“PICTURE HEAVEN!” Imagine- no more pain or suffering! A great time of reunion with those who have left this world before us- those who love Jesus and devoted their lives to pleasing Him and living a life that shines to a world that is dying and lost. We live in a world that's looking for love, hope, purpose, and real forgiveness in all the wrong places: Sex, Power, Politics, Food, Fashion, Money, Sports, Leisure, etc. It's an easy thing to do when you overlook the Creator of the Universe.
For those of us that love Jesus and realize we need Him to get us there, that we can't do it on our own, the question becomes how do we express our great love and thankfulness.
Let's begin by looking at what happens right around the time Jesus ascends into Heaven.
This will be a quick summary look at the Book of Acts, written about the Apostles and leaders and common people that decided to become a follower of him.
First, Matthias is Chosen to Replace
Judas (Chapter 1) Then, Pentecost occurs (when the Holy Spirit visits the Apostles and many hear the Gospel message in their own language happens), and God empowers the believers with his own Holy Spirit (Chapter 2). Peter, who once denied Jesus three times before the Crucifixion, ia a changed man. He gets bold and steps out to preach - and 3,000 people are saved and baptized. (Acts 2:41). Momentum builds, and the faithful are encouraged.
Real community, real life-changing friendship happens with deep teaching and fellowship
established with lots of great food and prayer.
- Wonders and miracles happened from the hands of the Apostles
- Believers shared what they had (They didn’t hoard
possessions!)
- People added daily (Acts 2:47)
- Persecution comes- (Acts 4-6)
But more believers are added!
- Stephen becomes the first Martyr- (Acts 7)
- The church spreads
Saul’s conversion – This is important- Ananias, a common believing man- is used by
God to heal Saul (Acts 9)
- The church was strengthened, encouraged by the Holy Spirit and continued
to grow (Acts 9:31)
- Signs and wonders continue, including Peter raising Dorcas from the
dead, and more people come to faith (Acts 9- on)
- The Holy Spirit continues to fall on those who hear the Gospel – (Acts
10:11, 11:15)
- Teaching, conversions, miraculous signs, and persecution continue (Acts 11-Acts
17)
- Paul’s Ministry takes off as he travels the world. (Acts
18-28)
From a practical perspective, how did God fuel this movement?
Of course, all the good we do comes from God and originates in Him, but what was the environment that positively contributed to this season? Let's now look at a few key verses in the first five chapters of the same book.
Acts 1:14
These all
continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with
the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
Acts 2:1
When the
Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in
one place.
Acts 2:46
So
continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and
breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and
simplicity of heart
Acts 4:24
So when
they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord
and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and
all that is in them
Acts 5:12
And through
the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And
they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.
See the common theme? If not, here's the answer: They were all "in one accord". In the original Greek language of the New Testament, it means they were all of one mind. They has a singular focus. A singular mission. They loved each other and gave to each other what we needed to get the job done. This pleased God- and the impact the early church had in their world ensured that the Good News of Jesus Christ and his gift of life by his death on the cross would go from generation to generation.
Of course, God is not the only one who notices what's going on. He's not the only one who takes action. The devil, the one already conquered by God, notices and takes action to try to thwart God's plans. Human self-interest comes into play, too. God calls this kind of pride and self-focus sin, and He's not pleased.
The truth is, from the very beginning of the church, the unity of believers is always tested when things are going well. Why is that? The answer is because we as Christ followers are in a spiritual battle which impacts eternity. Souls will be saved, and souls will be lost.
Jesus knew how the church would grow best, and knew how the message of His Life Giving Sacrifice for our behalf would best be known. In the book of John, (17:20-23) as he is praying in the garden waiting to be arrested to be hung, Jesus prays to the Father for all the believers:
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray
also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all
of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they
also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I
have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete
unity. Then (emphasis mine) the world
will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Jesus is saying two very important things here. First, a break in the unity among the faithful stops their powerful testimony of changed lives because of Him. Secondly, he reminds the leaders of this new growing spiritual movement that people are important. People are the Ministry. Not organization, not buildings, not committees. People. People are the reason Jesus came to earth to die. On the cross, he became the payment for our sins to satisfy God's requirements. Its' totally out of love!
But what happens when unity is successfully broken?
Think for a minute when unity is broken in any kind of team environment. Be it sports, business, an orchestra, or a philanthropic organization, when oneness of mind falls apart and people begin to look toward their own self-interests, the focus on the organization becomes internal- and the goals are compromised. People then take their eyes off what matters.
This happened with the early believers, but if we look once more at the Book of Acts, we see that after every test, they can come back together- and God blesses their work once again!
·
PEOPLE BEGIN WANTING TO BE NOTICED AND DEEMED
SPIRITUAL AND IMPORTANT (ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA – ACTS 5:1-11. NOTICE
MORE FOLKS CAME TO CHRIST AFTER THEIR DEATHS? VERSE 14. DISCIPLINE THEN GROWTH) (PRIDE)
·
FACTIONS AND GRUMBLING BEGIN WHEN THE GRECIAN JEWS
THOUGHT THEIR WIDOWS WERE BEING OVERLOOKED IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD – ACTS
6:1-6. (AND MORE CAME TO FAITH AFTER THE
ISSUE WAS RESOLVED. VS 7. PROBLEM SOLVED THEN GROWTH) (SUSPICION AND DEMANDING OF RIGHTS
LEADING TO DIVISION)
·
SAUL CONVERTS BUT THE DISCIPLESS ARE AFRAID OF HIM. (ACTS
9:26) BARNABAS STEPS OUT IN FAITH AND DEFENDS HIM. SAUL/PAUL IS EVENTUALLY
ACCEPTED AND BEGINS TO PREACH. THE CHURCH ONCE AGAIN GROWS. VERSE 31. GROWTH
COMES WHEN WE INVEST IN EACH OTHER AND ARE NOT THEATENED BY THE GIFTS GOD HAS
GIVEN THEM! (FEAR)
·
THE ISSUE OF CIRCUMCISION THREATENS TO DIVIDE THE
CHURCH. THE NEED FOR WISE DECISIONS AND
GOVERNMENT IN THE MINISTRY ALSO BRINGS GROWTH (ACTS 15 THRU 16:45) (LEGALISM AND
TRADITION OVER BIBLICAL FREEDOM)
As a church, we always mention how persecution brings growth and the Gospel spreads, but here we also see that Godly discipline and problem resolution brings growth and health.
The Bible is very clear that our enemy is after us (1 Peter 5:8 says he is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour). And we also know that non-believers are captives of the enemy- but not our enemy- and they can contribute unintentionally to the problems (See 2 Timothy 2:24-26).
We are used to these Biblical truths. However, there is one more enemy that comes into play, creating problems. A quote I read recently:
“It has been said that the Jews
turned the gospel into a religion, Romans a philosophy, Europeans a tradition
and Americans a business.”
The Apostle Paul warns believers of this deception! In the letter to the Colossians church, chapter 2:6-8:
So
then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in
him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you
were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and
deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental
spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
This
truth applies regardless of our nationality- we are Christians first before we are identified by God as anyone else. The result of this deceptive philosophy? We can begin to look at the ministry of Jesus as a "Business Model", complete with a humanistic business plan. This is a detrimental mistake because as Jesus followers, we are a
family! (1 Timothy 3:15; Ephesians
1:5; Hebrews 2:11)
The truth is, when we think and function like a business, the church or the ministry will bear fruit as a business would. What does this look like?
First, we'll discover that people become focused on power, position, and influence. This core mindset produces an entire treasure trove of problems:
·
THERE WILL BE A SPIRIT OF COMPETITION
AND JEALOUSY
·
THERE WILL BE FEAR- AND CREATIVITY WILL
DRY UP AND DIE
·
THERE WILL BE LITTLE JOY- INSTEAD THERE
WILL BE BITTERNESS
·
WE WILL BECOME SUSPICIOUS OF EACH
OTHER’S MOTIVES
·
A SPIRIT OF LEGALISM WILL TAKE OVER-
NOT FREEDOM
·
PEOPLE WILL BECOME EASILY TOSSED ASIDE
INSTEAD OF BEING VALUED- FREINDSHIPS ARE BROKEN!
·
WE WILL LIVE LONELY LIVES
·
WE CURSE INSTEAD OF BLESS!
·
WE WILL LOOK LIKE THE WORLD AND
NON-BELIEVERS WILL STAY AWAY FROM THE FAITH!
·
THERE WILL BE LITTLE GODLY FRUIT
·
GOD WILL NOT BE GLORIFIED
Naturally, Satan will rejoice when this occurs in the church!Why? Because as this happens and people function differently than what God intends, we as Christians look no different than the rest of the world.
However, when we function like the family we are as God intended, we will bear good fruit as a family would:
·
PEACE, LOVE, JOY etc.- ALL THE FRUIT OF
THE SPIRIT WILL BE EVIDENT
·
PEOPLE WILL BE VALUED AND HONORED AND
GOD WILL BE GLORIFIED
·
OTHERS WILL WANT TO GIVE THEIR LIVES TO
JESUS AS THEY SEE REAL COMMUNITY
·
ETERNAL PURPOSES WILL BE FULFILLED
Stop for a moment here, and evaluate your life and actually your ministry here on earth. (We've all been given work to do by God as His children and His ambassadors to a broken world.) What do you see? Is God pleased? If not, it's time to do some further evaluation and change your ways.
When the great Apostle Paul was speaking in Athens about "The Unknown God", he had some pretty profound things to say. At first glance, it doesn't seem like it applies, but bear with me a moment:
Acts 17:24-28
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven
and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And
he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself
gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man
he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he
marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him
and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one
of us. ‘For in him we
live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are
his offspring.’
What’s the point? Most importantly, we see here:
and it may be a
bit out of context, but I’d say it’s a safe stretch to understand- the Holy Spirit will not dwell freely in a church or a ministry that is designed by and run by the methods of men. It's got to be done God's way and with His Gracious Heart if it is to be pleasing to Him. It has to be this way if it is going to bring about the results that please Him. There is no other way.
Sometimes, we are our own worst enemy!
Jesus' words here make so much sense. He puts it all in perspective:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you
will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more
than food, and the body more than clothes? (Matthew 6:25 )
We begin worrying about the things God says are of little importance. Well- at least they are of little eternal importance is the point here. It's God's way of bringing us back to the unity of mind, being of one accord, of one purpose and heart. Who cares about what this person out that person thinks about how I live my life? Does it please God? Am I reflecting Him well?
Romans 12:3
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
It's not about social status or authority, position or power. We all have different roles and responsibilities, and we all need each other. Whatever place and position you've been given in your family, your place of business, your church, well, it was all given to you by God. And He will reward you.
I used to believe in order to please God I had to be as spiritual as a Billy Graham, as much of a servant as a Mother Teresa, etc. The truth is, I am only responsible for the things God has told me to do. The things I read in the Bible and the things He reveals as I pray. We each play different roles and are placed in different places in our world in order that the most number of people will be impacted. Therefore, God will only hold me responsible for what He has asked of me, not what He has asked someone else. It is very, very freeing!
1 Corinthians 3:8
The one who plants and the one who waters have one
purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.
There is one last great story I'll share today from the Bible. In the book of Matthew
20:20-28, the story is told of the mother of John and James coming to talk to Jesus. Pay attention here to what happens, and the responses of each person involved. If this doesn't speak to our world today, I really don't know what does!
Then the
mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked
a favor of him.
“What is
it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine
may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
“You don’t
know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am
going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
Jesus said
to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is
not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been
prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard about this, they were
indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high
officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and
whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man
did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.”
Jesus takes it one step further for those who say they want to follow: Continuing on with Matthew 23:11-12-
The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble
themselves will be exalted.
·
This story fits the American stereotype of the
Jewish mother- pushing her way into places she doesn’t belong and promoting her
children! How are you like the mother? The sons? Is someone else pushing you to “move up”? To prove your worth?
·
Jesus’ words ought to scare us “Exalt yourself- and
you WILL be humbled”!
o
It’s a guarantee. You may think this won’t happen,
but it will! I’ve seen it too many times. Including in my own life!
o
Look what happens here when people puff themselves up. Others get indignant. It sets a whole thing in motion that is not good.
o
The challenge here is NOT to trust our own instincts
and think like a businessman. But we are not business men and women- we are
servants of the God most High- and We are a Family!
Sometimes we act this way because we are not taking the time to be alone with God, to read the Bible, to pray, to seek His heart. So we forget what is important to Him, and we look around and begin thinking like those who don't know Him.
We've got to start fresh with each other and with God. Don't you think this makes sense? Doing this is a way to recapture your love for God and your passion for the things that delight His heart. They also enrich your life because when you do the things He has designed you for, your life feels of value. You're making a difference, and there's great joy in being used by God.
Ephesians
4:3 “Make every effort to keep the unity
of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Paul and Barnabas had a nasty fight and went two separate ways (Acts
15:38-39). A great friendship was destroyed and
the ministry was impacted.
Thankfully, they reconciled. People must have rejoiced for this. Somebody had to take the first step. They were reconciled. Paul considered
Mark "of great service" (2 Tim 4:11) and told the believers to
welcome him (Col 4:10). Paul became the great apostle (2 Tim 1:11). John Mark became the first gospel writer.
Matthew 5:23-24
“Therefore, if you are offering your
gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something
against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First
go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
Perhaps you’re on the edge or you’ve
fallen flat on your face. The pressure’s getting to you,
you’re thinking like those in the world, or maybe you’re pushing your way
around and forgetting that People are the Ministry-
Let me encourage you to run to the
LORD and confess your sin- and start all over.
