Acts 14- Seeing That He Had Faith

Acts 14:9b-10 "And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, 'stand upright on your feet.' He sprang up and began walking."

How many times have we went about in life without even looking intently? There is a tendency for us to race through life without taking notice of others and definitely not to look intently at them. So, first I would just like you to take a minute and think through how many people you have passed by today. Remember that those are God's workmanship. He created them and they each have a significant story. God cares about people and those of us that are Christ followers should most certainly care about people. Let's not cruise by others without thinking or noticing them. Let us look intently...

But this is a particular looking. Because with natural eyes I am not certain that we could ever notice faith... Faith isn't a badge that is worn on the outside but rather a condition of the heart. So, Paul must have perceived with Spiritual insight that this man had great faith. This is a huge wake up call for us to move about guided by the Spirit and aware of His leadings. We need to pray that God would help us to see and perceive the spiritual things that are going on around us. I hope that we are not oblivious to what God is doing and to the nature of those we come in contact with.

God open our spiritual eyes to see those around us. Help us to not be so busy as to pass by others or worse to be more concerned about ourselves than them. Help us to look intently and perceive what you see. Then let us be faithful to act out your promptings. Amen.

No Stone Unturned- Justification and Glorification

Jesus has done an amazing work in those of us that He calls children of the light. He has been our penal substitution... He paid for what we deserve. Then also He has been our righteousness... He provides for us a holiness that we don't possess on our own. But in doing these things you must realize the cost.

When Jesus puts His stamp of approval on us, when He seeks us out to forgive us and redeem us, He is not lax in His dealings with you. Let me show you a string of thoughts from the apostle Paul about how God deals with us. "Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (Romans 8:29-30) And I commend the whole chapter of Romans to you. Paul is saying that when you are adopted into the kingdom. The moment you make a decision for Christ there is a string of events that is put into play. Calling... justification... glorification. Jesus is putting His name at stake when He calls you. So, instead of just allowing you to casually walk through life He relentlessly pursues you. He freely justifies you. Meaning that by faith in Him you are vindicated and redeemed before God. You will stand before the Judge of Judges and plead Jesus. Jesus is your lawyer/mediator and He counsels you that the only shot of freedom is to claim Himself as a substitute for you. He takes the heat. You go free. It costs Him dearly but magnifies your love for Him... Then it goes on to say in that He glorifies you. Meaning He promises those that He calls that they will not only be justified but also that they will be glorified. Interesting concept, here is my take on it; We are not equipped to be in the presence of God without glorification. Our present creaturely bodies would be incinerated if we somehow were able to stroll in to the presence of the Glory of God. We have to be transformed. We have to be made completely holy. Without sin. Without corruption. God promises to do that for us through Jesus. We are glorified by the righteousness of Christ and one day, " We will all be changed- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye" our glorification will be made complete (1 Cor 15:51,52). We will be fitted to be in the presence of God.

How does this work for us now? Right now we are going through a process of sanctification. Again, in Romans it says, "we are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son" (Romans 8:29). So while you are on the earth you are going through a process of transformation. Like a Caterpillar in a cocoon God is making you more like His Son, Jesus. He is transforming you into something you currently are not.

This is where it gets painful. Jesus when He gives you His name and promises you His inheritance it costs Him dearly and He is not lax about this gift giving. I am realizing recently that He relentlessly pursues our Sin. The Holy Spirit is given to convict the world of sin(John 16:8). Meaning that the Spirit is going through your life and turning over every stone to find the dark places of your life and expose them to the light. The transformation means that God is not pleased to leave any stone unturned. He wants to constantly expose new areas of your character and life that need transformation. It is a painful process because over and over again God finds you out and even breaks off portions of you that cannot remain. Like a potter finding inconsistencies in the clay and removing them... Or like a tree with dead branches, God prunes them.

The awesome part of this process is the fresh grace we experience. I am humiliated when my sin is exposed. I am ashamed that I call myself a Christian and still have so much sanctifying that needs to happen. But, every time I see an area that God is working on I am flooded by His grace. God knows your sin. And He still loves you. He knew every area of me that needed transforming (there are many... actually every area of my life before He began the process), and yet He was willing to die for me to make me His own. "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8b). So, as God is transforming you from one degree of glory to the next (2 Cor 3:18), let me give you a verse to be your staying power. In the cocoon it is dark. As stones are overturned it is humiliating. But Christ is changing you. And you are promised a future glorification and a current transformation. Here is a verse for while you are in the midst of that transforming process. 

Do not gloat over me my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord's wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness (Micah 7:8,9).

Acts 7- Table Waiter or Courageous Preacher

Acts 7 shows us the depth of the man who only sees a couple chapters in the new testament, Stephen. Stephen was selected to help with the distribution of the food to widows. A waiter if you will. His job was to make sure that no favorites were played when the food was being handed out. That every widow received, with equal opportunity, food to survive. When the selection of men was taking place the prerequisites were high but Stephen meet them with ease. He was a man full of the Spirit and filled with wisdom (6:3). 

Then in chapter 7 we see the character of the humble waiter unfold. Not only was he a servant and willing to distribute food. He also had an understanding of God's story in the scriptures. He begins to unfold how God acted throughout history but people were prone to forsake Him. But, Stephen wasn't preaching in the church, he was preaching to the high priest and religious leaders!? Talk about an intimidating audience. But, Stephen was not dismayed by their human standing because he cared more about pleasing God and not so much about pleasing men. 

He saw that these men were doing the same thing their forefathers had done and turned from God disobeying the prophets that God had sent and sinning against God. So he called them out, "you stiff necked people... you always resist the Holy Spirit!" (vs 51) When Stephen continues to point out their sinfulness the men covered their ears and ordered the stoning of Stephen.

What a man! What an amazing man of God! He was humble. The type of humble that could easily go unnoticed like the 6 other men chosen in chapter 6. But God chose to highlight this one's faith. He was courageous. He was committed to God. He was bold. And most importantly he had fellowship with God: "He was full of the Holy Spirit." 

What can we take away from this story? At least a couple things this morning. First, are you humble? Stephen was willing to do whatever would bless the body of believers. He was willing to 'wait tables,' as the apostles described it. He was humble. Are you? Do you have to have recognition? Do you gravitate to things that will highlight your abilities or do you humble yourself and do what is required no matter how boring or insignificant the task may seem? Secondly, do you have fellowship with God? I would say this is the most important element of the Christian faith. A right relationship with the Almighty. All other things are secondary. Are you enjoying the fellowship of God. Do you love your time with Him? Do you look forward to meeting Him in His Word? Or do you crowd that time out with other tasks? Lastly, do you know your stuff? Do you know your bible? Could you in the heat of a moment tell the story of God's people? Could you explain God's working throughout scripture and use it to convict? Do you have a right understanding of God as He reveals Himself to us through His holy Word? Or, are you a confused Christian. Matt Chandler, a pastor in Dallas, recently said of some men in his congregation pointing out the ridiculousness of not knowing the word, "they (some men in his church)  know every player on the Dallas Cowboys. They know where they played high school ball and their stats... but when it comes to their bibles!?! ...futility calls to futility and Deep calls to Deep." Do you know your Bible? Stephen knew scriptures and he wielded them mightily by the Holy Spirit.

Let us look to Stephen as a model believer. I'm sure he had flaws but God chose to highlight some strengths and it would do us well to follow in his footsteps. 

Acts 2- Welcome to Life

Peter preaches a message of Jesus to the crowds gathered and the Holy Spirit slays their natural inclinations. It is so bizarre that we can spend our lives in a fog of confusion. Totally engrossed with the natural world... our responsibilities, our jobs, our families, our schooling, and our plans. I am sure those Jews that were sitting under Peter's teaching did not wake up with any anticipation of what was to come that day. Life for them would have seemed pretty normal. But, God does not leave us in our sins. He takes the words of a rambunctious fisherman from Galilee and makes them the Words of Life.

The bible says that the hearers were 'cut to the heart.(vs 37)' The Holy Spirit with surgical application takes the truth of Christ and applies it to very essence of our spiritual being, our hearts. And when the Word of Jesus storms into our hearts we are found wanting. We realize that everything we have pursued in our life was petty compared to the importance of Jesus. We realize that we have spent so much energy on worthless things when we should have pursued King Jesus. It is a traumatizing experience. Like waking up on the surgeon's table with a chest spreader and your heart laid bare. Your insides are hanging out and you have a real problem that is beyond your ability to fix. Sure you could grab some tools and try to patch yourself up but it will not suffice. Many of us do that when the Holy Spirit applies his masterful scalpel to our heart. We want to try to remedy ourselves. And some pastors even will wrongly patch up a person that the Holy Spirit is operating on... but in Acts the hearers ask, "brothers, what shall we do?" Then the surgeon offers the solution.

I don't know how many of you have been in hospitals. I personally have spent a lot of time in them. My nickname was crash. I was always breaking something. Usually myself. So, on a couple occasions I had that conversation. The surgeon sits me down and tells me my options. You could have this procedure and it will hurt and it will take time but you will have a full recovery. Or you could forgo the surgery and I am not sure what will happen.

The same is true with the Holy Spirit but he knows what happens if you forgo his operation... it leads to death. He in essence says, 'you can submit to my operating table and I will make you alive and healthy and perfect or you can walk away and it will lead to your demise.' I choose life. So did the men in Acts. Here is the procedure, "Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off- for all whom the Lord our God will call. (vs. 38-39)" That is the procedure that we submit to. We are cut to the heart and there is a remedy. Complete submission to the work of God in our lives. Every one of us and the promise continues. It was true 2000 years ago and it is true today. Repent and be baptized. 

O' how many of us have wiggled our way off the table. God does not miss. You know that statement to be true. When He determines to cut you to the heart He succeeds and you have felt the Words of Jesus penetrate your soul before. But, after the incision it is so common that people run from the Healer. Today friend if you have not already done so, Repent and be baptized. 

Here is what that means; to repent is to turn from sin. Not just away from something that is bad like a legalistic restriction... it means you turn to something better. You turn to God. 

And baptism is the process of complete surrender. Jesus died a sinners death on a cross and was buried in a tomb. Then He was raised from the dead. He asks you to join Him in that death, burial, and resurrection in baptism. The death of yourself and the birth of a new creation. Romans 6 says that God will raise you up to walk in newness of life. You will be a new person. Fit for citizenship in His Kingdom. Friend... make that happen today. You are not promised forever. The Surgeon is eager to apply His healing hands. You know your sickness will lead to death and you desperately need a saviour. 

If you have made that decision today tell someone! Drop me a email corywilliams@centralwired.com or call 608.362.7663 ext 24. 

"Those who accepted this message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (vs 41)" 

Acts 1- Holy Spirit Power

"...in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit... you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes on you." -Acts 1:5,8

This is huge to me. I want to do more than simply have a knowledge of God. I think that knowing God is biblically mandated and a good idea. In fact, Paul often prays for churches that they would 'grow in the knowledge of God(Colossians 1:10).' So having a right understanding of what God is a great thing but it cannot be devoid of experience. Think about the pharisees and their intense knowledge of the Law... But, they did not have the experience of intimacy with God. They knew about him, but they did not intimately know him. 

I want to see evidence of Power. I want to see a baptism of the Holy Spirit and a result of Power. We can talk about God a ton and even describe him pretty accurately but what I want and what I think we need in our youth group is his presence falling on our group. We need to be completely immersed in his spirit. That is what baptism means... a covering over of water. But in this case it is a covering over of the Holy Spirit. I am not sure if you have felt this before? Can you look in the mirror and tell yourself that you have seen enough of God's Spirit? Are you content with the amount that the Holy Spirit has achieved in your life? One reason we do not see enough is because we are stiff-arming God with the attitude that, 'I can achieve this on my own. I have this covered God, thank you very much.' Let's fall back on the Holy Spirit and say, "I want to see you move so mightily that I could never get the credit. Do something so miraculous that the only way it could have happened is by your Spirit." 

"Our Gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. (1 Thess 1:5)" I don't want to simply play youth group. I want to see the Spirit move in and among us in a way that is not explainable without saying, "God did it!"

John 16- For Your Good

"It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." -Jesus (John 16:7)

Imagine what it would be like to walk with Jesus... what if there was a stir and someone said that Jesus was in Chicago and it was believable and truthful. Would you rush there? I would. I get star struck about Christian pastors that have had a profound impact on me. I can't even imagine what it would be like to see Jesus. Try to think through what it would be like to see him in action. Would you push your way to the front of the crowd? Would you hang on his every word? Would you lay in bed and think about what he said and then tell yourself, "I have to get to sleep so I am not tired for tomorrow when Jesus does even more crazy things!"

But Jesus teaches us that it is better that he leaves so he can send the Counselor to us. We have a gift and not many of us get that excited. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit and we rarely even think about Him. We can manage a week without even noticing His presence. Does that sit well with you? To be honest I am embarrassed by my lack of regard for the Spirit. I need to recognize that He is here and He is powerful.

Have you disregarded the Spirit? Have you seen Him at work? Has he convicted of Sin or empowered you to 'do greater things than these?' If not then I urge you to pray for Him to blow your socks off. He will.

Equal With Peter?

I was just clued in to an interesting passage last night. It was a letter that my dad recieved from Desiring God Ministry and it started with a passage of scripture. It kind of rocked my world... Let me preface sharing that passage with a question: Do you ever wonder if as a Christian you should be experiencing more? You should have more of the Holy Spirit's power? You should live more righteously? I do. I often wonder if there is more to this thing called Christianity than just attending church and going on missions trips and doing a couple good works. I really want to live like the early church. They did life crazily! And without the Spirit of God at work in them there is no way that it would be possible!? Last night I was studying the Word with my family and in John chapter 3 it says, "... for God gives the Spirit without limit" (verse 34). God gives the Spirit without limit!? In this context it is talking about Jesus, but I don't think that it is restricted to Him. God gives the Spirit without limit to those that seek him, to the disciples, to the apostles, to YOU! Check out this incredible verse that we stumbled on....

"Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:1 ESV)

Peter is addressing this letter and this is his opening statement "to those that have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours"?! Equal standing?! With the Apostle Peter? Ok, let me just remember for a minute who this Peter was; The Rock, the first disciple to recognize that Jesus was the Christ, present at the transfiguration, reinstated at the see of Galilee, first person to preach the Gospel, healed the sick, pillar of our Christian faith, people wanted his shadow to fall on them, he was the man! Peter is saying to us... "you have obtained a faith equal with mine." He doesn't say, "like mine," or, "similar to mine," or, "near mine". He says, "equal to." We have a faith equal to his. I do not want to be arrogant, I realize that I am no Peter. And honestly Peter is not that big of a deal. It is the Spirit in him that makes him amazing. That same Spirit is available to me, to you, to us! We need to believe that! We need to beg God that he would pour his Spirit out in us without restriction. I want to be a youth group that is filled with the Holy Spirit! Imagine if we all lived like Peter!?! If we bought into the fact that we have a faith of equal standing with the Apostles?!? Let's pray that we would see that happen! God would you please pour out your Spirit without restriction on us?