Acts 19- My Daydreams

I literally daydream about this. The Way is so influential that it changes the culture of a whole city and causes a riot. If you want a phenomenal teaching on this, Tim Keller does a great job unpacking this text at the Gospel Coalition 09' conference: The Gospel and Idolatry.

In my mind it is not enough to simply profess faith. Anyone can utter the words, "I believe." In fact, even the demons believe and shutter (James 2:19). I want to see change. I want to be a part of something real... like what happens in this text. In Acts 19 the gospel has such an impact on the a city that the economy is changed. Demetrius a silversmith is about to be put out of a job, because idols are about to no longer have a place.

I guess the response to this text is a plea to beg God for that sort of power to accompany the gospel. Pray that the gospel would first off change you... that you would be a new creation and that radical change would be evidenced in your life. Pray that you would live like the early followers of the Way. Then, pray that that would in turn effect everything around you. Pray that Beloit and surrounding areas would be effected by the gospel. That's what I am for. I am going to go back to daydreaming what this could look like. Glory to God.

Acts 19- Jesus on Our Lips

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. (Acts 19:8-10).

As I have said many times before, and will restate here, we are not promised immediate success. We are not called primarily to be successful, we are called to be faithful. Even the Apostle is disregarded. "Some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them." Do not equate faithfulness with success. It is easy to replace the worship of Jesus with the worship of numbers, or conversions, or missions trips taken, etc. If success is on the throne of your heart, that means Jesus is not.

But here is what is really pressing on my soul... We have an example of the Word of God spreading. We have an example of the effects of Jesus being on the lips of the Apostle Paul. We see in verse 8 that Paul starts in the synagogue, but then in verse 9 he moves to the lecture hall. Paul's aim: to proclaim Christ. Jesus is on his lips. He preaches about Him, he discusses Him, he is all about Him. And the result is the whole province of Asia hears the word of the Lord.

I know it is easy to say, 'yeah of course the apostle Paul talks about Jesus,' but we need to get past the elitist faith that says some are called to this and others simply attend church. Jesus has revealed Himself to you. Now it should be the passion of your heart to have the Word of Jesus on your lips. It should come out in conversation. It should be the overflow of your heart. We should constantly have that Word on our lips. It isn't stuck in the Synagogue (the Church), the word is loose on the streets. It should be talked about at the water cooler and at the lunch table.

If we will let that Word capture our hearts, and if we will have a ministry of the Word that affects every portion of our lives, then our whole province will hear the Word of the Lord. Isn't that a goal worth giving your life to? Speak the Word. Tell them about your great King!

Acts 19- Up an In

Paul heads over to Ephesus from Corinth and finds some disciples (vs. 1). He asked them, "did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" Apparently, either Paul was led to ask them that question or maybe it was quite apparent by their actions. Regardless, the question was posed. They had not received the Holy Spirit yet. They had received the baptism of John but had not been baptized into Christ.

First off, are you willing to face the fact that you might have deficiencies in your faith? You may be called disciple (like these men) but you may be living a less than fully realized faith. You may have been 'around the block' in your spirituality but that does not ensure complete intimacy with Christ. Pray that God would search you and show you where reformation needs to happen in your soul. Ask that He would draw you up and in towards Him and His presence.

Secondly, are you really a Christian at all. Have you received the Holy Spirit? Do you produce the fruit of the Spirit? Does your life reflect the supernatural wonders of having the Holy Spirit within you? Let's put it like this; if the Holy Spirit went on vacation this week, would your life be noticeably different? Are you so reliant on the power of the Holy Spirit that His absence would be devastating? Or, is your life so predictable and so natural that you could pull off your life without the help of the Holy Spirit.

Let me address two groups of people: If you are a religious it is possible that you shrug this off without even thinking twice. Spiritual pride is one of the most dangerous kinds of pride. Don't let spiritual pride keep you from getting closer to Jesus. Let Him search your heart and reveal areas He wants to change.

But, If you are the second group, and you are struggling to keep your head above water spiritually, I don't want this article to be a cause for you to give up... Paul doesn't cast off these disciples. He doesn't rebuke them. He doesn't scold them. He lays hands on and prays. If you feel like you do not have the Holy Spirit, then get on your face and ask your Father in heaven who gives good gifts... and the very best gift, Himself. He will send His Comforter. He will give the Deposit. "Now it is God who makes both you and us stand firm in Christ. He appointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come" (2 Cor 1:21-22).

Acts 18- Remain Faithful

Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest... Then Paul left the synagogue (Acts 18:5b-6a,7a).

Paul is committed to proclaiming Christ. He is devoted to preaching the Word of Christ in the synagogue. Unfortunately he is encountering opposition. And opposition is discouraging. God calls each of us to ministry (see 1 Peter 2:9) but he doesn't always promise that it will be easy or received well. If the Apostle Paul sees opposition then we should expect the same. But don't lose heart.

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack or harm you, because I have many people in this city" (Acts 18:9-10).

God calls us to be faithful even in the face of opposition. Keep on speaking Paul. God has a plan. God is at work. He has many people in this city. Remember it is God's work. Sometime we rely so heavily on our abilities. We think transforming our schools or evangelizing our friends rests solely on our shoulders. We had better do this thing right. We better have the right stories and the right strategy or it isn't going to work.... But God says "I have." God is the power behind the scenes. If we will obey Him He will accomplish His purposes.

So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God (Acts 18:11).

Remain faithful to what God calls you to. You do not need to win everyone to Christ. You do not need to be the coolest Christian on campus. You simply need to remain faithful to God. The results are in His hands.

Acts 17- Purpose, Repent

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth... and he determined the times set for [men] and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:24,26b-27a).

First off, we each have a purpose. There are no glory days. There is no better time than now. We are living in the God ordained days set for us. God has determined the exact time and place where you are right now. And he purposed it. You were placed in your setting for a very real and specific reason... now the question is, 'are you living it?'

Are you living out God's purpose for your life? The ultimate purpose the text says, is that you would seek him and find him.... so are you intimate with Him. Have you sought Him out? I'm reminded of a time when some friends dropped their keys to an SUV in a lake in Florida. We did not have a spare so we hired a scuba guy to come and search the lake under the dock. We were determined. Do you have determination and drive to seek and find God? You need to do the leg work to seek Him. Secondly, know that He is not far from each one of us.... In Him we live and move and have our being... we are His offspring, His creation, His children. We are His and He is near. So, we can fulfill our purpose and seek Him today. Or, we can abandon our purpose and ignore... Which way are you living?

"Therefore, since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-- an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead" (Acts 17:29-31)

But even when we live out our purpose of seeking and finding Him, we still have a work to do... it is a work of repentance. When Martin Luther posted his 95 thesis, the first thing he said was, "Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when he said 'Poenitentiam agite' [Repent], willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance." We are prone to treat God like a gold, silver, or stone image made by man's hands. We belittle God in our lives. We do not give Him the honor that rightly belongs to the King. We treat Him as if we made Him and He answers to us. We want Him to play by our rules, to bend to our wants, to behave as we see fit. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. We are called to a life of humble repentance at the cross of Christ. Our hearts are prone to wander. We constantly belittle our Maker. Once we seek and find Him, we live a life of repentance. One Day Jesus, the Righteous One, who once died but now lives forever, will judge each man. Will He find a heart of humility. Will He find a desperate person who is living a life of seeking Him and repenting. Or will He find arrogance and ignorance?

Seek. Find. Repent. Repeat.

Wow...

This sermon has been flying around the blogosphere since it was preached yesterday at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary... I cannot recommend it strongly enough.

Getting What We Need

Sometimes a dad gives a son or daughter what they need and not what they want. And, I am convinced, this is what God always does for us. He always has a bigger goal in mind. His desire is for your holiness and for your celebration forever of His grace towards you. The way this plays out isn't always how we would expect or even immediately want. John Newton understood this mystery. Sometimes we pray that God would just magically change us or rid of us sin but instead God gives us a glimpse of how utterly sinful we actually are. It is a treacherous experience but the end result is a bigger reliance on God's grace. Read through these verses and feel the weight of how God deals with sinners like us.

John Newton:

I asked the LORD that I might grow

In faith, and love, and every grace,

Might more of his salvation know

And seek more earnestly his face.

Twas he who taught me thus to pray,

And he, I trust, has answered my prayer;

But it has been in such a way

As almost drove me to despair

I hoped that in some favoured hour

At once he'd answer my request,

And by his love's constraining power,

Subdue my sins, and give me rest

Instead of this, he made me feel

The hidden evils of my heart,

And let the angry powers of hell

Assault my soul in every part.

Yea, more, with his own hand he seemed

Intent to aggravate my woe,

Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,

Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

"Lord, why is this?" I trembling cried,

"Wilt thou pursue me to the death?"

"'Tis in this way," the Lord replied,

"I answer prayer for grace and faith."

"These inward trials I employ

From self and pride to set thee free,

And break thy schemes of earthly joy,

That thou mayest find thy all in me."

I feel that. The harder I try the more my gourds are blasted. My pride has such a grip on all that I do. Worst of all it feeds so much on my ministry and my religion. I can accomplish on my own... I don't need God (I don't really mean that, but by my actions I live it). In His providence he lays me low. That I may be broken off from schemes of earthly joy and find my all in Him.

Rediscovering Holiness by J.I. Packer

Praise God for Regal Publishers deciding to put this one back into print! It was not an easy read but it was well worth it. Rediscovering Holiness is Packer's book on sanctification; the process by which God changes us to become more like Christ. The beauty of the book was not a simple one, two, three process that dictates how we change, but instead it shows how God is at work even when we don't see it. The book actually makes me praise God more for His workings in and through us. One thing that stood out was situational sanctification: That God puts us into situations that cause us to change even though they might not seem to be the best (for example: the dark night of the soul).

The after word on Mother Teresa was phenomenal and insightful. The idea is that Teresa felt very very distant from God throughout her pilgrimage. Even though she was serving Jesus in the mission field of Calcutta, she felt as though heaven had been shut up from her and Jesus had abandoned her. In an age where "feeling" God in our lives has a huge premium, this little vignette of Teresa's life reminds us that even in bleak circumstances Jesus is at work in us. "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).

Where Do I Stand With Jesus?

Here is an excerpt from a recent sermon by Bryan Chapel at The Gospel Man Conference:

"The evidence of Christ in you is not that you don't sin. It is when you sin, you hate it. Christ is in you. And though there may be this awful struggle going on inside you. When we have sinned, we hate it because Christ is alive in us. That hatred of sin is the evidence in us of the presence of the spirit of God. There was a time when we sinned and it didn't matter to us, we didn't care. But the fact that we now care, the fact that you grieve that you grieve the holy Spirit you aught to say, 'praise God.'"