages. These are not some mystical, unknown angel languages either – They are real languages, spoken by human people all over the world. It’s an incredible thing. It would be like you suddenly speaking Chinese or Hindi or Portuguese or indigenous language of the Aboriginal people of Australia, never having studied it for even a minute. All the disciples are speaking all of these language at once and everyone is hearing what they are saying in their own language.

If you have ever been in one of the larger airports in the world, And you are around the section for international flights, you can understand a bit more of what was happening. In that kind of setting, you may hear people from a dozen countries carrying on conversations in their native tongues while you are waiting in a line. As soon as someone speaks English, your ears zero in on the conversation so that you focus on what they are saying. Here, the disciples are speaking various languages were doing so quite simultaneously, yet it did not bring confusion, because each person heard the mighty deeds of God in his own dialect. It did not matter what the other languages were saying to that man who heard in his own tongue. He just knew that he understood clearly.

And Spirit’s moving in this way was no accident. This is not a common event, even in Acts.
Remember this is Pentecost – Jews from all over the known world are here at Jerusalem, Jews who speak every language known to man at the time. And the Spirit falls and they can all hear the glories of Christ being spoken about by the disciples in their own language. What’s so incredible is that for a few moments the curse of Babel is reversed. Remember Babel in Genesis 9? God had commanded that the people spread out and subdue the earth. But they rebel and begin trying to build this great tower that will allow them to reach God into heavens. And so God curses them for their rebellion by creating multiple languages. No one understands each other, and the project is abandoned. People are forced to spread out and find others who are speaking like them.

And God says, my mission for my people is the opposite. We are bringing people together by the Spirit-empowered proclamation of the gospel. We are bring together people who every language in the world around the truth that Christ saves sinners. One pastor says, “The flames on their heads had set fire to the knowledge of God, and turned it into passion. And the violence and loudness of the wind had drowned out all the puny voices of doubt and uncertainty. And so every remnant of timidity and hesitancy and weakness is swallowed up in the experience of God’s greatness. And a tremendous boldness and courage and zeal was unleashed as they gave witness to the greatness of God.” That should be our experience as well. We should be so filled by God’s Spirit that we joyfully and fearlessly proclaim the saving message of Christ. That we serve as witnesses to the glory of God.

Conclusion

SERMON NOTES: Acts 1:12-26 (Acts Sermon 3)

Sermon Notes are not exact transcripts of sermons preached at BBC. Instead, they are simply the notes the pastor took with him into the pulpit and preached from. As a result, the actual sermon that was preached may vary from what is posted.

_____________

And Then There Were Twelve (Again)
Acts 1:12-26

1. Submission to God’s Direction (1:12-14)

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. [13] And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. [14] All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

In chapter 1, Luke tells us that, before he ascended to heaven, Jesus instructed the disciples “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father” – the coming of the Holy Spirit. They had been on the Mount of Olives watching Jesus’ ascend to heaven, and now they obey what he has told them to do.

Verse 15 says there were about 120 followers of Christ that were waiting in Jerusalem. What did they do this whole time? The end of Luke tells us that they were “and were continually in the temple blessing God” (Luke 24:53). When they were not in the temple, Here in Acts 1, we are told that “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers” (1:14). This is what they did together – pray. Furthermore, their prayer had two characteristics which Calvin says, are “two essentials for true prayer, namely that they persevered, and were of one mind.”

Luke says, “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer.” This does not mean that they were simply all in the same place praying. Nor does it simply mean that they were all praying about the same thing. When Luke says they were devoting themselves to prayer with one accord, he wants us to understand that unified in heart and mind and intention. Yes, they were in the same place, but more importantly, they were one purpose as they prayed.

We heard this weekend at the men’s retreat about gazelles. Gazelles will graze in big herds. And when they do, the leopards, or cheetahs will just sit in the shade of the tree line watching. They won’t go after them because there are too many. But as soon as one gazelle wanders off, or zones out and doesn’t notice the herd moving away, then the leopard will pounce and be on him before he can even run.

Part of the secret to the strength that the early church enjoyed, was their unity with one another. Satan, you see, was attempting to destroy the very thing that Christ was trying to build. And do you remember what Peter will say later as he writes his first epistle? “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He is seeking someone, in the singular! “Resist him,” Peter says, now using the plural. In other words, as a united band of the Lord’s people, we must resist Satan’s attempts to destroy the church.

How do we do this? Luke shows that the early church maintained their unity through prevailing prayer. He says, “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer.” The idea behind the word we have translated ‘devoting,’ is of one being busy and persistent. This is what many call today ‘prevailing prayer.’ It is the kind of praying that doesn’t give up. Many Christians pray today don’t pray that way. They like their text messaging God. Send up a quick message and go about your day, never thinking about it again, and probably not praying again until the next day or week. It’s one thing to be like Nehemiah and spend hours in prayer, and then in an emergency shoot up an arrow prayer. It’s quite another if that’s the totality of your prayerlife. That’s not prevailing prayer – I’m pretty sure that’s not even biblical prayer.

Jonathan Edwards is a name that I dropped on more than one occasion. He is considered by Christians and non-Christians alike to be the greatest thinker, the greatest theologian-philosopher that America has ever produced. He was a pastor before the Revolutionary, and God used him (along with others) to help lead the greatest revival in this nation’s history called the Great Awakening. He preached a sermon called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” once and 400 people got saved. Edwards had no wiggle room in his theology. There was no fuzziness in his thinking about God. One pastor has said that his beliefs were so well-defined that as you read his books and sermons, you can almost be cut by them. Among other things, Edwards had a tremendously high view of God’s sovereignty. Of his planning and ordaining all events for his glory. And yet, when he preached a on Jacob struggling with God, he spoke of the necessity of God’s people to go before God with prevailing prayer. Edwards that God’s people must struggle with God in prayer, and like Jacob say, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” Not the kind of earthy, material blessing we often think of, But the kinds of Christ-exalting, spiritual blessings that we need. Edwards said, we were to take our needs before God and pray and pray and pray and pray; and obey the Lord Jesus who said we should pray and not lose heart. That is prevailing prayer.

Pastor Tim Keller says, “By [prevailing prayer] we mean simply that prayer should be constant, not sporadic and brief. Why? Are we to think that God wants to see us grovel? Why do we not simply put our request in and wait? [Because] sporadic, brief prayer shows a lack of dependence, a self-sufficiency, and thus we have not built an altar that God can honor with his fire. We must pray without ceasing, pray long, pray hard, and we will find that the very process is bringing about that which we are asking for — to have our hard hearts melted, to tear down barriers, to have the glory of God break through.”

That is the kind of unified praying that the early did. And it’s the kind of praying that allows us to come into submission to God’s direction for us. Do you see how important then, our gathered times of prayer are? Do you see how important it is for us to come together on Sunday nights in prayer? To pray with one purpose and not give up?

If we are to follow the example of the disciples, We must display,

2. Confidence in God’s Faithfulness (1:15-20)

[15] In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, [16] “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. [17] For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” [18] (Now this man bought a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. [19] And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) [20] “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’

Many of you will remember all the big hoopla a couple months ago when the book the The Gospel of Judas came out. The text itself was discovered in the late 1970’s on the banks of the River Nile. So, it has been around for a while now, but was thrown into the public spotlight because was it freshly translated from Coptic (early Egyptian writing). It was not written by Judas, but by a Gnostic writer around 250 AD. Gnosticism was an early Christian heresy which taught that anything material was bad and the spiritual side of things was good.

When you read The Gospel of Judas the most interesting things is the complete contrast between what it says and what Luke says in his biblical gospel and here in Acts. In The Gospel of Judas, Judas is not a villain, he’s a hero. Judas is under divine orders to betray Jesus, because Jesus needs to be released from His physical body, the prison house that is keeping His soul and spirit down. And if Jesus is going to be the spiritual person, He needs to be released from His physical body. And this is what The Gospel of Judas is all about.

Luke is giving us a very different portrait of Judas. Luke tells us in verse 18 that what he did was an act of wickedness. Luke tells us in his Gospel that he was a traitor. Luke tells us in his Gospel that he was the tool of Satan, that he betrayed our Lord.

And here in our passage he describes the death of Judas. It’s a fairly gruesome description.
Matthew presents a slightly different picture of Judas death, telling us that he hung himself.
Skeptics of the Bible have used this difference to say the Bible is inaccurate. But there is really no problem between the two. If you told someone, I went to church and we sang songs of praise to God and prayed, and the person next to you said you heard at sermon at church, who would be wrong? No one would be wrong, it is simply two pieces of complementary information. Likewise with Judas, we can say that Judas did hang himself, and at some point – perhaps from the earthquake that accompanied Jesus’ death – the rope or the tree branch that Judas used to hang himself broke, and he fell from the cliff, and he had been hanging in the hot Palestinian sun for a few days and the gases in his decomposing body cause him to swell, as Judas hit the ground, he and burst open.

In Matthew’s gospel, he is appealing to the Jewish belief in the sinfulness of suicide. Luke on the other hand is writing to Greeks who thought suicide was morally neutral, so he writes to describe the gruesome end that befell Judas.

Now, imagine being one of the remaining 11 disciples. Imagine the anger, the despair, at knowing one of friends turns out not to be a friend at all, but rather a treacherous villain who sells out your Lord and Savior for mere money. Despite the pain of the betrayal, Peter sees what happened as the fulfillment of Scripture.

Peter quotes from two Psalms. Remember The Psalms were the prayer-book of Old Testament saints and the early church, (and should be ours as well). They are an incredible part of the Bible because they are, as one Christian theologian put it, they are ‘an anatomy of all parts of the soul.’ In other words, whatever emotion you are feeling, there is a psalm that shows someone else feeling the same way and expressing themselves in prayer to God about it.

I imagine that after Jesus’ ascension, Peter was spending his days in God’s word, probably the psalms. And as his emotions run high and low, Peter is praying over the Psalms, and looking to them as God’s word for encouragement. And God shows him that all that happened with Judas has happened as a part of his plan and purpose. The Scriptures had foretold all this would happen. And so, now he stands up and quotes from Psalm 69 (which is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament, apart from Psalm 22) and Psalm 109. And says, to the others, ‘we this is part of God’s plan from God’s own word and we also know from God’s word that we must replace Judas with another disciple.’

What do we get from all of this? We should get a deep sense of confidence in God’s faithfulness. God was faithful to his promises in that what had been foretold in his word came about in the life of Jesus and Judas. More than that, though, we should have confidence in God’s purposes – his willingness and ability to achieve good from evil. Notice that while Peter says, God willed for this betrayal to happen, it fulfilled Scripture, Judas is still said to done something wicked; it was still sinful. This is why Jesus could say, “The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born” (Matt 26:24). Thus, sinful actions are not excused by God’s sovereignty – it doesn’t work that way according to the Bible. Nevertheless, we can take comfort and be encouraged knowing that wicked plan, or sinful device will ever thwart God’s plan. Like Joseph from the Old Testament, we can say though you meant it for evil, God meant it for good (Gen 50:20). Have confidence in God’s faithfulness to keep his promises, fulfilling his word, to work for the good of his people, for the glory of his name.

If we are to follow the example of the disciples, we must display . . .

3. Dependence on God’s Provision (1:21-26)

Peter has argues from the Bible that Judas must be replaced, and now he lays out the qualifications for who should replace him – he says, “So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, [22] beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” [23] And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. [24] And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen [25] to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” [26] And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Peter identifies two qualifications, as it were, to replace Judas; those who could take his place.
First, they had to be a follower of Jesus since his baptism by John. Peter says, it needs to be someone who knew Jesus well. Judas’ replacement needs to be someone who heard Jesus’ teaching, saw his miracles, and in general knew him more intimately than just second hand reports. This was important because the apostles would be continuing Jesus’ ministry, teaching what he taught. And though the church would eventually have the New Testament, they didn’t then. So it was important that the men would have first-hand knowledge of Jesus’ life and teaching.

Second, they had to be witness to Christ’s resurrection. That makes sense as well doesn’t it?
This was the basis for the disciples’ mission to the world. It is the foundation of the Christian faith, and often in Acts we see the apostles bearing witness to the resurrection.

So, the people come up with two guys that for the bill – “And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias” (1:23). To this point, they had done all that they can do, they read and obeyed the Scriptures, which showed them that Judas should be replaced, they have used wise thinking to determine potential replacements, putting forward Justus and Matthias.

But now, they have done all that they can do. And they explicitly put their trust in God. Verse 24 – “And they prayed and said, ‘You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’” The disciples pray then cast lots over these two. But they don’t do it thinking the result will come from blind chance. Instead, they’ve prayed with Prov 16:33 in mind – “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” So, when the lot falls on Matthias, they believe that it was Jesus himself who caused the lot to fall to him. They believe that Matthias was his choice to be Judas’ replacement.

There was a point in my life when I hated asking for help. I want to do this myself I thought and would say. Often, I would refuse help that was offered to me. Every once in a while, I still get that way. But for the most part God has taught me that I’m not perfect. I don’t know it all, and I get do it all – I need help. Men, some of you are like this when it come to asking for directions.
You get somewhere, you get lost, you don’t know where you’re going, and instead of stopping to ask for help, you just drive faster! Ladies, come of you are no better, thinking you know what’s best when it comes to a decision.

Many times, all of us are this way with God. He offers us help and direction, strength and grace,
and we refuse to accept what he offers us. No, no, I can do this on my own; I don’t your help God. That poor sap over there needs your help, but not me. But, like the early Christians, we need to learn how to depend on God’s provision.

We need to pray and show our humble dependence on him. We need to demonstrate with our lives that we believe God is God and we are not. And whether it is, simply looking at God’s word for instruction, receiving correction or encouragement from a friend or a sermon, or praying to God for wisdom about a situation, we must depend on God’s provision.

Conclusion