Backing Off, Part Two
by Charles R. Swindoll

John 7:1-14

As we’ve been discussing, there are certain times when it’s necessary to keep quiet, to relax, to back off. Intensity often leads to futility. Like the little boy who plants the seed and then nervously digs it up every day to see if it is growing. Waiting is as necessary as planting and fertilizing.

When the fish aren’t biting, banging on the water with an oar won’t help. You can’t get sap out of a hoe handle. Nor can a relationship be corrected by legislation and force. Remember, God says there is a “time to shun embracing” (Ecclesiastes 3:5) just as there are times to embrace. “To give up as lost” (3:6) may, on some occasions, be the wisest response, though extremely painful. Sometimes that means simply being silent and allowing God to work. In other words, back off so God can move in. This is never more essential than among family members in a home. Allowing some slack in the rope is, at the right time, a mark of real wisdom.

What a difficult pill for up-tight parents to swallow! Kept edgy by impatience, rigidity, and unbending determination, they foolishly rush in where angels loathe to tread. The result? Exasperated kids. Rooms choked with threats and irritating pressure.

Young guys can do this with girls they date. She wants room to breathe, some space to think things out for herself, but he continues to smother. We can do this with people we have offended. They need time to reason, freedom to forgive without being hurried. To push for a quick closure is like a hard-sell salesman pressing you to buy when you are trying to decide what’s best. The faster he talks and the harder he pushes, the less interested you become in buying—even something you need. The wise salesman knows when to allow you the privilege of deciding for yourself—when to back off and leave you alone.

Nobody is able to eat while they’re weeping. Serving more food isn’t the answer. The appetite will return when the agony subsides . . . and not until. That takes time.

Stop and think. Think first about your family. Then your other friends. Are you being wise or foolish? Are you using force or providing freedom? Are you being pushy or patient? Are you intimidating by your intensity . . . or backing off and relaxing? Are you allowing the ground fog to roll back, or are you launching blindly into dangerous flight?

Want to go deeper? Read John 7:1-14 and notice how Jesus “backed off” on occasion. Study closely His words throughout John 7 to find the keys for knowing when to back off and when not to.

Kids are nutty.

Some friends of ours in Texas have two little girls. The younger child is constantly on the move, rarely winding down by bedtime. So the nightly affair has become something of a familiar routine. A story from her favorite book. A drink of water. A prayer. A song. Her doll. Another drink of water. A kiss. A hug. A third sip of water. A trip to the bathroom. A warning. Another kiss. You know, the whole bit.

One night her dad decided he’d be Mr. Nice Guy, the epitome of patience and tolerance. He did it all. Not once did he lose his cool. When Miss Busybody finally ran out of requests, her daddy slipped out of the room, heaved a sigh of relief, and slumped into his favorite chair by the fireplace. Before he could stretch out and relax, however, there was a piercing scream from the jitterbug’s room. Startled, he dashed down the hall and rushed to her bedside. Great tears were rolling down the little girl’s face.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I burnt my tongue.”
Baffled, he tried again, “You what?”
“I burnt my tongue!” she yelled.
“How in the world did you do that?” he asked.
“I licked my night-light.”

That really happened. She couldn’t control her curiosity. She simply had to discover how it would feel to lick that little thing that glowed so warmly and serenely by her bed. Rude was her awakening to the fact that lights are strictly for lighting . . . not licking. And tongues are made for tasting . . . not testing. You and I realize that the best thing our little friend could have done was to stay in bed, keep her tongue to herself, and allow the light to fulfill its appointed function.

But she didn’t—and she got burned.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Solomon, the wise, passes along to us a list of various types of “appointed times” on earth. Among them he mentions

a time to heal . . . a time to shun embracing . . . a time to give up as lost . . . a time to be silent

I see in these words of counsel one strong undercurrent of advice: BACK OFF! It is often wise to relax our intensity, refuse to force an issue, allow nature to take its course, “let sleeping dogs lie.” Backing off, says Solomon, provides opportunity for healing to occur, opportunity for perspective to break through the storm clouds of emotion and illuminate a difficult situation with a fresh understanding.

When the time is right, things flow very naturally, very freely. To rush or force creates friction-scars that take years to erase. Take it from one who has learned this difficult lesson the hard way—keep a tight bridle on your tongue, relax, and settle for a good night’s sleep. Otherwise, you’re going to get pushy, you’re going to get caught with your tongue in the wrong place . . . and you’re going to get burned.

In College, I wrote a group paper titled Modern Martrydom:
Here is a quote from a source we used:
“The grounds for hostility to the Christians were not always the same, and often opposition and persecution were localized. The loyalty of Christians to “Jesus as Lord,” however, was irreconcilable with the worship of the Roman emperor as “Lord,” and those emperors, such as Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, who were the most deeply committed to unity and reform were also the ones who recognized the Christians as a threat to those goals and who therefore undertook to eliminate the threat. As in the history of other religions, especially Islam, opposition produced the exact contrary of its intended purpose, and, in the epigram of the North African church father Tertullian, the “blood of the martyrs” became the “seed of the church.”

Is it over? Is persecution over?

Pope Francis: Persecution Against Christians Is Worse Now Than in the Early Church
by Staff Writer
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“There are more Christian martyrs now than during the first centuries of the Church,” the pope said during an interview last week.
As reported by Christian Today, during an interview with the Spanish-language La Vanguardia magazine on June 13, Pope Francis declared that “persecution against Christians today is stronger than in the first centuries of the Church.” The comment came as he condemned acts of persecution against Christians and violence in the name of God.
“Today there are more Christian martyrs than in that period. And, it’s not because of fantasy, it’s because of the numbers. … The persecuted Christians are a concern that touches me very deeply as a pastor,” he said.
“Violence in the name of God does not correspond with our time,” he continued. “It’s something ancient. With historical perspective, one has to say that Christians, at times, have practiced it. When I think of the Thirty Years War, there was violence in the name of God. Today it is unimaginable, right? We arrive, sometimes, by way of religion to very serious, very grave contradictions.”
Despite his candid discussion of increasing persecution and martyrdom in the church, Pope Francis admitted that he has eliminated some of the personal security procedures taken with him when he enters the public eye.
“I know that something could happen to me, but it’s in the hands of God,” he said. “I remember that in Brazil they had prepared a closed Popemobile for me, with glass, but I couldn’t greet the people and tell them that I love them from within a sardine tin.”
“Let’s be realistic, at my age I don’t have much to lose,” he added.
According to Paul Marshall with the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, contemporary persecution of Christians is an urgent concern because it is “occurring on a massive scale, underreported and growing rapidly in many parts of the world.” Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reports that Christians are persecuted in more countries today than any other religious group.

The birth of a healthy baby girl is usually a joyous occasion. But when Meriam Ibrahim gave birth to her daughter, Maya, on Tuesday, May 27, it triggered a two-year countdown to her execution.
On May 15, the 27-year-old Sudanese doctor was sentenced to death for apostasy by a Sudanese court. In addition, she is to endure 100 lashes for the crime of committing adultery—with her Christian husband. The judge ruled that the lashing would be carried out after she had recovered from delivering her baby and that her death by hanging would occur when her baby reached age two, so she would have time to nurse the infant.
During her trial, the judge asked the young woman three times to recant her Christian faith, but she refused each time.

That was recent. In fact I read that over 100 million people are persecuted right now. A few weeks ago I read that the Bible is illegal in 52 countries.

But Christianity is growing in these persecuted countries. Figure that out.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:10-12:

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Paul the apostle wrote in 2 Timothy 3: 12: In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…

So, today we come to a passage where the Jerusalem church is persecuted. We will look at that passage. I wish to teach that passage and I also want to talk about persecution today. Goals today:
1. Learn about Acts 12:1-5
2. Learn about persecution in the world
3. Be ready for your Christian faith to be challenged, maybe even violently, especially if you are young.

Let’s read Acts 12:1-5:
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
I. Let’s look at the passage, the apostles are persecuted.
a. We have seen this before, but not so brutally.
b. Now, it says, “about that time…”
c. Take note: We are going back a few years before some of the previous events. This Herod—he died in A.D. 44. We know this.
d. Things were going on and it was pretty political. So, what is going? He wants to win points with his constituents, so he harms the apostles.
e. Verse 2: He had James, the brother of John put to death with the sword.
f. At one time they would kill people with an ax, apparently, we know by now, it was with a sword.
g. There is a church history legend that James was witnessing all the way until his death. Do you hear? He was trying to convert, actually the person who was to behead him, until his death. Though we do not know if some of those stories are factual. I like to believe they are true.
h. Now, get this, James is killed and that pleased the Jews. Can you believe it? It made the Jews feel good that someone was killed. So, Herod brings Peter in. Peter is locked up with 16 guards. Can you believe it? 16 guards.
i. Peter, he is a very dangerous man, right?
j. We will find out that 16 guards were not enough. Yes, they will have one job, just one job!
k. BUT— verse 5, there was a church praying and they were praying for him fervently or earnestly. We’ll come back to that next week. But let me make a note right now. We need holistic, communal prayer.
l. I think the church that is persecuted gets back to the reality of the reverence of a Holy God, the reverence of Scripture, the reality of salvation through faith alone in Jesus alone and the need for a relationship with Jesus through prayer.
m. Everyone pick up a Bible hold it up: (talk soft) This book does not have value because of the ink, nor the paper. This book has value because of where the Words come from. So, when the church is persecuted they get back to prayer and the Word and the Gospel.
n. Before we move on, James died. He really died. Remember that death is not the end as a Christ follower. Death is not the end. We have an eternal hope. 1 Cor. 15:50 Paul writes: Where O death is the sting? As we talk about persecution remember that Jesus saves. We have eternal life and eternal hope.
II. Now, let’s talk about persecution.
Before we talk about this subject— There is some heavy truth in this section, but in truth there is grace. Don’t you want warned before walking into an electric fence? Don’t you want warned before walking off a cliff? Don’t you want warned before playing with a Rattle snake?
a. I know that this is a very depressing subject for some. For some it is not. For some of you. You are like, “Yes, a challenge. I’ll go, send me…”
b. Sometimes, many times, we send people on a mission with the wrong expectations.
c. Jesus did not do this. But many times we glance over these verses, at least in America. We have John 15:20 in which Jesus said that we will be persecuted. If they persecuted Him they will persecute us. Now, we can look at this passage three ways.
1. We could say. Well maybe not always, or maybe we are verbally attacked or something like that. This may be true because I bet most us have not been actually persecuted.
2. Or, we could think, maybe we are not persecuted because we are not doing our job as a witness.
a. If I am being the witness of Jesus Christ, then the devil will kick back with persecution.
b. Ephesians 6:12 says that there is a real spiritual battle.
3. There is a third option: maybe you are not persecuted because you do not know Jesus.
d. What about hope for persecution: I am going to talk about some things that may give hope in a minute. But let me give a few other thoughts:
i. Let me say that I have read books about Christians persecuted through the ages and up until now and there testimonies seem to talk of Spirit filled peace with them.
ii. Rev. 6:9-11: these are saints who died as martyrs:
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
The Hope:
Matthew 5:10-12:

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

III. A few weeks ago a church member asked me about being ready for persecution, here are some applications. We all need to pray that:
1. We will be a faithful witness in persecution as these disciples/apostles were.
2. We must be a man or a woman of prayer, seeking the Lord, in relationship with Him so that we are ready to be a witness in persecution. In verse 5 we see the church praying for him.
3. We must be in the Word, always being ready to give an answer with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)
4. We will know that persecution will come. Jesus said that we will be persecuted: Matthew 5:10-12; John 15:20: Jesus says that they persecuted me, they will persecute you.
5. We will remember those in Acts 5:41 who rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Christ’s name.
6. We will remember Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:12, that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
7. We will remember Jesus’ words not to worry about what to say (Matthew 10:19).
8. We will be in prayer for our brothers and sisters in need as we see in verse 5, earnest prayer.
(Play from the Bible movie)

By the way, the church prayed and next week we will break it down, but you know what happened? Peter was released. It is a humorous story. Peter is being guarded by 16 soldiers and he is miraculously released from prison. They had 1 job to do. 16 soldiers to guard 1 person and they failed, they failed! An angels wakes Peter in the night, saying, “Wake up, wake up!!!” The angel leads him out to the prayer meeting. Here they are praying for him and they open the door and slam it in his face, not believing it is really him. They doubt their own prayers.

Last application: We serve a mighty God: Even in persecution: We serve a mighty God. You will face trials and tribulations, but God is great!

Close:
Jim Elliot wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” We must be prepared to do this.

Jim Elliot wrote that and then he was martyred for Christ.

I am not going to ask you about commitment, that is implied.

I am going to ask you about prayer. Pray for the persecuted church.

Pray for the church in America, yourself, children, this church that we can be strong witnesses.

Others, do you know Jesus, why would people go through this for Jesus?

For life everlasting, that is the answer. We are always trying to live longer, but we never will, not on our own.

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)
Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)
Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)
Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)
Pray

I have shared Ben Witherington’s blog before. This blog is really good. His comments about being on the O’Reilly Factor and being told not to quote scripture are especially telling.

Dr. Witherington is a distinguished and well published professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, having published commentaries on every book of the New Testament.

Building a Better Twenty-First Century Christian– Thoughts on Real Independence

Building a Better Twenty-First Century Christian– Thoughts on Real Independence
July 2, 2014 By Ben Witherington 2 Comments

As it becomes increasingly clear that even in America the culture is moving increasingly away from Christian ethical and theological standards of all sorts, instead of ringing our hands and ushering cries of dismay, it would be better to think about how we can best do the same thing as first century Christians did— namely become counter culture Christians who only affirm those values of the larger culture that comport with Christianity. If there is something true, good, honorable, excellent etc. in the culture, then this can be endorsed, otherwise not. Interestingly, our world is moving closer and closer to being like the world that Paul and others had to respond to as a new minority religious movement. So, what does this actually look like?
1) A complete renunciation of fear-based approaches to life, rather than an embracing of them. By the latter I would cite the recent examples of churches that are now holding classes teaching people to carry guns, even in public places, even in church. This whole approach is based on straight up paranoia. This is not to say that there are not plenty of mentally unstable people out there, but there are also mentally unstable people in the church, and frankly if you allow guns in church, someone who is a member but is fifteen degrees shy of plumb is more likely to hurt someone than some intruder from outside. Indeed, the whole growing gun culture of America needs to be renounced by Christians, by which I do not mean that hunting rifles should be taken away from licensed hunters. What I do mean is the assumption that the ‘right to lawful assembly of a militia’ gives private citizen a right to buy and bear whatever arms or ammo they can get their hands on. This is not only a bad mis-reading of our founding documents and the freedoms the founding fathers intended for us to have, it’s an even worse witness for someone who is a Christian who is supposed to be trusting in God, not in guns. There are many other aspects of fear-based thinking that we could discuss as well, such as hoarding, escapist rapture thinking that suggests that the world is going to Hades anyway so we don’t need to fulfill the creation mandate and take care of the beautiful world God gave us and so on.
2) While I think Christians should vote and should be involved in social causes that comport with the Gospel, it is time to abandon the rhetoric of either the far right or the far left, and indeed I would suggest it’s time to stop endorsing any political party, because neither the Democrats nor the Republicans nor the Tea Party for that matter adhere closely enough to Christian principles to deserve Christian endorsement. Christians should stand for issues and causes, but not give their blessings to parties, TV networks etc.
I will not soon forget when I was appearing with Dom Crossan on the O’Reilly show and the producer had a little chat with us in advance of the show. He told us not to quote the Bible, not to engage in any theological discourse between us, but simply to answer the questions ‘Bill’ would put to us. I asked him, since this was an Easter show, ‘don’t you think you will alienate your conservative Christian audience by this approach?’ His answer was chilling– “no, he said, I’m more concerned with alienating our secular conservative audience. Conservative Christians have nowhere else to go but us, but to Fox.” This little pulling back of the curtain on the charade that goes on on that network was very revealing.
I would say to Christians– do your own research on the news. Read hard news sources but process them critically. Don’t take any network’s word for it. Some are more tendentious than others. Some try to be fairer than others. But some channels are simply ideologically driven, like some politicians who have forgotten that politics is the art of working out compromises for the greater good— doing what good that can be done, not hoping for Utopia here and now. Abandon hope that this or that political party or movement will save America. Only Jesus can save America, and frankly we are wasting our energies on retrograde retrenchments, trying to turn back the clock and praying next year will be 1954. But it won’t. Time and cultures march on, for better or for worse.
3) It’s time to embrace a generous orthodoxy and orthopraxy. By this I mean it’s time for Christians to stop shooting at each other, and eating their own young. Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox Christians need to stand together on the essentials of the theological Gospel and on its essential ethical implications in terms of life issues, for example. To be pro-life should mean opposing all those things that destroy human life— abortion, war, capital punishment. In the last fourteen years we have wasted over 10 billion dollars on fruitless, pointless undeclared wars. Imagine how much good could have been done if that money had gone into medical research, or hunger relief, or environmental clean ups, or aid to the poor throughout the world, or education, or to job creation… and I could go on. To paraphrase that great poet Paul Simon “we have squandered our resistance on a pocket full of mumbles such as [political] promises./ All lies and jests, still a man hears what he wants to and disregards the rest…..”
4) It’s time to care about how we treat our bodies and how we use our resources. I was at a convention of southern ministers several years ago and while standing on the platform I looked out into the audience and what I saw appalled me— the majority, maybe even the vast majority of the audience was either obese or morbidly obese. What a horrible witness. Your body is a temple of God’s Spirit, and you are supposed to treat it with respect, treat it as a gift from God, treat it as something Jesus will raise from the dead, not as landfill, a garbage dump, a fast food haven!! No way. And in terms of conservation of resources it is more than high time Christian realized that fossil fuels are not renewal sources of energy. We need to be all about clean energy (there is no such thing as clean coal). I have just come back from Turkey where almost every home in almost every town has solar panels on the roof to heat all their hot water. Where are ours??? They are quite affordable now. The Turks are driving smaller and more energy efficient vehicles including hybrids, not gas-guzzling luxury SUVS which no one really needs, not least because gas is about $8.00 a gallon there. It’s time to simplify our lifestyles, and abandon the death styles of bad food, bad energy (solar, wind and water are all renewal sources of energy), bad judgments.
5) It’s time to do what the Bible says about orphans, namely find them, adopt them, and take care of them. Instead of a Christian family that is reasonably well off in America having eight, ten, twelve of their own children, they should think seriously about another approach— adopt one child for every one you have, and while your at it, don’t have more children than you can provide and care for. Just don’t. Be a good family planner. I have been really proud of my students who have followed this course of action, for example, adopting a child from Ethiopia and having one child naturally.
6) It’s time to actually believe what the Bible says about property, namely that it all belongs to the Lord. None of it actually belongs to us. The Bible favors neither communism nor secular capitalism as an approach to money, resources, and the economy. We are not free to do with our property what we want to do. We are called to do with it what pleases the Lord. Period. As John Wesley would put it, we are merely stewards of God’s property. We did not bring it with us into this world, and we cannot take it with us when we die. We are just stewards and not owners of this worlds material things. And we are accountable for what we do with them. As Wesley would have said, had he lived today ‘living a life of luxury and being a rich Christian in a world full of poverty is not only a bad witness, it is as much of an oxymoron as ‘Microsoft Works’. We need to de-enculturate ourselves from the rampant materialism that drives our whole culture and our whole economy.
7) We need to speak truth to power instead of just singing God bless America!! By this I mean doing exactly what the Pope recently did— he excommunicated the whole of the Mafia, while being in Mafia country in southern Italy! He said the very idea that members of the Mafia could pretend to be good Catholics and come to mass while ruthlessly pursuing the drug trade, and having gunned down and then burned up a small child and his grandfather in a car in a small city in southern Italy is anathema. It is anti-Christian behavior. The anti-Christian behavior of our rulers needs to be called to account.
8) We need to forgive our enemies, and pray for those who persecute us. The whole business of cycles of reprisals, or revenge taking, of the endless cycle of violence is simply not a Christian response to problems whatever their source. Forgiveness and God’s grace is the only power in this world that breaks the cycles of violence and makes for a better world. If Jesus can even pray for those executing him while on the cross “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” how can we do less when confronted with lesser problems? Besides, the Bible is clear that justice issues should be left in the hands of the Lord— ‘vengeance is mine says the Lord, I will repay.’ We actually need to believe that and live into it.
Even if we were to do just these eight things as counter culture Christians, it could really make a difference in our land and in our world. I hope someone is listening…. and will heed the call.

This month we have focused on One Great Hour of Sharing as well as Alliance Mission Encounter. Let me give you some history to One Great Hour of Sharing:

Fifty years ago, during World War II and immediately following, Protestant churches made appeals for relief and reconstruction. In 1946, Bishop Henry Knox Sherrill, newly-elected Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, set a goal of one million dollars per year for the Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief. On nationwide radio, he challenged members to raise “one million dollars in one hour.” His impassioned challenge worked. During the first three years, Episcopalians raised $3.8 million.

In 1949, church leaders from several denominations formed an ad hoc committee to organize an appeal aimed at supporting the separate campaigns of American churches. While the post-war language seems a bit stilted, their joint statement in support of this effort is still remarkably contemporary:

This nationwide united effort by America’s Christians has an importance far beyond the practical goal of fund raising. For this great joint program will not only strengthen the vitally important relief and rehabilitation work of the churches overseas, but will also prove to all the world how great is the power generated when Christians unite in a common cause.

A cast was recruited from among the foremost dramatic and musical talent in the United States, including Gregory Peck and Ida Lupino, and a script was written under the direction of playwright Robert Sherwood. President Truman brought greetings. Major networks and many independent stations carried the program on Saturday, March 26 at 10 p.m., eastern time. The broadcast, called “One Great Hour,” closed with a request that listeners attend their local church the following morning and make a sacrificial contribution. No exact measure of income was possible, but it was estimated that more than 75,000 churches participated.

In 1950, the title “One Great Hour of Sharing” was used for the first time. A logo depicting a church steeple clock with hands fixed at eleven was also adopted. A series of six fifteen-minute radio programs was produced to promote the effort, but problems with radio stations brought disappointing results.

The next year, the name of the offering was changed to “One Great Time of Sharing.” In 1952, the name was changed back to One Great Hour of Sharing, and has remained so ever since. By 1954, the announced goal for all giving to One Great Hour of Sharing reached eight million dollars.

From the beginning this has been an ecumenical effort. As denominations changed and merged, One Great Hour of Sharing has varied from eight to twenty-nine participating communions. Currently, the One Great Hour of Sharing committee officially comprises nine Christian denominations: American Baptist Churches USA, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Church of the Brethren, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America, United Church of Christ, and Church World Service. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) calls the offering Week of Compassion. In various ways, all work in cooperation with Church World Service, the relief, development and refugee assistance arm of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

At times, One Great Hour of Sharing has been coordinated with the Roman Catholic Bishops’ Fund Appeal for Overseas Aid and the Jewish Passover Appeal. Efforts were made to combine forces to attain the endorsement of the Advertising Council. Joint approaches were made to editors and program directors of radio and television. Free time and space were donated. Today, changes in FCC guidelines have all but eliminated this promotional opportunity. Yet, the offering survives, even thrives, in local congregations.

The purpose of One Great Hour of Sharing has remained the same: to collect special gifts to assist those in need. Today, projects are underway in more than 100 countries, including the United States and Canada. In the 1990s, receipts have exceeded $20 million annually. While specific allocations differ in each denomination, all use their One Great Hour of Sharing funds to make possible disaster relief, refugee assistance, and development aid.

Contributions to One Great Hour of Sharing make a difference in the lives of people. Church World Service, a division of the National Council of Churches, with overseas partner churches and church councils are often the first on the scene following a disaster of natural or human origin. Local church leaders identify the needs of their people. Priorities are set to bring long-term solutions that will improve the quality of life for individuals and communities around the world. One Great Hour of Sharing, nearly 50 years old, continues to respond to needs equally critical as when it was first created.[1]

So, how does this fit with the text?

In this text, prophets come and the church helps with a famine.

Let’s read the passage from Acts 11:27-30 and I want you to see that the church at Antioch agrees to help the church in Judea.

During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) ²⁹ The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea.³⁰ This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

1.                    As we look at this passage notice that God sends prophets telling of a need.  This is in verse 27.
2.        Notice that God had already prepared the foundation for the prophets. So, in the previous few verses God had opened up the Gospel to the Gentiles and here in this passage Antioch, this major city had become this operation center for many to receive Christ. Now Barnabas had come and encouraged people to stay true to the Lord. That was verse 23. Barnabas is an encourager.
3.       Then we come to verses 25 and 26 and Barnabas had gone to get Paul and they teach the people for a whole year and they are first called Christians in Antioch.
4.        Why does that matter? Why do I belabor that? Why do I go back to the context? To be Christians means that they identified with Christ.
5.       Now, we come to verse 27 and the Bible says, “About that time…” or in the N.I.V. it says, “During this time…” It was while God was laying the foundation of their discipleship that God sends a prophet.
6.        I have a strong application that just hit me square in the jaw. Am I ready to hear from God today? Are you ready to hear from God today? Suppose a prophet came here like this, what would I do? How would I react? What would I say? How would I respond?
7.        They responded positively because they were being taught the Word of God.
8.       They responded positively because they were being disciple.
9.       They responded positively because they were following Christ.
10.         They responded positively because Barnabas was encouraging them to stay true to the Lord.
11.         They responded positively because they were Christ-ians—they identified with Christ.
12.       Do I identify with Christ?
13.         Do you identify with Christ?
14.     Are you ready to hear from a prophet?
15.       They were ready and then the prophets came during this time.
16.       So, one of them was Agabus and verse 28 said that he stood up and spoke.
17.       Know that the Bible says that he spoke “Through the Spirit.” He did not just speak in any way, but through the Spirit. He has the gift of prophesy from the Holy Spirit.
18.       He told of a severe famine. This famine was to spread over the entire Roman world.
19.         This is likely hyperbole. But also notice that there is a parenthesis. Luke tells us that this happened under Claudius’ reign. We know that there were several famines under him.
20.                 In verses 29-30 the church responds.
21.        We see that the church responds.
22.       They give.
23.        I notice here that Paul and Barnabas are willing to serve. They could have said, “No, no, no, choose someone else, I am not going on a mission trip to Jerusalem.” But they did not.
24.       I notice here that Paul and Barnabas are also trustworthy.
25.        I pray that I am trustworthy as well.
26.        I pray that I am willing to serve.

Close:
So, this month we have served as a church with Alliance Mission Encounter. We have also had opportunity to donate through One Great Hour of Sharing. I shared about that at the beginning of the sermon. We always must help those in need:

According to People magazine, two customers walked into a Lincoln, Neb., Cracker Barrel and asked to be seated with the “grumpiest” server they had. The restaurant host replied that there were no grumpy servers in that restaurant, but they did have a “happiest” server: 18-year-old Abigail Sailors.

After seating, the two patrons listened to Sailors’ life story, which included a mother incapacitated by a car crash, a father incarcerated for abuse, and a horrible foster care experience for herself and her four siblings. She finally found a forever home with John and Susi Sailors about five years ago. Sailors currently attends North Dakota’s Trinity Bible College where she majors in psychology and youth ministry and participates in basketball. But she admitted to her guests that she wasn’t sure how she would afford the next semester, since she was paying her own way.

“I’m just thankful,” she told the Lincoln Journal-Star. “Everything we went through, my attitude is: God blessed me with a lot of things. I’m doing good. That’s all that matters to me.”

One of the customers—a Trinity alumni, as it turns out—then proceeded to write a check to Sailors for $5,000 for tuition and another $1,000 for books and supplies, then left her a $100 tip. Sailors told the local media she couldn’t believe it and tried to thank them, but they both replied, “Thank God.”

Maybe you cannot serve in that way, but how can you serve.

First do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] http://onegreathourofsharing.org/the-history-of-one-great-hour-of-sharing/

Think back for a minute to your days in school. What happens when there is a school bully? Okay, so there is a school bully and there might be a few options, one option is that everyone is going to fight him and take him down. Everyone knows that he is the bully, and so you all agree that at such and such a day it is time to say, no more and everyone can take him out. But you know what too often might happen? No one will make the first move, right?

I love history. I love reading historical literature. One reason that Rome could win so many battles was not because there army was better trained but that they could toughen things out longer. In ancient warfare the battles were fought in hand to hand combat and so the battles were fought until one army fled. The Roman army was tougher. Okay, what am I getting at, you ask? Am I looking for another excuse to talk about William Wallace? No. I want to talk about Christian persecution.

Here we are in Acts 11:19-26 and we see that it seems to be one of Luke’s common summary passages. He is referring back to what has happened since Stephen’s stoning. Now, in the last chapter and the beginning of this chapter God has opening Peter and some of Jews in Jerusalem up to Gentiles. At this time, let’s see what is going on.

Let’s read Acts 11:19-27 and the theme is the Antioch church witnesses to the Gentiles. The application for us is verses 23 and 24 stay True to the Lord and may it be said of us like it was of Barnabas.

Turn in your Bibles to Acts 11:19-27:

¹⁹ Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. ²⁰ Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. ²¹ The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

²² News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. ²⁴ He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

1.                     Notice in verses 19-21 the church begins to grow in the city of Antioch.
2.        Those who were scattered because of the persecution. Now, you have to wonder, “what persecution is he writing about?” We have to look back to Stephen’s stoning which was in Acts 8:1 and 4 and that was when Saul was breathing murderous threats upon the church. At that time there were wolves after the church. Everyone fled, everyone fled, except… except who?
3.       I heard this wonderful illustration recently. Someone comes to the house with a gone so everyone will run except who? The  kids may flee, the neighbors, or friends can flee, but the dad will not flee. The dad is there to protect his children and his wife.
4.        In this case, this was true. The early believers all flee, except the apostles. The apostles stay in Jerusalem and protect the church.
5.       There were wolves on the attack, but they knew that the Lord was in control.
6.       So in verse 19 we see that they made it through different cities and then made it to Antioch. Antioch was a very large city. Antioch was the third largest urban city of antiquity behind Rome and Alexandria. Interesting that this is where God will launch the mission to the gentiles. That is so awesome!
7.         But at this point the mission is only to Jews.
8.        Then there were some, we find in verse 20, who started preaching to gentiles as well, Praise God! Galatians 3:28!
9.       A large number who believed turned to the Lord. These people Trusted the message of Jesus and repented, that is what it means to turn their lives over to Jesus.
10.                   In verses 22-26 Barnabas comes to Antioch to encourage the believers
11.        Once again, in verse 22, we see that the Jerusalem church is still the home base. They hear something is going on, so they send Barnabas.
12.       In verse 23, what does he do? He rejoices.
13.        What do you do when you hear God does something amazing?
14.       What do I do when I hear God does something amazing?
15.       Do we rejoice?
16.         We become Spiritual introverts instead of extroverts, we need to be outspokenly praising and uplifting God!
17.        He encouraged them: this means that he brought them aid. He encouraged them to remain true to the Lord.
18.       That is an application for all of us. Remain True to the Lord— don’t fall away—stay true.
19.          It messes me up when I read things on Facebook or whatever and I hear what goes on from my flock and so I say the same thing, stay true.
20.         Barnabas saw all these new believers and he is saying, “stay true.”
21.        Look at the description of Barnabas in verse 24:

                                                   i.      He was a good man (that is only give by Luke about Joseph of Arimethea in Luke 23:50)

                                                 ii.      Full of the Holy Spirit

                                                iii.      Full of faith

1.          People were saved
2.     That is something to praise God about.
3.       So Barnabas needed help. So what did he do?
4.       He went for Saul, and he searched for him. Now is has been about 9 years since Saul has become a believer and verse 25 describes it as though it was hard to find him but Barnabas finds him. Saul and Barnabas teach the people for a year. They taught great numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
5.       By the way, Saul may have been an outcast from his family by now for his Christianity. Also, Luke is setting this up for Acts 13 and Saul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey.
6.       Notice something about that word Christians:
7.         It contains Jewish thought, as the equivalent of Messiah, the Anointed. (ii) It shows the Greek language in the substantive—’Christ.’ (iii) It also includes the Latin language in the adjectival ending ‘ians’ (Latin, iani). This universality is a reminder of the language of the title on the Cross.”
8.        Something else, the “ians” means that we identify with Christ.

Close:

The application for us is verses 23 and 24 stay True to the Lord and may it be said of us like it was of Barnabas. So, can we pursue being full of the Holy Spirit, can we pursue being a good man or woman, can we pursue being full of faith?

Do you identify with Christ? Are you a Christ-“ian”? If so, go and make disciples as they did in this passage.

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

Opening:

For the last two weeks we talked about Peter being prepared for the Gospel to be opened to non Jewish people. Non Jewish people are Gentiles. Gentiles are Non Jews. Everyone say, “Gentiles.” Last week we talked about Cornelius, this Gentile, this non Jewish man being converted. We talked about how this is the longest narrative in the book of Acts and this is a very pivotal point in the book. In Acts 1:8:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

You need to know that this is happening now. They are in the ends of the earth, this means that the Gospel is now in the gentile areas. The Gospel is now in pagan areas. The church is becoming multicultural. You know what, my prayer is that soon and very soon all churches become multicultural.

So, have you ever had this exciting time or this exciting moment and then someone just crashes you down?

When I was in seventh grade I had ordered a Cleveland Browns book bag (why would anyone want that? I don’t know), but for some reason when it came in, my mom gave it to my older brother. She must have thought he needed it more than me or something. I don’t know. But he was so excited when I got home from school and said, “Steve, look at this new book bag I got.” I’m like, “That’s mine.” Anyways, I still think back. He was so excited about that book bag and maybe he did not know that I had picked it out, maybe he has forgotten about it by now, but I have not.

That is a simple example, but the sermons the last few weeks and today deal with cultural issues and race relations. What is it like to rain on someone’s parade, a small child when they have to be told they cannot go to an amusement park because of their color? What is that like? What’s like when you have to explain to them that they cannot go to a certain restaurant because of their color? 

In the passage we are about to look at, Peter’s parade was rained on. Peter had this mountain-top experience and then he gets to Jerusalem and then these high and mighty Jewish law keepers rebuke him. But think about it for a minute. Who can rebuke Peter? Peter went water skiing with Jesus without a boat.[1] Peter was trained in the University of Jesus. Apparently, these people did not care. Peter had to make his case. In this passage, there is no indication that Peter is a Pope.

Three Applications to take home:

1 . Search your hearts for racism or preferences that are misplaced. We see the cultural divide come down.

Psalm 139:23:

Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Gal. 3:28:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

This makes Revelation 7:9 so much more powerful:

 …

2.  Second application is the indwelling Holy Spirit in all believers. We see this emphasis in verses 15-17.

3. The third application is to bring glory to God. We see this in verse 18.

Let’s read the passage.

We are going to read the text, the whole text in the Message translation today. If you wish to follow along, it is on the screen. I am using the message because we read it from the N.I.V. last week and a significant portion of this passage is review. In this passage, Peter is reviewing what is happening I would like you hear it and read it in a different, more contemporary way.

The Message:

God Has Broken Through

^1–3      11 The news traveled fast and in no time the leaders and friends back in Jerusalem heard about it—heard that the non-Jewish “outsiders” were now “in.” When Peter got back to Jerusalem, some of his old associates, concerned about circumcision, called him on the carpet: “What do you think you’re doing rubbing shoulders with that crowd, eating what is prohibited and ruining our good name?”

^4–6               So Peter, starting from the beginning, laid it out for them step-by-step: “Recently I was in the town of Joppa praying. I fell into a trance and saw a vision: Something like a huge blanket, lowered by ropes at its four corners, came down out of heaven and settled on the ground in front of me. Milling around on the blanket were farm animals, wild animals, reptiles, birds—you name it, it was there. Fascinated, I took it all in.

^7–10             “Then I heard a voice: ‘Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.’ I said, ‘Oh, no, Master. I’ve never so much as tasted food that wasn’t kosher.’ The voice spoke again: ‘If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.’ This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the sky.

^11–14            “Just then three men showed up at the house where I was staying, sent from Caesarea to get me. The Spirit told me to go with them, no questions asked. So I went with them, I and six friends, to the man who had sent for me. He told us how he had seen an angel right in his own house, real as his next-door neighbor, saying, ‘Send to Joppa and get Simon, the one they call Peter. He’ll tell you something that will save your life—in fact, you and everyone you care for.’

^15–17            “So I started in, talking. Before I’d spoken half a dozen sentences, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he did on us the first time. I remembered Jesus’ words: ‘John baptized with water; you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So I ask you: If God gave the same exact gift to them as to us when we believed in the Master Jesus Christ, how could I object to God?”

¹⁸                Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. “It’s really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!”^[2]

1.                     In verses 1-3 Peter is now challenged by the racist.
2.        In verses 1-3 we see that Peter goes back to Jerusalem. Now, it says the party of the circumcision. This means that they kept the whole law. They might have been the Pharisees like Paul the Apostle was.
3.       So, they challenged Peter on this. Peter was all excited. He had had this dramatic revelation from God. God had shown Him this new Truth. He was allowed to eat bacon now, but now he had to deal with these people. He had to defend this case.
4.        Verse 3: the real deal is that he actually ate with them. This is not the last time this will come up.
5.       So beginning in verse 4 Peter gives an orderly account of what happened. This is review. There are a few new things, mainly having to do with the Holy Spirit.
6.       By the way, I did not schedule this passage to fall on Pentecost. But it fits perfectly.
7.                   In verse 16, Peter brings to light how Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit.
8.        John baptized with water but He will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
9.       Notice that we are baptized with the Holy Spirit simultaneously with salvation. Verse 17:  So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?
10.                 In verse 18 we see, following this, the people have nothing to argue with, they stop arguing with him and glorify or praise God.
11.        The original languages use the word “glorify God.”
12.       This is where we get our word “doxology” from.
13.        They worshipped God.
14.       This is self-sacrificing, vertical worship.
15.       We must also worship God this way.
16.         The last verse: “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Review our applications with me:

Three Applications to take home:

1 . Search your hearts for racism or preferences that are misplaced. We see the cultural divide come down.

Psalm 139:23:

Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Gal. 3:28:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

This makes Revelation 7:9 so much more powerful:

 …

2.  Second application is the indwelling Holy Spirit in all believers. We see this emphasis in verses 15-17.

3. The third application is to bring glory to God. We see this in verse 18.

The question is, how do you feel about it?

Do you know Jesus?

Are you open to other cultures and people knowing Jesus?

Who do you need to introduce Jesus to?

Who do you need to be opento introduce Jesus to?

Where are your prejudices?

Where are mine?

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] I cannot take credit for this illustration, it comes from Pastor Mark Driscoll. Also the next one.

^[2] Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Ac 10:48–11:18). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.

Opening:

Let’s read our church’s mission statement together, it is on the screen:

Matthew 28:19-20:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Notice that Jesus says that He will be with us. We are never making disciples alone. We are never going evangelizing alone. This is something that we cannot do alone. Back up though, back up. Look at a very important word. I want us to play a game, let’s find a very important word in this passage a word that has to do with the sermon today and really had to do with the sermon last week.

Can you guess the word? Anyone? Call it out?

Nations?

Yes, The Gospel crosses cultures.

That passage is our mission statement and the churches marching orders.

Next passage is on the screen, let’s read it together:

Acts:1:8:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Notice the last phrase of this passage? Do you notice that it says, “Ends of the earth?”

Today, we finish the longest narrative in the book of Acts. This passage is pivotal in this book. This passage is a passage where not just one, but actually several Greeks receive Christ as their Savior.  This is now showing that you do not have to be Jewish to be a Christian. This passage is now showing that the Gospel crosses cultural barriers. This is now showing that the Gospel transcends cultures. This is amazing.

Galatians 3:28:

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Luke 9:23:

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

So, we see in all of these passages the emphasis on culture. It no longer mattered that one convert to Judaism. A mistake in historical missions was that they would try to convert the Native Americans to their form of culture as well as convert them to Christianity. Judson Taylor was devoted missionary to China in the 1800’s and he was actually criticized because he adopted Chinese attire. He wanted to identify with the people, rather than expect them to identify with him.

We see a repeated them here: The Gospel is for everyone, the Gospel transcends culture. The Gospel is not political, but a-political.

Yet, there is still too much racism in the church. Yea sure, we think it is all dead, don’t we, we think it is a moot issue, but it certainly isn’t. Okay, here are a few.

•          We still have racism from African-Americans against white Americans.
•          We still have racism from white Americans against African Americans.
•          We have racism against Mexicans.
•          We have racism against Asians.

o   In those listed above I am afraid to give example but I would site some of the arguments of immigration.

o   I do understand that we need to protect our borders but can we not do that while still being humane and Christian?

•          I have heard some very racists comments from so called Christ followers so please do not deny it. Let’s deal with it today.

Let’s pray and then read the Scripture.

Pray: Lord Jesus Take care of our sin filled hearts, clean us up, only you can…

Please read with me Acts 10:23-48 and I intend to show you that now Peter introduces Cornelius and his companions to Jesus. They accept Christ. But most of all Gentiles, non-Jews are in the Kingdom. The Gospel is for everyone. Verse 35 is a Thesis.

Let’s read the passage, turn with me to Acts 10:23-48:

²³ Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

Peter at Cornelius’s House

The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. ²⁴ The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. ²⁶ But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”

²⁷ While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. ²⁸ He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. ²⁹ So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”

³⁰ Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me ³¹ and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.³² Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵ but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. ³⁶ You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. ³⁷ You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

³⁹ “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, ⁴⁰ but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. ⁴¹ He was not seen by all the people,but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. ⁴⁵ The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they heard them speaking in tongues^[a] and praising God.

Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” ⁴⁸ So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Now, let’s break it down and talk about it.

1.                     In Verses 24-33 Cornelius shares how this came to pass and invites Peter to preach.
2.        Cornelius saw an angel four days ago. (verse 30.)
3.       The angel was in shining armor, verse 30. His giving has been remembered, verse 31, which connects with verse 2. Verse 33, He did not want to hear just anything but what Peter has been commanded to share by the Lord.
4.                   In verses 34-43: Peter preaches the Gospel.
5.        Peter preaches a Gospel version shorter than some of his other sermons.
6.       Yet, this sermon focuses more on the life and ministry of Jesus.
7.        This is similar to Mark’s Gospel. This makes sense as Mark’s Gospel is said to have been written off of Peter’s testimony.
8.       Peter knew when to stop.
9.                 Verses 44-48:
10.        Verse 45: all the circumcised believers (all the Jews) were amazed. A testimony that God had opened the Gospel up (Gal. 3:28)   
11.       The Spirit convicted them and they were baptized.

Close:

So, now we really do see the great commission coming to fruition. Do we still see it happening today? I pray it does.

Let’s read those Scriptures again.

Matthew 28:19-20:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Acts:1:8:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Now, I talked about racism. Where do you need to change? Who do you not want in the Kingdom of God? God wants everyone in His Kingdom, everyone:

Acts 10:34-35: Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵ but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.

Revival Message at New Zion:

Outline:

Introduction:

Let me thank you for this opportunity to preach tonight.

Revival means renewal and improvement on the condition of something.

Thanks for this opportunity. I love preaching with other churches.

This is a revival and revival starts in my heart

Revival will not happen without God’s Word reshaping and reforming and remixing us. If you are not in the Word, nothing is going to happen:

Psalm 119:9-11

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
    By living according to your word.
¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart;
    do not let me stray from your commands.
¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart
    that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
    a light on my path.

Luke 9:23:

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Sermon Intro

Black is the opposite of white, wet is the opposite of dry, left is the opposite of right, winter is the opposite of summer. There are many opposites in our life. The world is the opposite of God. The world opposes God. James 4:4 says that friendship with the world is enmity (hostility, ill will) with God. In John 17 Jesus prayed about the world hating the disciples and Him. In Gal 1:4 Paul talked about this “present evil age” or “world.” There is dichotomy between Christians and the world. There is a difference between the things of God and the things of this world.

When I was thinking about what to speak about Romans 12:1-2 came to mind. I was required to memorize this passage when I was in High School. This passage is one of my prayer passages, meaning I pray that I, as well as my children will live this passage out in their lives. But it’s difficult. You see as Christians there is the increasing temptation to be like the world. In America, for the longest time, the world had Judea-Christian values, but we are losing those values real fast. The world is getting worse, and so far the church is not responding very well. Instead the church is becoming like the world.

But in Romans 12:1-2 Paul instructs Christians to not be conformed to this world, but instead be transformed. Let’s talk more about why we are to do this and how we are to do this.

Let’s read this passage:

Read Romans 12:1-2:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

This text says to:

1.                     In verse 1 Paul is telling the Roman Christians and us to make our bodies “living sacrifices.”
2.        Paul gives a reason for this. He says, “by the mercies of God.”

                                                              i.      In chapters 1-11 of Romans Paul had been talking about God’s mercy.

1.       Paul had been talking about how Jews and Gentiles can be Christians.
2.       Paul talked about the law.
3.       He talked about how the law shows that we are sinners.
4.       He talked about how under the law no one is righteous.
5.       Paul talked about how death came by the law, but life came in Jesus Christ.
6.       Now, in Romans 12:1 Paul makes a major transition. IN the first 11 chapters Paul talked about the theology of sin, the law and salvation. Now Paul transitions to talk more about the practical aspects.
7.        Chapter 12 starts with a “therefore.” This is an inferential conjunction. That means “therefore” is making a summary or application. Paul is making an inference.

                                                              i.      Therefore, we have all this mercy, so let’s…

1.       But notice how Paul does this. He says, “I urge you…” He says “I urge you, brothers” or “brothers and sisters.” Paul is strongly asking them to do this. This is almost a command. He uses family language to show his relationship with them. He doesn’t say, “I urge you, son.” He says brothers.

                                                              i.      This is important to Paul, but Paul still doesn’t talk down to them, even though he could have.

                                                            ii.      So we are to make our bodies living sacrifices because of God’s mercy.

1.        but how do you become a living sacrifice?

                                                              i.      Living and sacrifice are contradictory terms. We always think of a sacrifice as being dead. The problem with a living sacrifice is it can crawl off the alter. I was in a Sunday school class that was led by an older man. This man was hunting with his grandfather during the depression. It was bitterly cold as they walked down the railroad tracks looking for food. His grandfather walked right passed a dead possum. But my Sunday school teacher, he saw it. He called out to his grandfather and they took it home. His grandfather gave it to his wife who put it by the stove to get it ready for the preparation process. Well as that possum got warm it got life back in it and started running around the house. They thought it was dead. It was on the alter to be food, yet it got off of their alter.

                                                            ii.      We as Christians must do this intentionally. Intentionally we must be sacrifices for God.

1.        Our bodies as living sacrifices are to be “holy and acceptable to God.” Acceptable could be better translated, “Pleasing.” God is pleased by our sacrifice. But as we are a sacrifice we must be holy. We must be holy to come to the throne of God. God is holy. Lev 11:44: “be holy because I am holy.” Ex 3:5: “Take off your sandals for you are on holy ground.”
2.       Being a sacrifice to God is worship. Worship is not just singing to God. It is worship to make our whole life a sacrifice to God.
3.       This living sacrifice is a process. Since we are alive, this is not a one-time thing, but continual.

                                                              i.      What does it mean to be pleasing to God? The idea is of God having an attitude towards us as pleasing. The Old Testament sacrifices were said to have an aroma that was pleasing to God.

1.                  In verse 2 Paul calls us to avoid worldly contamination and have spiritual transformation. Let me repeat this for emphasis, Paul calls us to avoid worldly contamination and have spiritual transformation:
2.        We can present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy, by not being conformed to this age, but by being transformed.
3.       These words: “Conformed” and “transformed” are both commands.

                                                              i.      Transformed is the word for metamorphosis. This is the same word used to describe a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. We must have a gradual change to be more and more like Christ.

                                                            ii.      Any of you like superheroes?

                                                          iii.      I think of Clark Kent changing into Superman

                                                          iv.      How are you doing with this?

1.       I think, as I look at the church overall, we are doing a very poor job. We ARE being conformed to the world. We ARE NOT being transformed by God.
2.       I am going to give a few examples and some of these might sting a little.
3.        When Christians are missing church worship because of sports that is being conformed to the world.

                                                                                                                                      i.      This is one that I expect to especially sting a little, but it must be said.

                                                                                                                                    ii.      If we can’t learn to prioritize our worship of Christ over sports, then how in the world can we prioritize our worship of Christ over other things.

1.       Someday, maybe soon, Christians are going to face physical persecution in America. If we can’t prioritize now, then how can we then.
2.       Kids everywhere are missing youth group and children’s ministries because of their commitment to sports. Adults and families are missing mid week Bible studies because of commitment to sports.
3.        Dads you all have a responsibility under God to disciple your children. Part of that responsibility is bringing them to church.

                                                                                                                                      i.      Sadly, this is not a new problem. Way back in the 4^th and early 5^th century a man named John Chrysostom preached about the same problem. Christians were missing church for horse races and theatre.  

1.       Let’s apply more. What are you and your children listening to on the radio? What are you viewing on television?

                                                                                                                                      i.      Christians are called to be separate from the world, but we are entertained by filth.

                                                                                                                                    ii.      This is something I especially have to fight as well.

                                                                                                                                  iii.      Remember: revival starts in my heart…

Let’s keep the passage in front of us:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

So, how do we do this? How do we allow ourselves to be transformed by God?

1.        This happens by renewing our mind

                                                              i.      Paul doesn’t tell us what to renew our mind in, but I can take some guesses

                                                            ii.      I think of walking according to the Spirit in Romans 8, which sets one’s mind on things above.

                                                          iii.      I also can’t help but think of Jesus’ command “to deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me”

                                                          iv.      Luke 9:23:

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

                                                            v.      (Mark 8:34//Matt 16:24//Luke 9:23) = Don’t be conformed, but be transformed to discern God’s will.

1.       We should renew our mind in God’s word: Phil 4:6-9 read

                                                          vi.      This, “don’t be conformed” passage is quite memorable: I like it. This is a rhetorical nice and memorable verse

1.       When we are transformed we can test God’s well

                                                              i.      1 Thess 5:1 says to “test everything”

                                                            ii.      We must test things to make sure they fall under God’s will. We can’t do this when we are of the world, but only when we are of God. God’s will is good and acceptable.

                                                          iii.      Look at Eph 4:22-23

                                                          iv.      Look at Romans 6:1-2

1.       We cannot test these things when we are still in the world.
2.       I had a student in my youth group ask me, “How can I know what God wants?” you can do that by knowing His Word, and by being transformed to His interests. If you are of the world, you will not. 
3.        Come out of the world, be Christ like. There is a difference between the world and Christianity.

I had a social psychology professor that said, “Opposites attack. Birds of a feather flock together.” We are Christians. If as Christians we are conformed to the world, then we have a battle inside us. The world and Christ, they don’t get along. Be transformed to Christ. Then, you can really know God.

Back in the 1920-1940 there was a man named Dietrich Bonheoffer. There is a wonderful biography about him right now. He was German and he was a genius. He was a very well educated pastor. He was a pastor with a doctorate. He did work in America, England and other countries. But he resisted Hitler. Many other German churches caved. Many German churches didn’t stand up to the many anti-Semitic statements going on in the country. But Bonheoffer did stand up. He was involved in a network of churches that were anti-Hitler. Bonheoffer was hung in a concentration camp for that. You know that he didn’t have to be hung. He could have gone along with things like the other churches did. He was also in America. He could’ve stayed over here. But he didn’t he went back to Germany specifically to help the churches resist Hitler and he died for that cause. He is one who wouldn’t be conformed to the world.

How about you?

But do you know Jesus? Some of you need to rededicate your life to Christ today and some of you need to dedicate your life to Jesus for the first time now. Think about that during this song and come forward and I want to pray with you.

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Think about that as we sing Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord.

After song pray.

Pray:

Amen.

Opening:

I want to begin this worship service with a short video clip. Harriet Olsen has been accusing someone of being illiterate when in reality he is an immigrant who is quite literate. Watch the clip where it picks up.

Little House on the Prairie Clip:

Charles Ingalls is to preach so he has Harriet read the Scripture from a Bible in another language. She had called someone illiterate the previous week. He really was literate, simply not in English.

Now, there are many different cultures, countries and languages in the world. I did an internet search and found out the following: When people are asked how many languages they think there are in the world, the answers vary quite a bit. One random sampling of New Yorkers, for instance, resulted in answers like “probably several hundred.” However we choose to count them, though, this is not close. When we look at reference works, we find estimates that have escalated over time. The 1911 (11th) edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, for example, implies a figure somewhere around 1,000, a number that climbs steadily over the course of the twentieth century. That is not due to any increase in the number of languages, but rather to our increased understanding of how many languages are actually spoken in areas that had previously been underdescribed[1]

This makes Revelation 7:9 so much more powerful:

 …

How amazing is that? All of these languages, all of these cultures, all of these tongues worshipping the Lord together. This Thursday we will be going to New Zion to worship the Lord at another church, together, as we well should, Praise God!

We are too often divided. A few weeks ago I was listening to a short message about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s best message which was not a sermon but Letters from Birmingham Jail. In it he talked about people asking him to quit. He said that he cannot quit. When he is asked to quit he thinks about how his daughter will ask him why they cannot go to that restaurant or that amusement park. He will think about certain other things. I listened to that very message the day after watch a movie titled 12 Years a Slave made after a book written after a true story and a very moving story. How sad it is, truly sad it is how culture divides us. How sad it is, truly sad it is, how language divides us.

What I see in this Bible passage is God saying, “NO MORE!” God is saying:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Amen! Can you agree to that? If so, say Amen??? Everyone, everyone should be saying Amen!

I do not think that I am going to read through the entire passage this morning, but I am going to break it down. We are going to set up this chapter this week. And finish it next week. This passage is a transition in the book of Acts.

[I am listing the passage in the manuscript for those that read it.]

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. ² He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. ³ One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

⁴ Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.

The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. ⁵ Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. ⁶ He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

⁷ When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. ⁸ He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.

Peter’s Vision

⁹ About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.¹⁰ He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. ¹¹ He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. ¹² It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. ¹³ Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”

¹⁴ “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

¹⁵ The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

¹⁶ This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

¹⁷ While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. ¹⁸ They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.

¹⁹ While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three^[a] men are looking for you. ²⁰ So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

²¹ Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”

²² The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.”²³ Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

Peter at Cornelius’s House

The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along.

This is the longest narrative in the book of Acts.

1.                     Verses 1-8: In verses 1-8 and angel visits Cornelius.
2.        We find out in verse 1 that Cornelius was part of the Italian Cohort. Just some brief information about this man and area:
3.       Caesarea was the seat of the Roman government of Judea (see note on 8:40). Cornelius was a centurion, a commander of 100 men, and a member of the Italian Cohort. (A “cohort” consisted of 600 men under the command of six centurions, but with auxiliary forces in remote areas such as Judea a “cohort” might have as many as 1,000 men.) Ten cohorts formed a “legion.” Centurions were paid very well (as much as five times the pay of an ordinary soldier), so Cornelius would have been socially prominent and wealthy.
4.        Verse 2 tells us that he was devout:

                                                   i.      He prayed.

                                                 ii.      He feared God.

                                                iii.      He gave.

                                               iv.      He was a God fearer which means that he was considering Judaism. He may have been a full Jewish convert, but maybe not. We are unsure of this. He was definitely a Non-Jewish man and did not keep the dietary laws.

1.       In the next few verses he sees a vision. The Bible says that this is clear. This is unmistakable. So, this is an angel and the angel says that his prayers have been answered. He is to send servants to Joppa where Peter is.
2.       Now, that sends us to verse 9 and to Peter.
3.                   Verses 9-23: In verses 9-23 God prepares Peter.
4.        So, two soldiers are on their way to Peter. Peter, being a devout Jew, is about to have his world rocked.
5.       Noon was the normal time to eat and it was normal to use the roof for rest as well as for drying vegetables and other things.
6.        Noon was not a regular hour of prayer (3:1), so Peter prays in addition to the traditional hours followed by many of his contemporaries.^[2]
7.       I wonder, just a note of application, what is your prayer life? What is my prayer life?
8.       It is important, it is critical, it is imperative, that I am about prayer, that we are about prayer. We won’t do anything without God’s help. Wait, I feel like that was said and written wrong. We need God leading us. We need communion with God. We need prayer. We need dependence on God. Are you seeking Him? I must ask myself the same thing. Am I seeking Him?
9.         You know what? Let’s pause and pray now?
10.        Pray:
11.       Lord, may we seek you with all our heart, do not let us stray from your commands and may you speak to us as you did Peter, continue to speak to us in this message which is not complete.
12.          Have a moment of quiet and then close the prayer.
13.         So, Mr. Peter is praying and God gives him this vision and we are not going to break down this vision. Peter sees unclean animals.
14.        By the way, the animals are given in a similar manner as they would be in the account of the flood narrative, which is interesting.
15.          Verse 13: take, kill and eat…
16.     God is for P.E.T.A. People Eating Tasty Animals
17.       Verse 14 and following Peter says, no way, my translation, I have never eaten anything unclean.

                                                   i.      You must know that the Jews had dietary laws. They were not supposed to eat certain foods. In the Old Testament, God separated them from the other nations.

                                                 ii.      I some cases they were not even to eat with people who at those foods, even if they were not actually eating the foods.

                                                iii.      This consumes a lot of space in the New Testament, and actually this consumes a lot of space in the Old Testament.

                                               iv.      In 1 Corinthians chapters 8-10 Paul writes about the dietary laws. In Acts chapter 15 we will come back to the dietary laws. In Romans (14 and 15) we will come back to the dietary laws.  In Galatians and Colossians we will come back to these concerns.

1.       3x the Spirit (verses 15-17) says take and eat God has made it clean.

In verse 23 we are left with Peter and others leaving to Caesarea. Some of the brethren are accompanying him. I find this so very profound because we see witnesses many of what God is doing. God is opening up the Gospel to Gentiles. This is pivotal for the rest of the New Testament.

We are going to pick this up right here next week and we are going to look at Cornelius’ conversion. But think about the importance of the Gospel to all these nations. All these languages and Jesus came for all of them. In the past there were these set dietary laws. In the past, in the Old Testament, God set up a Jewish nation state, they were their own culture and civic organization. Christianity transcends culture. We do not have language barriers. Not anymore. We do not need to be bound by culture.

That is why Paul wrote:

1 Cor. 9:19-23:

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹ To those not having the law I became like one not having the law(though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³ I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

This is why Martin Luther King Jr’s dream is so powerful and meaningful. This is why Revelation 7:9 could be true:

Revelation 7:9 so much more powerful:

 …

The question is, how do you feel about it?

Do you know Jesus?

Are you opened to other cultures and people knowing Jesus?

Who do you need to introduce Jesus to?

Who do you need to be opened to introduce Jesus to?

Where are your prejudices?

Where are mine?

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] http://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/how-many-languages-are-there-world

^[2] Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Ac 10:9). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.