Willingness

Acts 16:1 Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek. 4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

6 Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. 8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

When you are looking for opportunities to preach the gospel, (which essentially means to explain Jesus’ plan of salvation as an advocate of the need for receiving the plan,) then you had better be led by the Lord.

Teaching and preaching are often interchangeable words, and in preaching teaching is often a necessary component. But when the gospel of Jesus Christ is presented, simply revealing the facts about the gospel is not enough. We must also encourage a positive response based on the facts presented, which defines ‘preaching.’ We become an advocate.

To be an advocate, it is most productive to be placed before an audience ready to hear the position being advocated. If you spent your life wandering around always presenting a necessary point of view to those completely unwilling and unready to hear that viewpoint, you would essentially be wasting your time. Now, additionally consider those who would have been willing and open to hear what you have to say, but you never spoke to them because you were completely involved speaking to those who would not receive your message.

Now we understand the importance of being not only willing to preach the gospel – but to be willing to follow God’s guidance about when and where to present the gospel. This is what we see being so well exemplified in the life and ministry of the apostle Paul. There is no wasted time because he is completely willing to be led by the Lord about when and where he is to go – even when it is contrary to where he may have wanted to go. As difficult as it may be to consider Paul being “prevented” by the Holy Spirit from going into Asia to present the gospel, 20/20 hindsight reveals the importance of his being directed to Europe. (Macedonia.) How wonderful it is to have the additional confidence of following God’s leading as you advocate God’s message!

- Pastor Bill

Christianity Plus

Acts 15:1 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." 2 Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. 4 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."

When it comes to your own personal sense of righteousness, what choices do you make?

This may sound absurd, given the generally wicked state of modern society, but everyone does have a personal sense of righteousness. Everyone.

I remember being surprised to learn - in my college criminology class - that even those in jail, condemned for their crimes, have a personal sense of righteousness. We learned, for example, that everyone in the state pen looks down on child-abusers. They are the worst of the prison society and the most likely to be killed or shunned by other inmates. Even the murderers consider them the lowest of the low. Thieves may look down on burglars. Burglars may look down on drug dealers. So on and so forth. There is a hierarchy of “goodness” within man that will not be crossed. You may be capable of theft, but NEVER dealing drugs.

It’s a very personal thing.

It’s no different within the confines of the “good” portion society. We all have lines we cross and will not cross. We have an internal law. The danger comes when we judge others according to our own personal lines.

This is exactly what the Judaizers were doing at the church at Antioch. Coming down from Jerusalem these Jewish Christians seemed to be coming with the authority of the elders and apostles. Their message was shocking to Paul and Barnabas: In order to be a Christian – you must first, (and foremost,) – become a Jew.

To this day we struggle with this sort of ‘Christianity plus’ attitude. If the Bible defines a standard of righteousness, we can be even more righteous by adding to it. When the Bible says you are righteous in God’s eyes by believing on Christ by faith, and receiving His grace, there is still a part in us that wants to be even more righteous than that. What can I add to grace to accomplish more than grace?

Well…how much time did you spend in prayer this morning? (Gotcha!)

- Pastor Bill

What to Expect?

Acts 13:4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant. 6 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time." And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

One of the most important aspects of ministry is to be sent by the Holy Spirit. Given the Holy Spirit is all-powerful and all-knowing, (omnipotent and omniscient,) it might seem the rest of the story of following the leading of the Holy Spirit would be smooth sailing.

But more often it seems what we experience following the leading of the Holy Spirit is what may be called ‘overcoming.’

More than anything else, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is an overcoming ministry. To begin with, we find the Holy Spirit overcoming our own flesh as we learn to follow and become changed into the image of Christ. This was the first step we saw in the ministry life of Paul the apostle, as he was converted on the Damascus Road. He, in effect, died. The old ‘Saul’ ceased to exist. The raging Christ-hater became the zealous Christ-follower in an instant. His hard heart was replaced by a soft one. The seat of power in his life had a new occupant: The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of the Living God. The Spirit of Jesus Christ.

At this point you might expect the fight to be over in the apostle Paul’s life, but it wasn’t. The war raged on. (See Romans 7.) Wherever the flesh exists, the ministry of the Holy Spirit will be opposed. It is a natural fact. And this is what we are to expect in a life in ministry: Opposition. We get to practice on our own selves, dealing with our own flesh, and then move outward in ever-widening circles of influence. But as much as we struggle with ourselves, should we expect less opposition in others? Elymas is a classic picture of how well-meaning ministry may be received, even by those sent by the Holy Spirit.

Am I saying the Holy Spirit will send us into forces of opposition? It seems very likely. But by faith we walk head-long into those opposing forces knowing we represent over-coming power. Unfortunately for our flesh, we don’t get to see the overcoming before the overcoming happens. This is an offense to our flesh, even as we minister to someone else’s flesh. And now we begin to understand why facing opposition is an important facet of ministry life.

- Pastor Bill

Encouraging News

Acts 11:19 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. 20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. 22 Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. 24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

If we were to compare Spiritual gifts, how would we rate them?

One of the ways we might look at it is this: What if the Holy Spirit had never given this (particular) gift – what would have been missed?

Obviously the lack of any one of the Spiritual gifts would be huge. The nature of how we are to minister one to another in the Body of Christ is comprehensive, and short of any one of the Spiritual gifts there would an obvious lack.

Given that all the Spiritual gifts are equally important, and that none can be spared, and that each would be greatly missed if not present, what does that tell us about the Church?

I have always found it fascinating how God builds His church. From the time this work began, (CCN,) there have been a wide diversity of Spiritual gifts present in this particular Body. What if God had not done it this way? What if most people attending this church had the same Spiritual gift? On the contrary God always arranges His church in a comprehensive fashion, and He moves His people around so that all the Spiritual gifts are present in each of His works within the Body of Christ. This way all needs can be ministered to by the Body of Christ, through the manifold diversity of the Spiritual gifts present.

Using his Spiritual gift of exhortation, (which is a wonderfully important gift,) Barnabas encourages the new believers at Antioch of Syria. What does he encourage them to - and why? Acts 11:23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. Barnabas knew there are no ‘lone ranger’ believers. He knew anyone who stood alone would likely fall. So he encouraged them to continue to be a part of the Body where there was no lack, where their needs may be met, and where they may meet the needs of others.

- Pastor Bill