Come, Touch the Robe: Luke 8:43-48

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, February 18, 2024

I think that most of us know of Mother Theresa. We know how she ministered to the people left out. I probably simply must mention her name in order to make us think of the ministries she would lead and take part in in India. I saw a video once showing her decades ago asking United Nations to let her in to a war-torn area in order that she could serve the people there. United Nations would not let her in unless there was a cease fire. She prayed and there was a cease fire. But she didn’t only lead others in the ministry of service, she was a part of the service to others. She was a model example. Praise God for examples such as her.

Today, we begin a special series for Lent. We are stepping away from the book of Acts for the next several weeks. My Lenten theme is going to be that the Gospel is for everyone, amen??? Congregation respond by saying amen if you agree. My theme for this season is that Jesus went to the marginalized, the left out, the people who were unclean. I hope that is encouraging, but I also hope that compels all of us to take the Gospel to everyone as well. I also hope that through this Lenten series, we are all reminded that we serve a “mighty Savior.”

So, some of us need encouragement today. We need to remember that the Gospel is for us as well. We may feel that we are marginalized, unclean, or left out. I hope this series and today’s message encourage us.

Whether we realize it or not, we do marginalize people. We have presuppositional thoughts about other people, and we must realize today that the Gospel is for everyone. Jesus does not marginalize.

Read with me:

Luke 8:43–48 (ESV)

⁴³ And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” ⁴⁷ And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

1. In the Gospel, we find that the Gospel is for everyone, and we see Jesus’ mighty power.
   1. If you look at Luke 8:1-2, we find out that Jesus was traveling from city to city proclaiming and preaching the Kingdom of God, and women were with Him. Even though there were certain cultural ideas regarding women, Jesus allowed them with Him. They were even part of His circle, so to speak. One of the proofs of the Gospel’s truth is that the Gospels would not include women if they were not true. Women would hurt the credibility of the Gospels. Jesus was open and accessible to all.
   2. Now, this is a narrative: Jesus is on His way to heal Jairus’ daughter, and He is interrupted. Do we notice that interruptions can be of God?
   3. Verse 42 tells us that Jesus was traveling and the crowds were pressing against Him. If it was today Jesus could travel in a limousine. He could have traveled in a private plane. He could have guards to keep people away.  Jesus does not do that. Even in His day Jesus could have set Himself apart from the people, but He didn’t. Sure, there are times, such as Mark 1:35, when Jesus goes into seclusion to recharge, but here we see Jesus with the people. Jesus was no respecter of persons. Jesus did not show prejudice. Jesus came to serve. The Gospel is for everyone.
   4. So, in verse 43, this woman has a hemorrhage for 12 years. Imagine what it was like for her. We do not know how she was bleeding, but it was likely a type of female ailment. This probably caused her to be physically weak. We do know based off Leviticus 15 that she would have been considered unclean. She was an outcast. She was marginalized. She was physically weak and maybe in pain. She was emotionally scarred by being looked upon as an outcast. She was spiritually excluded from the Temple and synagogue. For 12 years, she suffered from this. In my translation, it says that she could not be healed. In other translations, it says that she exhausted all her money trying to get better. Unfortunately, some of you know how she feels. Let me tell you that Jesus heals her physically, but most importantly, emotionally and spiritually. He will do the same for all of us.
   5. Verse 44 tells us that she came up behind Him and touched the hem or fringe of His garment. The wording here makes it sound like she simply brushed by or tapped His garment. But in the original language, she grabbed and held onto it. After 12 years, she wanted to be made well. After 12 years of physical problems, emotionally being an outcast, and spiritually being an outcast, she wanted to be made well. She is “immediately” made well. No delay. We serve a mighty Savior who came for everyone.
   6. You know what? By touching her, Jesus could be unclean. Even if an unclean person simply brushed by a clean person that would make the clean person unclean (Lev. 15).
   7. Anyone in the crowd could be unclean. Jesus was willing to risk that to make this woman well. Jesus never rebuked that, either.
2. Jesus responds…
   1. Verses 45-46 have Jesus asking who touched Him. But Peter speaks up, stating that there is such a crowd they couldn’t know.
   2. Jesus says that He felt power go out. We must understand this correctly. Jesus did not have a loss of power. Jesus is all-powerful; He could just know that something happened.
   3. Verses 47-48 are key: The woman comes trembling and falls down before Him.
   4. Imagine how she felt. She has been an outcast socially. She has been an outcast from Jewish practices. She has been in pain and physical turmoil. This has gone on for 12 years. 12 years! Now, she was instantly made well.
   5. I wonder what it was like, the instant relief she felt???
   6. But the instant relief was likely matched by her instant fear going before Jesus, what would He say? What would He do? Would He make her sick again? Would He strike her down? What went through her mind? Was there a combination of tears of joy and tears of fear?
   7. Verse 48, Jesus calls her “daughter.”
   8. Get that! This is the only time in the New Testament Jesus addresses a woman as “daughter.” Wow! She was an outcast all those years, but to Jesus, He considers her as family.
   9. How did she feel now? We all know that words have meaning. I wonder if she instantly felt some type of joy.

So, we think of Mother Theresa; she served the people left out; who do we need to go to? What mindset do we need to change?  Jesus came for everyone.

So, as we look towards Easter, as we look towards the cross, it is important that we all realize that Jesus came for us, and Jesus came for all. We must be reminded that the Gospel is for everyone. Jesus came for the marginalized, the sick, the hurting. Jesus came for the unclean. We must be available and even go to the marginalized, the sick, and the hurting as well.

I like what one preacher says:

He wasn’t done with her. She needed to be restored physically. She needed to be restored socially. She needed to be restored spiritually. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace, not psychological peace, go in peace with God, objective peace. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. You have made peace with God. Matthew 9:22 said, “He said, ‘Be of good comfort.'” Eusebius, the church historian says, there’s a statue of this lady in his day, in her town as a living testimony that she became a believer in Jesus Christ. Listen, Jesus knows you. He knows your hurts, your needs. He is accessible to you. He is available to you. He is interruptible by you. And He is inexhaustible in meeting your need. And it’s personal with Him. He feels the flow of power into your life. This is our God manifest in Jesus Christ. Let’s pray.

Pray

The Christian Community Shares a Life in Common (Acts 2:42–47)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, February 11, 2024

Biblical Fellowship, let’s talk about this idea for a few minutes.

Today, we are going to look at a summary passage of the early church.

What are things the world would call fellowship? Football games, basketball games, golf, time at a bar or at a pub? Any others? Name a few… (Actually allow people to name some things)

What are some things that are purely Christian fellowship? Bible study, youth group, communion, baptisms, church dinners, what else? Name a few.

Where do you see these overlapping and where do they not overlap? Just think with me for a minute or sixty.

What breaks up fellowship? Clicks, gossip, secrets, racism? Name a few things.

What encourages fellowship? Love… Name a few things.

Context: this is a summary passage following Peter’s Pentecost message.

Acts 2:42–47 (ESV)

⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

1. As an early church, they were disciples of Christ, and this convicted them to worship, ministry, and evangelism, and this all happened in fellowship.
   1. We see discipleship specifically in verse forty-two, but I think it really had to do with the way they lived. Look at verse forty-two.
   2. Acts 2:42: And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
   3. This word actually means “continually devoted.” think about it: James 4:4 says that “Friendship with the world makes us enemies with God.” But the world pushes and prods and tempts us. But the early church faithfully endured.
   4. People in the church struggle with health and other needs. So, how can we do that? How can we still live the Christian life? What is key is the fellowship of believers. We’ll come back to that.
   5. Apostle’s teaching??? (Matthew 5-7), (Matthew 22:36-40)
   6. An open application is a simple question: How are we doing as a disciple of Christ? How is this working corporately?
   7. Acts 2:43: And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
   8. Worship: Worship is an individual spiritual discipline, but worship is also a corporate spiritual discipline. Worship is adoring God.
   9. In a worship service, we have times of praise. These are songs that help us praise God. Then we have times of adoration. These are the more contemplative songs. They are more Theological. They are more meditative. We do this as a community of Christians.
   10. Out of their discipleship and worship, they saw signs and wonders, and there was a sense of awe. This happened in fellowship.
   11. Ministry: Now, how are we doing with sacrifice? Are we sacrificing for the body of Christ? Are we sacrificing our money and our lifestyle for others?
2. Fellowship: we must be a support in our trials, in our struggles and in our joys.
   1. In fellowship: they had a sense of awe which is godly fear (verse 43).
   2. They experienced miracles and wonders (a miracle regarded as startling , imposing, amazing, often used elsewhere for a strange appearance in the Heavens) and signs (the word refers to miracles with a different end and for a purpose).
   3. Fellowship includes accountability as a group: Proverbs 27:17: as iron sharpens iron so a man sharpens his brother.
   4. Fellowship includes building each other up as a group: Ecclesiastes 4:13: a cord of three strands is not easily broken.
   5. Bearing each other’s burdens: 1 Corinthians 12:26.
   6. If one rejoices, we all rejoice: 1 Corinthians 12:26.
   7. So how can we live the Christian life? In community.
   8. Evangelism: Notice that evangelism was an outflow of their discipleship, worship, ministry, and fellowship. Verse forty-seven says that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Close:

Fellowship, what helps, what hurts, what is fellowship?

I read the following a few weeks ago:

“I’ve asked the Lord to take from me
My super-sensitivity
That robs the soul of joy and peace
And causes fellowship to cease…”

This group was filled with the Holy Spirit, and they were a Godly community on fire for God. In fellowship, they were about evangelism, discipleship, worship, and ministry.

Do you have the Holy Spirit? Are you of Christ?

Do you know that you are a Christian and you are going to Heaven?

In 2 Cor. 13:5, Paul said to examine yourself and make sure that you are in the faith?

In 1 John 5:13, John says that you may know that you are a Christian.

Are you? You can go to church every Sunday of your life and not be saved.

Peter Preaches at Pentecost (Acts 2:14–41)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, February 4, 2024

There are different types of preaching, public speaking, and teaching. Now, it is said that public speaking is one of the fears of most people. I was required to take public speaking in high school, college, and seminary. I remember being in high school and I was so nervous to deliver my speech. It was terrible. My public speaking class followed lunch; do you know how hard it is to think about your speech all day long. It just ruined lunch. I was nervous. In college, I was still nervous. I was not as nervous because, by this point, I had preached and taught at church, but I didn’t know my audience that well. In seminary, I was used to public speaking and so I was not that nervous at all.

In like manner, I was required to take two preaching classes in college and one in seminary. By this time, I had done some preaching in my church and other churches, so I had a bit of confidence, even though I was preaching to my peers. In college, we didn’t have to preach without notes. In seminary, we were required to preach without notes, and that was quite frustrating and challenging, though a good challenge. But, as stated, there are different types of preaching. In college, I had to preach a sermon called: “A Story Told.” This means that I was required to take the character or part in a Bible passage. So, you could preach a sermon from the church mouse’s perspective. I preached Samuel’s call in 1 Samuel 3 from Eli’s perspective. Later, while serving as associate pastor, there was a day when someone else was scheduled to preach, and the senior pastor was away. But I received the 7 A.M. phone call. The voice on the other line said, “Steve, I am sick and too sick to preach, I am so sorry.” Or something like that. So, I dug out that sermon from college, and it was well received. There are other types of preaching. Some preaching is prophetic, delivering God’s call to His people. Some are more expository, which is usually my style. This means to talk and teach about a passage. Of course, an expository sermon can be prophetic, or a story told, or another form.

Why do I tell you all of this? I am talking about this because we are about to talk about Peter’s first sermon in Acts. Actually, I dare say that this is Peter’s first sermon, period. Was Peter nervous? I doubt it.

I intend to show you that this sermon is an evangelistic sermon. Peter is declaring that Jesus is the Messiah they were waiting for, and Peter challenges them to repent and receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Think of an evangelist, who is an evangelist that you may think of? Name some names. Now, think of Peter in that way. Peter is proclaiming Christ, not unlike Billy Graham or another evangelist.

1. This is the fulfillment of prophecy (vv. 15–21)

Acts 2:14–21 (ESV)

¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. ¹⁵ For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶ But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷   “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

     that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

     and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams;

¹⁸   even on my male servants and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

¹⁹   And I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

²⁰   the sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

²¹   And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

1. 1. Notice this. Peter stands up to address the crowd to proclaim the fulfillment of the prophesy. We see this in the initial few verses.
   2. In verse 15, Peter begins to make a defense. He is stating that the people are not drunk. Remember our context here. In the previous verses, the first few verses of Acts 2, the people receive the Holy Spirit. The people started talking in foreign tongues, and the others are likely wondering what is going on. Think about this: the Holy Spirit has come upon the church like a mighty rushing wind. It is likely that anyone in the area heard a tornado type of wind. They saw tongues of fire, and now, Peter started to preach. The other people thought the disciples were drunk.
   3. Peters says that they aren’t drunk because it is too early. It is only 9 A.M., and at 9 A.M., people are not drinking yet.
   4. I read in my studies that in that day, people would not drink wine without eating meat, and that meal would come in the evening, so they definitely were not drinking yet.
   5. An explanation (vv. 16–21): Now, Peter quotes a passage from the Old Testament. He quotes Joel 2:28-32, and this is his defense; this is his explanation. This passage was written following a locust invasion of the Jewish people, but Peter applies it to his day and age. This passage is saying that God will pour out His Spirit in the last days. I believe, at least partially, Peter is applying this passage to their day and age. Peter is essentially stating that they are now in the last days. They are living in the last days. God says in this passage that in the last days, He will pour out His Spirit on the people. God says that this will affect men and women who will both see visions and prophesy. This is an amazing prophesy, which has now come about. Verse 19 mentions wonders and signs. In Acts, these are almost always listed together; signs and wonders go together.
   6. Verse 20 likely has not yet happened, though there are different thoughts about that verse.
   7. But verse 21: “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This is now happening.

• Jesus is the Messiah (vv. 22–32) Look how Peter breaks down the Gospel.

Acts 2:22–32 (ESV)

²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— ²³ this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. ²⁴ God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning him,

     “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me,

for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

²⁶   therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;

my flesh also will dwell in hope.

²⁷   For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,

or let your Holy One see corruption.

²⁸   You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

²⁹ “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.

1. His works attest that He is the Messiah (v. 22): Peter references miracles, wonders, and signs. But the greatest miracle was the resurrection.
2. Do you ever think about that? How easy it is for us to forget, neglect, and trivialize the resurrection. Jesus is not dead. Can you have a relationship with a dead person? Of course not. But we can with Jesus because He is alive.
3. His resurrection attests that He is the Messiah (vv. 23–32): Verse 25 begins a quote from Psalm 16:8-11 and this attests to Jesus as the Messiah. The writer is stating that God would not allow Jesus to stay in the grave. In verse 29, Peter states that the writer of the Psalm is not talking about himself. They knew exactly where David’s grave was, and David was dead. But Jesus was resurrected (Verse 31).

• Jesus, the glorified Messiah, poured forth the Holy Spirit (vv. 33–36).

Acts 2:33–36 (ESV)

³³ Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. ³⁴ For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

     “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

     “Sit at my right hand,

³⁵      until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’

³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

1. So, now we see Jesus as the Messiah with the Holy Spirit. Verse 33, Jesus is exalted at the right hand of God. Verse 35 is a quote from Psalm 110:1.
2. The people respond with the question of what they are to do.

• Application (vv. 37–40)

Acts 2:37–40 (ESV)

³⁷ Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” ³⁸ And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

1. Peter does not hold back.
2. They must repent and be baptized into Jesus.

Repent means to have a change of heart. I wonder, have you repented?

Have you turned your life over to Jesus?

Think with me again about evangelists. Billy Graham always asked for a response. I need you to respond as well.

Maybe you need to receive Christ for the first time. Maybe you have never surrendered to Christ. I am not talking about saying a prayer as a child, being infant baptized, or anything else. I mean repentance and surrender. Are you living for Christ?

Maybe some of you need to be like Peter and preach the Gospel. Maybe some of you need to commit to living the Gospel. Maybe some of you must recognize that Jesus is Lord.

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

The Spirit Descends at Pentecost (2:1–13)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 28, 2024

Mount Everest:

Several years ago, I was watching Dateline on NBC. In this episode, they talked about people climbing to reach the summit of Mount Everest. It turns out that a few years ago, it was the deadliest season of climbing Mount Everest. As I watched this show, I was amazed in a few ways. One was the wind. They had a small window of time when they could climb from the last camp to the very top of Everest. Some didn’t finish in time, so they faced very bad weather as they came down. The weather was so bad that many people died. They said that the wind was hurricane-force, and the temperatures were something like 15 degrees below zero. I cannot imagine that situation. Hurricane winds, 15 degrees below zero, snow flying and to be 29,000 feet high.

I look forward to an opportunity to climb Mount Everest someday. But that is not why I am telling that story. I tell this story because of the idea of wind, hurricane-force wind.

Has anyone here ever been in a hurricane?

Has anyone in here ever been in a tornado?

I bet you have heard the stories of the wind. Most of you know that I like to run a little bit. When I was training for my first marathon, weekly, I would run country roads. If you are on country roads, there is very little to stop the wind, and I faced some very rough wind. There were a few times when I would be running east, and everything would be going well. I would think that I was going to run the whole 26 miles, but then I would turn north and then turn west, and, wow, the wind would hit me in the face as I turned. There was one time that I was warm and sweating as I ran east. But then I turned north, and the wind was so cold that when I tried to talk, my lips were numb. Wind can make cold air worse; wind can pick up fires and spread them; wind makes the snow hard to keep off the streets, and wind can be dangerous. But how often have we wanted a nice breeze on a hot day?

Today, we are talking about the Holy Spirit. Notice that prior to the Holy Spirit’s descent upon the church, they heard a mighty rushing wind. We are now in our fourth sermon on the book of Acts, beginning with chapter 1:1. In today’s sermon, we are going to look at Acts 2:1-13, and we will see the Holy Spirit’s descent unto the church. I want to show you that the Holy Spirit came upon the church fulfilling Acts 1:8 and I believe the Holy Spirit never left the church. We still have power through the Holy Spirit to be Christ’s witnesses.

The Spirit descends in verses 1-4.

Acts 2:1–4 (ESV)

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

1. Do you notice something? The verse begins simply stating, “When the day of Pentecost had come…” It is as if they all knew about the Day of Pentecost. But also note that they expected Pentecost to come. Pentecost was a Jewish holiday. One writes: 2:1. The day of Pentecost was an annual feast that followed the Feast of Firstfruits by a week of weeks (i.e., seven weeks, or 49 days) and therefore also was called the Feast of Weeks (cf. Lev. 23:15–22). The name “Pentecost,” of Greek derivation, means 50 because it was the 50th day after the Firstfruits feast (Lev. 23:16).^[1]
2. The disciples were all at one place. We really don’t know where they were. They might have been in the upper room where they were in the previous chapter.
3. We also do not know how many people were there. We know the 12 disciples were there. There may have been more, but we do not know. I believe there were more. I think there could have been 120 people or so present. In chapter 1, we know that about 120 men and women were present in the prayer meeting, so there is no reason to believe this is limited to the disciples. Now, God is about to act.
4. They hear a loud noise. This noise comes from Heaven, and it happened suddenly. This was something unexpected. The noise filled the whole house where they were sitting, so we know they were in a house. The idea that it came from Heaven may mean that it came from Heaven, literally. Or simply that it came from above. In the Bible, we have Heaven referring to the place where God resides, the atmosphere, and outer space. Notice that they hear the noise first.
5. Verse 3 mentions these tongues of fire. Remember the Old Testament? Remember Moses and the burning bush? At that time Moses saw a bush on fire but not being consumed (Exodus 3). I think that image is here. The fire comes down and is dispersed upon the disciples, but the fire does not consume them. Fire and wind were always signs of God’s activity in the Bible. It is possible that the fire and the tongues only happened to the disciples, but it is also possible that this happened to others as well.
6. They then speak in other tongues. There are two views on tongues. One is that tongues are a known language. The other is that tongues are more of a prayer language. Either way, it seems that in this case the tongues mean a known language. In a few moments (verse 6), the people are able to hear their own language spoken.
7. I was once listening to a tape of an actual miracle. In this particular tape the people were praying for a revival and they heard a mighty wind rush through the place and, you know what? God was about to do great things. You see that was an Eskimo area and they struggled with alcohol abuse. There were many problems. But God was about to change things through the Gospel.

We see the details of what happened in verses 5-13.

Acts 2:5–13 (ESV)

⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” ¹² And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

1. In the next several verses, we see that there were people here from many different countries. You see, Pentecost was a major holy day. …Jerusalem would swell in population. People were required to come from far away. One first century writer name Josephus said that Jerusalem’s population could swell to 3,000,000. It was at this time that the Holy Spirit came upon the church.
2. It is likely that the disciples were in a house, but the Spirit coming upon the church made such a disturbance that people heard this, and when people heard this, the disciples came out where they could talk with the people. We know that by the end of this chapter, 3000 people were saved, so they had to be somewhere to accommodate such a large group.
3. Verse 7 says that the people were amazed and bewildered. They were wondering why all the people were not Galileans. Galileans had an accent. Dr. Constable from Dallas Theological Seminary references insights in this:
4. “Galileans had difficulty pronouncing gutturals and had the habit of swallowing syllables when speaking; so they were looked down upon by the people of Jerusalem as being provincial (cf. Mark 14:70). Therefore, since the disciples who were speaking were Galileans, it bewildered those who heard because the disciples could not by themselves have learned so many different languages.”
5. Through verse 11 we see many places listed that were represented. Note that many of these places will be visited in the book of Acts. These people heard the Gospel in their own language.
6. Verse 12 shows that many were amazed. Verse 13, but some were not. They rationalized it and we must never do that.

Close:

John Piper provides the following helpful illustration of the Holy Spirit before and after Pentecost:

Picture a huge dam for hydroelectric power under construction, like the Aswan High Dam on the Nile, 375 feet high and 11,000 feet across. Egypt’s President Nasser announced the plan for construction in 1953. The dam was completed in 1970 and in 1971 there was a grand dedication ceremony and the 12 turbines with their ten billion kilowatt-hour capacity were unleashed with enough power to light every city in Egypt. During the long period of construction the Nile River wasn’t completely stopped. Even as the reservoir was filling, part of the river was allowed to flow past. The country folk downstream depended on it. They drank it, they washed in it, it watered their crops and turned their mill-wheels. They sailed on it in the moonlight and wrote songs about it. It was their life. But on the day when the reservoir poured through the turbines a power was unleashed that spread far beyond the few folk down river and brought possibilities they had only dreamed of. Well, Pentecost is like the dedicatory opening of the Aswan High Dam. Before Pentecost the river of God’s Spirit blessed the people of Israel and was their very life. But after Pentecost the power of the Spirit spread out to light the whole world. None of the benefits enjoyed in the pre-Pentecostal days were taken away. But ten billion kilowatts were added to enable the church to take the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ to every tongue and tribe and nation.1

In Nik Ripkin’s book The Insanity of God, he tells the story of Aisha, a 24-year-old Christian widow and convert from Islam. She was so outgoing in her witness to Christ in the hostile environment of her Islamic town that the authorities arrested her and put her in the dark, unfinished cellar of the police station. At the point when she felt she could take no more and was about to scream, instead, to her surprise, out of her mouth came a heart-song of praise to Christ. As she sang, she could tell the movement upstairs ceased. They were listening.

That night the police chief came down and said he was taking her home on one condition: You must come to my house in three days. Then he said, I don’t understand. You are not afraid of anything. My wife and daughters and all the women in my family are afraid of everything. But you are not afraid of anything. … I want you to come to my house so you can tell everyone why you are not afraid. And I want you to sing that song.

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] Toussaint, S. D. (1985). Acts. (J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck, Eds.)The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 357). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Matthias Replaces Judas (Acts 1:12–26)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 21, 2024

TONY EVANS ON GETTING UN-STUCK

Tony Evans, a popular black preacher from down in Texas, spoke of being on an elevator in a high-rise building. He said he’d never been particularly comfortable on such elevators. There was something about riding up and down in a little box several hundred feet off the ground that has never sat well with him. He worried that something would go wrong.

One day it did. The car he was riding in got stuck in between floors way up in the higher floors. He noted that some of the people in the car became frantic. They began to beat on the door hoping to get someone’s attention. Others began to yell in the hopes that their voices would get someone on the surrounding floors to come to the aid. But nobody heard their noise or their cries.

Then Evans quietly made his way to the front of the car, opened a little door in the wall, and pulled out a telephone. Immediately he was connected with someone on the outside. He didn’t need to beat on the wall to get their attention. He didn’t need to speak loudly in the phone to receive their help. He could have whispered and they would have heard him.

Evans said that – in this world, we’re going to get “stuck” in places we aren’t comfortable with. Some people begin to beat against the walls, others cry out in dismay. But the person who trusts in the power of confident prayer knows there’s someone on the other end who hears their call and comes to their aid.

What an awesome illustration!

In today’s sermon, we will look at a time when the disciples needed to make a decision. How did they make this decision? We are about to find out, but one thing is that they did seek the Lord.

Let’s look at the passage:

Acts 1:12–26 (ESV)

¹² Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. ¹³ And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. ¹⁴ All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, ¹⁶ “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” ¹⁸ (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. ¹⁹ And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) ²⁰ “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,

     “ ‘May his camp become desolate,

and let there be no one to dwell in it’;

and

     “ ‘Let another take his office.’

²¹ So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²² beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” ²³ And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴ And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” ²⁶ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

1. Jesus had told them to wait.
   1. Jesus has just now told the disciples to wait until the Holy Spirit comes upon them and not do anything until.
   2. Now, they leave the Mount of Olives, and they go back to Jerusalem. Now, the Bible says they go about a Sabbath day’s journey; what? A Sabbath day’s journey was about ¾ mile. It was what the rabbis decided a person would be allowed to walk on the Sabbath.
   3. They arrived back in Jerusalem and went upstairs to the room they were staying in.
   4. Some may think that this is the upper room where they ate the Passover meal with Jesus, and that is possible, but not likely. That was my first thought, but it was likely another room available in Jerusalem. In the ancient world, the larger rooms were on the second and third floors. This was because the smaller rooms would have more walls which helped support the next floor. On the third floor, they could eat, host meals, and even have guests. They could also use these rooms to charge for guests.
   5. This is no different.
   6. Now all the disciples were there.
2. What happened to Judas?
   1. Verses 15-19 tell us about Judas.
   2. Verse 15 lets us know that there were about 120 people in the room.
   3. Notice that Peter speaks up. Peter is very often a spokesperson in Acts, and this is especially true in the first several chapters until the Apostle Paul comes on the scene. Peter addresses them as “brothers” though the word can also include women.
   4. Peter speaks: something I read says:

This address of Peter (vv. 16-21) is the first of some 23 or 24 speeches that Luke reported in Acts. About one-third of the contents of Acts is speeches.

“To an extent, of course, all the speeches in Acts are necessarily paraphrastic, for certainly the original delivery contained more detail of argument and more illustrative material than Luke included—as poor Eutychus undoubtedly could testify (Acts 20:7-12)! Stenographic reports they are not, and probably few ever so considered them. They have been reworked, as is required in any précis, and reworked, moreover, in accord with the style of the narrative. But recognition of the kind of writing that produces speeches compatible with the narrative in which they are found should not be interpreted as inaccurate reporting or a lack of traditional source material. After all, a single author is responsible for the literary form of the whole.”

Josephus “recorded” many speeches in his histories, but he clearly put them in his own words. One example is Herod the Great’s speech to the Jews encouraging them to defend themselves against the attacking Arabians. The same speech appears in both the Antiquities of the Jews and The Wars of the Jews, but the content is somewhat different. Another is Herod Agrippa I’s speech to the Jews discouraging them from getting into war with the Romans.

1. Now, Peter talks about a Scripture being fulfilled regarding Judas. Psalm 41:9 is one of the Psalm references that has to do with being betrayed by one whom you trust.
2. The next couple of verses simply share what happened to Judas. This is a somewhat gruesome passage, but he bought a field, or actually, the money he used to betray Jesus was used to buy a field, and he burst open in the field. I like what the Bible Knowledge Commentary says about this:

1:18–19. Though Judas himself did not personally buy a field, he did so indirectly. The priests used the betrayal money Judas flung into the temple to make this purchase in Judas’ name (Matt. 27:3–10).

The account of Judas’ violent end in Acts 1:18 seems to contradict Matthew 27:5, which starkly says he “hanged himself.” One explanation is that Judas’ intestines quickly became swollen and distended after he hanged himself, so he burst open. Another explanation, more probable, is that Judas hanged himself over a cliff and the rope or branch of the tree he was using broke. When he fell to the rocks below, he “burst open.”^[1]

• Verse 20 is a quote from Psalm 69:25 and 109:8.
• In verses 21-26 we see the disciple’s response
  1. The disciples make the decision to replace Judas.
  2. Notice verse 23 says that they need a witness? It was critical that they replace Judas with someone who had witnessed Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
  3. Verses 24-25 are composed of their prayer.
  4. It is important to note that they prayed for this decision.
  5. They give credit to God’s omniscience “Lord you know the hearts of all men.”
  6. They appeal to God as the One who has chosen.
  7. They want this person to occupy the ministry and the apostleship.
  8. Verse 25 they drew lots.
  9. The lost fell to Matthias and he was added to their number. Now, remember that the Holy Spirit has not yet come upon the church, but this is the last time we see this form of decision making in the Bible.

“Prayer is surrender-surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boat hook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God.”[2]

• Applications:
  1. Verse 14 says that they all joined together constantly in prayer. We must also be in prayer with the community.
  2. We must be in prayer in unity with the community as well.
  3. Verses 16 and verse 20 affirm the strong authority of Scripture. We must always affirm the authority of the Scriptures.
  4. In verse 22 they consider it important that one of them is a witness. We are also a witness of what Jesus has done in our lives and we must take that seriously.
  5. In verse 24, the disciples affirm that God knows everyone’s heart, and they seek His guidance. We also must always seek His guidance, knowing He knows all, our heart and the others.
  6. We must seek the Lord and depend upon Him for our everyday needs.
  7. The overall theme is still seeking God for the witness of the Gospel. We must also seek God for the witness of the Gospel.

Conclusion:

When you get stuck, what do you do? The disciples prayed and asked the Lord to help them out of this. I encourage you to do so as well.

Why are we here?

C.S. Lewis writes:

It is easy to think that the Church has a lot of different objects—education, building, missions, holding services. Just as it is easy to think the State has a lot of different objects—military, political, economic, and what not. But in a way things are much simpler than that. The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden—that is what the State is there for. And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc., are simply a waste of time. In the same way the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose.[3]

Prayer

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] Toussaint, S. D. (1985). Acts. (J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck, Eds.)The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 356). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[2] E. Stanley Jones, in Liberating Ministry From The Success Syndrome, K Hughes, Tyndale, 1988, p. 73

[3] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York, Simon & Schuster Touchstone, 1996), p. 171.

The Ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:6–11)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 14, 2024

At a past church, we used to sing a song that started out:

My God can never fail, He’s been proved time and again, trust Him and see, He’s got all the power you need.

We sang another song that started like this:

There’s no rock, there is no God like our God.

I wonder, do we believe that there is no God like our God? Do we live like that? Do we live with a trust that He is God and there is no other? Do we live with a conviction that He is the authority? Do you see how those two ideas go together? So many times, we forget or trivialize the power and authority of God, and this affects the way we trust Him. We so often trivialize the power and authority of God, and this means that we don’t live under the conviction that His ways are best and only His ways. He Is God, and we are not.

I once heard a powerful sermon by Francis Chan in which he talked about our mighty God. Francis talked about the Sunday School stories. You remember the stories, don’t you? As a child, you likely learned about how the young boy David trusted God, and God helped him conquer the giant (1 Samuel 17 and Goliath). We serve a strong God. Okay, another one, long before David, there was a man named Noah, and Noah trusted God and was faithful (Genesis 6, 7, and 8). So, though God flooded the earth, God saved Noah and his family. We serve a strong God.

What are other examples of our strong and mighty God in the Bible?

Please share… What are some examples that you remember from a recent study or something a long time ago?

Walk down and actually allow people to share a few examples.

We serve a mighty God. He is the Lord.

A few weeks ago, I shared a few of the verses that Chip Ingram talked about:

He is before all things: Psalm 92:

Rev 1:8: Alpha and Omega

He created all things:

Colossians 1:15-20

Heb. 1: He upholds all things.

He is above all things: Eph. 4:6.

Isaiah 45: I am the Lord, and there is no other…

Mary said that nothing is impossible with God.

Daniel 4: God rules all things.

When I was at another church, we sang a song that started out: Mighty, Mighty Savior, Mighty, Mighty Lord…

Today, we are going to look at Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, and I want to show you that once again, we see that Jesus is a Mighty God. Correction, Jesus is THE Mighty God. We will apply this passage as well.

Acts 1:6–11 (ESV)

⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ⁹ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, ¹¹ and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

1. The disciples ask the question.
   1. Notice that the disciples first ask plainly if He is now going to restore the Kingdom. The Bible says that they gathered around Him. It appears that the 11 disciples are with Him and there may be close to 120 people altogether with Him. Verse 15 tells us that there were about 120 people in the upper room.
   2. The disciples do not yet have the Holy Spirit, and though they have been with Jesus for some three years and Jesus has been with them for forty days post-resurrection, they still struggle to understand. They are still looking for Jesus to have an earthly reign. They are still thinking that Jesus is now going to overthrow Rome, but that is not what is going to happen.
   3. Now, in the context of Acts, Luke is the writer, and he is reviewing his gospel. That is why we discuss Jesus and the disciples in this sermon on Acts.
   4. Also, we must remember the disciples were likely young men, very young men. It is a big deal that Jesus has chosen and trained them, but without the Holy Spirit, they lack understanding. We also must put ourselves in their world. We must think that by their Jewish understanding, they were looking for a Messiah who would rule Israel as King David reigned in the Old Testament. They were looking for one to reign over an earthly Kingdom.
   5. But what about us? Where is our understanding of Kingdom, of God’s Kingdom? Do we lack understanding as well? We have the Holy Spirit to guide and teach us, but we also are still stuck in our mold of thinking, especially in that we interpret things based on our past understanding. When Mercedes was a toddler, she would be trying to unfasten a safety belt and she might say, “Stuck, stuck.” I would say, “Yes, Mercedes, that is stuck for a reason.” So, sometimes our thinking is stuck, sometimes because of our own fault, and sometimes simply because that is all God is allowing us to understand for the moment. For their moment in time, they were looking for an earthly reign.
2. Jesus responds: So, now Jesus responds.
   1. They are not to know the times and the dates.
   2. Jesus says that the Father has set these times and dates. Do you think about that? It is by God’s authority that He has set these times and dates.
   3. Notice that Jesus didn’t rebuke their understanding of Kingdom. Jesus will eventually reign on earth. Jesus will eventually make things right. Jesus will eventually conquer all these powers. Jesus will eventually have His Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven. Jesus will eventually restore Israel. But not yet.
   4. Again, we serve a strong God, we serve a mighty God, we serve the only true God and He is in control, and we must surrender to trust Him.
   5. But they are to fulfill the great commission with the power of the Holy Spirit.
   6. Acts 1:8: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
   7. Luke is likely alluding to Isaiah 49:6: … he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
   8. It is interesting that at first, Jesus simply says that they do not know the times and the seasons, but now He jumps to the Holy Spirit. Jesus says that they must fulfill the great commission. It is as if Jesus is stating that the Helper will come upon them, and they will receive power. They don’t need to worry about when the Kingdom will come. Instead, they must proclaim the Gospel.
   9. That is what we must do as well. We must trust in Christ always. We must understand that He is the Mighty Savior, and we must stay the course proclaiming the Gospel.
3. Jesus ascends.
   1. Then Jesus was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. The disciples are gazing up into Heaven in amazement.
   2. Let me ask: “Are you amazed at this narrative?” “Am I amazed?” I honestly was not amazed at first, but as I thought about this passage, it struck me. Think about it: They are watching, and Jesus talks to them, and then a cloud simply takes Him up and carries Him away. When was the last time you saw this happen? I am not talking about seeing this on television; I am talking about really happening. This really happened. This is so amazing that even though they had seen all those miracles before, this stood out to them.
   3. Eventually, two angels were standing next to the disciples. That is what the Bible means when it says, “Two men in white.” These angels tell the disciples that Jesus will return the same way, wow! It is as if the angels are telling the disciples to quit staring at the heavens and get to the Lord’s work and they do.
4. What are the applications of this passage?
   1. We must trust Jesus as He is in Heaven ruling the earth. Jesus has ascended to Heaven and He is reigning.
   2. We must trust Jesus as He alone can know times and seasons. We must not doubt. We must surrender to God as He is God. He has things under control.
   3. We must trust Jesus as He is coming back in the same way that He left this earth.
   4. Jesus was taken away in a cloud; this shows His power and ability over creation. We must trust Him as He is the powerful, mighty God.
   5. This passage once again shows that we must be amazed by Jesus. We must be amazed by His power and authority. He is taken away, showing once again, that He is not limited by the earthly physics or laws of nature (compare to Jesus’ walking on water: Matthew 14:28; calming the storm: Matthew 8:26; Mark 4:39; Luke 8:24; Jesus raises Lazarus: John 11:43).
   6. We must await Jesus’ coming again in the clouds.
   7. We must be a witness, knowing that the Holy Spirit has come upon us, and we have this power from above.
   8. We must be a witness, starting locally and going far.

Conclusion:

Piper writes:

Albert Einstein’s indictment of preachers illustrates what I am trying to say. Charles Misner, a scientific specialist in general relativity theory, was quoted this way:

I do see the design of the universe as essentially a religious question. That is, one should have some kind of respect and awe for the whole business.… It’s very magnificent and shouldn’t be taken for granted. In fact, I believe that is why Einstein had so little use for organized religion, although he strikes me as a basically very religious man. He must have looked at what the preachers said about God and felt that they were blaspheming. He had seen much more majesty than they had ever imagined, and they were just not talking about the real thing. My guess is that he simply felt that religions he’d run across did not have proper respect … for the author of the universe.⁶

This is devastating, because I cannot imagine that from our vantage point sixty years later preachers would seem to Einstein any more moved by greatness than they did then.

What’s wrong? There is a disconnect between the greatness of God and the emotional response of the preachers. To Einstein it looked as if they were not “talking about the real thing.” It felt so out of proportion to Einstein that it seemed like they were blaspheming. In other words, if here is a God of the sort that Christians say they believe in, you have dealings with him and respond as unemotionally as that.

Scientists know that light travels at the speed of 5.87 trillion miles a year. They also know the galaxy of which our solar system is a part is about 100,000 light-years in diameter—about 587 thousand trillion miles. It is one of about a million such galaxies in the optical range of our most powerful telescopes. In our galaxy there are about one hundred billion stars. The sun is one of them, a modest star burning at about 6,000 degrees centigrade on the surface and traveling in an orbit at 155 miles per second, which means it will take about two hundred million years to complete a revolution around the galaxy.

Scientists know these things. Einstein was awed by them. He felt something like this: “If there is a personal God, as the Christians say, who spoke this universe into being, then there is a certain respect and reverence and wonder and dread that would have to come through when we talk about him. And certainly we would be talking about him all the time since he is the most important reality.”^[1]

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

⁶ Quoted in First Things (Dec. 1991): 63 (italics added).

^[1] John Piper and Mark A. Noll, Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 194–195.

The Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:1-5)

Theme: An Introduction to Acts

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, January 7, 2024

How do we start a fire? I love fire, don’t you? When I was growing up, we had a fireplace. It was a wood-burning fireplace. I loved that fireplace. I loved sitting and listening to the crackling of the wood and watching the fire. One particular January gave us around 12 inches of snow. It was beautiful. I was in eighth grade. A few days after receiving 12 inches of snow we received another 12 inches of snow. On the night of the second snowstorm, my mom was playing euchre with her family. My dad moved the kitchen table in front of the fireplace, which was in the living room. My dad, my two brothers, and I played Monopoly in front of the fire most of the night. It was a peaceful evening.

How many of you like bonfires? So, how do we start a fire?

I read the following from retired Friends pastor, mentor, and friend, Rick Sams:

SNUFFING OR STARTING THE FIRE by Pastor Rick Sams

I was strangely drawn to my old Boy Scout handbook the other day, specifically the section on “fire-building.” Most boys love to mess with fire. The Scouts believe the key is teaching them how to do it safely.

Interestingly I found far more techniques for putting out fires than starting them i.e. water, sand, stop-drop-roll, blanket, chemicals, dirt, soda pop, baking soda, shovel, and even your hands.

This may be a metaphor of life. It’s easier to snuff the fire (power) of God in your life than start it. At any given moment we are either fanning that flame or we’re actively putting it out. There’s no in-between, “auto-pilot” or “maintenance mode.”

The twin verses of 2 Timothy 1:6 and I Thessalonians 5:19 confirm this: “Fan into flame the gift of God in you…Do not put out the Holy Spirit’s fire.”

So how do we fan the flame of the Holy Spirit in our lives? We often do that in surprising ways. One of the best is by humbling ourselves, confessing we are weak and He is strong. We are doing this when we pray. God is very close to those who admit they are helpless, broken and desperate… [1]

This local pastor is saying that when we depend upon the Holy Spirit, God is strong, and it starts a fire in our hearts. We are going to see that theme in our new sermon series.

Today, we begin a new sermon series. I am going to now begin a series on the book of Acts. We will be studying the book of Acts for a while. We will take some breaks from Acts for Christmas and Easter and special occasions, but I plan to slowly walk through the book of Acts. Acts is important to the church as Acts teaches us church history. Acts records the first 30 or so years of the church.

Today’s text comes from Acts 1:1-5, let’s read those verses:

Acts 1:1–5 (ESV)

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, ² until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³ He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

⁴ And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

1. Let’s talk about the background of the book of Acts:
   1. Acts is Luke’s second volume, so who wrote Acts?
   2. I know that is a trick question. I already told you who wrote Acts. It is well documented in church history that Luke wrote Acts. It seems to be very clear and unchallenged that Luke is the author. The church father, Irenaeus, offers an early witness to Luke, Paul’s traveling companion, and author of these two volumes, and this suggestion is nowhere seriously challenged among early church fathers. The church father, Tertullian, refers to the author once as Luke, the lawyer.
   3. The autobiographical nature of Acts “we” shows that the writer of Acts and Luke traveled with Paul. John MacArthur writes: “The writings of the early church Fathers such as Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome affirm Luke’s authorship, and so does the Muratorian Canon (c. A.D. 170).” So, by AD 170, just over 100 years after Acts was written, we have several testimonies that Luke wrote Acts and his New Testament Gospel.
   4. Let’s talk for a moment about Luke’s Gospel. You remember the Gospel according to Luke, don’t you?
   5. His Gospel is by far one of my favorites. Notice, I said one of my favorites when there are only four total Gospels. But it is hard to narrow down Luke’s Gospel as my favorite but along with Mark, Matthew, and John it is in the top four, for sure. That is like calling Meagan my favorite wife when she is my only wife. Okay, back to the point. Luke’s Gospel gives us all this information about Jesus’ birth. It is Luke that writes that “Mary treasured things in her heart” (Luke 2:19). It was Luke who gives such a clear account of John the baptizer’s birth. It was Luke who told us that Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-45). It was Luke who told Jesus’ birth from Mary’s perspective. After Jesus’ birth, Luke records the account of Jesus being left at the temple when He was twelve years old (Luke 2:42).
   6. So, now Luke is beginning a second work that seems to go together with his first work. This is a kind of sequel. Luke’s Gospel was written about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection and now Acts is going to be about Jesus building up the church through the Apostles by baptizing them with the Holy Spirit. I wish to come back to that in a minute.
   7. As we look at Acts, we can see many passages in which Luke uses the pronoun “we” as he writes (Acts 16:10). It seems clear that Luke was a travel companion with the apostle Paul.
   8. Also, something about scrolls. They didn’t have books yet (what are called Codex, codices), at least not like we think of them. They used scrolls. Matthew, Luke, and Acts were each close to the maximum length for scrolls (between thirty-two and thirty-five feet).
   9. Can you just imagine unrolling a long scroll 35 feet as you read!!! Imagine doing that in front of people!
   10. There is debate about when Acts was written. I favor the belief that Acts was written in A.D. 62 or shortly thereafter. I believe that because this book does not record the major persecutions that would have occurred in 64 AD and thereafter, nor does this book record the death of the Apostle Paul.
2. The text: The Holy Spirit is coming!
   1. Look again at verse 1. Luke reminds the reader what he had written in his first work. That was common in ancient literature in a two-volume work. That is common in today’s day, isn’t it?
   2. How many of you have watched a show that was a continued episode from the previous week? I have. I used to get hooked on the show 24. Any of you ever watch that show?
   3. Every week they needed to recap the previous episode. Each episode was one hour in real time and each season consisted of 24 episodes which would be a 24-hour day. We have also had movies that make sequels. Think of the four Superman movies from the late seventies and early eighties. Okay, now, think about Star Trek. In the second movie with the original cast and characters, Spock died. Then, in the beginning of the third movie, titled The Search for Spock, they showed the death of Spock again. This they did, even though anyone who saw the previous movie had seen that happen. This is a sequel, and so Luke recaps in these first few verses.
   4. Luke is writing to Theophilus, who was likely someone paying Luke to research and write about Jesus and the early church. In the first century, historians and writers would be paid by wealthy people or the government to do their work. Another thought is that Theophilus could be a code name for any believer.
   5. The theme of the first five verses is that Jesus told the disciples to wait until the Holy Spirit comes. Jesus says that John baptized with water, but He will baptize them with the Holy Spirit. Let me tell you some themes in this book.
3. The themes of Acts:
   1. One source tells me:
   2. In Acts, believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit to bear witness to the good news of Jesus Christ among both Jews and Gentiles, and in doing this they establish the church. In addition to this, Acts explains how Christianity, although it is new, is in reality the one true religion, rooted in God’s promises from the beginning of time. In the ancient world it was important that a religion be shown to have stood the test of time. Thus Luke presents the church as the fulfillment and extension of God’s promises.^[2]
   3. In Acts, we see many summaries. Luke will summarize how the early church shared everything.
   4. In Acts we have many speeches and sermons.
   5. In Acts we have many travel narratives. We have Paul’s missionary journeys and Luke gives detail to where Paul went.
   6. The first half of Acts is mainly about Peter and the second half is about Paul taking the Gospel to the non-Jewish people.
   7. Christianity crosses cultures and is not tied to a country. Christianity is tied to Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.
   8. I heard about a family that fled the country. They were angry about America losing our Christian values. A certain family was so agitated with how America is becoming anti-Christ that they got on their own boat and planned to go to an Island in the Pacific. But their boat was caught in a storm and they eventually were rescued, sent to another country, and then the American embassy took care of them. The story is ironic. But in Acts we see that Christianity is not tied to a country or culture. Christianity is for all people and God does not call us to stick our head in the sand.
   9. In the book of Acts we see constant power through prayer and through miracles.
   10. In the book of Acts we see the constant unity of the church and self-sacrificial unity.
   11. As mentioned, in Acts we see the power of the Holy Spirit.
   12. Acts is about the church’s mission taking the Gospel from Jerusalem to Rome.
4.  Applications:
   1. The first audience was learning about what God did in the church and how the Gospel got to them. You may know little about Acts and the early church. Or, you may know a lot, but I hope this sermon taught us all something.
   2. I also hope that we are all encouraged by the power of prayer, the power of the Holy Spirit, the miracles that God accomplishes.
   3. I hope we are all challenged to go out and build an Acts church (Acts 29 ministries).

Close:

I began this sermon talking about starting a fire. Maybe I like the change in seasons because I like a change. I recently heard the following:

It was spring, but it was summer I wanted,
the warm days, and the great outdoors.
It was summer, but it was fall I wanted,
the colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air.
It was autumn, but it was winter I wanted,
the beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season.
I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted,
the freedom, and the respect.
I was twenty, but it was thirty I wanted,
to be mature, and sophisticated.
I was middle-aged, but it was thirty I wanted,
the youth, and the free spirit.
I was retired, but it was middle-age that I wanted,
the presence of mind, without limitations.
My life was over,
but I never got what I wanted.[3]

As we walk through Acts, we will see that we are baptized with the Holy Spirit and because of that we can be content in all circumstances. That doesn’t mean that you must be content in the summer. That just means that the Holy Spirit is active in you. You can have a large fall bonfire in your heart! So, I encourage you to do that. Let the Holy Spirit thrive in you. Let the Holy Spirit burn within you. Take some time today to refresh your relationship with Christ. Read Acts chapter 2 and think about the way God worked in that passage. Read John chapters 14-17 and think about the comforter that God sends us.

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 (Genesis 4-Malachi 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] One of Rick Sams newspaper articles.

^[2] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2074.

[3] http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/july2013/randy72-1.htm

A senior angel is showing a very young angel around the splendors of the universe. They view whirling galaxies and blazing suns, and then flit across the infinite distances of space until at last they enter one particular galaxy of 500 billion stars.

As the two of them draw near to the star which we call our sun and to its circling planets, the senior angel pointed to a small and rather insignificant sphere turning very slowly on its axis. It looked as dull as a dirty tennis ball to the angel, whose mind was filled with the size and glory of what he had seen.
“I want you to watch that one particularly,” said the senior angel, pointing with his finger.
“Well, it looks very small and rather dirty to me,” said the little angel. “What’s special about that one?”

To the little angel, earth did not seem so impressive. He listened in stunned disbelief as the senior angel told him that this planet, small and insignificant and not overly clean, was the renowned Visited Planet.

“Do you mean that our great and glorious Prince … went down in Person to this fifth-rate little ball? Why should He do a thing like that?” …
The little angel’s face wrinkled in disgust. “Do you mean to tell me,” he said, “that He stooped so low as to become one of those creeping, crawling creatures of that floating ball?”
“I do, and I don’t think He would like you to call them ‘creeping, crawling creatures’ in that tone of voice. For, strange as it may seem to us, He loves them. He went down to visit them to lift them up to become like Him.”
The little angel looked blank. Such a thought was almost beyond his comprehension.[1]

In a minute, we are going to talk about the significance of God dwelling with us, Immanuel. I grew up creating many memories during the Christmas season. I remember the excitement of being off school for two weeks. I remember a few Christmas Eve worship services. Notice I said just a few. I remember many wonderful gatherings at my grandparents’ house. I remember my excitement to go downstairs on Christmas morning to see what “Santa” brought us for Christmas.  I remember a joyful time with family opening Christmas gifts, sometimes with the fireplace lit in the other room. I remember a few family gatherings on Christmas Eve, but I was afraid we were going to be up too late, and Santa was going to pass our house.

Christmas is about God’s presence with us.

You know God lives in us.

Immanuel means God with us.

I want to start by explaining this idea of Emmanuel, but then I intend to talk about God being with us and what significance that has for us today.

1. Jesus will be Immanuel.
   1. Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)
   2. ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
   3. Do you realize that Isaiah was writing about 700 years prior to Christ.
   4. This is being fulfilled in Jesus’ birth. This is from the Lord. This is the prophesy.
   5. Matthew 1:23 (ESV) “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
   6. But now, notice that He, Jesus, is to be called Emmanuel, and this means “God with us.” Think about the awesome ramifications in this passage. God came down to be one of us. I know that we have talked about this for several weeks now, but that is because that is the crux of Christmas, and this is the crux of the Christian life. The creator became part of His creation.
   7. This is what sets us apart as Christ followers! What sets us apart as Christians is that God became one of us, but I would even go further than that. God didn’t only become one of us. God is still one of us and God was not only with us for a time, God is still with us. Do we realize this? Think about it, God is with you. He lives with you. Remember the song we sing at Easter time? “You ask me how I know He lives; He lives within my heart!” God lives with you.
   8. Now, we must all know for certain that this does not mean that you are God. No, God is set apart from His creation, yet He is still with us.
   9. I once heard I heard Pastor Tony Evans share an amazing story about this idea of God with us. You see he was on a cruise ship. It was a cruise for those that listen to his radio program. The cruise was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Alaska, and the cruise ship ran into some heavy seas. The seas were really rough, 35-40 foot waves. This was really bad. People were vomiting, things were moving around, and so on. After so long a time of dealing with this Pastor Evans’ wife got unhappy about it and decided to call the captain. She was unhappy as the captain knew they were heading into a storm and still decided to do so. He couldn’t stall or reroute as the captain had a schedule to meet. He had to be at a certain dock in order to pick up customers for another cruise. But Pastor Evens’ wife felt somewhat responsible as those on the cruise were there for Pastor Evans’ ministry. So, she calls the captain and the second to the captain calls her back. He says, “The captain wants you to do two things: First, the captain wants you to go to sleep. Second, you can go to sleep because I will be staying awake. I, the captain, will be staying awake to pilot the ship through the storm.” Psalm 121 says that our God never sleeps or slumbers. This passage is saying that God is with us. That is great. Like the captain, He is with us, and He is awake guiding us through the storms of life.
   10. So, do you realize the very special significance of that? Nowhere in the Bible does it say that there will not be any storms in life. But you know what God is with us. God is with us in the storms.
   11. Now, I don’t want to miss the initial importance in this passage, Jesus came and lived a life as God with us. Jesus died for our sins and then rose again. So, Jesus is still alive, and He sent His Holy Spirit to live with us now and that is why He is still with us today.
   12. Close:

Think about these applications:

1. God with us means that He cares about us.
2. God with us means that we are never alone.
3. God with us means that we don’t have to worry about the future, He is with us.
4. God with us means that the creator of all can also be with His creation.
5. God with us means that we have the architect of creation with us.
6. God with us means that if He is with us, He can support and guide us.
7. God with us means that He can and has communicated to us.
8. We must live with an understanding of this awesome Truth that God is with us.
9. We must live with an application of this awesome truth that God is with us.

• We must live, allowing God through Jesus to soothe our needs as He is with us.

So, Jesus came, God came and lived among us, He died for us, in our place, but He rose again, and He is still with us. Praise God.

World War I was characterized by trench warfare. Often the trenches of the two enemies were only a few yards apart.

I read a story in which the officers on both sides in one trench sector agreed that on Christmas Day they would permit the soldiers to come out of the trenches for Christmas fellowship. The troops gladly did so.

After a short time, the officers ordered them back into their trenches. They realized that the soldiers could not fellowship together one day and then suddenly be enemies again.

The story reminded me of some words written many years ago. “Thus we can always know that men could live with goodwill and understanding for each other, because one day in each year the little Divine Prince of Peace still compels them to do it.”^[2]

Are you excited about presents? Here are some gifts that you can give in honor of Jesus:

Let me give you some ideas. Here are thirty-two suggestions; take your choice: Mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion. Write a long overdue love note. Hug someone tightly and whisper, “I love you.” Forgive an enemy. Be gentle and patient with an angry person. Express appreciation. Gladden the heart of a child. Find the time to keep a promise. Make or bake something for someone else—anonymously. Release a grudge. Listen. Speak kindly to a stranger. Enter into another’s sorrow. Smile. Laugh a little. Laugh a little more. Take a walk with a friend. Kneel down and stroke a dog. Read a poem to your mate or friend. Lessen your demands on others. Play some beautiful music during supper. Apologize if you were wrong. Talk together with the television and cell phone off. Treat someone to an ice cream cone (frozen yogurt would be fine). Do the dishes for the family. Pray for someone who helped you when you hurt. Fix breakfast on Saturday morning. Give a soft answer even though you feel strongly. Encourage an older person. Point out one thing you appreciate most about someone you work with or live near. Offer to babysit for a weary mother. Give your teacher a break—be especially cooperative.

Let’s make this season one long, extended gift of ourselves to others. Unselfishly. Without announcement. Or obligation. Or reservation. Or hypocrisy. That is Christianity, isn’t it?[4]

Do you have Jesus’ presence with you?

GOSPEL

God created us to be with Him (Gen. 1-2)

Our sins separate us from God (Gen. 3)

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

Paying the price for our sin, Jesus died and rose again (Matthew-Luke)

Everyone who trust in Jesus alone shall inherit eternal life (John- Jude)

Life eternal means being with Jesus forever (Rev. 22:5)

[1] SOURCE: From Phillip Yancey, “The Jesus I Never Knew,” p. 43-44, quoting JB Phillips.

^[2] Herschel H. Hobbs, My Favorite Illustrations (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1990), 48.

^[3] Herschel H. Hobbs, My Favorite Illustrations (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1990), 49–50.

[4] Adapted from Hear Me When I Call. Copyright © 2013 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Worthy Publishing). All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

Title: Jesus’ Birth is Foretold to Mary

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on December 24, 2023

As I think about the Christmas story, I wonder, “What if Mary said, ‘No?’” I wonder, “Could Mary say no?”

But again, I ask, “What if Mary said ‘No!”’

If Mary said, “No,” would there be a Savior? If Mary said, “No,” what would have happened in Bethlehem?  As you know, Mary was the mother of Jesus, and this event didn’t just happen. It was God’s foreordained plan (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 7:14; Gal. 4:4). In today’s passage, Mary was told that she was to give birth to the Christ child. You know what? She didn’t even argue. You ask, “Why would she argue?” Well, though it was an honor for her, Mary did face a lot of shame and a lot of trouble for the virgin birth. We are going to look at Luke 1:26-38 and in this passage, we will see that Mary is told about Jesus’ birth. I want you to notice Mary’s obedience.

My theme today:

Theme: Mary is told about the man Who she is to give birth, notice her obedience.

1. Mary is greeted by Gabriel.
   1. Luke 1:26–29 (ESV)
   2. ²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
   3. Notice the passage begins saying “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy…” This is connecting this narrative with the previous narrative. In the previous verses the story is told of how John the Baptist came to be born to elderly parents.
   4. Now, the text says that Gabriel was sent to Nazareth in Galilee. Nazareth was the city, a very small city, Galilee was the greater area. Nazareth had 1600-2000 people at this time.
   5. Now, take note that an angel is involved in this event. The word for angel means messenger and here we see the angel being a messenger.
   6. Gabriel and Michael are the only angels in the New Testament; these are the most popular angels in Jewish lures.
   7. Now, the angel comes to a virgin who was engaged or pledged to be married to Joseph. The Bible says that Joseph was a descendant of David. Because Joseph was of David’s line and Jesus would be his legal son, Jesus could qualify as belonging to David’s royal house. The New American Commentary tells us that in Judaism, “virgins” were young maidens, usually fourteen or younger.
   8. Gabriel greets Mary by saying that she is highly favored and the Lord is with her.
   9. How often do you greet someone like that? Not often, and that apparently was the same for Mary because she didn’t understand the greeting.

1. Now, we see Gabriel explain why she is favored.
   1. Luke 1:30–33 (ESV)
   2. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
   3. Notice that the angel starts by saying, “Do not be afraid.” I like this because this verse shows that angels were warriors; they were an image that we usually don’t see. They were not fair-skinned feminine creatures that looked maternal. This angel appeared out of thin air and was something she likely had never seen before.
   4. The angel tells her that she has found favor with God.
   5. Now, let’s stop there. Now, I realize that my questions at the beginning of the sermon were not fair; obviously, God wouldn’t have chosen Mary if she had resisted. But why did God choose her? She was favored by God. I wonder, was she such a respectful, pious young lady that she was favored? Or, does favor simply mean that God will bestow on her this blessing of being the mother to the Christ child? This could be either or both.
   6. Then the angel tells her that she will conceive and give birth to a son and call Him Jesus. Look at that.
   7. She is told that she will become pregnant. That is prophetic; in verse 34 she says that she is still a virgin.
   8. She is told that the baby will be a boy. Again, this is prophetic; she doesn’t even know she is pregnant. Besides, you cannot even know the sex of a baby until about 16 weeks. Yet, the angel knows.
   9. She is told what to name the baby.
   10. Now, this is not unusual in the Scriptures. In the Bible we learn that God controls the womb. In Genesis 17:17 and 18:12 both Abraham and Sarah laugh when they are told they are going to have a baby in their old age. But, God controls the womb. In Genesis 17:19 an angel tells Abraham what to name his son.
   11. In Luke 1:8-25 John the Baptist’s father, Zacharias was told that he will have a son in his old age, and he is told the name for the son will be John.
   12. Now, Mary likely knew that God controls the womb, but she is still a woman around 14 years old who is engaged to be married. If she is pregnant, how? Then, if she is pregnant and not by Joseph, it will look like adultery, and she could be stoned (Lev 20).
   13. Mary had to be thinking: What will I tell my fiancé? Now, some of you are thinking, “Who cares? She is not married, but engaged.”
   14. The New American Commentary says the following about Jewish marriage and engagement:
   15. Marriage consisted of two distinct stages: engagement followed by the marriage itself. Engagement involved a formal agreement initiated by a father seeking a wife for his son. The next most important person involved was the father of the bride. A son’s opinion would be sought more often in the process than a daughter’s. Upon payment of a purchase price to the bride’s father (for he lost a daughter and helper whereas the son’s family gained one) and a written agreement and/or oath by the son, the couple was engaged. Although during this stage the couple in some instances cohabited, this was the exception. An engagement was legally binding, and any sexual contact by the daughter with another person was considered adultery. The engagement could not be broken save through divorce (Matt 1:19), and the parties during this period were considered husband and wife (Matt 1:19–20, 24). At this time Mary likely was no more than fifteen years old, probably closer to thirteen, which was the normal age for betrothal.^[1]
   16. Mary also must have been thinking, “What will I tell my parents?”

1. 1. In the next few verses, she is told that she will be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. I am a pastor, but if my wife or daughter told me, “I am pregnant by the Holy Spirit.” I would be suspicious.
   2. Mary must have been thinking, “What will the neighbors think? I will be the talk of the town. What does it feel like to die by stoning?”
   3. We don’t know Mary’s thoughts, but we do know that she doesn’t argue. She is obedient.
   4. Gabriel does tell Mary, ^“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
   5. That is a major verse. He will grow up to have the throne of Israel. Now, Mary likely interpreted this to mean that He will physically be the king just as David was in the Old Testament and David was the greatest king of Israel.
   6. But David died and his son Solomon ruled Israel, then Solomon died, and Israel was split into a divided monarchy by Solomon’s children, David’s grandchildren.
   7. David and Solomon were mortal kings.
   8. Mary is told that her son will reign forever.
   9. That is a lot of responsibility. She is to be the mother of the future, eternal king of Israel. Wow!

• Now, we see how this will happen.
  1. Luke 1:34–35 (ESV)
  2. ³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
  3. ³⁵ And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
  4. Mary does ask how this can be because she is a virgin. The angel then explains that “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.^[2]
• In verses 36-37 we see a miracle has already been performed.
  1. Luke 1:36–38 (ESV)
  2. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
  3. In these two verses we see that her cousin, who was elderly, was pregnant.
  4. Then, I love verse 37, “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
  5. Do you doubt God?
  6. Do you find it hard to believe in the virgin birth?
  7. Do you find it hard to believe that Jesus later would turn water into wine (John chapter 2)?
  8. Do you find it hard to believe that Jesus would heal many people (Luke 4:38-44; 7:22; etc)?
  9. Do you find it hard to believe that Jesus fed 5000 (Luke 9:12ff)?
  10. Do you find it hard to believe that Jesus raised a dead man to life (John 11:43)?
  11. Do you find it hard to believe that Jesus was resurrected and still lives (Luke 24 and other passages)?
  12. Nothing is impossible with God. God can do all things. I am convinced that we all struggle with faith sometimes, even pastors. But why do we want to believe in such a little God? If He is God, He must be greater than we are.
• In verse 38, we see Mary’s great obedience
  1. Mary doesn’t say, “Well, Gabriel, I really, really, really thank you for considering me for this task. I mean, like, I know that I am a true and godly young lady, and that is likely why you chose me, but, you know, I, like, I’m not up for this. I mean, I am still young, and I don’t want the public humiliation, and well, just ask someone else.”
  2. No, Mary accepts. Now, could Mary say no? We can’t answer that. But we do know what she says, “I am the Lord’s servant.”
  3. How is your obedience?
  4. At a certain children’s hospital, a boy gained a reputation for wreaking havoc with the nurses and staff. One day a visitor who knew about his terrorizing nature made him a deal: “If you are good for a week,” she said, “I’ll give you a dime when I come again.” A week later she stood before his bed. “I’ll tell you what,” she said, “I won’t ask the nurses if you behaved. You must tell me yourself. Do you deserve the dime?”
  5. After a moment’s pause, a small voice from among the sheets said: “Gimme a penny.” [3]
  6. God may not be calling you to give birth to His son (which is good if you are a man because that would be a bigger miracle than the virgin birth), but maybe God is calling you to buy Christmas presents for a neighbor’s children.
  7. Are you resisting something that God is telling you to do?
  8. Maybe God wants you to apologize to someone you offended this past week.
  9. Be obedient. Be God’s servant as Mary was.

So, I know, my questions were unfair. God knew what type of person Mary would be when He chose her to be the mother of the Christ. Still, we as Protestants must recognize that Mary was a blessed woman who must have been godly to be the mother of God.

Mary was obedient when she was told that she will be the mother of Jesus. Praise God! Mary did not know what we know now.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has come to make you new?
This child that you delivered, will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Will calm the storm with his hand?

Did you know that your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby
You kiss the face of God

The blind will see, the deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb

Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy
Is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
That sleeping child you’re holding is the great, I Am

^[1] Stein, R. H. (2001). Vol. 24: Luke (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (82). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

^[2] The New International Version. 2011 (Lk 1:35). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] Swindoll, Charles R. Read in Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations & Quotes. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, TN 1998. Page 413. Exerted from Lewis and Faye Copeland, 10,000 Jokes, Toasts, and Stories.

Title: Who Is Jesus Part III

Scripture: Heb 1:8

Theme: Jesus is reigning with God in Heaven, making intercession for us.

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on December 17, 2023

I want to begin the sermon with the background to a beloved Christmas carol:

O COME, ALL YE FAITHFUL

Latin hymn, 18th century

English translation by Frederick Oakeley, 1802–1880

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about!” … (Luke 2:15, 20)

The songs of the Christmas season comprise some of the finest music known to man, and this hymn is certainly one of our universal favorites. It was used in Catholic churches before it became known to Protestants. Today it is sung by church groups around the world since it has been translated from its original Latin into more than 100 other languages. The vivid imagery of the carol seems to have meaning and appeal for all ages in every culture.

The original Latin text consisted of four stanzas. The first calls us to visualize anew the infant Jesus in Bethlehem’s stable. The second stanza is usually omitted in most hymnals, but it reminds us that the Christ-child is very God Himself:

God of God and Light of Light begotten, Lo, He abhors not the Virgin’s womb; Very God, begotten, not created—O come, let us adore Him.

The next stanza pictures for us the exalted song of the angelic choir heard by the lowly shepherds. Then the final verse offers praise and adoration to the Word, our Lord, who was with the Father from the beginning of time.

For many years this hymn was known as an anonymous Latin hymn. Recent research, however, has revealed manuscripts that indicate that it was written in 1744 by an English layman named John Wade and set to music by him in much the same style as used today. The hymn first appeared in his collection, Cantus Diversi, published in England in 1751. One hundred years later the carol was translated into its present English form by an Anglican minister, Frederick Oakeley, who desired to use it for his congregation. The tune name, “Adeste Fideles,” is taken from the first words of the original Latin text, and translated literally means “be present or near, ye faithful.”

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant; come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; come and behold Him, born the King of angels:

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation; sing all ye bright hosts of heav’n above; glory to God, all glory in the highest:

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be all glory giv’n; Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing:

Refrain: O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.

Ask God to help you and your family make this Christmas season the most spiritual one you have yet known. Worship Him—Christ, the Lord!^[1]

Jesus did come down to our level. We needed help, we needed a Savior. Jesus became one of us.

I want to show you that Jesus is the ruler. I want to show you that Jesus is now reigning as King of Kings. Lastly, I want to ask you if He is your King. First, we will return to Colossians 1:15-20, and then we will turn to Hebrews 1:8 and a few others.

We have been talking about Who Jesus Is. Three weeks ago, we talked about Jesus’ eternal past. Our beliefs of Who Jesus is begin in the Old Testament. Two weeks ago, we talked about Jesus as fully man and fully God. Today, I want to show that Jesus is reigning with God in Heaven making an intercession for us.

That is my theme:

Jesus is reigning with God in Heaven making intercession for us.

First, let’s read Colossians 1:15-20

Colossians 1:15–20 (ESV)

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

1. We see that Christ is the creator, sustainer, and ruler.
   1. Though we never see the noun “ruler” used in relation to Christ in this passage, this passage is all about Christ as ruler. Allow me to show you a few amazing statements:
   2. Recall that two weeks ago we talked about verse 16. Verse 16 says:¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
   3. Look at this. The Bible says that “Some things were created by Him,” no, it says, “All things were created by Him.” (See also John 1:3)
   4. The passage says all things were created by Jesus and then it goes into detail about His creation:
   5. Things in Heaven: what does that mean?
   6. In the Bible we can see that Heaven is a term used to describe outer space.
   7. In the Bible Heaven is a term to describe our atmosphere.
   8. In the Bible Heaven is a term to describe the place where God resides.
   9. I believe since the earth is mentioned in the next verse, this use of Heaven is referring to outer space and the location where God resides.
   10. It was by Jesus that the planets and the stars were created.
   11. Jesus created everything on earth: this includes every material.
   12. Then the passage says that this includes the visible and the invisible. What is the invisible? Well, I would guess the passage is talking about the air we breathe, the radiation we don’t see, and even the spiritual realm.
   13. Jesus created the angels.
   14. Lastly, the passage talks about the thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities. These were created through Him, but also for Him.
   15. This is a strong passage. Think about it. Colossians was written around AD 60, who’s in charge? Rome is in charge, Paul is writing this from prison, but He is saying Jesus is in charge. Paul is saying, It may appear as if Rome is in charge, but Jesus is actually in charge. All of these rulers were created by Jesus, and for Jesus. This statement by Paul is a very political statement. But this statement by Paul should be very encouraging for us today just like it was for them.
   16. If Jesus is the creator, He is the King, He is the ruler, He is in charge. Jesus is reigning!
   17. Look at Colossians 2:15 (ESV) ¹⁵ He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
   18. Notice again the political imagery. This carries the idea that when Jesus hung on the cross and took God’s wrath on Him for our sins; He conquered the devil. Jesus conquered the spiritual forces of evil. Since the beginning, sin has had its way and its consequences, but Jesus took the punishment, restoring a right relationship between us and God.
   19. We still have secular rulers who are anti-God as they did in the first century. But this gives the image of Jesus going through a battlefield and taking the weapons away. Now, this could be literal in a spiritual way or a prophetic way. Some day in the future, every authority will bow to Jesus, currently Jesus reigns in a spiritual way.
   20. It may appear that certain governments are reigning and, although there are certain spiritual forces, even demonic forces at work, God will make things right, Jesus is in charge.
   21. So, I ask you, who is in charge? That is a question which I want you to answer. So, who is in charge? I think there are still a few asleep, who is in charge? Jesus is in charge.
   22. Now, verse 17 even says that all things hold together by Jesus. Think about that for a second. If Jesus stopped being in control, creation would fall apart. I tried to imagine that and the best image that I could get is this:
   23. This is a glass of water [show the water in the glass]. Currently the water is held together by the glass. But if I pour it out, [pour the water into a bowl] the water is no longer held together by the glass. Now, all analogies fail in one way or another and this one does as well because the water may be held together again, in this case by this other container. But you get the point.
   24. Jesus holds all creation together.
   25. Now, look at verse 18: Jesus is the head of the church. This means that we are His church, we are not my church or anyone’s church but Jesus’ church. We must be following His lead. We seek His lead through prayer and correct understanding of His Word.
   26. So, you can see from Col 1:15-20 that Jesus is in control and if He is in control this means that Jesus is also the ruler and King.
2. Jesus is reigning.
   1. Hebrews 1:8 (ESV)
   2. ⁸ But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

1. 1. Hebrews 1:8 is actually a quote from Psalm 45:6, and Psalm 45:6 says this about God the Father. But you may recall that two weeks ago we showed from the Scriptures that Jesus is God in the flesh. Actually, Col. 1:15 says that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. So, here, the author of Hebrews affirms Christ’s deity and that Jesus is reigning.
   2. How many of you want to serve a king that will be overthrown tomorrow?
   3. There is an ironic story in Daniel chapter 5.
   4. In Daniel 5, King Belshazzar is having this gluttonous feast which was likely a drunken orgy. Note: this is the king of the mighty Babylon. Babylon was pretty much a world empire; the tops of Babylon’s walls were wide enough for several chariots to travel side by side![2] During that feast, there is mysterious handwriting on the wall, which Daniel interprets in verses 25-28. The writing said, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it, you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient, your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians. The English Standard Bible has a study note which says: “Belshazzar’s feast is exposed as the ultimate act of folly: he was feasting on the brink of the grave and either did not know the danger or refused to acknowledge it.” While he is feasting his kingdom is conquered! How ironic, God is the real king, and Jesus is the real king, even with the handwriting on the wall that is declared.
   5. Jesus’ Kingdom will not be conquered!
   6. How many of us want to serve a king who will be overthrown next year?
   7. How many of us want to serve a king who will be overthrown in 10 years? Well, maybe.
   8. But wouldn’t we prefer a King who will never be overthrown?
   9. Jesus will never be overthrown. His Kingdom will not end.
   10. Jesus is interceding. Remember from two weeks ago 1 Timothy 2:5? This passage tells us that Jesus is our mediator. As our mediator that means Jesus is interceding for us. Another passage that supports this is:
   11. Hebrews 7:24–25 (ESV)
   12. ²⁴ but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. ²⁵ Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
   13. How do we feel about that?
   14. Is Jesus our King?
   15. Have you surrendered everything to Him?
   16. You know how sometimes we don’t do a job fully? Maybe you have had children who are supposed to clean their room, so you go up, and the room looks clean until you open the closet, and everything falls on you, or something like that.
   17. Sometimes we do this with our relationship with Christ. We don’t surrender everything to Him. Instead, we hide things. In this case, you are not allowing Him to be the King of your life. This is important for all of us. If you don’t know Christ, you must submit to Him, but also, if you do know Christ, continue to surrender to Him.
   18. Is Jesus your King? Can people tell that you are celebrating Jesus’ birth this Christmas, or does it seem to be more about you and your family alone?
   19. We have made Christmas about everything but Jesus, haven’t we?

Yes, Jesus came as a baby, but He no longer is a baby. Yes, Jesus worked as a carpenter, but He no longer is a carpenter. Yes, Jesus walked with His disciples, but not anymore. Yes, Jesus hung on the cross, but He died and rose again. Jesus is no longer dead; He is reigning with God in Heaven.

I like what Tim Keller wrote:

It’s like that song they sang in the Live Aid concert in 1985.
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let’s start giving
That’s what most people think the meaning of Christmas is. After the Live Aid concert in 1985, Bob Dylan, who was one of all those rock stars who were singing (remember that video?), said to the press he was very uncomfortable singing a song like that. Somebody said to Bob Dylan, “Why were you uncomfortable?” He said, “I’ll tell you why. Because man cannot save himself.”
So we look today unto Bob Dylan for the true meaning of Christmas, because he got it right. The Bible says Jesus Christ came because we cannot save ourselves. There’s a problem. He had to do something about it. The way Christmas is expounded in public anymore is that Christmas means if we work hard we can save ourselves, and Bob Dylan was right.
Peace on earth and mercy mild. God and sinners need to be reconciled.^[1]

Check mate or NOT:

I love this painting:

If you know anything about the game of chess, you know it all comes down to when the King on either side can move no more. Once the king is trapped, the winning side declares “checkmate” and the game is over.

There is a painting that once hung in the Louvre museum in Paris, painted by Friedrich Moritz August Retzsch. Today, the painting is popularly known as “Checkmate.” It is now in private hands, having been sold in a Christie’s auction in 1999.

The painting depicts two chess players. One is Satan, who appears arrogantly confident. The other player is a man who looks forlorn. If Satan wins, he wins the man’s soul. You can view more of the creepy details below.

According to legend, and probably fact, the story goes like this. A chess grand master came upon this intriguing painting in the Louvre museum alongside other famous art such as the Mona Lisa.

The grand mastered stared a long time at the chess board in the painting and finally noticed something surprising. The typical interpretation of the painting (that the devil had the man in “checkmate”) was incorrect.

Though the devil seemed to be the obvious victor, he was in fact not winning. The man, who thought he was losing, was actually winning.

According to the arrangement of the pieces left on the chess board, his king had one more move. This fateful move would make him the winner of the game.

The grand master called the curator and determined that the title “Checkmate” did not fit the scene because the forlorn-looking player actually had the ability to defeat his opponent, though he didn’t realize it yet. His king had one more move.

THE SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS

Now think about the spiritual implications of this painting with me about what the grand master discovered.

Repeatedly in Scripture, God assures his people that there is always a way of escaping situations that seem hopeless at the time.

• When the people of Judah were deported to Babylon because of their sinfulness, God revealed that a future day of release would come.
• Just as God provided water for the Israelites in the desert, he would also provide for them on their long trek homeward.
• A little boy in John 6 only had two fish and a few loaves of bread to feed thousands of people. It looked like checkmate, but our King had another move left! They collected 12 baskets of leftover food after the meal was served.
• In the Old Testament, Daniel was thrown into a den of hungry lions. It looked like checkmate, but our King had another move left and Daniel remained safe.
• In John 8, it looked like checkmate for a woman about to be killed by angry men with stones. But Jesus told the woman to go and not sin anymore.
• On Good Friday, the criminal next to Jesus on the cross thought it was the end, yet he still repented.

So often in life, we consider the world to be a mess. With war, violence, a deadly pandemic, unemployment, struggling marriages, depression, isolation, and more … we can easily become disillusioned. People begin to feel lost. We look for direction but often end up on the wrong path. It looks like checkmate, but we need not fear—the game is not over.

Our Creator God still has one move left! Our lives and future are in His hands. The Lord is the only King who can never be defeated..[2]

^[1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[2] https://haventoday.org/blog/closer-look-checkmate/

^[1] Kenneth W. Osbeck, Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1996), 367.

[2] English Standard Study Bible. Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Wheaton Ill. 2008.  Study note on Jeremiah 51:44; page 1470.

[3] Swindoll, Charles R. Read in Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations & Quotes. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, TN 1998. Page 550. Quoted from A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God. 

[4] Ibid., Page 313.

^[5] Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 85.