How Truth is Received by Power ...

It is perhaps our finest wish that once truth has been spoken to power, that power will be moved, perhaps transformed, and begin to pursue another course.  We are taught from a very young age that truth will win out in the end.  And so when we dare to carry the banner of truth into the world we face, we do so carrying hope that it will be received in the spirit of Love in which it is offered.  Not to condemn, but to point the way to the open doors of salvation and reformation that Jesus longs to offer us all.  But alas it is no small thing to maintain that hope, when time after time, power demonstrates it has no interest in truth or love, only in the maintaining of power.  And to that end power will deny what it should otherwise plainly see, or what it knows in its heart to be true, all for the sake of never losing a grasp on power.  If only this were a secular phenomenon never to be seen within the doors of the church.  But as power was never meant to be ours, when power is perceived within church walls, it behaves no differently.  Power becomes an infectious cancer, a weight to doom the souls who attempt to carry it, a sickness that perverts the thinking and transform the humble into the proud, and blind, and naked.

This is nothing new.  It is prologue.  The leadership of the one true church of God was once so caught up in it, that a new church of God had to be formed.  The new one, not so proud, not at all consumed with power, only with the transforming love that Jesus offers us all so freely.  Imagine that; the singular true church of God, who comes to a place to discard that God behind the church.  The first church was not discarded “by” God, it chose rather to walk away from God, than to embrace the name of Jesus Christ.  And still, it was not left, with no chance to repent, to change its mind, to embrace what was so clear to see with anyone who had eyes to see, or ears to hear.  Peter and John had healed a man stricken for more than 40 years that nearly everyone in Jerusalem had met or seen begging in front of the temple gates.  When the news spread, the people responded by praising God.  It becomes very hard for church leaders to claim that praising and worshipping Adonai is a bad thing.  Harder still to wish further misery on a man who was now lifting his voice in that same praise of Adonai and of Jesus the son of God.

But the temple leaders had no inclination to change now.  Power had heard the truth, and was determined to deny it still.  Luke picks up the account in his book of Acts in the fourth chapter starting in verse 13 saying … “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. [verse 14] And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. [verse 15] But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,”  The first thing an assembly of academics and well educated men steeped in power notice, is that both Peter and John are nothing of the kind.  They are poor, unlearned, uneducated, and common folks.  Nobody of that ilk has ever dared to speak so in any kind of gathering of the elite of the nation and the church.  Common folks take direction, they do not offer it.  Being with Jesus has so transformed these common men, that they have become the most effective of evangelists.  Their words are not their own, but instead powered by the Holy Spirit within them.  As much as the Pharisees and Sadducees want to resist these words, it is like trying to resist the most powerful of all magnets.

Then there is the matter of the healed man, who continues to bellow praises to Adonai and to Jesus His Son.  The people all know about it.  The leaders are unable to deny it.  So they step outside to try to figure out what to do.  Luke continues in verse 16 saying … “Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. [verse 17] But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. [verse 18] And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.”  Normally, if you told a parishioner of the faith how to speak or what to say or not say regarding any tenant of the Torah, that parishioner would be fully compliant and respectful of the council.  But neither Peter or John were normal.  They had been with Jesus.  And now they were filled with Holy Ghost which never leaves a person just normal.  Those leaders could have threatened them all day and night with all manner of tortures and death.  It was like water off a duck’s back.  Someone else was running them.  Someone else was speaking through them.  And that is the point.  It is not up to you to “become” something to be used by God.  It is only up to you if you will let God use you when it is time to do so.  How your audience responds is not a reflection on you.  The appeal for salvation, for repentance, is the gift of God to your audience.

Luke continues in verse 19 saying … “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. [verse 20] For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. [verse 21] So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. [verse 22] For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.”  It becomes very hard to punish an entire city for praising God at the miracle His love sought to perform.  And Peter and John were only saying what they themselves had seen and heard, and calling on the only name by which salvation was offered.  The leadership hated all of this.  They railed against it.  Power did what power does, it threatens the very lives of those who would oppose it.  But when you understand where the value of life itself originates, it is hard to fear the death this world will surely one day bring to us all.  The length of our days is hardly worth an absence of God for even one of them.

Is it any wonder the Lord values our humility so highly?  When we see our state of affairs and recognize our need is so great, we realize how badly we need a Savior.  Pride and power work to counteract all of that.  Having achieved power (no matter the context) we become certain of ourselves, and see no need.  We push away that still small voice in favor of the loud bellowing one in our own heads.  We start telling others what they need to do.  After all, “we” are the ones who achieved power.  Just as in that church leadership meeting of old, we blind ourselves to Truth, in favor of our own ideas.  Our certainty robs us of humility.  We may ask to be led by God, as I am sure they did as well.  But the words are useless if our ideas are so grounded in the stone of our hearts that we have no intention to ever let them sink in and affect us.  Rather “asking God to lead” becomes a tradition we speak like saying “bless you” after a sneeze.  Nobody really knows why, and nobody really means it, it is just a tradition we speak at a rote response.  Asking God to lead for real, requires us to shut up and listen, not go right on speaking when God has not had the slightest chance to respond let alone the time and opportunity to speak through us.

Peter was a common man.  He was full of faults, weaknesses, bad habits.  He would not have ever deserved a place in the halls of the church leadership of his day.  Peter did not need to be perfect to serve.  He just needed to be willing.  He was.  Are you?  Are you willing to silence the ideas floating around in your head, and give God the time and space to speak through you, to the audience He picks, at the time He decides the need is now?  It doesn’t matter what it looks like to us.  It doesn’t matter if it makes sense to us.  It only matters if we decide to say yes, turn over control to the Holy Spirit, and become the vessel of His love to others.  If there is anything I have learned about me, it is that what I want, or what I think, is seldom aligned with what and how He thinks.  So perhaps better He runs my show for me.  And perhaps better I just give Him the keys and sit back and watch.

 

Speaking Truth to Power ...

Pilate once asked, “what is truth”?  Jesus once said, “I am the truth, the way, and the life”.  I wonder when we talk about speaking truth to power, are we talking about the ever popular “my truth”, or are we talking about “the Truth”?  Our society seems bent on creating a version of truth that finds its center in “me”, that is to say, in each of us.  It is as if facts, viewed through “my” lens of perspective, create a version of truth that could care less what anyone else thinks.  Somehow, we come to believe in “my” truth with near total certainty ignoring the possibility that an application of the slightest degree of objectivity might actually result in revealing “my” truth as being nothing more than an amplification of “my” selfish desire.  What “you” want does not matter to “me”, only what “I” want, since after all it is “my” life.  We then get pretty brazen about our discovery of this new personal truth and share it ad-nauseum with any who cares to listen.  But none of this is speaking any kind of real “truth” to any kind of real power.  It is just another form of narcissism masquerading as self-discovery.

The idea of being true to one’s-self, is tantamount to the idea of coming to accept ourselves “just as we are”.  Usually when this bright idea occurs to us, we are in a much less than perfect state.  Our failure to reach perfection just looks too permanent, it is just too hard to get there.  So instead of trying and failing over-and-over again, we just give up, and discover that being true to ourselves means accepting our shortcomings and just embracing them.  We usually take that a step farther in the spiritual domain, by insisting that since we accept us “this way”, that God too must accept us “this way”, after all He made us “this way”.  It is then easy to believe that since God can forgive us literally anything, we can just rely on that forgiveness, and somehow we can save changing until He remakes us at the second coming.  This philosophy then adds spiritual credence to the idea that “my truth” is surely “OK” with God as well.  But when Jesus said that He was the Truth, He never mentions anyone else in that same sentiment.  It is not like Jesus says He is the truth, even alongside Moses, David, or John the Baptist.  All of those patriarchs of the faith were famous for their service, and their messages, but none of them qualified to be “the Truth”.

Even though scripture is inspired by God, and is our best method of coming to know God, Jesus is higher than our scripture.  For Jesus did not say, the scripture is truth, and I am just the author of the words in that book of truth.  Keep in mind, the Pharisees had scripture, and still managed to miss Jesus (the inspiration, author, and God of scripture) entirely.  And what happens when our interpretations of scripture, wind up coming in conflict with what God wants?  Do we apologize, submit, and change our way of thinking?  Not when “my truth” is more important than “the Truth”.  Not when being true to myself stands in obvious conflict with the changes Jesus wants to bring into my life.  When I am not looking for a new way of thinking, anything that comes my way different from what I think, just makes me mad.  I would submit the angrier the response, the more mistaken the thinking is in conflict with “the Truth”. 

Case in point; the Pharisees put Jesus to death.  Despite all the evidence they were warring with God, they did it anyway.  They thought that would end it.  It didn’t.  And the miracles that followed Jesus, did not follow Him into the grave and stop.  Instead, they were back in full force from the followers of Jesus who merely used/called on the name of Jesus to see them done.  Ask yourself how hardheaded you have to be to keep fighting that fight after all those miraculous signs that just will not go away?  But then, before we get too critical, perhaps we should ask ourselves how hardheaded we have to be, to keep trying to find perfection by our own strength and will, failing every time, instead of letting Jesus do that work for us?  It is not perfection that is elusive, or giving way to “my truth”.  It is the means by which we go about pursuing perfection.  We keep allowing “self” to have a role in our salvation from ourselves.  This is not what Jesus needs.  He just needs your permission, your willingness to let Him change you however He sees fit.  That’s all.  If you are willing to let Him change it, it will change.  If you try to do it yourself, or try to help God out, count on failure in your future.

It might make you mad to read these words.  The Pharisees sure did not want to hear that Jesus could end even your desire to sin, that Jesus could make you free from sin, from the inside out.  Pharisees had the law of Moses.  They believed that you lived your life according to the Law, and that was “how” you got saved (and rich by the way).  If you sinned, that was on you to fix.  Having some upstart Nazarene Hippy come claim to release you from sin just by freeing your very desires, sounded like pure apostacy to Law keepers who wanted no other way to win, even when that method only showed them the failure of our lives.  The secret they could not grasp was the idea that the Law of God points out our need of a Savior, to write it on our hearts and minds.  The Law is not the method of salvation.  It is the results of salvation.  We keep it, because we want to, because we cannot imagine any other way to live, not because we “have to” in order to be saved.  The Pharisees did not want any part of that thinking, it was too radical a shift for them and would up-end their whole way of living.  So you can imagine when Peter and John perform a miracle in the name of Jesus, then preach in His Name, convert 5,000 folks, and don’t stop doing this.  The Pharisees were angry beyond belief.

Luke gives us the account in Acts chapter 4 picking up in verse 1 the story continues saying … “And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, [verse 2] Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. [verse 3] And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. [verse 4] Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.”  The Sadducees had only one main difference from the Pharisees and that was around the entire idea of resurrection.  They did not think it was part of Gods plan ever.  You lived, you died, end of story.  So having Lazarus be resurrected was a living, breathing, example that their doctrine was wrong.  Jesus doing it too, made it worse.  And all the others who were raised from the dead just kept putting nails in the coffin of this obviously mistaken ideology.  They did not respond, nor do we usually, by admitting they were wrong.  They did not apologize and embrace “the Truth”, because that Truth conflicted with “their” truth.  So they grab Peter and John and throw them into prison for the night.

But it didn’t matter. 5000 folks were converted by the power of the Holy Spirit moving through the words Peter said about Jesus.  The church leadership still hoped this might not be about Jesus.  They still clung to the idea maybe something new, or something else, was driving the miracle.  So on the next day they got together to flush out the details and find out what was going on.  Luke picks back up in verse 5 saying … “And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, [verse 6] And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. [verse 7] And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?”  This was the last desperate hope that the Jesus thing was dead and gone in the grave.  But in their hearts, they already knew it was not.  The Roman guards at the tomb already told them the truth about the resurrection and there was no way around that truth.

Peter then responds, again He is filled with Holy Spirit, it picks back up in verse 8 saying … “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, [verse 9] If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; [verse 10] Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. [verse 11] This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. [verse 12] Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”  Yikes.  Now that is an example of speaking real Truth to a room full of what we call power.  This was the head of the church, at least the head of the original one.  These men were rich, powerful, full of influence.  They could have Peter killed if they really wanted it.  And this was certainly NOT what they wanted to hear.  My guess, these old church leaders would have rather heard that Peter was on team Satan, than on team Jesus.  At least Satan could not claim to be the Son of God, well, without lying anyway.  Jesus had a rational claim, a claim that fulfilled scripture and prophecy, a claim steeped in truth and love.

Imagine yourself in that room of angry men.  Would you tell them the unvarnished truth?  Peter did not hesitate to remind these guys that “THEY” killed Jesus.  Peter does not blame the Romans.  Peter blames them personally.  As they all had personal accountability, and frankly so do we.  Each sin we embrace requires that blood fresh upon the cross of calvary once more, the nails driven into His hands and feet, by us.  And we know what we are doing.  That kind of truth demolishes the idea of “my” truth.  What Peter spoke was not just his own words, but because he was filled with the Holy Ghost.  And despite the criticism of them, or me, here was again another opportunity to repent and be saved.  Another chance to let go of my errors, and embrace His Truth.  To see that Jesus alone is Truth.  For those leaders to change, they would have had to admit they were wrong in the first place.  Not many of us are willing to do that.

But it was not certainty that fueled the obstinance of the Pharisees, or of us.  It is pride.  It is pride that refuses to admit the possibility of being wrong, of having someone else know something that we did not know first.  We sometimes harden into the core beliefs of our spiritual ancestors instead of building upon the foundation of faith they left us.  Our church forefathers in their day, were the champions of change, they endured more of it than we will ever allow ourselves to know.  But instead of treating the Word of God as a living breathing document, a wellspring of relevance that never runs dry – we treat it more the like the rocks upon which the Law was written, fixed, immovable, when in truth it is we who have become fixed and immovable.  Take the Sabbath being kept Holy for example, in the time of Christ, the church leadership had made the Sabbath so burdensome, that the miracle of healing someone on Sabbath was not celebrated, it was ruled as a means to kill the healer.  Jesus sought to change that.  Not just in what we do, but in how we think about loving others and how that does not take a holiday on Sabbath, instead it is supposed to be amplified on Sabbath.  Jesus was a radical change agent to the common thinking about the Law in His own day.  Why do try to put cement sandals on the Lord in our own day?

Let us not become so fixed in our positions, that we cannot accommodate the Truth when it knocks on the doors of our hearts.  Let us instead see ourselves as clay, ready to be molded into an image of the Truth who fashions us daily upon the craftsman’s wheel.  What He intends us to be is yet to be known to us.  But if we are to hold on to certainty, let it be certainty in the love of the Craftsman who remakes us into His own image, at our request.

 

Missing the Point [part two] ...

Fear of public speaking, fear of looking like an idiot in front of an audience, what could be worse?  So in those rare events when you are forced into the limelight to make some sort of speech, we tend to prepare, rehearse, and try to get ourselves ready however we can.  Some folks use cue cards.  Professionals use a teleprompter.  And children try to memorize what they are supposed to say.  We do our best, partly because we want whatever it is we have to say to come across well, be heard, and be understood by our listeners.  But in those even rarer impromptu situations when you have zero time to prep at all, your ability to “wing it” in front of a crowd may define whether you a “gift” for speaking in public, or whether you should never quit your day job.  Ideally you are never thrust into one of those impromptu situations throughout your life.  But they do happen.  And there is no way to prep for them, when they come up, they are just here, when nobody, least of all you, had time to imagine they would come.

Some might think pastors get impromptu situations all the time.  But really?  Oh sure, they face public speaking every weekend.  But those sermons are rarely done by winging-it.  Instead they are prepared well ahead of time.  And weddings, funerals, and child dedications are not events that occur without at least some foreknowledge they are coming.  These events generally have a lot in common, i.e. when you have done one baby dedication, you have done them all kind of thinking.  Being asked about your own personal testimony with Jesus may happen unexpectedly, but it tends to be the same story you have told a hundred times before, so that one is well rehearsed.  Even the questions that spiritual leaders are asked tend to follow similar lines of thinking, why me, why her, why does God permit evil to happen to good folks, when will it all end, how can I be saved, how do you know Jesus is real, etc. etc.  The answers to these questions for the speaker tend to be well rehearsed over a lifetime, if you have ever done any witnessing to anyone before.  So while it is not impossible for a pastor or spiritual leader to get caught with something impromptu that has not been well rehearsed, it is not as common as you might think.

But here is the kicker; when you are NOT a pastor, or well-rehearsed spiritual leader, and “then” you get asked to preach a sermon, or tell a story, in front of a crowd, with zero time to prep, no idea it was coming, and wham – the spotlight falls upon you – then what?  Can you imagine anything more nerve racking than that?  It does happen.  It did happen.  Let’s pick up with the study we began in our last post and continue looking at one of these type of impromptu situations.  It begins with Peter and John heading to the Temple to pray at about 3pm in the afternoon.  That’s all they intended to do.  But along the way they encounter a lame man, at the gate called “Beautiful” of the Temple, who then asked them for money.  They did not have any.  But instead, Peter looks the lame man in the eyes and says in the name of Jesus of Nazareth rise up and walk.  The man tries.  His legs and feet are restored and he winds up walking and leaping into the Temple praising God with all of his might.  If the story ended here and we printed the “and everyone lived happily for ever and ever” banner, we would all leave with the warm fuzzy in our tummy.  If we imagined ourselves as Peter in this story, we might wonder if that kind of miracle healing was still possible in our day, through our prayers.  But that is not where the story ends.  It continues.

Luke picks back up in the book of Acts, in the third chapter in verse 11 saying … “And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.”  The loud praise of this man, leaping for joy, just caused such a stir in an otherwise somber Temple gathering people were just amazed and spellbound at what had taken place.  This miracle was like a light in the darkness.  A light that could not, nor should not, be hidden.  It needed to be explained.  Later we will read, that more than 5000 men gathered to hear the explanation, so the size of the crown was no small thing.  Now I know you probably don’t imagine yourself as truly being like Peter in this story of old.  So you likely don’t pray prayers of miraculous healings, that result in someone leaping around praising God, particularly in such a crowded public place.  But that is us all, myself included, missing the whole point of this story.  We are all, meant for more.  This miracle was intended not to just be a light to the lame man changing his life, it was meant to be a catalyst light to every worshipper to point them back to the love Jesus Christ has for each of us.  Has the need for that kind of light ever been greater than now?

Luke continues in verse 12 saying … “And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?”  The first thing Peter needs to do, is to center the credit for this healing back on God, not on anything to do with the “holiness” of Peter or John.  Human nature tends to look first at the person, instead of the God behind the person.  And so often we would relish the attention and praise we might get for being “the miracle worker”, even though it is always only the power of God that can do anything miraculous.  If the healer wants the credit, he serves a different master.  But now arises one of those dreaded impromptu situations.  One where there is zero time to prep, no rehearsed sermons to call on, and frankly Peter probably does not think of himself as any kind of preacher at all.  He has only given one sermon before.  It is not like he has made any kind of career out of this up to now.  He is young, uneducated, not qualified (by current standards), a known sinner, a guy who even denied Jesus when it counted.  This guy is not a preacher.  Neither are you?  Or, does God have a surprise for you coming soon, a situation just like this, a question, or a personal witness that right now you have no idea about.  But it is coming.  And Peter gives us the road map for how to handle it.

Luke continues in verse 13 saying … “The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. [verse 14] But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; [verse 15] And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. [verse 16] And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”  Ouch.  Peter does not sugar coat his story.  He identifies that Jesus is the Son of God, and then quickly reminds this crowd that they recently killed Jesus when even Pilate wanted to let Him go.  He then tells the crowd that Jesus has risen from the dead and it is by faith in the name of Jesus that this lame man has been fully healed.  Perhaps not the most elegant way to start up a sermon, but keep in mind 5000 men were converted by the power of the Holy Spirit from the words Peter spoke.  Perhaps elegant, professional, and polished was NOT what God was looking for right then.  Perhaps the Holy Spirit was able to use the words of Peter such as they were to effect conviction and change.  Perhaps the Holy Spirit was feeding Peter what to say, right as he was saying it.

Luke continues in verse 17 saying … “And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. [verse 18] But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. [verse 19] Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; [verse 20] And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: [verse 21] Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”  Then Peter says, even if you were ignorant before, it is time to repent now, to be converted, and ready for the refreshing and return of Jesus foretold by all the prophets of old.  Do you think Peter was concerned about looking like an idiot in front of this huge crowd?  Do you think Peter was even thinking about himself at all right about then?  I doubt it.  My guess is he was deep in the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, and fully content to open his own mouth with whatever words the Spirit put in them to say.  He did not need to prep.  He did not need to worry.  This sermon was to be preached whether he thought of himself as a preacher right then or not.  People needed to see the light cast back upon Jesus, both then and now.

Luke continues in verse 22 saying … “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. [verse 23] And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. [verse 24] Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. [verse 25] Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. [verse 26] Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”  And that last line is the essence of the Gospel and its power both then and now.  Jesus was sent to bless us, in that He will turn us away from our sins.  Moses foretold this.  Samuel and all the prophets foretold this.  This Jewish audience were the metaphorical sons of these prophets in that the blessing of Jesus coming was done in their lifetimes.  We are the same sons now; we have the same Bible to read and realize all this was done for us as well.  The Gospel is the same now.  Jesus is still turning hearts away from sin, and THAT is the biggest miracle He can perform for each one of us.  And frankly, it is the most needed one we have.

Jesus told us not to concern ourselves with what to say, when a time like this arose.  Don’t worry about it.  Let go, and let the Spirit put the words in your mouth to say.  Keep in mind the results of this sermon led to the conversion of 5000 men, who knows how many more were reached after the initial counting of this.  Who knows how many people were reached as these 5000 went home and told their families and friends what they saw and heard.  All because the most common of young person, allowed himself to be used in spreading the love of Jesus to those who needed it most.  All because a non-preacher became a preacher in the course of 2 sermons, he had no time to prepare for.  All because when a known sinner like Peter looked upon the lame man, he knew Jesus would heal that man, regardless of his own short comings, or the short comings of the lame man.  Jesus’ love is greater than our sin.  And the Power of Jesus is enough to turn our hearts away from our sins.  This is how Jesus saves us to the uttermost.

Isn’t it about time for us to start channeling the love and power of God, through that name of Jesus Christ back into the world as I know Jesus wants us to do?  It is not our power, it is His.  It is not our holiness, it is His.  It may not even be our love for another, but surely Jesus loves that precious soul more than we can imagine.  The time of miracles has come again.  Will you take your first step into the wider world?  Will you let go your sins (allowing Jesus to transform and save you), and focus on asking for Holy Spirit to be poured out on your life everyday?  In an age such as this, how will you be found?  The time is now, what will you do with it? …

 

Missing the Point [part one] ...

Why do you suppose the story of Peter and John healing the lame man at the gates of the Temple exists?  Sure, it is a part of church history.  The resulting reactions reminded the Sanhedrin of Jesus and what they did to Him, and you could argue the miracle caused them to back into persecution mode.  So perhaps you could argue that miracle done in the name of Jesus was a catalyst for the early Christian Church.  But this story would be read by many well after persecution had taken on different forms and come from different sources.  It is read now in our own day when the freedom to read and believe seems well established.  So why do we care about it?  Is it just church history to us?  I think we tend to venerate the disciples as carrying the pillars of our faith on their shoulders, somehow making them beyond normal, making them Biblical heroes in a way we could never imagine ourselves becoming.  And if that is where our thinking has evolved, I dare say we have completely missed the point.

What Peter and John did, did not occur because of how special they were.  They were the farthest thing from special, they were in fact as common as common could be.  Fisherman were not the class to lecture in the sanctuary or temple circuits.  Fisherman were not invited to debate in the halls of power, or to offer insight on any scripture anywhere.  This was not a personal slight against Peter or John, or any other disciple of Christ, it was just the way society in their day measured itself.  To teach, you needed education, quite a bit of education, to even think about it.  To teach, you needed to be disciples of a venerated Rabbi who could pass along his own knowledge to you.  The process took years, many years.  So when you examined “who” did teach scripture it was always the old, always the male, always those tempered by time.  That was NOT Peter and John.  They were young men.  They never did get any kind of notable traditional education at all, not before Jesus, and not after Him.  They did NOT fit the mold of any kind of teacher, let alone preacher, let alone evangelist or eloquent public speaker.  But Luke records in his book of Acts, a series of public sermons by Peter with stunning results.

Does any of that sound like you?  Does the common part of Peter ring a bell in your soul?  What about the youthful inexperienced part of who he was, does that sound like you?  How about a total lack of public speaking up till the days he started doing it out of nowhere, with no plan, no planned event, in front of thousands with no planned speech at all.  Luke starts the story in chapter three of his book of Acts in the first verse it says … “Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.”  This was just two friends going to the temple to pray with everyone else around 3:00pm in the afternoon, as was the custom for those who were in Jerusalem at the time.  They would not be alone.  But they would certainly be praying differently than anyone else in ear shot of the two of them.  For everything these two men would ask would be asked in the name of Jesus.  This was just two young men who just wanted to go to Temple to pray.  Nothing special.  Nothing much uncommon, and zero plans at all.

Luke continues in verse 2 saying … “And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; [verse 3] Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.”  As Peter and John approached the Temple to pray, they encounter a beggar asking for any kind of money or alms they may have been carrying.  How many times have you been approached by someone begging for money, carrying a cardboard sign, or just looking like a homeless person with no better alternatives.  Notice the irony of Luke pointing out the name of the gate was beautiful, when the life of this crippled beggar was anything but beautiful.  He had to be carried to this spot every day.  And once there he could not move to any other.  He sat in abject humility forced to ask any passer-by for anything they could spare, in order to even try to maintain his own needs.  But his needs went far beyond his stomach.

And here is some of the point we tend to miss.  The beggar had no hope beyond the money he asked for.  The beggar had lost any hope that healing was even possible.  His bones were misshapen, his muscles in complete atrophy around his ankles and lower legs.  That was the medical fact of his life.  It had been like this since birth.  And he was known to all who passed by there, as they saw him growing up sitting in the same gate unable to ever move.  Perhaps he had been carried to this site by different people over time, thinking they could at least provide him this service.  So the beggar asks for the only thing he has hope to ask for, not always expecting to get money either, but still hoping for it.  Is that us?  Are we so spiritually crippled by our own self-limitations, or worse the limitations of the box we place God in, that we have lost all hope for the needs we truly have, and instead only ask for money.  In truth, it does sound like so much of the church as it exists today.

I wonder if we encountered such a crippled beggar as this today, would any of us ever think to help carry him to the temple in order to beg?  Would we just give him a dollar or two, and think our responsibility has been met and nothing more of us should ever be required.  Or would we like the Pharisee in the parable of the good Samaritan cross the road, or roll up the window, in order to avoid any contact with the less fortunate fearing they may hurt us to get what they need.  After all, most beggars in our day must just be lazy or crazy right, perhaps we can just say a quick prayer for them and be on our way.  But this is not the approach Peter or John took that afternoon while on the way to prayer.  Perhaps because we never seem to be on the way to prayer, much too busy for that, we don’t have the time for beggars either.

Luke continues in verse 4 saying … “And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. [verse 5] And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. [verse 6] Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”  Notice there is no hesitancy in Luke’s account of this encounter.  Peter sees beyond the need of alms to the needs of this beggar’s soul.  To restore his hope, he needs his body healed.  He needs to see a miracle done for him without any faith it could be done, or ever would be done.  Peter does not withhold money in exchange for something greater, as neither Peter or John were carrying any money at the time.  Had they been carrying money, they would have gladly shared it as well, for that is how the whole Christian community was living freely with each other at the time.  When we don’t have spare change how many times do we simply say “sorry, we don’t have anything today”.  And we then feel absolved from any responsibility because since we do not carry cash there is really nothing more we can do.  And I would ask, is that how Jesus handled these encounters?  Peter and John had been with Jesus so many times in encounters like these and they KNEW what Jesus would have done.  So they did it too. 

Without committee to assess, without any faith on the part of the recipient, without going to huddle and determine what approach they should take, or how to pray a prayer that would not embarrass them if it failed, they boldly asked the man to rise up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  While the beggar had no idea what was going on, Peter and John expected this miracle to take place, in fact, they had no doubt it would.  Medical facts on the ground were nothing to the disciples of Christ.  Medical facts, even up to death, never stopped Jesus, why should it stop them.  Keep in mind, these were two young men, the most common type of men the earth could produce back then, not formally educated, not Rabbi’s, not teachers or preachers.  And they probably would not have considered themselves evangelists or even faith healers.  But none of that stopped them, or even gave them a moment’s pause.  They just asked for a miracle and knew it was coming.

Luke continues in verse 7 saying … “And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength. [verse 8] And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.”  Crooked malformed bones straightened out without a twitch of pain.  Muscles long in decline were made full, and carried the strength of a young man in his prime.  The former crippled beggar leaped into the air.  He not only stood, but walked and continued leaping like a gazelle, all the while praising God.  Notice the miracle was attributed back to the power and love of a redeeming God.  Neither Peter or John immediately went around saying, “you know, we did that” or “if it were not for us, this guy would still be laying here at the beautiful gate just begging up a storm”.  Nor did Peter or John, turn to the healed beggar, and ask for a donation for their own ministry.  No fame.  No fortune.  Not even to seek for credit as to who did it.  Because they both knew, “they” were as common as common gets.  There was nothing in them, that made the man walk, there was only power in the name of Jesus Christ.

And instead of stopping to judge whether the beggar was worthy of such a miracle (who of us is?) they just acted in love to him.  And the results were stunning.  You could not keep this man from shouting his praise to God, and literally leaping into the air.  Eyes around the temple that had gone there to pray were drawn to this man disturbing the quiet and somber place, with such heartfelt sincere praises to God it was infectious.  The entire crowd recognized him, they saw the miracle, and none could explain it.  But they each knew God did this.  And praise began to sweep over the entire crowd.  The hearts of Israelites were suddenly irreversibly lifted in joy and excitement over what has happened.  Luke goes on in verse 9 saying … “And all the people saw him walking and praising God: [verse 10] And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.”  Wonder and amazement swept the crowd.  The praise lifted to God on this afternoon was catching fire and none could contain it.

This commotion would be noticed quickly by the church authorities.  And predictably they would not share the spirit of joy and praise for they were filled with another spirit.  The contrast would be stunning.  But in the recounting of this story in Acts, I still wonder if we have missed the point entirely.  You are no different than Peter or John.  And before you start protesting in your own mind and heart, immediately recounting all your sins and failures, Peter and John had just as many of those in their own lives.  And unless you happen to be a member of church leadership, educated from birth into the scriptures and how to debate them, you probably resemble Peter and John more than you think.  All you ever needed was time with Jesus.  You spend it in prayer.  Jesus walks with you every day.  And the same Spirit that was poured out on Peter or John, can as easily be poured out on you if you but ask for it.

None of this is to make you some kind of great faith healer, or evangelist.  You probably think that could never be you, you never made any plans along those lines.  Neither did they.  This story is not just a part of church history, it is a road map to your future.  Your ministry could by the grace of God become one where you have the confidence and security in the love of Christ to ask for miracles done in His name.  Miracles for the benefit of someone else in need.  Miracles that restore hope to the soul, and turn misery into praises that leap and bound across church floors.  Imagine the person stricken with cancer, aids, covid, or any other disease that medical science and medical facts just cannot undo.  Imagine the joy and praise that could enter that person’s heart when healing comes from your simple prayer on their behalf said in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

The point of this, the point of this miracle, is that you and Peter and John, are really no different at all.  There was nothing special about them that allowed this to occur.  If you believe, ask for His Spirit, and keep your eyes open for others in need, you too could be calling down miracles from heaven that would disrupt not only the medical community, but restore hope to souls who have long since given up, and have never really known the love of Jesus until it comes cratering into their lives through your prayers for them. 

And healing is only the first part of this story, there is more yet to come …

 

The Death of Capitalism ...

We are all very proud of our system of government.  Our democracy remains the aspiration of most of the rest of the world, even with all the faults it has.  But I dare say that just the system of our government on its own could not have achieved as much wealth for our citizenry, had it not latched itself to the concepts of capitalism along the way.  Earning what you work for is an underpinning of our society.  Those that work harder or smarter earn more.  This just seems fair.  It is the gasoline for the American Dream.  At some point however it is a little like the tail wagging the dog, in that most of our laws wind up centered around insuring a state of fairness, in a system where greed becomes more king than we thought.  Our nation begins by simply taking land from those who were unable to defend it.  Fast forward a bit and, slavery as an example, was the privileged earning more wealth across the backs of those who had no choice and received no share of that wealth.  The greed that powered that system, required a war to finally get rid of it.  The birth of industry resulted in much the same experience.  The super wealthy earning even more wealth across the backs of the downtrodden; horrible working conditions in factories where even children were forced to participate.  Exploitation of immigrants; particularly the Chinese to build railroads in working conditions we would call criminal by today’s standards.  At nearly every turn, we wind up adding volumes of laws to keep our greed under control in a system that naturally promotes greed at its core.

We would love to think our modern ways, and enlightened thinking, have eliminated these problems in our society.  They haven’t.  A global economy only lessens our ability to legislate guide rails around it.  Monopolies continue to exist in the form of very few corporate providers in key sectors of our economy, and they remain there by exploiting political weakness, and essentially by stoking the fires of personal greed along the way.  Our own laws become less effective at maintaining a state of fairness.  And so media companies are used to try to convince the American citizenry that having a class of “one percenters” is a “good” thing as if anyone could by hard work find themselves rising to enter this class themselves.  They can’t.  But the campaign to convince us, that somehow it is possible, is designed to help us elect those who we believe will somehow help us rise up, and at a minimum, become more wealthy along the way.

In America, this is just how it is.  We the people, have come to accept life like this.  And now, we the members of various Christian Churches have decided that participation in government is required to “protect” our way of life.  We have grown tired of a Hollywood agenda.  And we have decided to push back against liberal ideas that we believe threaten the moral character of our country.  But our method of achieving these goals has not been to live differently, only to speak more loudly.  To rethink how we live as Christians, to the degree it would be different than the capitalistic system that underlines America, has never even been under consideration.  Or to model our lives based upon what the government of heaven might look like, has again become completely unthinkable to us.  To make that denial easy, we simply deny we could ever know what government in heaven looks like, or that God would take as active a role here and now, as He obviously will then.

But what if the goal of our God for our lives was not really wealth at all?  What if the wealth of the kingdom of God, or how God measures wealth, was nothing like the wealth we all strive for here?  If you came to this realization, what would you do about it?  Most modern Christians have devolved into the idea that just giving a little more in tithes and offerings, of the wealth they have achieved, is the answer to this.  But that is much like putting lipstick on a pig.  Dressing up our greed with some measure of charity, does nothing to eliminate our greed entirely.  The pig still remains, we just keep putting makeup on it.  But there are actually several examples of how we should live in the Bible that might radically alter holding on to pigs in the first place.

In the Old Testament, (as in the New), what you had was a direct result of what God gave you – never a mention of what you earned.  And while the times were simpler then, much of God’s law had to be designed around eliminating your greed.  If you found yourself owning slaves (by whatever means) you had to free them every 50 years.  The same for property you acquired from people down on their luck.  You were supposed to provide for the poor by letting them harvest your fields (they called it gleaning) for free and without restrictions.  They had tithes and offerings as well, but strangely, the super wealthy back then were known for giving 70 to 90 percent of their increases instead of just the 10 that was required.  It never made mathematical sense back then either, but the Lord was determined not to be outgiven by His children then or now.  Those people had bills to pay back then as well, maybe not the same bills, but bills none the less, and yet they gave away way more money than they could afford, or we would even consider.  Yet somehow, some way, these folks who gave so much become the super-rich through being the super blessed.

When Jesus comes along, He lives the life of a homeless person throughout His ministry.  One set of clothes was all you needed.  Everything Jesus needed was provided for by His Father.  And our Example, never spent a moment worried about getting rich before He left.  And Jesus, again the example we are supposed to model, never spent a moment trying to eliminate a pagan government that was dead set against the precepts of our God.  Jesus did not even try to tear down the corrupt religious leadership that was ruining the church of His own day.  He taught the truth, and reprimanded the lies, the greed, and hypocrisy, but did nothing to try to tear down those corrupt institutions.  Instead, Jesus did not concern Himself with government at all, not secular or sacred.  He just lived the life to total dependence on God He desired to live.

And finally, Luke provides for us an insight into how the servants of God lived right after the ascension of Jesus.  You know, back when the church was pure, and the mission of God was actually paramount in the lives of His followers.  It picks up towards the end of the second chapter of Acts picking up in verse 42 it begins … “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”  The church was happy to hear about the life and ministry of Jesus.  This was not traditional worship back then, it was radically different.  Scriptures back then, essentially the Old Testament, were no longer read absent the life of Christ, they were instead read against the life of Jesus, to illustrate how ALL of the Old Testament prophesies were successfully met in the life of Jesus, in His death, and in His resurrection.  All of the Bible was no longer read independently anymore, it was read through the lens of Jesus Christ.  That was something completely new, and completely different than anyone was used to.

But the life of these Christians was not just about worship, it was about fellowship.  It was about supporting each other emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.  They hung out together.  They went on mission trips together.  They had meals together.  These were NOT once a week Christians who only saw each other on Sabbath or maybe on prayer meeting nights.  These were Christians who knew each other and hung out together all the time.  No one was a stranger to anyone else.  That takes time and dedication.  They did not treat each other casually as if anybody they encountered was not really important.  Instead everyone was valued.  They wanted to know everyone.  And they took the time to eat together and hang out together to accomplish that goal of inclusion.

Finally, the most important thing they did together was to pray together.  Not just on prayer meeting night for an hour or so, but pretty much all the time.  When you had a problem back then, your first thought was not how to solve it, but to ask God about it.  When you had an opportunity back then, you did not just jump right on it, but instead paused to ask God about it and seek His wisdom first.  This was not ritual.  This was integrating talking to Jesus into your everyday life as if He was right there with you.  But it was more than just talking to Jesus, it was as much about listening to what Jesus had to say in return. Immediate and interactive prayer.  Listening to the Holy Spirit to find out what to do next.

Luke continues in verse 43 saying … “And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.”  Fear, or wisdom, came upon every single soul.  That would include the young and the old, the men, women, people of all races and languages.  And the Apostles began doing many signs and wonders in the name of Jesus Christ.  These were not magic tricks, they were miracles, performed for a purpose.  The same purpose Jesus used to do them, to redeem the lost, and point them back to God, now back to Jesus Christ in these cases.  These disciples were not special.  They were common men.  Most not even educated formally.  They were NOT religious leaders.  They were just believers, made special by their proximity to Jesus.  They had the witness of Jesus, because they experienced Jesus.  Is that your testimony as well, have you experienced Jesus yet, or is He still theoretical to you?

Luke continues in verse 44 saying … “And all that believed were together, and had all things common; [verse 45] And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.”  And there it is, the death of capitalism, and the death of greed with it.  All that believed were together, and pooled their belongings, sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them across the entire crowd of believers as anyone who had need.  This is the unthinkable today.  It rubs us the wrong way.  To give up everything I have, in order to give it away to anyone, whether they deserve it or not, whether they are contributing or not.  Forces me to give without judgment, control, or preconditions.  It also makes me poor, so that I am dependent on the pool as well.  But it also means everything I have ever done or acquired is a gift to God.  It forces me to be dependent everyday on God for what I need.  Puts me back in Old Testament times for manner of government.  But it also frees me to have time to pray, spread the word, and hang out with all the believers in my area.  I may still work, but if I work, it is with the realization that my work is for everyone, never just myself, or my family.  And in truth there is nothing preventing us from living this way right now.  There are no laws against it.  We could live this way if we chose to, the only thing preventing us from living this way is choice, or own choice not to.

Luke continues in verse 46 saying … “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, [verse 47] Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”  Imagine that, going to church to hang out every single day.  Encouraging each other every day.  Moving from house to house to have meals in small groups and have worship, to praise God all the time.  And living lives of such connection with Jesus, that everyone who looks at you sees it, and hears it.  How could they not?  This why these Christians had such favor with the all the people.  It was not just for magic tricks or miracles.  When miracles were done, it was to meet the needs of the people and point them to Jesus.  People were giving of what they had to each other without thinking about it.  And people were glad to do it.  Everyone was so happy to see Jesus reflected so well in these new believers.  They saw the power of the Holy Spirit transforming the lives of everyone who professed the name of Jesus.

Were we to live this way, capitalism would be dead in our hearts and hands, and greed with it.  Wealth would be measured in the addition of souls to the kingdom of God.  Fellowship would be prized above all else to build each other up in the cause of Jesus.  Eating together would be highly regarded.  We would pray all the time.  And we would give the Holy Spirit full access to our hearts.  You will notice Luke makes no mention of the early Christian Church trying to take over any kind of governmental role.  They did not try to root out the Romans.  They did not try to take over the Sanhedrin, or the local Synagogue.  They just stuck together and lived how they lived.  They made people happy because they met the needs of people, and took an interest in the lives of people.  This was not done by governmental mandate but instead by the mandate of God on our hearts and souls.  They made interactive prayers a part of their daily routines.

I am no socialist.  I am no communist.  I do not think greed dies because we will it to be so.  But I do think that when we start giving Jesus all of ourselves, we begin to value things differently.  And the changes that come, come across the breadth of our lives, including what we think of as treasure.  We do not need to change our governments before we change our lives.  Our government makes no difference in that.  Look at the Apostles, they lived under a pagan government that killed Jesus, let alone would think to promote Him.  But they did not spend time trying to figure out how to change the Roman government, instead they spent their time loving Romans, and Greeks, and Jews, and everyone else they could encounter.  And over time their love changed the governments of the whole world including Rome. Perhaps it is time for us to realize that the wealth of this world is not what our God wants for us.  He is much more interested in sharing the wealth of the next world with us, even while we live in this one.  That transformation alone could remove the pig, the lipstick, and the need to ever be subject to greed again.  Are you willing to go that far? …