Acts Articles – Prayer 01B

On June 20, 2012 By BrianIn Book of Acts, Church Life, Habit of Prayer

Jesus ascended into heaven where he still acts and still speaks through his followers, through his church. But how do we know what he wants us to do? How do we know what he wants us to say? In the last post we said that part of the answer was the Word. Another part of the answer is through prayer.

In Acts 1:15-26, the disciples are guided by the Word to replace Judas. They find two men that fit the necessary requirements for an apostle – they had to be with Jesus during his ministry, and especially be eye-witnesses to his resurrection. Having determined the possibilities, the disciples then pray for direction.

They pray to the Lord. In the context of Acts, Jesus is often referred to as Lord. And so it is possible that we should understand the disciples as praying to Jesus. As the Head of the church, it would make sense for them to seek his direction. As the one who chose the original twelve disciples, it would make sense for them to speak to him about his chosen replacement of Judas.

And so we ought to seek direction from Jesus in prayer. Our churches need to pray together seeking his direction in how he wants us to apply his Word in our specific situations. We will look at three specific applications tomorrow.

Acts Article – Word 01

On June 19, 2012 By BrianIn Book of Acts, Church Life, Habit of Scripture

In Acts 1:15-26, Peter recognizes that Judas abandoned his role as an apostle, as was predicted in Psalm 69:25. He then finds guidance in the Word. Psalm 109:8 instructs them to replace Judas.

The main point I want to make is that they found guidance in the Word. The Word told them what Jesus wanted them to do. And so the Word tells us what Jesus wants us to do.

As we gather together as local churches to study the Word together, Jesus is speaking to us, telling us what he wants us to do and say. As we hear the Word taught and preached, Jesus is giving us our marching orders. And as we faithfully respond to what his Word tells us, Jesus is acting and speaking through us.

As we gather together around the Word, let us then be careful to listen attentively and respond appropriately so that we might be the hands and tongue of Jesus.

Acts Articles – Prayer 01A

On June 8, 2012 By BrianIn Book of Acts, Church Life, Habit of Prayer

Yesterday I suggested two applications from the example of 120 disciples who devoted themselves to praying in one accord for the Spirit to empower them as witnesses. But are we supposed to follow their example? Is this recorded for us to imitate or is it recorded simply to tell us what happened?

Alan Thompson in his book, The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus, suggests one helpful way forward. He suggests that something mentioned once is probably to be taken as merely descriptive. But if Luke mentions something repeatedly, that it is probably to be taken as prescriptive; that is, it is a pattern in the early church that should be a pattern for the church today (see p25-27).

So then, the 120 disciples were devoted to praying together for 10 days. Do we need to devote ourselves to praying together for 10 days? Probably not since this is the only occasion that we read of a 10 day period. And indeed this ten day period between the Ascension and Pentecost (these two great works in salvation history) is unrepeatable. That is not to say, we couldn’t commit to pray together for 10 days – it may be a great thing to do. But it is not prescribed for us to do it.

But what about devoting ourselves to praying together apart from the 10 day length? Is devoting ourselves to praying together merely descriptive, or should we take it as prescriptive. Three patterns suggest that we should take this as prescriptive.

First, there is a pattern throughout Acts of Christians devoting themselves to prayer together. It is clearly a regular practice for them. Why would we think it shouldn’t be a regular practice for us? And remember that Acts does not give us an exhaustive view of the early church. Luke merely hits some of the highlights, and apparently Luke thought praying together was important enough to highlight, probably at least in part because he thought we should imitate their devotion to praying together.

Second, if you compare the gospels, the Gospel of Luke has the greatest emphasis on prayer. Luke clearly wanted his readers to be instructed in prayer, and so it is reasonable that he would continue that instruction into his second volume – the Book of Acts. Luke is instructing us in how we are to pray by recording for us the practice and teaching of Jesus and the practice of the early church.

Third, there is a perceptible pattern in Acts of the people praying together, the Spirit powerfully working, and the word going forth. We see it in Acts 1-2 as the 120 pray, the Spirit comes in power, and the word is preached with 3000 people getting saved. We see it again in Acts 4, as the church prays, the Spirit comes in power, and the people boldly proclaim the gospel. In Acts 13, the church is praying, the Spirit calls Paul and Barnabas, and thousands will be saved through his missionary work.

Perhaps we see few people saved today in many of our churches, because we aren’t devoting ourselves to praying together for the Spirit to powerfully work. Not that we can force the Spirit’s hand, as if he has to act if we pray. But if we don’t care enough to ask, why would we expect him to act? If we try to do the ministry on our own without prayer, why would we expect God to bless our ministries?

These three patterns in Luke-Acts makes clear that devoting ourselves to praying together is prescriptive for us. We are to follow the early church’s example. What are we waiting for?

Acts Articles – Prayer 01

On June 7, 2012 By BrianIn Book of Acts, Church Life, Habit of Prayer

After seeing Jesus ascend into heaven, the disciples return to Jerusalem to wait for the coming of the Spirit (Acts 1:12-14). They wait with the women who had supported Jesus and visited his tomb. They wait with Mary, the mother of Jesus. And they wait with Jesus’ brothers who did not believe during Jesus’ life, but have come to believe since the resurrection. In all there are around 120 people waiting.

Jesus ascended 40 days after the resurrection. We know the Spirit will come on Pentecost – 50 days after the resurrection. So what do these 120 followers of Christ do while they wait for 10 days? They have an extended prayer meeting!

All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer. – Acts 1:14a

Notice their example:

They prayed with one accord. They were united in prayer. They were of one mind, joined together in crying out to God.
They were devoted to prayer. They continued in it. They were persistent, persevering, constant, busy in prayer.

And what were they praying for? The context suggests they were praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised that the Spirit would come. And indeed they are waiting in Jerusalem for the Spirit to come. Certainly the Spirit was on their minds.

All of this suggests two applications for us today:

As they were devoted to praying together in one accord, so we should be devoted to praying together in one accord. Each church should unite together in devoted prayer. Our prayer services should be highly attended, and whenever we gather we should be quick to pray together.
As they prayed for the Spirit to come to empower them to be Jesus’ witnesses, so we should pray for the Spirit (who has already come) to empower us to be Jesus’ witnesses. How might our churches (and communities) change if this became our united prayer?

Acts Articles – Jesus 01A

On June 6, 2012 By BrianIn Book of Acts1 Comment

In Acts 1:9-11, Jesus ascends into heaven. He returns to the Father to reign at his right hand. We must understand this as a real event. The disciples really saw this happen. Indeed, Luke seems to go out of his way to make this clear as he fills the narrative with “seeing: words: looking, sight, gazing, looking (again), and saw.

And this departure brings about a real change. For 40 days, Jesus has been appearing and disappearing before the disciples, but this time is different. As the angels make clear, they won’t see Jesus again until he returns to usher in the fulfillment of the kingdom. And so today we live in expectation of his return.

As we struggle through the hardships of this life, we have this expectation, this hope that Jesus is coming again. And when he comes, life will change. There is coming a day when sin and death and suffering and pain and tears will be no more. We can endure today because of the hope of what is yet to come.

And yet this expectation also reminds us of our responsibility. When your employer gives you a task and says he or she will be back later, you had better work on that task. In the same way, Jesus has given us a task and he is coming back. Until he does, we need to busy with that task. We need to be busy living as his witnesses, longing to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Acts Articles – Spirit 01

On June 5, 2012 By BrianIn Book of Acts

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.
– Acts 1:8

In the last Acts Articles, we discussed Jesus’ call to be his witnesses. But we can’t be his witnesses on our own. Nor are we meant to be. The disciples were to wait for the coming of the Spirit who would empower them to be witnesses for Jesus. As the Spirit came upon Jesus at his baptism to empower him for ministry, so the Spirit came upon the disciples to empower them for ministry. And still today, the Spirit dwells in his people to empower them for ministry – to be witnesses of Jesus, to be Jesus’ hands and tongue.

When your employer gives you a task, he or she enables you to do the task. Your employer gives you the necessary materials to do the job. In the same way, Jesus has given us a task to be his witnesses, and he has given us what we need to accomplish it – the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit empowers us to be the witnesses Jesus called us to be. The Spirit empowers us to serve and speak as witnesses. The Spirit leads and guides us as Jesus’ witnesses. The Spirit helps us to use even our trials as opportunities to be witnesses. The Spirit strengthens us in persecution that comes from being witnesses. And it is the Spirit who enables people to believe in response to our witness. It is the Spirit who changes people’s lives.

May we have a growing awareness of the Spirit in our lives. May we live in the power of the Spirit to be witnesses for Jesus Christ.

Acts Articles – Witness 01

On May 31, 2012 By BrianIn Book of Acts1 Comment

You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth. – Acts 1:8b

Jesus spoke these words to the 11 apostles (identified as his listeners back in v2). They were given the special task of being witnesses to the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, and especially to the reality that Jesus rose from the dead (see v21-22). From their witness, thousands were saved who then themselves became witnesses to the apostles’ testimony about Jesus and their own testimony of what Jesus had done in their lives.

And so it is for us today. We are witnesses of the apostles’ testimony found in the Word of God. We are witnesses of what Christ has done in our lives. We must share the good news with others.

Jesus called the 11 apostles to be his witnesses starting in Jerusalem, then moving out to Judea and Samaria, and then to the end of the earth. This is exactly what happened, and it makes a good summary of the book of Acts. Chapter 1-7 are centered in Jerusalem. Chapters 8-12 find the gospel moving out to Judea and Samaria. Chapters 13-28 show the gospel beginning to go out to the end of the earth.

This pattern is good for us as well. We should begin in our own Jerusalem, the people we know, our own community. There are many without Christ. Our local churches need to be missions posts from which we go out to a very real mission field.

From there we go out to our Judea and Samaria– perhaps our state and country. I found statistics showing that 50% of Americans have no religious affiliation at all. Of those who do, it takes little consideration to realize many of them are also without the gospel. We have a mission field right here in our own country. What can we do to reach our Judea and Samaria? Our churches can send out missionaries and church planters who will minister in our own country. Larger churches might partner with smaller churches struggling to reach their small communities. We can raise our own children to be witnesses, many of whom will eventually live in another city or state – our Judea and Samaria– as witnesses.

And then we are to go to the end of the earth. And so our churches send missionaries around the world. Perhaps in light of Jesus’ call, we need to increase our commitment to world-wide missions, with a focus on reaching people with no gospel witness, training pastors around the world in the Word, and helping churches in other countries with the many resources we have been blessed with. Perhaps God would call some of us to go.

When an employer gives us a task, we are expected to do it. Our Lord has given us a task. Let’s be his faithful witnesses to a world that needs Jesus.

Acts Articles – Jesus 01

On May 30, 2012 By BrianIn Book of Acts

According to Acts 1:1, the gospel of Luke told what Jesus began to do and teach. That word “began” is emphatic. The clear implication we are to draw is that the book of Acts is about what Jesus continued to do and teach. In other words, Jesus did not ascend into heaven to twiddle his thumbs until his return. He is still acting and teaching…through us.

If you have a job, your employer undoubtedly has certain goals that he or she wants to accomplish. Your job, and the tasks that make up that job, fit within those goals. We might say that your employer is working through you to accomplish his goals. In the same way, Jesus is working through us to accomplish his goals, his mission, his purpose. He acts and teaches today through his church. He is the head, and we are his body.

As such, we must live as his hands and his tongue. We must do his work. We must speak his words. We must allow ourselves to be used by Jesus to care for the hurting and serve his people and encourage the weary and teach his church and witness to the lost. What a privilege! What a responsibility! We must allow ourselves to be guided by his Word, prayer, and the Holy Spirit so that we live as his hands and tongue to accomplish his purpose for his glory. May God’s grace help us to live like this!

Acts Articles – Intro

On May 29, 2012 By BrianIn Book of Acts

In preparation for a new sermon series at my church, I have been studying the book of Acts. It has been an exciting study so far. I feel like I am breathing new air as I see what the church is called to be, what it should be, what it could be, what I hope it will be.

In the following weeks, I want to explore several inter-related themes found in Acts. These include Jesus, witness, Spirit, prayer, suffering, church, and the Word. If we put all the themes together we find that the church is called to be witnesses pointing to Jesus through the Word in the power of the Spirit and in the context of prayer and suffering. As the church fulfills this mission, Jesus is acting and speaking through us. I look forward to unpacking this with you, as well as exploring a few other themes that come up along the way.

Healthy Small Town Church

On May 24, 2012 By BrianIn Church Life

At the RHMA Small Town Pastors’ Conference, Ron Klassen suggested the following six key health indicators from Colossians for a healthy small town church:

1. Respected People’s Commendation (1:1-6) – Do other Christians look at our church with high regard?

2. Twin F’s: Faithfulness and Fruitfulness (1:2, 6) – Are we faithfully doing the right things so that we are fruitful; that is, so lives are being changed?

3. Healthy Relationships (1:4, 8) – Do the people love one another in the Spirit?

4. Faithful Leaders (1:7) – Are the leaders faithful in their service? Marks of a faithful leader include: making the teaching of the Word a priority (1:6-7), being a servant (1:7, 4:12), being a prayer warrior (4:12), being a hard worker (4:13), and being committed to doctrinal purity (4:12).

5. Commitment to Discipleship (2:6-7) – Is the church committed to going, baptizing, and teaching?

6. Commitment to Progress (1:28) – Is there a desire for the church and its people to mature?

How well does your church meet these key health indicators? In which indicator does your church particularly need to grow? Of course no church is perfect, but is your church moving in the right direction? Regardless, what steps might you take to help it move in the right direction?