A High View of the Church
In a Charles Schulz Peanuts comic strip Charlie Brown was playing catch with Lucy to prepare their old hapless losing team for the new baseball season.
Charlie Brown proceeded to throw a high ball across the field to her. Lucy was ready for the ball to fly into her mitt.
She lifted her head up to the sky, her hands were ready to field the ball, but not only did she not catch the ball, it hit her on the head instead.
The she suffered the indignity of Charlie Brown yelling at her: "Lucy, you¡¦re the worst player in the history of the game!"
Of course, Lucy would not accept that from Charlie Brown, or anyone else for that matter.
She shouted defiantly to Charlie Brown across the field: "You can’t prove that! You should never say things that you can’t prove!"
That did not stop Charlie Brown from barking at her. Charlie Brown corrected himself and hollered back:
"In all probability, you are the worst player in the history of the game!" Finally, Lucy whispered quietly and meekly, but triumphantly: "I can accept that."
Some people see the Church like Charlie Brown. They have a low view of the Church. I want to propose to you that one cannot take the Bible very serious and take a low view of the Church.
To prove this point we are back in the Book of Acts.
Last week we began our look at the book of Acts.
We laid down some very important things – Luke is the author of both Luke and Acts- a two volume set – written as a defense of Christianity.
Last week we focused on the 40 day period between the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension into Heaven.
The 40 days were significant because God was preparing the Apostles and the early followers for something very very big.
40 days is significant because in the Bible it usually represented a time of testing and a time of preparation. 40 years or 40 days is a recurring them throughout the Bible.
1) Moses’ fast at Sinai in Exodus 34
2) Israel’s journey in the desert Deut 8:2
3) Elijah’s Fasting 1 Kings 19:8
4) Nineveh’s Opportunity to Repent Johan 3:4
5) Jesus fasting was 40 days in Matthew 4 and Luke 4
This task will be important and as we will see from this book the world will never be the same again.
You cant come away from Acts with anything other than a high view of the Church.
One minister put it this way. Usually a person that has a high view of the Church has a low view of themselves – they are humble.
Some people that have a low view of the Church have a high view of themselves. They don’t want to be a part of the body of Christ- they can’t submit to a group of elders so they want to be their own spiritual authority.
They really believe that you can just give me a Bible and a televangelist and they would be pleasing to God without a Church.
Let me say this as emphatically as I can – that view is so foreign to the Bible. That would have been considered impossible to the early Christians.
Christ without the Church is something that you are not going to find.
A Church without Christ is not really a Church but something else, maybe a social club or meeting hall.
God’s plan was that those that are saved will be added to the Church – this local Church is a local manifestation of a world wide body.
The Bible has no problem at some points of speaking of the universal Church and the local congregation that is a part of the global Church.
We have so many misconceptions – We think Church is a place I go – a building that I go to to have a spiritual experience.
We think Church is something that we do.
Actually Church means much more – it literally is those that are called out – those that have been set apart as priests of the new Covenant. We are a priesthood of believers called out of the world and placed into God’s Kingdom.
Today I want to share with you three things that we will take from our text in Acts about the Church.
Today’s lesson is a beginning in reorienting our view of the Church to a Biblical one.
Acts 1: 4-8
4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now ." 6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel ?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority ; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
1) Are we there Yet??
Have you ever taken a trip with your children some where and the question is always asked, Are we there yet?
You know that question is relative – When we go to the beach on a trip – being nearly there is just about an hour from your destination.
But if you are going to Wal-mart – nearly there yet may mean a few minutes out or the red light at Sonic.
It just depends.
The Disciples are asking Jesus in essence – are we there yet? The as him in verse 6 is the time that you are going to restore the Kingdom to Israel.
This was a real expectation.
They had signed on with Jesus just 3 years before and knew that Jesus was some type of King in waiting.
Psalm 72 and Psalm 89 would be ringing in their ears. The messiah would come and become a King like David and Israel would be on top of the world.
Isaiah 40-55 lays this out that Israel’s messiah will be the King of the world. The Apostle’s question is loaded and we miss it sometimes.
We need to know what they mean but the reestablishment of the Kingdom.
Let me give you an example of how this looked in Jewish thought in the time of Jesus.
Around 135 AD a guy by the name of Simon Bar Kosiba will lead a rebellion against Rome.
One of the most famous Rabbis of Jewish history named Rabbi Akiba pronounced Bar Kosiba as the Messiah.
The started minting coins in Judea with the year 1 on them. The first year of God’s reign through the messiah. This false messiah was destroyed by the Romans and Rabbi Akiba was brutally executed.
This may give you some insight into the Apostle’s question to Jesus.
Sometimes we look at the lowly Jesus – We look at Jesus coming as a carpenter in Nazareth and forget that He is King of the Universe.
We forget that Jesus was the very Creator of this all.
An old story has been passed down to illustrate this point.
A prince wanted to find a maiden suitable to be his queen. One day while running an errand in the local village for his father, he passed through a poor section.
As he glanced out the windows of the carriage, his eyes fell upon a beautiful peasant maiden. During the ensuing days he often passed by the young lady and soon fell in love.
But he had a problem. How would he seek her hand? He could order her to marry him.
But even a prince wants his bride to marry him freely and voluntarily and not through coercion.
He could put on his most splendid uniform and drive up to her front door in a carriage drawn by six horses.
But if he did this he would never be certain that the maiden loved him or was simply overwhelmed with all of the splendor.
The prince came up with another solution. He would give up his kingly robe. He moved, into the village, entering not with a crown but in the garb of a peasant.
He lived among the people, shared their interests and concerns, and talked their language. In time the maiden grew to love him, because of who he was and because he loved her first.
In the same way King Jesus gave up his Heavenly home to come and take on flesh. At times we could not see His majesty but it is there.
Don’t let that get in the way of thinking that Jesus was not setting up His kingdom.
We need to understand that the Messiah of Israel was understood by the people of His time that He would set up His kingdom on earth.
LUKE – Remember that Acts is the second part of LUKE and LUKE paints a picture of Jesus as the Davidic King throughout the Gospel of Luke.
LINEAGE: Luke 1:27 – Jesus is of the lineage of the House of David
ANNUNCIATION: In Luke’s account of the Annunciation, Gabriel’s words clearly echo and even quote from that promise: "the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever" (see Luke 1:32-33).
BAPTISM: When Jesus was baptized in Luke’s Gospel a voice came from Heaven saying, You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’ " (see Luke 3:22).
This passage is in reference to Psalm 2 that was understood to be about the Davidic King that would be called the Son of God
TRIUMPHAL ENTRY – In Luke 19 we read of Jesus triumphal entry which was packed full of images of the coming Davidic King into Jerusalem.
Zechariah 9: 9
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion ! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem ! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
We see this directly fulfilled in Luke Chapter 19 – Luke is telling us that Jesus is King.
Luke is telling us emphatically that the King of Israel is Jesus of Nazareth
The last few chapters of Luke’s Gospel we see the following titles for Jesus used repeatedly.
The Christ of God (ANNOINTED ONE)
The Chosen One
The King of the Jews
Luke now takes us into Acts and this question is being asked about the Apostles about the coming of the Kingdom.
The King is ready to implement His kingdom rule. He is about to enthroned. He is going to ascend to the Right hand of the Father and will be given all dominion and authority.
Now how will this look – what will happen now.
How does Jesus answer this question about the establishment of the Kingdom of God?
He tells them power is coming from on High – Power of the Holy Spirit.
But he tells them that they will begin in Jerusalem go to Judea and then Samaria.
Now why is that important. The Prophets foretold of a time when the knowledge of the Lord would come forth from Zion.
The knowledge of the Lord would overflow into the entire world.
Isaiah 11 forsees a time when the Root of Jesse- Literally the Davidic King that had been prophesied about will reign and one of the marks of that reign is that the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth like the waters cover the sea.
Also there was the idea that the nation of Israel would be united. Any good Jew would have recognized that God was putting back together what had been broken.
Judea and Samaria were the two divided parts of the Kingdom and now the Gospel is going to go into those places – this unifying fact – a New Davidic King is in power. The promised Messiah is now calling people to allegiance.
This is a Kingdom announcement of the Gospel – the good New is that Jesus is King.
Isaiah prophecies that the entire world will hear of Israel’s king. So look at where the Gospel is going – it is going into the world.
So God’s kingdom rule is starting in Jerusalem – calling all men to submit to the good rule of King Jesus - it begins and then spreads out and we will end Acts with Paul in Rome preaching right under Caesar’s nose.
But this not just a Kingdom Rule but it is a Claim to Truth.
1) Realize this proclamation claims our allegiance to Christ – He is our King –
2) All truth is given to the Church
In the Expectation of the Messiah was a connection with Truth – God’s truth would be revealed and this knowledge, wisdom, and truth would be unleashed on the world.
Just as the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon to marvel at his wisdom, the nations will flow to Zion.
The kings of the earth will bring their Glory into the kingdom.
Consider the fact that Jesus tells them that they are to wait until the Holy Spirit comes upon them with Power.
So what does the Holy Spirit’s work have to do with God’s Kingdom purpose and God’s Kingdom rule.
John 16: 5-15
5"But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going ?'6"But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.7"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away ; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.8"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment ;9concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;10and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;11and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.12"I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.13"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth ; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak ; and He will disclose to you what is to come.14"He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.15"All things that the Father has are Mine ; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.
This passage is so important because John gives us a view of God’s truth being given to man.
In this passage we see the same thing that is happening in Acts 1 – Jesus ascends to Father and even though it is hard to understand this but it is better for him to ascend to Heaven.
Now He will be just as present with His Church and even more so as the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit will be sent from God to empower the Church.
Now we need to really grasp this to get a vision for the Church that God has for the Church.
How much of the truth would the Holy Spirit reveal to the apostles?
The would receive ALL TRUTH – God will share with us and disclose to us His truth through the Holy Spirit.
The apostles would be inspired and put to writing our New Testament – this truth is all Truth.
Exhaustive truth for man.
So who would be entrusted with this truth?
1 Timothy 3: 15
15 but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth
The Church will be the place where the truth is deposited, guarded and shared. God’s truth will go out through the Church.
Jude speaks of the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints.
In Acts we will see God’s kingdom rule start in Jerusalem – people will be added to the Church, start acting different and become ruled by God in their life,
It will spread like wild fire – God’s wisdom and truth will go out through the teaching of the Apostolic church – men from all over the world will hear of God’s good news.
Literally from Mount Zion in Jerusalem – which is where Acts 2 is set – the knowledge of the Lord wills start to be revealed.
Men from every tongue and nation will start to stream into this New Jerusalem – this new Temple – Household of God called the Church.
I strongly believe one reason Churches across this nation have become anemic and not dynamic is an identity Crisis – we don’t realize WHO we are.
And it is really not about Us – but it is about WHO we work for.
Speaking of identity
Did you hear about the college student who was taking the course in ornithology, which is a study of birds?
This class in ornithology had the reputation of being the most difficult class in the whole curriculum. And the professor was an extremely difficult professor.
Everybody feared him. But it was a required course, & every student had to take it.
As the course began, the professor announced there would be a test in 40 days & it would compose a large portion of the grade. So you had to do well on that test.
Everybody studied. They took copious notes. They made sure they understood everything the professor said.
On the 40th day the students filed into the lecture hall with sweaty palms, extremely nervous.
On the stage was a table with 5 cages on it. Each cage had a cover & beneath the cover they could see the feet & spindly legs of a bird.
At the sound of the bell, the professor addressed the students, “Here’s the test. You can see there are 5 birds & they’re all covered except for their feet & legs.
You must tell me the identity of each of those 5 birds by looking only at their feet & legs.”
Everyone had studied long & hard, but no one had anticipated such a test. And they were all sweating, trying to remember something, anything, that could help them pass the test.
Finally, one student stood up & said, “This is ridiculous. This is the craziest test I have every seen, & you’re the worst professor in this whole school.”
He said, “I quit. I‘m out of here. I’m not going to take this test.” And he turned & walked toward the door.
“Just a minute young man.” said the professor. “Who are you? I demand your name right now.”
The young man stopped, took a long look at the professor, & then pulling up both of his pant legs said, “You tell me."
Well I guess that professor had a hard time determining the identity of that student but we shouldn’t have a hard time at finding God’s kingdom rule on earth now.
If you want to find God’s kingdom rule on this earth you should look at the local Church.
Local Churches are God’s plan – part of His design to carry out the gospel – the Kingly proclamation of God.
We are here as Heralds –to cry out to the world that King Jesus rules and He demands our obedience.
King Jesus calls us to submission and allegiance to His Kingdom.
2 Corinthians 10: 3-5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
Paul gives us our charge in God’s kingdom – we are to wage a war – a spiritual war and this war involves destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God.
Taking every thought captive to Christ.
Even the thought world is a battleground for us – ideas have consequences.
We are here on a rescue mission for a lost and dying world.
Colossians 1: 13
13For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Notice what Paul says, He rescued us – this was written in the 1st century – God was rescuing people back then and look at the tense of the verb TRASNFERRED
Transferred is past tense – we have been transferred into the Kingdom of Christ
There are two people in this world – those in the domain of darkness and those in the Kingdom of Christ.
It our calling, vocation to call people into the Kingdom of Christ.
Our reason is that one day the Kingdom Rule of God will be manifest for all to see Right now it is not so evident at times
But there will be a day when the veil will be torn back and Heaven and Earth will collide and God will reign.
This reign will be a time of joy for some but a time of weeping and sorrow for some.
Philippians 2 tells us that at the Name of Jesus Christ every knee will bow and each tongue will confess.
Those in the Kingdom when King Jesus returns will rejoice at His revealing in the clouds.
Some will hear the shout of the archangel, the trumpet blast and realize their time is up.
Where are you today – Have you been transferred into the Kingdom of God’s Son or are you still locked up in the Doman of Darkness?
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Acts part 1
One night a wife found her husband standing over their infant’s crib. As she watched him looking down at their very first baby, she saw on his face a mixture of emotions: …disbelief, doubt, delight, amazement, enchantment, skepticism.
Touched by this unusual display and the deep emotions it aroused, with eyes glistening she slipped her arm around her husband. "A penny for your thoughts," she said.
"It’s amazing!" he replied. "I just can’t see how anybody can make a crib like that for only $46.50."
Today we are going to focus in on something that I hope gets you all excited for the right reasons.
Today we are going to look at the Church and in particular we are going to delve into the book of Acts.
This study for us is very timely because we need to plug back into this story now more than ever.
The Church is going to face times or at least world views like what we in Acts. In Acts we will see a government that is not favorable to the Church and you will see false religion all around.
You will see militancy against the Church from some of the Jews of that time.
Sounds similar – a world full of government s that are threatened by the Church and another religion that would fight Christianity with violence.
Just look at the latest flap over the Health and Human Services department of the United States government telling health insurance providers that they must provide abortive and contraceptive services to their clients.
The only problem with this is that in flies in the face of many religious convictions.
We have the US government for the first time that I can figure telling Christians that they MUST comply with the government over their religious convictions.
You may have read about the president’s latest concession on this issue but I will tell you that it still forces people to act against their conscious.
Also watch carefully the administration’s latest use of language – Now The president and secretary of state are saying that they are for the freedom to worship.
Now this is a slight shift from Freedom of religion to freedom of worship. What does that mean – well freedom to worship means you can go to church and have a worship experience but don’t bring it out of the church house.
Religion is the outgrowth of your worship into every aspect of life – health, abortion, individual freedom rights of the human person.
Folks this is a dangerous road we are going down and I beg you to please pay attention to these issues and be responsible in how you vote.
So pay close attention to Acts because in one portion of this book the early church will be accused of standing up to the government and saying no Caesar is not Lord but Jesus is.
We need to stand up and say the same thing – Jesus is Lord and our allegiance is to Him more than anything else and if Washington DC tells us to do something that violates God’s word we will obey God rather than man.
Also consider that Acts is about a book of not just domestic evangelism –in our own backyard but also about Evangelism to the nations.
1.5 Billion people are alive in the world today that have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So you have to say the book of Act is timely.
You have a government system that is dead set against the Christian faith
You have a religious group that is violently set against Christianity that is violently persecuting Christians.
You also had an entire world that needed to hear the Gospel.
So this study if really timely and applicable.
Let’s Get to the book of Acts and lay down some ground work for our lesson today:
The author of Acts is the Apostle Luke – he is the author of the 2 volume set – Luke and Acts. Luke gives us the annunciation of Christ’s birth to his resurrection.
Luke is also the only Gentile writer of our New Testament – All other authors were Jewish.
Luke’s medical background comes through in the Greek of Luke and Acts when he uses specific Greek words to the medical field at his time.
Luke wrote his gospel and the book of Acts in the same way that many ancient historians wrote their introductions.
Luke gives us a great introduction that is much like what you find in other ancient writers like Josephus.
Let’s go back and look at the prologue to Luke’s Gospel:
Luke 1: 1-4
1Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, 2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3 it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus ; 4so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.
I love how Luke gets started. He is writing to Theophilus. Who is that?
I have read many ideas on the matter. Some say he was an individual.
Perhaps even Paul’s legal counsel in Rome. And they suggest that the books of Luke and Acts are written as a legal brief in preparation for Paul’s case before Caesar.
Remember Luke is Paul’s traveling companion and Luke wrote Acts and Luke probably in Transit to Rome and also while Paul was under house arrest awaiting trial before Caesar.
But perhaps the secret to unlocking the Mystery of Theophilus is not with the question Who is that? Perhaps the real question is “What does it mean?”
Theophilus literally means “Lover of God”
You see, many feel this was not a specific individual but rather it was a symbolic reference to a specific group of God fearers.
From this prologue we can learn a few things about Luke and his gospel and the book of Acts:
1) Luke is laying out an exact account that has been handed down to him.
Sir William Ramsay was converted to Christianity as he studied the accuracy of Luke’s accounts. Luke was a first rate historian.
Luke can be trusted is what we must understand – He is going to lay down an accurate account of Jesus and the early Church.
2) Luke’s account is orderly and will lay out a specific reason we should believe in Jesus and believe that God has called His Church
3) This book is for teaching and to build faith. It is a message that is to be shared.
The prologue was written in a way in the ancient world that was meant to be read as a public proclamation like many Roman and Greek classics were read.
Now let us look at the prologue to Acts and you will see continuity with Luke chapter 1
Acts 1: 1-3
1 The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
Now Luke is remind Theophilus of the first account that he wrote to him.
Now he is picking up where Luke Left off.
Luke is telling us specifically that Acts is the 2nd volume to his two volume set.
In Luke24 we have the Emmaus Road story and the commission of the disciples by Jesus. Now we are seeing a specific order of events.
Acts is going to pick up at the resurrection, take us through the 40 days that Jesus appeared to His disciples,
chronicle his Ascension into Heaven, and watch the sending of the Church through the power of the Holy Spirit.
I. Jesus’ appearances post resurrection:
This is a very important time for Jesus to empower His followers:
We found on the Road to Emmaus in Luke 24 two despondent Disciples that Jesus revealed Himself to and we learn that their hearts were burning when the realized the Christ had to suffer, die, and be resurrected.
It was part of the plan.
This 40 days will solidify this movement and empower them to go out and preach.
And Jesus for 40 days gave them all the proof they needed to confront their Hostile world with the Message of God’s love for Mankind.
Look what convincing proofs, Jesus gave them during those 40 days.
1. Jesus revealed himself to The woman at the tomb and they worshipped Him.
2. He revealed himself to the Disciples, Mary Magdalene
3. He revealed Himself to the Emmaus road disciples.
4. The bible records that literally over 500 people laid eyes on the resurrected Christ and could identify Him.
For those 40 days, Jesus overcame Hesitation and Disbelief by many “Infallible or Convincing Proofs.. The Result
His followers were absolutely convinced about who Jesus was and what they were to do.
The resurrection message will form the backbone of Acts and the preaching of the word in Acts.
The message of the Church is that Jesus is declared Lord through the resurrection.
This message will be subversive and will show Caesar that he really doesn’t have power of the Church.
Think about this, what was the one power the Romans had over the Christians?
Caesar could say to the Christians – hey do what I say or I will kill you, but the Christians can now say – it doesn’t matter if you kill me because Jesus rose from the dead and has the power over death.
The power of the resurrection is evident in the story that I want to share with you.
You probably do not remember the name Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin nor should you.
But during his day he was as powerful a man as there was on earth.
A Russian Communist leader he took part in the Bolshevik Revolution 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper Pravda (which by the way means truth),
and was a full member of the Politburo. His works on economics and political science are still read today.
There is a story told about a journey he took from Moscow to Kiev in 1930 to address a huge assembly on the subject of atheism.
Addressing the crowd he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity hurling insult, argument, and proof against it.
An hour later he was finished. He looked out at what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of men’s faith. "Are there any questions?"
Bukharin demanded. Deafening silence filled the auditorium but then one man approached the platform and mounted the lectern standing near the communist leader.
He surveyed the crowd first to the left then to the right.
Finally he shouted the ancient greeting known well in the Russian Orthodox Church: "CHRIST IS RISEN!"
En masse the crowd arose as one man and the response came crashing like the sound of thunder: "HE IS RISEN INDEED!"
This morning let me say to you that Christ has risen indeed – just as this message empowered the Church of the book of Acts it also encourages us.
This message of hope reaches us today.
We can’t forget how important this 40 days of Jesus appearing to His disciples before his ascension was to the book of Acts and the early Church.
Let me share with you a story from this time- this 40 days – that directly relates to our own time.
This story relates one of Jesus post resurrection appearances to His apostles.
John 20: 24-29
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord !" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." 26After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."27Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands ; and reach here your hand and put it into My side ; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."28Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God !" 29Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed ? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."
1st – Doors are SHUT
First of all let us take note of one detail that is lost sometimes – both occurrences of Jesus’s appearing to the Disciples in John 20 happen when the doors are shut.
The doors are shut but Jesus still comes in to them.
Our world is shutting the doors to Christ – a Risen Christ is dangerous to the world because if Jesus is raised from the dead – it means we must change.
Jesus can break through those barriers.
When the world tells us that keep your religion in the Church house and don’t bring it into the public square – Tim Tebow says no- This is who I am – Jesus is my Lord and He makes me who I am.
The Islamic world tries to lock out Jesus but people like the preacher in Iran that is about to be executed says no, Jesus is Lord and Islam is a false religion.
Jesus will break through - He always does.
2nd – Jesus provides Evidence.
He just doesn’t say – hey be quiet Thomas you numb skull where is your faith?
No he provides Faith – I have been helped a great deal in my walk with Christ by men like Ravi Zacharias, William Lane Craig, and Francis Schaeffer that say Christianity is true and we can prove it.
We should be willing to defend the faith and believe that Christianity is true for every part of life.
The Bible has all the answers for science, government, and how to live our lives.
1 Peter 3: 15
15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence ;
Be ready to give a ready defense of the Christian faith.
Peter says to be ready to give a defense (Apologia) – this is where we get the English word for Apologetics.
This word for given an Answer comes from that word - We should practice apologetics as Christians, know the arguments of the world and be able to answer them.
3rd Jesus gives a direct comment to us today.
Blessed are those that did not see and believe.
Jesus is talking about us – we have never seen the risen Christ – or touched the living Jesus’ flesh but we believe.
Do you like Jesus issuing a blessing – I know that it makes me feel really good to hear this.
Jesus acknowledges that it takes us great faith to believe and never to have seen.
But he has not left us without proof.
As our sermon series on the resurrection pointed out there are many reasons to believe the tomb was found empty and Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus is the living Lord and Christ.
Now how does that affect your life today?
Does it make the same type of change that it will make for these people in Acts.
Where do you find yourself in the Acts story.
If Acts chapter 29 were written today – what would it look like if we were interjected into that story in Acts.
You may think that is strange but I think that is a legitimate question. The reason why is that we have many misconceptions.
1) We think those people in Acts were superhuman but they weren’t. They were human like us.
They had families, businesses, problems, just like we do.
They had to deal with the same doubts that we have. Imagine the doubts in that community when they saw who they thought was the Messiah brutally beaten and killed.
When you witnessed that you were thinking – I don’t want no part of that if this is what happens to our leader.
We today have to make the choice – do we want our faith to stay in the state of before the resurrection or after resurrection.
What I mean is this – sometimes we live like Jesus is still in the grave. He has risen but we act like He is dead and the church suffers because of it.
Or do we want to live in the fact that He is risen and now we are called to go out and tell it to everyone. This is great news- this is terrific news – death no longer has its hold over us, Jesus is raised from the dead.
All allegiance and all glory God to Him Alone –
We must wake up and live in this reality – if we do then the problems around us will seem insignificant.
Let the government try to take away religious freedom we will flourish all the more the Gospel will not be stopped.
If Caesar could not stop it then no government will be able to stop it.
Even if Radical Islam decides to keep blowing up buildings and declaring jihad on everything that moves –
the Gospel will keep flourishing because God’s people will be fearless in the face of cowardice.
And when we look at a lost and dying world – we will want to take the gospel to the world – we will willingly give our money to world mission because we care about those that our lost.
We will make sure our community has heard the gospel- money, time, energy will be no obstacle to us if we wake up and realize that this story of the Church continues with us and just doesn’t end when we close our Bibles and put them on the shelf.
Conclusion:
"There is an old story about a lighthouse keeper who worked on a rocky stretch of coastline.
Once a month he would receive a new supply of oil to keep the light burning so that ships could safely sail near the rocky coast.
One night, though, a woman from a nearby village came and begged him for some oil to keep her family warm.
Another time a father asked for some to use in his lamp.
Another man needed to lubricate a wheel. Since all the requests seemed legitimate, the lighthouse keeper tried to please everyone and grant the requests of all.
Toward the end of the month, he noticed his supply of oil was dangerously low. Soon it was gone, and one night on the light on the lighthouse went out.
As a result, that evening several ships were wrecked and countless lives were lost.
When the authorities investigated, the man was very apologetic.
He told them he was just trying to be helpful with the oil. Their reply to his excuses, however, was simple and to the point: "You were given oil for one purpose, and one purpose only - to keep that light burning!"
God has commissioned us to do His work and we must realize that anything else is just a distraction from that work.
We must get focused on what the reason is for our very existence.
Touched by this unusual display and the deep emotions it aroused, with eyes glistening she slipped her arm around her husband. "A penny for your thoughts," she said.
"It’s amazing!" he replied. "I just can’t see how anybody can make a crib like that for only $46.50."
Today we are going to focus in on something that I hope gets you all excited for the right reasons.
Today we are going to look at the Church and in particular we are going to delve into the book of Acts.
This study for us is very timely because we need to plug back into this story now more than ever.
The Church is going to face times or at least world views like what we in Acts. In Acts we will see a government that is not favorable to the Church and you will see false religion all around.
You will see militancy against the Church from some of the Jews of that time.
Sounds similar – a world full of government s that are threatened by the Church and another religion that would fight Christianity with violence.
Just look at the latest flap over the Health and Human Services department of the United States government telling health insurance providers that they must provide abortive and contraceptive services to their clients.
The only problem with this is that in flies in the face of many religious convictions.
We have the US government for the first time that I can figure telling Christians that they MUST comply with the government over their religious convictions.
You may have read about the president’s latest concession on this issue but I will tell you that it still forces people to act against their conscious.
Also watch carefully the administration’s latest use of language – Now The president and secretary of state are saying that they are for the freedom to worship.
Now this is a slight shift from Freedom of religion to freedom of worship. What does that mean – well freedom to worship means you can go to church and have a worship experience but don’t bring it out of the church house.
Religion is the outgrowth of your worship into every aspect of life – health, abortion, individual freedom rights of the human person.
Folks this is a dangerous road we are going down and I beg you to please pay attention to these issues and be responsible in how you vote.
So pay close attention to Acts because in one portion of this book the early church will be accused of standing up to the government and saying no Caesar is not Lord but Jesus is.
We need to stand up and say the same thing – Jesus is Lord and our allegiance is to Him more than anything else and if Washington DC tells us to do something that violates God’s word we will obey God rather than man.
Also consider that Acts is about a book of not just domestic evangelism –in our own backyard but also about Evangelism to the nations.
1.5 Billion people are alive in the world today that have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So you have to say the book of Act is timely.
You have a government system that is dead set against the Christian faith
You have a religious group that is violently set against Christianity that is violently persecuting Christians.
You also had an entire world that needed to hear the Gospel.
So this study if really timely and applicable.
Let’s Get to the book of Acts and lay down some ground work for our lesson today:
The author of Acts is the Apostle Luke – he is the author of the 2 volume set – Luke and Acts. Luke gives us the annunciation of Christ’s birth to his resurrection.
Luke is also the only Gentile writer of our New Testament – All other authors were Jewish.
Luke’s medical background comes through in the Greek of Luke and Acts when he uses specific Greek words to the medical field at his time.
Luke wrote his gospel and the book of Acts in the same way that many ancient historians wrote their introductions.
Luke gives us a great introduction that is much like what you find in other ancient writers like Josephus.
Let’s go back and look at the prologue to Luke’s Gospel:
Luke 1: 1-4
1Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, 2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3 it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus ; 4so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.
I love how Luke gets started. He is writing to Theophilus. Who is that?
I have read many ideas on the matter. Some say he was an individual.
Perhaps even Paul’s legal counsel in Rome. And they suggest that the books of Luke and Acts are written as a legal brief in preparation for Paul’s case before Caesar.
Remember Luke is Paul’s traveling companion and Luke wrote Acts and Luke probably in Transit to Rome and also while Paul was under house arrest awaiting trial before Caesar.
But perhaps the secret to unlocking the Mystery of Theophilus is not with the question Who is that? Perhaps the real question is “What does it mean?”
Theophilus literally means “Lover of God”
You see, many feel this was not a specific individual but rather it was a symbolic reference to a specific group of God fearers.
From this prologue we can learn a few things about Luke and his gospel and the book of Acts:
1) Luke is laying out an exact account that has been handed down to him.
Sir William Ramsay was converted to Christianity as he studied the accuracy of Luke’s accounts. Luke was a first rate historian.
Luke can be trusted is what we must understand – He is going to lay down an accurate account of Jesus and the early Church.
2) Luke’s account is orderly and will lay out a specific reason we should believe in Jesus and believe that God has called His Church
3) This book is for teaching and to build faith. It is a message that is to be shared.
The prologue was written in a way in the ancient world that was meant to be read as a public proclamation like many Roman and Greek classics were read.
Now let us look at the prologue to Acts and you will see continuity with Luke chapter 1
Acts 1: 1-3
1 The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
Now Luke is remind Theophilus of the first account that he wrote to him.
Now he is picking up where Luke Left off.
Luke is telling us specifically that Acts is the 2nd volume to his two volume set.
In Luke24 we have the Emmaus Road story and the commission of the disciples by Jesus. Now we are seeing a specific order of events.
Acts is going to pick up at the resurrection, take us through the 40 days that Jesus appeared to His disciples,
chronicle his Ascension into Heaven, and watch the sending of the Church through the power of the Holy Spirit.
I. Jesus’ appearances post resurrection:
This is a very important time for Jesus to empower His followers:
We found on the Road to Emmaus in Luke 24 two despondent Disciples that Jesus revealed Himself to and we learn that their hearts were burning when the realized the Christ had to suffer, die, and be resurrected.
It was part of the plan.
This 40 days will solidify this movement and empower them to go out and preach.
And Jesus for 40 days gave them all the proof they needed to confront their Hostile world with the Message of God’s love for Mankind.
Look what convincing proofs, Jesus gave them during those 40 days.
1. Jesus revealed himself to The woman at the tomb and they worshipped Him.
2. He revealed himself to the Disciples, Mary Magdalene
3. He revealed Himself to the Emmaus road disciples.
4. The bible records that literally over 500 people laid eyes on the resurrected Christ and could identify Him.
For those 40 days, Jesus overcame Hesitation and Disbelief by many “Infallible or Convincing Proofs.. The Result
His followers were absolutely convinced about who Jesus was and what they were to do.
The resurrection message will form the backbone of Acts and the preaching of the word in Acts.
The message of the Church is that Jesus is declared Lord through the resurrection.
This message will be subversive and will show Caesar that he really doesn’t have power of the Church.
Think about this, what was the one power the Romans had over the Christians?
Caesar could say to the Christians – hey do what I say or I will kill you, but the Christians can now say – it doesn’t matter if you kill me because Jesus rose from the dead and has the power over death.
The power of the resurrection is evident in the story that I want to share with you.
You probably do not remember the name Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin nor should you.
But during his day he was as powerful a man as there was on earth.
A Russian Communist leader he took part in the Bolshevik Revolution 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper Pravda (which by the way means truth),
and was a full member of the Politburo. His works on economics and political science are still read today.
There is a story told about a journey he took from Moscow to Kiev in 1930 to address a huge assembly on the subject of atheism.
Addressing the crowd he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity hurling insult, argument, and proof against it.
An hour later he was finished. He looked out at what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of men’s faith. "Are there any questions?"
Bukharin demanded. Deafening silence filled the auditorium but then one man approached the platform and mounted the lectern standing near the communist leader.
He surveyed the crowd first to the left then to the right.
Finally he shouted the ancient greeting known well in the Russian Orthodox Church: "CHRIST IS RISEN!"
En masse the crowd arose as one man and the response came crashing like the sound of thunder: "HE IS RISEN INDEED!"
This morning let me say to you that Christ has risen indeed – just as this message empowered the Church of the book of Acts it also encourages us.
This message of hope reaches us today.
We can’t forget how important this 40 days of Jesus appearing to His disciples before his ascension was to the book of Acts and the early Church.
Let me share with you a story from this time- this 40 days – that directly relates to our own time.
This story relates one of Jesus post resurrection appearances to His apostles.
John 20: 24-29
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord !" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." 26After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."27Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands ; and reach here your hand and put it into My side ; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."28Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God !" 29Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed ? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."
1st – Doors are SHUT
First of all let us take note of one detail that is lost sometimes – both occurrences of Jesus’s appearing to the Disciples in John 20 happen when the doors are shut.
The doors are shut but Jesus still comes in to them.
Our world is shutting the doors to Christ – a Risen Christ is dangerous to the world because if Jesus is raised from the dead – it means we must change.
Jesus can break through those barriers.
When the world tells us that keep your religion in the Church house and don’t bring it into the public square – Tim Tebow says no- This is who I am – Jesus is my Lord and He makes me who I am.
The Islamic world tries to lock out Jesus but people like the preacher in Iran that is about to be executed says no, Jesus is Lord and Islam is a false religion.
Jesus will break through - He always does.
2nd – Jesus provides Evidence.
He just doesn’t say – hey be quiet Thomas you numb skull where is your faith?
No he provides Faith – I have been helped a great deal in my walk with Christ by men like Ravi Zacharias, William Lane Craig, and Francis Schaeffer that say Christianity is true and we can prove it.
We should be willing to defend the faith and believe that Christianity is true for every part of life.
The Bible has all the answers for science, government, and how to live our lives.
1 Peter 3: 15
15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence ;
Be ready to give a ready defense of the Christian faith.
Peter says to be ready to give a defense (Apologia) – this is where we get the English word for Apologetics.
This word for given an Answer comes from that word - We should practice apologetics as Christians, know the arguments of the world and be able to answer them.
3rd Jesus gives a direct comment to us today.
Blessed are those that did not see and believe.
Jesus is talking about us – we have never seen the risen Christ – or touched the living Jesus’ flesh but we believe.
Do you like Jesus issuing a blessing – I know that it makes me feel really good to hear this.
Jesus acknowledges that it takes us great faith to believe and never to have seen.
But he has not left us without proof.
As our sermon series on the resurrection pointed out there are many reasons to believe the tomb was found empty and Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus is the living Lord and Christ.
Now how does that affect your life today?
Does it make the same type of change that it will make for these people in Acts.
Where do you find yourself in the Acts story.
If Acts chapter 29 were written today – what would it look like if we were interjected into that story in Acts.
You may think that is strange but I think that is a legitimate question. The reason why is that we have many misconceptions.
1) We think those people in Acts were superhuman but they weren’t. They were human like us.
They had families, businesses, problems, just like we do.
They had to deal with the same doubts that we have. Imagine the doubts in that community when they saw who they thought was the Messiah brutally beaten and killed.
When you witnessed that you were thinking – I don’t want no part of that if this is what happens to our leader.
We today have to make the choice – do we want our faith to stay in the state of before the resurrection or after resurrection.
What I mean is this – sometimes we live like Jesus is still in the grave. He has risen but we act like He is dead and the church suffers because of it.
Or do we want to live in the fact that He is risen and now we are called to go out and tell it to everyone. This is great news- this is terrific news – death no longer has its hold over us, Jesus is raised from the dead.
All allegiance and all glory God to Him Alone –
We must wake up and live in this reality – if we do then the problems around us will seem insignificant.
Let the government try to take away religious freedom we will flourish all the more the Gospel will not be stopped.
If Caesar could not stop it then no government will be able to stop it.
Even if Radical Islam decides to keep blowing up buildings and declaring jihad on everything that moves –
the Gospel will keep flourishing because God’s people will be fearless in the face of cowardice.
And when we look at a lost and dying world – we will want to take the gospel to the world – we will willingly give our money to world mission because we care about those that our lost.
We will make sure our community has heard the gospel- money, time, energy will be no obstacle to us if we wake up and realize that this story of the Church continues with us and just doesn’t end when we close our Bibles and put them on the shelf.
Conclusion:
"There is an old story about a lighthouse keeper who worked on a rocky stretch of coastline.
Once a month he would receive a new supply of oil to keep the light burning so that ships could safely sail near the rocky coast.
One night, though, a woman from a nearby village came and begged him for some oil to keep her family warm.
Another time a father asked for some to use in his lamp.
Another man needed to lubricate a wheel. Since all the requests seemed legitimate, the lighthouse keeper tried to please everyone and grant the requests of all.
Toward the end of the month, he noticed his supply of oil was dangerously low. Soon it was gone, and one night on the light on the lighthouse went out.
As a result, that evening several ships were wrecked and countless lives were lost.
When the authorities investigated, the man was very apologetic.
He told them he was just trying to be helpful with the oil. Their reply to his excuses, however, was simple and to the point: "You were given oil for one purpose, and one purpose only - to keep that light burning!"
God has commissioned us to do His work and we must realize that anything else is just a distraction from that work.
We must get focused on what the reason is for our very existence.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Prideful Prayer
PROUD PRAYER
Discpleship is about Humility
A man with three sons inherited a little over $1 billion dollars. Since he now had all this money, he offered to buy his sons anything they wanted. He stressed money was no object. His first son said he had always wanted a Jaguar, so his father bought him seven Jaguars in different colors, so he would have a different one to drive every day of the week. His second son wanted a motorcycle. So the father went out and bought him 30 new motorcycles, so he would have a different bike to ride every day of the month. His youngest was only 8, and he said he wanted a Mickey Mouse outfit. So his father went out and bought him the Dallas Cowboys.
I hope you are not a cowboys fan here today.
Well some of us could say that we are blessed but it is hard to understand that blessing. One such blessing is the blessing of prayer.
Last week we talked about the life of prayer of a disciple.
I hope today that you don’t have a Mickey Mouse Prayer life – I hope that it is robust and strong.
In the first eight verses of Luke 18, Jesus taught about the importance of praying persistently.
Beginning in verse 9, he tells another parable about prayer.
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:
Luke 18: 9-14
9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt : 10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself : 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people : swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 'I fast twice a week ; I pay tithes of all that I get.' 13 "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner !' 14 "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other ; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted
In this story we find one of the only times Jesus uses the word justified that was commonly used by the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans.
Jesus’ use of this word is very informative.
The Pharisees in the time of Jesus were the good guys. They loved the word of God and would do anything to learn more about it.
Many in their day would see them as the best of what Jewish society had to offer.
All Pharisees were super-religious men who were extremely careful about obeying the Torah, which is basically the first five books of the Old Testament.
They loved the Old Testament so much they wrote commentaries on how to interpret the OT.
One such commentary was called the Mishnah that had much of Rabbinical teaching tradition in it.
There might be several chapters in the Mishnah devoted to one single verse in the Torah.
In addition, they followed the Talmud, which was a commentary on the Mishnah. These guys lived by the book!
However, a tax collector was considered the scum of the earth, the very bottom of the religious food chain in Israel.
Hired by the pagan Romans, he could charge exorbitant taxes and keep most of the money for himself.
The Romans may ask him to collect 100 dollars but he would collect 200 dollars and keep 100 for himself. The Tax collector was the bad guy.
If you had been a good Jew listening to Jesus, when he mentioned the Pharisee, you would have cheered, “Yeah! Hurrah for the good guy!”
When He mentioned the tax collector you would have cried, “Boo!
But Jesus is always full of surprises.
He introduced a good guy and a bad guy, and by the time He finished the parable,
the good guy had become the bad guy and the bad guy has become the good guy!
I. WHY DID YOU COME TO CHURCH?
In the parable, both the Pharisee and the Tax Collector went to the temple in Jerusalem to pray.
But when you examine their actions and attitudes, you discover they went for two different reasons. Their going to Church in that day was going to the Temple or Synagogue to worship. Both of these men went to worship God.
My question to all of us today is Why did we come today?
1. To be seen?
Obviously, the Pharisee was at the temple for others to see how good he was.
To him it was a public performance and his behavior at the temple was just part of the script.
He had given much thought about what he would wear, and where he would stand, and what he would say, because there was an audience.
When he arrived, he walked up to the front and stood before the people in his flowing robe with the ornate prayer shawl the Pharisees wore.
It just all part of the religious show for him. The words he prayed were not really directed toward God.
He prayed to himself. He was there to be seen and to be heard by the other worshipers. Jesus warned about this kind of behavior in
Matthew 6:5, “But when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.”
This man wasn’t concerned with coming to worship God.
I know you can’t believe it, but some people actually come to church because they think it will help them in their business, or in politics, or will improve their social standing.
Answer honestly: Why we you attend church?
We all struggle with the temptation of trying to please other people rather than pleasing God.
There was a little boy who was kneeling by his bed with his mom to say his nighttime prayers.
He began to shout to the top of his lungs, “Dear God, I’ve been real good this year so please let me get a new bicycle for my birthday.”
His mom said, “Son, God is not deaf; you don’t need to yell.” He said, “God’s not deaf, but Grandma is and she’s in the next room.”
Just like this little boy many are being religious to try to impress others. The tax collector represents another reason you might be here today. Did you come
2. To seek God?
The tax collector showed up because he was in trouble and he believed God could help him.
His body language revealed his sense of unworthiness; he couldn’t walk to the front of the crowd, instead he kept his distance.
He didn’t focus on the other people there, he focused on God.
Worship does involve an audience. But it’s an audience of one.
When we come to church, we should be primarily concerned about seeking God’s face.
You may receive the applause of man, but you should be deaf to it. You should be listening only for the applause of the nail-scarred hands. Why are you here today? Is it just your habit, a part of your weekend routine?
Perhaps you came because your parents or your spouse pressured you to come. Or maybe you feel guilty if you don’t come.
Or did you come seeking to connect with the Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe?
God says in Jeremiah 29:13, “‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you.’ declares the Lord.”
Some people may come seeking God, but our half-hearted worship becomes a hindrance to them.
This is a letter read by David Dykes to his congregation that was given to a preacher friend of his:
“Dear Kathy, I attended your church yesterday. Although you had invited me, you were not there, so I sat alone. After sitting down, a lady came up and informed me that I was in her seat. I was so embarrassed because I didn’t know some seats were reserved. Finally I climbed over some people hugging the aisle and found another seat. During the singing, I was surprised to note that some of the church people weren’t singing at all. Instead, they looked around or just stared into space. The pastor’s speech was interesting, although some members didn’t seem to think so. They looked bored and restless. I recognized some of my classmates a few pews in front of me, but they were giggling and passing notes. I thought, “How rude!” The speaker talked about the reality of faith, which I decided I didn’t have enough of. The message really got to me and I thought about walking forward, but I was unsure. I saw some people walking out before the service was over, so I figured it must not be too important to stay to the end, so I slipped out too. As I left I said good morning to one couple, but they were in a hurry and must not have heard me. My parents don’t go to church. I came alone yesterday hoping to find a place to truly worship and find some love. I’m sorry, but I didn’t find it in your church.”
Now this is not some made up preacher talk but is a real letter read by one of Allison’s old preachers from the church she grew up in.
The next question I’d like for you to answer is:
II. WHAT IS OUR ATTITUDE IN CHURCH?
In the parable Jesus showed two totally different attitudes people can display in worship. The Pharisee presented an attitude that said
1. I’m proud of my goodness
In some instances, pride can be good. It is okay to say you are proud to be an American, or that you take pride in your neighborhood.
But the Bible warns against the dangerous kind of pride characterized by self-love, egotism, and arrogance. This kind of pride is revealed in the prayer of the Pharisee.
He wanted others to know about his goodness, so he bragged that he fasted, tithed, and kept all the commandments. Here’s how you can recognize if you have pride in your heart:
a. Pride loves to talk about “I”
In verse 11 the Pharisee used “I” and “me” several times.
He said, “I thank you that I am not like other men...I fast twice a week, and I give a tithe of all I get.”
There is nothing wrong with doing good but what is dangerous is being prideful about it.
The Bible says, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18).
. Someone has said Pride is the only sickness everyone can recognize except the person who has it!
All of us should have an occasional “I” exam.
If you recorded your conversation and your prayers for 24 hours, how much of your talk would be centered on the big “I”?
b. Pride seldom admits a need
Pride gives a person a false sense of self-sufficiency.
Have you ever heard the expression, “I’m too proud to ask for help?” When you are too proud to ask for help or admit you have a problem, you are too proud–period!
When you ask a proud person how you can pray for them, they will often say, “Oh, I’m alright. There’s really nothing you need to pray for me about.”
They say that because they are too proud to admit they have a need. They fear if they tell you where they’re hurting they’ll lose their facade of perfection and goodness.
c. Pride sees the faults of others
Did you notice the Pharisee was quick to criticize and condemn the tax collector?
Pride blinds a person to their own faults and magnifies the failures and faults of others.
When you compare yourself to someone else, you’re using the wrong standard.
God’s measuring stick is not the goodness or badness of another person;
His standard is Jesus–how do you measure up to Him? I’ve heard people justify their goodness by saying they have never robbed a bank or murdered someone.
Sure, when you compare yourself to some serial murderer, you look like a moral hero. God doesn’t grade on the curve. It doesn’t matter if you are a little better than average what matters is if you have personal relationship with Jesus.
I once read a story in which a man described a house in Scotland that was painted white.
The house stood out clean and brilliant against the dark green backdrop of the grass-covered hills.
One day it snowed and the entire country side was transformed into a winter wonderland.
When the man looked at the cottage against the backdrop of the pure fallen snow, he noticed for the first time it was dingy and dirty. It was the same house, just a different backdrop.
When you compare yourself to a rapist, you may appear to be morally clean, but when you stand up next to the purity of Jesus Christ, you see a different picture.
There was another attitude expressed in church. The tax collector displayed an attitude that said:
2. I desperately need God’s mercy!
He couldn’t even lift up his head, he was so burdened. He pounded his fist on his chest, a spontaneous gesture of his agony over his sin. He uttered seven simple words with a voice broken with emotion: “God be merciful to me, a sinner.”
He literally said, “Be merciful to me, THE sinner,” as if he considered himself the chief among all sinners. You don’t have to pray a long, eloquent prayer full of religious words. If you pray a simple prayer that comes from your heart, God hears you and He will answer you.
When the tax collector caught a glimpse of the greatness and holiness of God, he realized how dirty and filthy he was. The Bible says, “All our righteousness is as filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6)
Even the good things we do are dirty compared to the stark, brilliant holiness of God.
When you see God for Who He is–holy, then you will be able to see yourself for who you really are–a fallen creature in desperate need of God’s mercy and forgiveness. That will humble you in a hurry.
C. S. Lewis wrote: “How is it that people who are quite obviously eaten up with Pride can say they believe in God and appear to themselves very religious? They theoretically admit themselves to be nothing in the presence of God, but are all the time imagining how He thinks them far better than ‘ordinary’ people. They pay a penny-worth of imaginary humility to Him and get out of it a pound’s worth of Pride towards their fellow-men. The real test of being in the presence of God is, you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether.”
The final question to answer is:
III. HOW WILL YOU GO HOME?
In the parable, but Jesus said only one of the two men went home justified.
“Justified” is a great Bible word meaning to be “right with God.”
The only way you can be right with God is to receive His mercy and forgiveness.
Whenever I read the word “justified” in the New Testament, I rejoice that God treats me “just-as-if-I’d” never sinned.
In verse 14 Jesus summarized the main principle of the parable: “He who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
I hope you go home today the same way the tax collector did:
2. Unburdened–Right with God and thankful for it!
Jesus said the bad guy, not the respectable, religious Pharisee went home justified–right with God.
He entered church so burdened down by his sin he couldn’t even lift up his head.
But when he cried out for the mercy of God, he experienced the liberation of forgiveness.
He hadn’t done anything to deserve it, so he couldn’t brag about it. All he could do was to thank God for it!
In Bethlehem, The Church of the Holy Nativity is built over the place believed to be Jesus’ birthplace.
It is a huge stone complex, but it only has one tiny door through which people can enter.
It’s called the door of humility and it is less than 48" high.
Originally, there was a larger door, but when the Muslims first conquered Bethlehem, the soldiers rode their horses into the church to defile it.
So the monks reduced the size of the door so only a person can enter.
And every person must stoop and bow and enter alone. What a lesson!
The doorway of salvation is open to you today, but it is a door of humility as well.
You can’t approach God on the basis of your parents’ salvation–you must do it alone.
And to receive His mercy and forgiveness you must humble yourself and bow down before Him.
Discpleship is about Humility
A man with three sons inherited a little over $1 billion dollars. Since he now had all this money, he offered to buy his sons anything they wanted. He stressed money was no object. His first son said he had always wanted a Jaguar, so his father bought him seven Jaguars in different colors, so he would have a different one to drive every day of the week. His second son wanted a motorcycle. So the father went out and bought him 30 new motorcycles, so he would have a different bike to ride every day of the month. His youngest was only 8, and he said he wanted a Mickey Mouse outfit. So his father went out and bought him the Dallas Cowboys.
I hope you are not a cowboys fan here today.
Well some of us could say that we are blessed but it is hard to understand that blessing. One such blessing is the blessing of prayer.
Last week we talked about the life of prayer of a disciple.
I hope today that you don’t have a Mickey Mouse Prayer life – I hope that it is robust and strong.
In the first eight verses of Luke 18, Jesus taught about the importance of praying persistently.
Beginning in verse 9, he tells another parable about prayer.
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:
Luke 18: 9-14
9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt : 10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself : 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people : swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 'I fast twice a week ; I pay tithes of all that I get.' 13 "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner !' 14 "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other ; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted
In this story we find one of the only times Jesus uses the word justified that was commonly used by the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans.
Jesus’ use of this word is very informative.
The Pharisees in the time of Jesus were the good guys. They loved the word of God and would do anything to learn more about it.
Many in their day would see them as the best of what Jewish society had to offer.
All Pharisees were super-religious men who were extremely careful about obeying the Torah, which is basically the first five books of the Old Testament.
They loved the Old Testament so much they wrote commentaries on how to interpret the OT.
One such commentary was called the Mishnah that had much of Rabbinical teaching tradition in it.
There might be several chapters in the Mishnah devoted to one single verse in the Torah.
In addition, they followed the Talmud, which was a commentary on the Mishnah. These guys lived by the book!
However, a tax collector was considered the scum of the earth, the very bottom of the religious food chain in Israel.
Hired by the pagan Romans, he could charge exorbitant taxes and keep most of the money for himself.
The Romans may ask him to collect 100 dollars but he would collect 200 dollars and keep 100 for himself. The Tax collector was the bad guy.
If you had been a good Jew listening to Jesus, when he mentioned the Pharisee, you would have cheered, “Yeah! Hurrah for the good guy!”
When He mentioned the tax collector you would have cried, “Boo!
But Jesus is always full of surprises.
He introduced a good guy and a bad guy, and by the time He finished the parable,
the good guy had become the bad guy and the bad guy has become the good guy!
I. WHY DID YOU COME TO CHURCH?
In the parable, both the Pharisee and the Tax Collector went to the temple in Jerusalem to pray.
But when you examine their actions and attitudes, you discover they went for two different reasons. Their going to Church in that day was going to the Temple or Synagogue to worship. Both of these men went to worship God.
My question to all of us today is Why did we come today?
1. To be seen?
Obviously, the Pharisee was at the temple for others to see how good he was.
To him it was a public performance and his behavior at the temple was just part of the script.
He had given much thought about what he would wear, and where he would stand, and what he would say, because there was an audience.
When he arrived, he walked up to the front and stood before the people in his flowing robe with the ornate prayer shawl the Pharisees wore.
It just all part of the religious show for him. The words he prayed were not really directed toward God.
He prayed to himself. He was there to be seen and to be heard by the other worshipers. Jesus warned about this kind of behavior in
Matthew 6:5, “But when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.”
This man wasn’t concerned with coming to worship God.
I know you can’t believe it, but some people actually come to church because they think it will help them in their business, or in politics, or will improve their social standing.
Answer honestly: Why we you attend church?
We all struggle with the temptation of trying to please other people rather than pleasing God.
There was a little boy who was kneeling by his bed with his mom to say his nighttime prayers.
He began to shout to the top of his lungs, “Dear God, I’ve been real good this year so please let me get a new bicycle for my birthday.”
His mom said, “Son, God is not deaf; you don’t need to yell.” He said, “God’s not deaf, but Grandma is and she’s in the next room.”
Just like this little boy many are being religious to try to impress others. The tax collector represents another reason you might be here today. Did you come
2. To seek God?
The tax collector showed up because he was in trouble and he believed God could help him.
His body language revealed his sense of unworthiness; he couldn’t walk to the front of the crowd, instead he kept his distance.
He didn’t focus on the other people there, he focused on God.
Worship does involve an audience. But it’s an audience of one.
When we come to church, we should be primarily concerned about seeking God’s face.
You may receive the applause of man, but you should be deaf to it. You should be listening only for the applause of the nail-scarred hands. Why are you here today? Is it just your habit, a part of your weekend routine?
Perhaps you came because your parents or your spouse pressured you to come. Or maybe you feel guilty if you don’t come.
Or did you come seeking to connect with the Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe?
God says in Jeremiah 29:13, “‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you.’ declares the Lord.”
Some people may come seeking God, but our half-hearted worship becomes a hindrance to them.
This is a letter read by David Dykes to his congregation that was given to a preacher friend of his:
“Dear Kathy, I attended your church yesterday. Although you had invited me, you were not there, so I sat alone. After sitting down, a lady came up and informed me that I was in her seat. I was so embarrassed because I didn’t know some seats were reserved. Finally I climbed over some people hugging the aisle and found another seat. During the singing, I was surprised to note that some of the church people weren’t singing at all. Instead, they looked around or just stared into space. The pastor’s speech was interesting, although some members didn’t seem to think so. They looked bored and restless. I recognized some of my classmates a few pews in front of me, but they were giggling and passing notes. I thought, “How rude!” The speaker talked about the reality of faith, which I decided I didn’t have enough of. The message really got to me and I thought about walking forward, but I was unsure. I saw some people walking out before the service was over, so I figured it must not be too important to stay to the end, so I slipped out too. As I left I said good morning to one couple, but they were in a hurry and must not have heard me. My parents don’t go to church. I came alone yesterday hoping to find a place to truly worship and find some love. I’m sorry, but I didn’t find it in your church.”
Now this is not some made up preacher talk but is a real letter read by one of Allison’s old preachers from the church she grew up in.
The next question I’d like for you to answer is:
II. WHAT IS OUR ATTITUDE IN CHURCH?
In the parable Jesus showed two totally different attitudes people can display in worship. The Pharisee presented an attitude that said
1. I’m proud of my goodness
In some instances, pride can be good. It is okay to say you are proud to be an American, or that you take pride in your neighborhood.
But the Bible warns against the dangerous kind of pride characterized by self-love, egotism, and arrogance. This kind of pride is revealed in the prayer of the Pharisee.
He wanted others to know about his goodness, so he bragged that he fasted, tithed, and kept all the commandments. Here’s how you can recognize if you have pride in your heart:
a. Pride loves to talk about “I”
In verse 11 the Pharisee used “I” and “me” several times.
He said, “I thank you that I am not like other men...I fast twice a week, and I give a tithe of all I get.”
There is nothing wrong with doing good but what is dangerous is being prideful about it.
The Bible says, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18).
. Someone has said Pride is the only sickness everyone can recognize except the person who has it!
All of us should have an occasional “I” exam.
If you recorded your conversation and your prayers for 24 hours, how much of your talk would be centered on the big “I”?
b. Pride seldom admits a need
Pride gives a person a false sense of self-sufficiency.
Have you ever heard the expression, “I’m too proud to ask for help?” When you are too proud to ask for help or admit you have a problem, you are too proud–period!
When you ask a proud person how you can pray for them, they will often say, “Oh, I’m alright. There’s really nothing you need to pray for me about.”
They say that because they are too proud to admit they have a need. They fear if they tell you where they’re hurting they’ll lose their facade of perfection and goodness.
c. Pride sees the faults of others
Did you notice the Pharisee was quick to criticize and condemn the tax collector?
Pride blinds a person to their own faults and magnifies the failures and faults of others.
When you compare yourself to someone else, you’re using the wrong standard.
God’s measuring stick is not the goodness or badness of another person;
His standard is Jesus–how do you measure up to Him? I’ve heard people justify their goodness by saying they have never robbed a bank or murdered someone.
Sure, when you compare yourself to some serial murderer, you look like a moral hero. God doesn’t grade on the curve. It doesn’t matter if you are a little better than average what matters is if you have personal relationship with Jesus.
I once read a story in which a man described a house in Scotland that was painted white.
The house stood out clean and brilliant against the dark green backdrop of the grass-covered hills.
One day it snowed and the entire country side was transformed into a winter wonderland.
When the man looked at the cottage against the backdrop of the pure fallen snow, he noticed for the first time it was dingy and dirty. It was the same house, just a different backdrop.
When you compare yourself to a rapist, you may appear to be morally clean, but when you stand up next to the purity of Jesus Christ, you see a different picture.
There was another attitude expressed in church. The tax collector displayed an attitude that said:
2. I desperately need God’s mercy!
He couldn’t even lift up his head, he was so burdened. He pounded his fist on his chest, a spontaneous gesture of his agony over his sin. He uttered seven simple words with a voice broken with emotion: “God be merciful to me, a sinner.”
He literally said, “Be merciful to me, THE sinner,” as if he considered himself the chief among all sinners. You don’t have to pray a long, eloquent prayer full of religious words. If you pray a simple prayer that comes from your heart, God hears you and He will answer you.
When the tax collector caught a glimpse of the greatness and holiness of God, he realized how dirty and filthy he was. The Bible says, “All our righteousness is as filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6)
Even the good things we do are dirty compared to the stark, brilliant holiness of God.
When you see God for Who He is–holy, then you will be able to see yourself for who you really are–a fallen creature in desperate need of God’s mercy and forgiveness. That will humble you in a hurry.
C. S. Lewis wrote: “How is it that people who are quite obviously eaten up with Pride can say they believe in God and appear to themselves very religious? They theoretically admit themselves to be nothing in the presence of God, but are all the time imagining how He thinks them far better than ‘ordinary’ people. They pay a penny-worth of imaginary humility to Him and get out of it a pound’s worth of Pride towards their fellow-men. The real test of being in the presence of God is, you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether.”
The final question to answer is:
III. HOW WILL YOU GO HOME?
In the parable, but Jesus said only one of the two men went home justified.
“Justified” is a great Bible word meaning to be “right with God.”
The only way you can be right with God is to receive His mercy and forgiveness.
Whenever I read the word “justified” in the New Testament, I rejoice that God treats me “just-as-if-I’d” never sinned.
In verse 14 Jesus summarized the main principle of the parable: “He who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
I hope you go home today the same way the tax collector did:
2. Unburdened–Right with God and thankful for it!
Jesus said the bad guy, not the respectable, religious Pharisee went home justified–right with God.
He entered church so burdened down by his sin he couldn’t even lift up his head.
But when he cried out for the mercy of God, he experienced the liberation of forgiveness.
He hadn’t done anything to deserve it, so he couldn’t brag about it. All he could do was to thank God for it!
In Bethlehem, The Church of the Holy Nativity is built over the place believed to be Jesus’ birthplace.
It is a huge stone complex, but it only has one tiny door through which people can enter.
It’s called the door of humility and it is less than 48" high.
Originally, there was a larger door, but when the Muslims first conquered Bethlehem, the soldiers rode their horses into the church to defile it.
So the monks reduced the size of the door so only a person can enter.
And every person must stoop and bow and enter alone. What a lesson!
The doorway of salvation is open to you today, but it is a door of humility as well.
You can’t approach God on the basis of your parents’ salvation–you must do it alone.
And to receive His mercy and forgiveness you must humble yourself and bow down before Him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)