Daily Archives: April 12, 2013

The Stage Is Set

Bible Study, ,

THE STAGE IS SET

“And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need.

“Joseph, called by the apostles “Barnabas” (which means “Son of Comfort”), a Levite born in Cyprus, sold a field that he owned, brought the money and made an offering of it to the apostles.” Acts4:34-37 (The Message).

These few verses seem like nothing more than a simple bit of information regarding the miraculous life of the new-born church in Jerusalem. It was a miracle because most people without Jesus don’t normally live that way.

Here was a community within a community that did life together in unity. They identified with each other so closely that everyone shared in the joy and suffering of the group. The apostles had a safe haven to go to when things got tough for them outside. Their resources were pooled so that everyone had a share. Those who had shared with those who did not have.

They had to live like that for several reasons: they were expressing the generous nature of the one who lived inside them. Their disposition was transformed by the power of God from greedy, selfish people to those who willingly and unselfishly served their fellow believers.

They were no longer individuals responsible for themselves and their families. They were now members of a new family held together by their faith in their living Lord. He had shown them how to live and they were following and imitating Him.

They were a community under threat. Like their Master, they had fallen foul of their religious leaders because of what they taught and lived. Their lives and message opposed the legalistic self-righteousness of their leaders and showed up their true nature just as Jesus had done. The church stuck together and supported one another.

In spite of their circumstances, the church flourished and grew. There was something about them and their way of life that drew people to them like moths to a flame. Yet, as idyllic as it sounds, it was inevitable that there would be bad apples in the box. Satan always has his unsuspecting allies who are there to throw a spanner in the works.

These verses conclude the opening chapter of the life of body of Christ, the church, and also form the introduction to a new era in which the rot began from within. Jesus told a parable about a farmer who planted good seed in his field. In the night an enemy came and sowed weed seeds among the wheat. The new plants looked so alike that the only solution was to let them grow together until the harvest. The fruit would distinguish wheat from weeds.

The church is like that as well. There are pseudo-believers in the mix that seem so genuine that no-one can really tell the difference. But the time does come when their true nature is revealed. The next episode in our story will throw the spotlight on two people who, unfortunately, did not escape the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit in Peter.

There is a message in this story for us. Attachment to the body of Christ does not guarantee true membership. It’s really an issue of the heart. God looks beyond our behaviour to the attitude and motive of our hearts. That’s where our union with Jesus happens and is worked out in our relationships within His body.

Silence Them With Threats!

Bible Study, , ,

SILENCE THEM WITH THREATS!

“They sent them out of the room so they could work out a plan. They talked it over. ‘What can we do with these men? By now it’s known all over town that a miracle has occurred, and they are behind it. There is no way we can refute that. But so that it doesn’t go any further, let’s silence them with threats so they won’t dare to use Jesus’ name ever again with anyone.

“They called them back and warned them that they were on no account ever again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John spoke right back. ‘Whether it’s right in God’s eyes to listen to you rather than to God, you decide. As for us, there’s no question — we can’t keep quiet about what we’ve seen and heard.'” Acts 4:15-20 (The Message).

How naive of these so-called ‘leaders’! Did they really think that their puny threats would put a stop to a spiritual revival that was gathering momentum like a snowball tumbling down a mountain? Their threats were no more effective than shouting against thunder.

These apostles were on a roll. God had raised up Jesus and elevated Him to the highest place in the universe. To Him was given all authority in heaven and on earth and to His faithful apostles He had delegated His authority to preach and heal in His name. Everyone who heard would have an opportunity to respond to the good news that the kingdom of God had come to all people.

What were the Sanhedrin’s threats against a commission like that, especially when God’s power was let loose to confirm the message they were delivering? Put yourself in their shoes. How much notice would you have taken of the hot air of these bullies when God was on the move and He was using you?

The apostles were drunk with the power of God. They were exhilarated with the sweet air of the kingdom after living their whole lives in the stale atmosphere of religion. God had opened a window and let in the fresh breeze of the Holy Spirit and they were not about to shut it again and go back to the very beliefs and ways that had imprisoned them. They wanted everyone to know this vibrant new life that had been poured into them.

Peter and John’s response was not arrogant or disrespectful. God’s power was at work in them and they were not about to shut it down because a few religious cranks ordered them to do so. Jesus was alive and resident in them through His Spirit. They simply stated the truth. Should we obey God or you? You decide.

They were speaking to men who claimed to be obeying God and teaching the people to obey God. Now these same men were ordering a few Galilean peasants not to obey God in spite of what was obvious. No one could do what the apostles were doing without the power of God. They themselves had acknowledged that a miracle had happened and they could not get around it.

Every encounter the apostles had with the religious hierarchy laid more guilt on them and showed them up for what they were, power-hungry bigots who were more interested in their own position than in the responsibility of their role as Israel’s leaders.

Those who lead God’s people need to be careful not to allow self-interest or pride of position get in the way of representing Jesus to the people. We are to be both followers and leaders. Peter and John were not fazed by threats or intimidation. They had their mandate and so do we.

Jesus, Cornerstone

Christian Life, ,

JESUS, CORNERSTONE

“With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose: ‘Rulers and leaders of the people, if we have been brought to trial today for helping a sick man, put under investigation regarding this healing, I’ll be completely frank with you — we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of His name this man stands before you healthy and whole. Jesus is the ‘stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone.’ Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been given or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one.'” Acts 4:8-12 (The Message).

Now the fat’s in the fire!

Peter could not have stated his case more clearly or thrown down the gauntlet more emphatically than he did at that moment! His words were loaded with truth, courage, boldness, conviction and challenge. He, a Galilean fisherman with no more training than three years with Jesus, was standing before the highest and most powerful religious court in the land and indicting them!

It’s history repeating itself. Only a few months before, Jesus had stood before the same court on trial for His life; yet He was the real judge and the court the accused. Now His followers were in the same position. It was religion going head-to-head with truth all over again.

Jesus had promised His disciples: ”’These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands, and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.'” Mark 16:17-18 (NIV).

The unseen kingdom of God had once again become visible through a miracle of God’s love and grace which had set a man free from the chains of disability. Everything imperfect is evidence that we are still living in captivity to a fallen world. Jesus brought with Him the good news that it would not remain like that forever. Little did these arrogant religious bullies realise that they had played a part in putting God’s plan into action by sentencing the innocent Son of God to death.

Wherever the apostles went, they heralded and demonstrated the power of this kingdom that would one day take over all the kingdoms of the world and restore all of creation to its original perfection. This would inevitably lead to a clash between God’s kingdom and the kingdoms of this world over which the prince of this world presides for now.

Peter insisted that the ‘stone the builders rejected, was now the cornerstone’ of this building Jesus was working on – a spiritual temple built out of living stones, every person who trusted in Him for salvation, not in the puny and futile ‘righteousness’ the religious leaders were so proud of and so confident in.

The problem in our world is that the bold confidence in asserting this truth is interpreted as ‘religious intolerance’ and ‘hate speech’ and in some countries, even those that pride themselves on being ‘free’, is a reason for arrest and imprisonment. According to the opinion of the world, all religions are equal, and that may be true if we consider that Jesus did not come to found a new religion but to reveal the Father and to open the way for mankind to be reconciled to Him.

So we, who believe in Jesus, continue to assert that He is the cornerstone and that there is no other name by which we must be saved because He alone is the mirror image of God and the way to the Father. All over the world, governments and individuals are killing the messengers but they cannot kill the message because truth is indestructible.

Fearless Confidence

Prayer, , ,

FEARLESS CONFIDENCE

“A wonderful harmony in prayer: ‘Strong God, you made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. By the Holy Spirit you spoke through the mouth of your servant and our father, David.

“Why the big noise, nations?
Why the mean plots, people?
Earth’s leaders push for position,
Potentates meet for summit talks,
The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers!”

For in fact, they did meet — Herod and Pontius Pilate with nations and peoples, even Israel itself — met in this very city to plot against your holy servant Jesus, the one you made Messiah, to carry out the plans you long ago set in motion.

“And now they’re at it again! Take care of their threats and give your servants fearless confidence in preaching you Message as you stretch out your hand to us in healings and miracles and wonders done in the name of your holy servant Jesus.'” Acts 4:24b-30 (The Message).

What a prayer! Doesn’t sound quite like the sort of prayer God’s people would pray today, does it? We would pray something like this: “O God, we are under attack! The devil is attacking us. We bind you, Satan, in the name of Jesus. We take authority over you. You have no power over us so take your hands off us. O God, please get us out of this. In the name of Jesus, amen.”

Prayer is a window into our hearts. When people pray together, they get to know one another pretty well. Compare our kind of praying with the prayer of those early disciples. We pray out of despair. Our focus is more often on the problem than it is on God. We rehearse the problem and beg God to intervene to get us out of it.

Remember Joshua at Ai? He was whining at God because Israel had been defeated and some of their men killed. He thought it was God’s fault for not supporting them. God’s response? “Stop praying! Get up! Israel has sinned.”

There is something reciprocal about our prayers and God’s responses. Israel’s defeat was the result of Achan’s disobedience, and prayer was not the solution. The value of Joshua’s prayer lay in God’s response — stop praying and do something about the sin in the camp. Perhaps we need to heed the lesson when we are praying about situations in our own countries.

The believers in this incident had it right. They did not interpret persecution as Satan’s work against them. They viewed it as God’s opportunity to get more glory for Himself by showing His power against the backdrop of puny human opposition. The psalm they quoted contrasted the worst that human power can do with God’s response to the rebellion of men and nations. “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill…” Psalm 2:6 (NIV).

Their plea was not, “God, get them off our backs,” but “God, let’s do it even more.” What a spirit! They were less concerned about their own comfort and safety than they were about getting the job done. They knew that God was supporting them as they supported him in His intention to make His Son known.

We in the western world need to recapture the attitude of those first followers of Jesus who were so captivated by Him that they disregarded themselves in their partnership with God to establish His rule on earth. They knew that God would take care of their business if they took care of His.

Deadly Presumption

Christian Life,

DEADLY PRESUMPTION

“Not more than three hours later his wife, knowing nothing of what had happened, came in. Peter said, ‘Tell me, were you given this price for your field?’

‘”Yes.’ she said, ‘that price.’

“Peter responded, ‘What’s going on here that you connived to conspire against the Spirit of the Master? The men who buried your husband are at the door and you’re next.’ No sooner were the words out of his mouth than she also fell down dead. When the young men returned they found her body. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

By this time the whole church and, in fact, everyone who heard these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with.” Acts 5:7-11 (The Message).

What a pity that everyone, insiders and outsiders alike, does not have a healthy respect for God today. That was Paul’s diagnosis of the state of his world in the first century and it is equally true of the people in our world today.

The death of these two interlopers should carry a strong message for us in the church today. Just because God does not act as decisively against offenders in the church as He did then does not mean that He disregards the seriousness of this kind of behaviour.

There is something distasteful about the sin of presumption. In Psalm 50 the Holy Spirit, through David, said this: “These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you.” Ananias and Sapphira presumed that they could deceive the apostolic leadership and the whole church and get away with it. They did not reckon on the work of the Spirit we call “spiritual gifts”.

Those who are sensitive and in touch with the Holy Spirit’s voice within, and that includes every believer, not only the spiritual “elite”, have access to a range of “gifts” which are intended to enhance the smooth functioning of the church. These gifts include insight into things only the Holy Spirit can reveal, like the deception these two people were trying to pull off on the church.

These abilities to function in the realm of the supernatural are essential to minister help and hope to believers as well as to keep the people’s hearts open before God and to keep interlopers from polluting the fellowship. (Unfortunately some streams within the church have claimed these “gifts” as evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit (especially speaking in tongues) and elevated those who practise them to the level of “Spirit-filled” believers as though this is a qualification for God’s special attention).

Peter was quick to pick up in his spirit the deception Ananias and Sapphira were trying to pull off on the church. It takes confidence and courage to speak out against what they had connived to do. What if he were wrong? What if God had killed him for wrongly accusing them? The fact that they were caught out and taken out points to God’s concern for His own honour and Peter’s accurate discernment of their hearts.

Moses suffered the same consequences, though not as dramatically, for not upholding God’s honour in front of His people. When he displayed his irritation with the people for their unbelief and struck the rock twice instead of speaking to it, he disqualified himself from taking the people into the Promised Land. He was barred from completing the work he had begun and he died outside the land he so longed to enter.

What would God have to do today to purge the church of people who presume on the grace of God so that they do what they like and think that they will get away with it? When the church of the Lord Jesus returns to living in the fear of the Lord, perhaps the world will begin to take the church more seriously.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 (NIV).