Blogger note: This sermon was written for a guest speaking spot at a different church for a special service. It may find it's way to the Church in the Grass eventually, as it could be a follow up to the sermon on Matthew 5:7.
Lets pray…
Please turn in your Bible to Acts 1: 6-11
Acts 1:6-11 (New International Version)
Between Acts 1:11 and our next passage:
— A lot of time had passed. The Holy Spirit had come to indwell the disciples.
— Many, many new Believers were baptized and began living out their faith.
— The crippled were healed.
— When the Apostles were put in jail an angel came by and set them free, and all seemed fine. All that is, except for the fact that the new Christians had been living out only one of their marching orders from Jesus.
Remember, Jesus told them that they were to “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
They were doing great things, but only in Jerusalem.
So what happened? What happened when the Christians failed to carry out their orders?
Please turn now to Acts 7: 59 — 8:1
God allowed one of the new deacons, Stephen, to be brought before the Sanhedrin to answer to false charges of blasphemy.
Stephen was a wonderful example of faith in action. Before an aggressive audience, he laid out the gospel and in the end, it got him killed.
This is not our experience in America today, Thank God. Nowadays the worst reactions we get are name-calling or an occasional lawsuit. Stephen was pummeled with rocks.
It is always good to look back on what Jesus did for us on the Cross during this season of Lent and really throughout the year.
However, I believe we who are in Christ, must daily put in our minds the marching orders He has given us. We must always ask ourselves, what is it you would have me do for the kingdom today? Who is it that I am to reach for you, Lord, with the Gospel?
Let me share a bit of my story to illustrate this point.
I am not a life long Christian. I grew up far from the church. I didn’t know anything about Jesus, or the promises of God. I didn’t know about sin or redemption.
All I knew — even from a very early age — was that I didn’t feel complete. There was an emptiness in me that always seemed to drain the happiness out of me.
When I was 12, I found that I could get away from that void in my life by drinking. When drunk, I thought that I was filling that hole inside me.
Really I was just numbing myself.
Eventually, my drinking stopped producing the desired effect. In the end of my drinking career, I still had that void, but every time I “came to” I found more things to regret. My problems were no longer just my problems. They also were the burden of my wife, my friends and family and my employer.
When I had nothing left in me, my bosses came to me and gave me the option of rehab or the boot.
I chose rehab. I spent a month digging into the wreckage of my past and I was introduced to a program that is designed specifically for alcoholics.
Mind you — I still didn’t have any understanding of God. What I did have was the desperation of a dying man, and that led me to prayer. Even though I didn’t know who or what I was praying to.
In the program, I was taught to search for a “God of my understanding.”
This seemed a bit stupid to me, it was obvious by this time that My understanding of life was what got me into the trouble to begin with.
But, I gave it a try.
— And I began to picture a God of second chances — because I needed that to be true.
— I pictured a God that was in control of the universe and was in charge of what was coming down the pike — I needed to believe that the future was not just a matter of chaos theory.
— I began picturing a God that would guide me in the right direction — I needed this because my compass, if I ever had one was totally out of whack — I almost always chose the wrong path.
— Most importantly, I pictured a God that could do for me what I could not do for myself.
As all of you know I soon discovered that this “God of my understanding” was in fact remarkably similar to our God in the trinity
— God the Father — creator of the Heavens and Earth was absolutely in charge of the universe.
— God the Son — Jesus Christ — Believed so much in the idea of second chances that He descended to Earth, became Man, lived a sinless life even though He was tempted. He was tortured, and hung on the cross in order to absorb the wrath that was due to me and due to all of us for all of the rebellion in our hearts, and all of the stupid and destructive decisions we have made and carried out.
— His death on the cross and His resurrection truly proved that He could do for me what I could not do for myself: He took away my sins and adopted me into His family thus granting me Everlasting life in his presence.
— And God the Holy Spirit now takes me as a believer and guides me on the path to righteousness.
I say all of this, I tell my story in a few minutes, but it is like when we read in the story of Jesus at the pool at Bethesda. We are told that the paralyzed man was there at he edge of the water for 38 years.
We read 38 years and it is hard to take in the scope of the pain and suffering. Similarly, we read the two passages in Acts and we lose sight of the time the disciples were hanging out in Jerusalem.
Time carries on. In the time from my acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior to now spans just over eight years. But the beginning was not an overnight, “I SEE THE LIGHT!” experience. It was gradual until one day the light bulb came on. And truly, it was not until about three years ago that I began to see that faith in Jesus was more than a “Get out of Hell free card.”
When the fact finally became clear that we are to take up the Kingdom mission once we are saved, I prayed and asked God to use me however He would.
Circumstances then led me to move back to Madison, I took baby steps in ministerial service and all the time felt God prompting me to do more.
I knew what the “more” was but I was afraid. I was still under the false impression that I was somehow in control and that IF I just walked where I knew the next step was secure I would be okay.
That, I believe was the case for the apostles and disciples in the first 7 1/2 chapters of Acts.
By their actions they demonstrated a desire to live in communion with God, but they only did so where they were comfortable.
It’s true for me, and it is true for them. Is it true for you?
How long have you been a Christian? How many times have you heard the gospel preached from the pulpit?
Have you taken on the call to take the gospel out? Have you done so recently?
We are all subject to the slowly corrupting web of comfort. The danger for most of us as Christians in America is not persecution but security.
— The security of the church walls
— The security of our Christian friends
— The security of Christian schools
— The security of Christian radio and Christian television.
There’s nothing wrong with any of that in and of itself, however all of that security can begin to shut us off from the darkness that we were called to shine the light of God into.
When the Christians in Acts shut themselves up in Jerusalem, our sovereign God allowed Stephen to be killed and He allowed true persecution to come against the believers. It was then that they finally went out to fulfill the marching orders.
Read again from Acts 8:1
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
For me it was reading this that prompted me to finally give in to God’s prompting to become a pastor and then to start a church plant in Madison. But, still I do not have it all figured out. I am comfortable proclaiming the word from up here but I still feel fear in the grocery store or the office, when He would have me share the Good News.
We know that God will allow struggles to happen in order to work out His ultimate plan
— Stephen was stoned.
— Paul was shipwrecked
— JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED!
He has put a call into all of our lives.
— A call to walk in faith
— A call out of our comfort zones
— A call into the darkness as a reflection of His light — a reflection of His mercy, grace, peace, love and hope.
What will it take to move US in His direction?
We can go where He tells us or be dragged along like stubborn children.
Which will it be?
On a final note, if you are here tonight and you are not a Christian, we are glad you are here.
It is not my intention to make the Christian life seem difficult, but I also want you to know that it is not just puppy dogs and rainbows after you are saved.
The truth is there will be trials, but, if you are honest, you have trials as a non-believer too.
The difference is we do not struggle alone, when we are truly living in the grace of God we live without the guilt of our sin. And ultimately, we know that we are part of the winning team.
If you are tired of struggling alone and you are ready to take on the adventure that faith brings — tonight can be your night. After we are done here, I — or any of those in front here — can walk you through what it is to become a believer.
It is the best decision you can ever make.
If you are a believer and, like me, you have still not surrendered your ENTIRE life to Jesus Christ — to be used wherever and however He wills — tonight could be the turning point for you.
Go to God before you leave here and pray that He will show you where He would have you go and what He would have you do. Don’t be afraid that he is going to put it into your heart to move to the other side of the world. He may just tell you to share the gospel to the man or woman or family next door — or to the person across from you at work.
Of course that may be scarier than moving across the planet. Let’s Pray…
