Acts 9:1-19

 Acts 9:1-19

 

There is hidden in plain sight a sentence in this passage that we wish was not there. Spoken about Saul, it has application for all disciples. It is one concept of following that we genuinely wish was not there if we are honest. It is never shared with those we talked to about the church and never spoken about with Christians as we talked about growing in the faith. That phrase is, "…for I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake”.

When was the last time any of us heard a lesson, teaching, or were told that to be a disciple will mean suffering for the name of Christ? In fact, the presentation used by the church is almost exclusively "Come to Jesus and get what you want”. We hear teaching about, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper…” a text taken out of context so it is little more than a pretext for our own wish dream. We hear, “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full,” but we never ask, What life is Jesus talking about? To a great degree we have presented a bait-and-switch gospel, inviting people to come to Jesus and only later mentioning there will be some commandments and expectations, if they are so inclined.

Not so with Jesus' in His planned conversation with Saul. In verse 15, Jesus says that Saul will be a significant part of the gospel’s proclamation. But Jesus also promises to show him about suffering. This was a lifelong lesson. In 2nd Corinthians 11:16-33, Paul recalls his suffering, and this was just the first part of his ministry. Notice Jesus used three words: “He must suffer.” It doesn't appear that this was optional equipment. Discipleship and our daily ministry will mean suffering. Perhaps not like Saul, but nonetheless to be a disciple means that in some ways we will suffer.

Could it be that the reason the church and America are in decline is because in the cost-benefit analysis we have failed to consider and study the cost side of the equation? And in so doing we have been more like marketers and less like disciples. If you want to follow Jesus, you need to ask Him:

"Lord, what must I suffer for your namesake? AMEN”

Acts 8:26-40

 Acts 8:26-40

 

The contrast between two people could not be more dramatic than the contrast between Simon, the former sorcerer, and the Ethiopian treasurer. Simon the Sorcerer had an agenda of power and self-aggrandizement the treasurer is seeking from an apparently honest and sincere heart. The humility of the treasure is seen in verse 31. This is profound and should not be too quickly overlooked. 

The treasure was in the right place: the word of God. He was doing the right thing: honestly seeking. Into this combination the Lord sends the right man: Philip. That is God's consistent pattern. The treasurer is humble enough to admit it, but he couldn't understand without someone's help. We need to take a moment and remember who these two people are. All the symbols and evidence of power rested solely with the treasurer. Who was on foot and who was in the carriage? Who was wealthy enough to own a personal copy of scripture? Who was a royal official? Who had attendants to drive while he read? Who had the financial recourse to take a trip from Ethiopia to Jerusalem? This was a trip of about 1500 miles, or roughly from Tampa, FL, to Portland, ME. The treasurer was, by all visible measures, the superior in this encounter. Nevertheless he was humble enough to admit that without help he would not understand what he was reading.

We often have difficulty in seeing beyond the externals. We look at a person and have a hard time seeing beyond their race, gender, age, class, etc., to perceive their situation. It is not uncommon for us to have the same difficulty in seeing beyond our own externals. Because of the externals we have or perceive, we can’t see our own need. The wealthy, powerful, accomplished royal adviser asked a lowly, humble, lone, itinerant preacher to explain the Bible to him. That was a mark of great humility. That is lost on many of us. Which explains why so many of us are lost. 

"Lord, grant me the grace of humility in the life of faith. AMEN"

Acts 8:1-25

 Acts 8:1-25

This chapter is a study in contrasts of two men: Simon the wizard and the Ethiopian treasurer. The context is the bitter persecution of the church and the aftermath of “Stephen's murder. Philip has gone down to Samaria, and one of the converts is Simon. Simon saw the power of God at work and was "constantly amazed”. Simon was no dupe who was easily impressed. He was, before his conversion, a powerful agent of magic and supernatural demonic power. He was not a man who would be easily impressed; nevertheless, he saw in the ministry of Philip a power that was supreme and vastly superior to the power he had wielded in his former life. Simon had no doubt learned his magic arts through a long and costly process of study, apprenticeship, and practice. When he saw that power was available by the free gift, the grace of the laying on of hands, he wanted to have that authority. He wanted not only to have the power to do great works but also the power to pass on that same power to others. He could become the headmaster of his own magic school and ultimately a magic empire. He wanted God, and God's power, to be mean to his own ends.

We are not unlike Simon oftentimes. We are less bold and are less inclined to pursue grand things. We are interested in having God’s power at work and our lives at our command to accomplish our purpose. We view prayer as a way to manipulate the natural world to reorder it to suit us. We “claim” the promises of scripture, but only in the sense of our benefit. We determine what is “good” and “bad” based on our agenda, attempting by spiritual means to gain that “good,” just like Simon.

What was absent in Simon and in us is the fundamental point of being a disciple. “Dying to self.” To the degree that our faith and practice are about using God, Scripture, and “spiritual power” to manipulate life and circumstances to bend them to our will, we are Simon. We are attempting to practice witchcraft in a Christian variant. There is a powerful life as a believer, but it is fundamentally the power to die to self and live what God gives.

" Lord, help me to die to myself in all ways. AMEN"

Acts 7:39-60

 Acts 7:39-60 

Jesus is the ultimate point of division. That moment of the division may be postponed or delayed, but it will ultimately come. Jesus himself said. “… I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” Mt 10:34. The murder of Stephen is just such a moment. Before this moment, the rift was there; the fault line was obvious. But at this moment the division erupted in the rage and fury of the mob.

So what was the point of conflict? It was Jesus himself! Stephen recounts the history of Israel and shows how since the time of Moses, Israel had constantly turned away from God's purpose. Stephen explains that God's purpose was to bring the Messiah, that is, Jesus. And true to their family heritage, the Jews of Jesus's day rejected Him. Their fundamental problem was their sin-filled life and heritage, or, as Stephen put it, “stiff neck and uncircumcised hearts and ears.”.

Nothing infuriates a highly hypocritical religious person more than to show them and to tell them that their religion is a fake. The very thing on which the Jews base their religion and pious reputation was Moses and keeping the law he delivered. When they were told that the whole point of the work of Moses, the law, and all the prophets was Jesus and that they betrayed and murdered Him, it was the final straw. The division was complete; the sword came out.

The greatest resistance to the advancement of the Gospel today is not the world, the flesh, or the devil. Those are enemies of our own discipleship and personal holiness. The place where the gospel gets bogged down today is the church. Focused on our own agendas, power plays, politics, and intrigues, the church neither makes disciples nor allows members to make disciples or even supports those who are making disciples. Having become set in its stagnant ways of the local congregational life, the church is emotionally more like the Jews than Stephen. It is a constant and desperate fight to resist the drift into the institutionalism and power structures, the things that actually become a resistance to the work of Christ. But it is a fight we must constantly wage.

"Lord, help me keep the main thing the main thing in my life in the church. AMEN"

Acts 7:1-38

 Acts 7:1-38

One gets the idea that Stephen had a different perspective on God's direction for our lives than many contemporary church leaders. Today we are told that God primarily wants us to be happy, and healthy, and wealthy, and blessed, and highly favored. Some teach God has provided a formal formula by which we can increase the abundance of what we want. Passages of scripture to prove this understanding are quoted, taken out of context, and distorted beyond recognition. Stephen was apparently unaware of this approach to the Christian life or to the treatment of scripture.

As we read through Stephens retelling of Jewish history, we do not see a list of ever-increasing prosperity, peace, and affluence. We see that the critical moments that were often gut-wrenching and heart-challenging moments of difficulty. Abraham, for all his wealth, owned no real estate, “not even a foot of ground.” If we read this passage with candor, we see a story of hardship, slavery, famine, infanticide, murder, and rejection. Hardly is this a prosperity plan, and it is nothing near the American dream of having more for ourselves. 

The reason that Stephens's portrayal of the history of God's interaction with man is so different from what we see in ‘the name it claim it’ preachers today is the focus. Stephen is building a case that will ultimately focus on Christ and His death on the cross. This focus is a universe away from a focus on getting us what we want. Any teaching that doesn't ultimately bring us to the cross is a misguided teaching. The message of the cross for us is not personal peace and affluence but rather to come to the dying Lord and join Him in His death.

 "Lord, help my focus always be on the Cross and the salvation it brings.  AMEN"

Acts 6:1-15

 Acts 6:1-15

What does an angel look like? The answer to that question tells us more about our opinion of angels than it tells us about angels themselves. At the end of this chapter, with the prosecution having presented its woefully weak case, the high court looks at Stephen, and his face was "like the face of an angel." What did they see? We can rule out the depictions of artists who, over the years, have presented angels as everything from naked, chubby, long haired babies with wings to columns of fire with arms. Understanding that there are numerous kinds and ranks of angels, we must realize that a one-size-fits-all visual concept will never be adequate. Stephen’s appearance did not terrify them, which is the most common reaction in scripture to seeing an angel. So in what way was Stephen's space like that of an angel? 

Precisely we do not, and will never, know; however, there are things we do know that might give us a clue. We know that angels of God are supremely loyal to God; they did not join the satanic rebellion and by that become fallen angels or demons. They are supremely confident in God's ultimate victory; there is never any question in their mind of who will win the ultimate cosmic battle. Their lives, if that is the right word, are marked by praise and service; the idea of an idle angel is foreign to scripture. Rather than go on, which we could, this summary of an angel is that of resolve, peace, and eager service. 

At that moment, Stephen is not intimidated or panicked. He may have looked on the proceedings with an air of confidence, as if he had called the assembly together to instruct them. Whatever else marked his appearance, there was certainly a mastery of the circumstance that came from a profound confidence that history, circumstances, life, and all moments are in God's gracious control.

"Grant me Lord to, like Stephen become angelic.

 

Acts 5:17-42

 Acts 5:17-42

 

The effect of the event of Ananias and Sapphira was not what we expected; the church grew. What can be expected when there is meaningful and healthy growth and maturity in the church? Jealousy. The word here may mean ‘religious zeal.’. They may have been trying to secure the traditions of Judaism from the threat of this new teaching. The Sadducees, who controlled the temple, saw the church as a threat to their power and control. Jealousy will never sit silent and passive, so in this case the apostles are put in the public jail.

Having been released from the jail by an angel, the apostles return to the temple at dawn and begin again to teach. When challenged by the authorities about their preaching, “Peter and the apostles answered and said, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’” That is the summation and ultimate expression of what it means to be a disciple. The pressure to compromise our faith and life will come from almost every direction and will face us at every turn. Sometimes it will come in terms of compromise of personal holiness and moral conduct, and sometimes it will come in terms of external pressure to conform. But whether it happens as temptation for secret sin or public compromise, the answer of a disciple is always, “I must obey God rather than men or my own desires.” 

Such an answer will never be well received by the powers that oppose us. Without the Holy Spirit leading, convicting, and converting them, they will never be changed. They will never be satisfied with a ‘live and let live’ kind of relationship. They will always, as the Jewish leadership did here, attempt to silence the opposition. In verse 33 it says the leadership was “cut to the quick.”. They had a genuine and heartfelt response to the apostles’ message. The word is only used here in the N.T. It was used in secular Greek to describe the ways a saw cuts lumber. Rather than a heartfelt tenderness for their past sin, this describes a heart that is angry and hurt but clearly unrepentant. Not all heartfelt reactions to the Gospel lead to repentance. Some authentic heart reactions are filled with anger and violence. We must never assume that a person will, if we present the Gospel correctly, respond in faith. Sometimes we will respond with murderous intent. 

It is interesting that a voice of wisdom was heard in the Senate that day. Gamaliel gave counsel to take a wait-and-see approach to the disciples. If they were just another bunch of rabble-rousers, they would come to nothing on their own. If they were acting at the behest of God, to oppose them would be to oppose God. His words are timely. This senate may have believed that they had the right to order capital punishment, but Gamaliel’s question resulted in the apostles not being put to death. They were beaten and then sent on their way. Tradition tells us that Gamaliel became a disciple and, having been baptized by Peter, he worked on behalf of the church in the Sanhedrin while keeping his faith a secret. The evidence for this story is ambiguous at best.

What is clear is the response of the apostles. They rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer hardship for the Cause of Christ. In a day where the church works hard at making it easy to be a believer, we should perhaps revise our attitude so that we see hardship for the Kingdom as something to be embraced. 

"Lord, help me to love even the hardest of times that I have in the work of the Gospel. AMEN"

Acts 5:1-16

 Acts 5:1-16

 

A church will not be healthy and grow without church discipline. While the case of Ananias and Sapphira is unique and does not have any reproducible methods for the church today, there are certain principles that we would be wise to understand and apply. 

One principle is to understand people sometimes have their own agendas. As Christians we tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, which is good, but it can also lead us to an unrealistically positive view of people. We do not know what Ananias and Sapphira’s agenda was, but it was not simple generosity. We have often been told they wanted esteem like that given to Barnabas. That seems a little shallow and too easy. “Great Fear” is the description of the reaction of the people. This takes a little thought to tease out. If Ananias and Sapphira had been notorious, slimy, over-the-top wicked people, the reaction would perhaps have been more muted. Perhaps the church would have said, “Good riddance” or, “Finally,” but if they were well known as evil, great fear would likely not be the reaction to their death. The church was in “great fear” because they saw in Ananias and Sapphira God’s reaction to hearts that harbored hidden and unrepentant sin, a condition common in all to some degree. This moment was a call to take seriously personal holiness.

Church discipline is primarily about the restoration of the wayward believer. But at a broader level, it is about rooting out sin from the body as a whole and from disciples as individuals. It is a preventative to keep the destructive power of sin from spreading. No church, and this is an absolute certainty, that fails to address willful, open, and unrepentant sin will ever be effective. In fact, when sin is open, unrepentant, and not confronted, it is empowered and will come to dominate the congregation. 

Which brings us to the second principle we need to understand and apply. When discipline is direct, effective, and holy, something wonderful happens. In verses 1-11 we see God directly carry out extreme church discipline. In vss. 12-16 we see an explosion of the ministry of the church. It is no accidental coincidence that the Holy Spirit is seen leading great ministry in the aftermath of the discipline of Ananias and Sapphira. We know that God will not work with people who are hardhearted and unwilling to confront evil in their own hearts and lives. That is also true of congregations and churches. Before we ask if dying and stagnant churches need new tools, techniques, methods, or songs, we need to ask, “Do these churches need to confront the willful sin that has lived unchallenged in their midst for years?”

Church discipline is perhaps the least enjoyable thing a congregation will ever have to do. It seems so much easier to “go along to get along.”. There is a fear that confrontation will cause an ugly scene and the church will no longer be a happy family. Rather than a “happy family” analogy, let’s use a body as the metaphor. Unrepentant sin is a cancer. Surgery with a follow-up of chemo and radiation will not be pleasant. It will be painful, and recovery will take some time. However, if dealt with early, it will be easier to recover. If left untreated, it will be fatal. 

"Lord, give me the courage to both receive and practice godly church discipline.  AMEN"

Acts 4: 23-37

 Acts 4: 23-37

 

This passage is perhaps one of the most beautiful pictures of the church. Having come away from the threats of the priestly delegation, Peter and John returned to the church unharmed and, in fact, emboldened. This beautiful picture and moment of the church will not last, but if there is a golden age of the church, it is this moment.

In this golden age of the church, we see that the church is deeply rooted in Scripture; the church is speaking the word with boldness. There is great unity in the church, which apparently resulted in great generosity within the church. New leadership is developing. The message of the resurrection and the abundant grace of God were being shared with great boldness. The word that is translated “boldness” in verse 31 could be translated with “dynamic great power.". We also see the Holy Spirit manifest Himself in the life of the church. The disciples were empowered, united, and generous; the “abundant grace of Jesus was upon them,” and they were proclaiming this good news. This moment was the Golden Age of the church. 

It was before the corruption of Ananias and Sapphira and before the physical persecution that we see in the next chapter. This was before the misunderstandings, division, death of martyrs, and the rise of false leaders that will come later in the book. Before the heartbreaking history of the church over the last 20 centuries, we see in this moment what the church could possibly be. The Golden Age of Acts 4:23-37 may have only lasted a few weeks or months, but it was real.

We have lived our whole lives with a different kind of church experience. We have suffered and sacrificed much for the church. Sometimes we have also suffered much because of the church. We have invested, and we have seen our investment squandered and opportunities wasted. What we have seen has not been a golden age but a sort of local “dark age”. It is sometimes easy to grow a little or even very cynical about the church. We know the life of the church is a mixed bag of good and bad. This mixed bag is what we see in the rest of the book of Acts. For our part, with the rampant evil of our world and painfully seeing that evil creep into what should be the refuge of the church, we have a hard time seeing the good. Having been an eyewitness to the troubled dysfunction, pain, and pettiness, we sometimes feel as if there is no other side to the church. 

We will likely not enjoy another golden age on this side of Heaven. In fact, there is plenty of reason to be cynical about the church if we choose to be. But cynicism is a choice we make; it is not the inevitable reality of the world or of the Church’s brokenness. Cynicism is an attempt to avoid experiencing past hurts again. It is a choice we make based on personal wounds, what we believe about reality, and how we interpret the experiences of our life. The person most cynical about love and marriage will not be the indifferent bachelor but the jilted, passionate lover. The person most cynical about the church is not the lukewarm agnostic but the profoundly disappointed enthusiast. 

We don't need to despair because we don't live in the Golden Age of the church. Cynicism about “institutional religion” is not the only option that is available to us. Rather than be disappointed by our failed experience with the church and passively slide into suspicion, we can make a proactive choice. I can, for my part, be a golden age of the church. Or to use a more appropriate image, I can choose to be a light on a lampstand or a city on the hill. 

 "Lord, help me to no grow weak in my love for the church. AMEN"

Acts 4:1-22

 Acts 4:1-22

Our faith is really a matter of the will. The Sadducees, who controlled the temple, had Peter and John arrested because they were teaching in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. This was a challenge to their core conviction because they didn't believe in any resurrection. In his speech, Peter gives an inspired and dynamic defense of the Gospel. But when the council deliberated, we see something that has to be a warning to all of us. They had presented with the claim that Jesus was the Christ, that He had died and risen again. They were challenged with the claim that Jesus alone is the One by which all men must be saved. They have the accompanying evidence of a lifelong crippled person having been healed in the name of Jesus, a fact that they admit they could not deny.

So what does one do when confronted with such evidence? For the council there was apparently no consideration as a possibility that Jesus was the resurrected Lord. Notice they do not challenge Peter’s claims of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. They even admit that a wonderful sign has just occurred. Their only concern was to prevent the spread of the message that would undermine their power base and control over the people.

The problem was not that they did not know the message. The problem was not a lack of evidence to support the claims for Christ. The problem was more fundamental than all that. The bottom line is they did not want to believe. It apparently never entered their mind to consider the possibility of submission to the Lord. The will, "the want to," is where we submit or refuse to submit to the Lord. It is not an easy fight to win, but for the believer, the will, the choice, is the place where discipleship occurs.

 "Lord, help me surrender my will to You. AMEN"

Acts 3

 Acts 3

What does it mean to be blessed? What is the blessing God most wants to give us? We see license plates and bumper stickers with that one word message "blessed". It is recurring theme in a great many sermons and ministries. We hear of double blessings, prayer request for blessing and in prayers themselves we hear, “that we would be blessed”. Blessing is most often associated with financial, physical, or emotional benefits. Blessings roll with ease off the lips as many political leaders as they say "God Bless America”.  If we think of blessings merely as primarily material benefit our understanding of blessing is deeply flawed and woefully short. 

For the first time blessed, blessing, or blessed is used in the church age in Acts 3.  In verse 25 Peter refers to the promise God made to Abraham and in verse 26 blessed is defined.  We are clearly told what it is to be blessed. We need to pay close attention to what Peter says here.  God "sent Him (Jesus) to bless you by turning everyone of you from your wicked ways”. Blessing is not primarily about wealth, comfort, or happy circumstances. These certainly can be blessings from God and we ought to be thankful for them. But they can also come from diabolical sources.  At the core, at the very center of all that God has done in history is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Having been raised from the dead Christ is sent to call us to repentance. The central blessing, the first blessing, the primary blessing of God to us is turning us away from wickedness by Jesus Christ. The word “turn” is a compound word, the first part means away, the second means to leave or depart. The picture is of a long one-way Journey away from evil. That is the blessing God most wants us to have.

"Lord, grant me the great blessing of a true and repentant heart. AMEN"

Acts 2:22-47

 Acts 2:22-47

In his first gospel sermon Peter first quotes from Joel to explain the phenomenon of the Holy Spirit then he quotes for the first time an Old Testament passage about the Messiah. This passage is Psalm 16:8-11.  In a single verse indeed in one phrase Peter tells us much about the life of the disciple. Quoting David, Peter claimed, for himself and for us, that we can enjoy the constant company of the Lord. This first phrase "I was always beholding the Lord in my presence” is better translated to tell us  “before our face the Lord is constantly there”.   

Before Peter addresses the resurrection he tells us about the presence of the Lord. Let’s us not miss that point.  Before we are told of the means of salvation, the resurrection, we are told the meaning of salvation, the Lord’s constant companionship.  The resurrection is the central point of our faith. Without the resurrection Christianity is really a sham posing as a philosophy. The resurrection means that we can enjoy the Lord's consistent and constant presence in our lives. 

There is another often misunderstood passage here.  "…he is at my right hand…” This is not about regal enthronement, remember this Psalm is written from David’s perspective. It was the custom of the time for ‘The Advocate’ to stand to the right of their client, with the client on the left of the advocate. Here David, perhaps beyond his full understanding, it's telling us that the one who is always with us is pleading our case for us. The verse offers an interesting picture "the Lord", Jehovah is constantly with us pleading our case for us.  In the understanding of the Old Testament the term “Lord” refers to the personal name of God.  The question that this phrase would bring to the ancient mind would be, “To whom is God advocating?”  The deity of the Son, and the Trinity of the godhead are implicated in this passage.  And this is only the first quote about Christ in this early sermon of the Gospel age. 

What is the practical meaning of God advocating for us. The next phrase of the quote says, "that I might not be shaken ". The word for ‘shaken’ is descriptive of a storm tossed ocean. And the Jewish worldview the ocean was one of the passageways to the world of the dead. The chaotic storm-tossed ocean was how a person would travel from this world to Hades.  While the world of a disciple will the time be storm-tossed, in the midst of that chaos we are not shaken because of the constant presence and advocacy of the Lord Jesus Christ who is pleading our case for us.

"Lord, Help me hold on the the hope that I will never be shaken. AMEN"

Acts 2:1-21

 Acts 2:1-21

The day of Pentecost ought to be celebrated and observed more than it is. For many Christians it is not noticed at all. For some it is little more than a date on a calendar. For others it is an occasion to argue over the role of the Holy Spirit. In reality it ought to be second only to Easter in importance in the Christian calendar. The birthday of the bride of Christ ought not be overlooked. We would benefit greatly from an annual reflection on the reasons that the Lord gave us the Church. It would be a time to reconsider, reflect, and renew our understanding of why we are on earth and what we ought to be doing about it.

This is consistent with what we see in the record of the first Pentecost of the church age. After a description of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit and the surprise of the crowds, we get a wonderful insight. Before Peter speaks to the crowd in general, there is a description of what the other apostles were saying. After Luke lists the various language/people groups, he tells us, “…we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” We often hear that Peter’s sermon was the first sermon of the Church age. That is not specifically true. Peter’s sermon was an explanation of how these other sermons were offered. The first sermons were about “...the mighty deeds of God”. They didn’t offer sermons on psychology or self-help, or how to get what you want in life, or some form of therapy. Rather, they began talking about the mighty deeds of God. We don’t know what deeds they were talking about specifically, but in view of the season and recent events, it almost certainly would have been associated with the Passover, Exodus, and God’s ongoing plan of redemption in the past, present, and future. Not a bad subject for the church to talk about. 

"Lord, help me to always point people to the mighty works of God.  AMEN"

Acts 1:12-26

 Acts 1:12-26

From Passover to Pentecost was 50 days. Jesus spent 40 days on Earth from His resurrection to His Ascension. This passage deals with those other 10 days. Luke makes a point of the number of followers as being about 120. In the next few years, Christianity would multiply across the Roman Empire and beyond. In this moment there are about 120 disciples in all of Palestine, which had a population estimate of about 4 million. That is a ratio of 1 to 30,000. That would be like having 10 disciples and all of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. What if there were only 20 believers in all of Louisville, Kentucky? Or imagine Gainesville, Florida with only four believers. In all of Florida you would find only 721 believers. In the years, indeed in the weeks, after Pentecost, the number of disciples would explode. Do we see that happening in any of our communities? 

An important moment and an explanation for the church's growth comes to us in verse 14. This describes both functional and personal unity among the Believers. The greatest weapon Satan has in his arsenal is disunity. Denominational divisions and congregational splits have done more harm to the church than all the sexual and addiction vices of ministers combined. Churches have gone from growing and dynamic to dead in a matter of weeks because of the influence of disunity. If every disciple genuinely “dies to self,” unity is not very far off. Without self-dying, unity is impossible, and so is effective ministry. Note second, and related to unity, is the emphasis on prayer. “They were continually devoting themselves to prayer.”. They were constantly driving and pushing themselves for constant and consistent prayer. Is the absence of power of ministry and disciple-making the result of the degeneration of prayer in our churches? Without a doubt, prayer is the hardest practice and discipline of the Christian life. Listening to sermons is child's play. Singing songs that worship is a walk in the park. Attending gatherings takes almost no effort. Even giving our offerings is easier than focused, committed, passionate prayers.  

We have, for the most part, never been taught to pray. By and large, we never try to learn to pray. We don't believe it is important or powerful, and if we do happen to believe it is powerful, we attempt to exercise that power to secure benefits and blessings for ourselves. Look at the prayer list of most churches, and you will see a who's who of the sick. You will almost never see prayer requests about dying to self and sin or for the evangelism of our lost neighbors. People might pray in vague terms for missions or church leaders, but the prayers of most Christians and churches are sanctified versions of the secular mindset of “personal peace and affluence.” There are, no doubt, believers who do earnestly pray for the Lord's will and Kingdom to be manifest. Otherwise the whole church would have already collapsed. I suppose the condition of the church is as good a barometer of our prayers as we might ever find. Prayer is hard even at this moment. The temptation is to talk about, teach about, and advocate for prayer and then to go off and do anything but pray. Pray, just go do it. Prayer is where the fight is the hardest; it is therefore the place where the fight will be won or lost.

"Lord, teach us to pray. Lord, help us to pray. AMEN"

Acts 1:1-11

 Acts 1:1-11

The first 11 verses provide for us a critical foundation for understanding the effectiveness of the early church. There are even some surprises and this little paragraph. But we will focus on one line in verse 3 that needs attention; “by many convincing proofs...” This is a reference to Jesus presented Himself alive to the disciples after his death and burial. Why many convincing proofs? Would not seeing Him alive once the enough? It sounds like the lesson of the literal physical Resurrection is repeated over and over and from several perspectives. Why? 

In the years ahead this collection of followers is going to face an almost impossible task while facing opposition that is all but beyond description. The linchpin of their message is the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. That fact had to be firmly imprinted on them so securely that nothing could jar it loose. They needed to be so convinced that nothing could cause them to have self-doubt. Faced with betrayal, torture, and threat of death the disciples would have to hold on to one absolute unquestionable fact; “Jesus was resurrected and in Him I will share that same Resurrection”. Under stress they might give in and believe single evidence was their own runaway imagination or wishful thinking. “Many convincing proofs” secured their faith. 

This is also part of our faith. The church is built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets with Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone. The “many convincing proofs” not only secure the faith of those disciples, it also enables them to pass it on to others, even twenty centuries later. We can believe today because during a certain 40 day period the Lord gave “many convincing proofs”.

"Lord, help me to have a faith that will stand the test or trials and time. AMEN"