Date: March 13th, 2011
Speaker: Pastor Kevin Snyder
Title: Whipser to the Ordinary - Part B: Break Out
Text: Acts 2:14 - 41
We are looking at Acts2.
Last week I mentioned that when the Holy Spirit came upon the church there were breakouts in 3 major arenas.
A. THERE WAS A SPIRITUAL BREAKOUT.
Their Christian life became more akin to an Indiana Jones adventure than a sewing machine training manual. It breathed new life into their souls. It lit a cleansing fire in the hearts of believer that swept through their minds and hearts and progressively cleansed them to become more like Jesus.And it empowered them to face the world with a new strength and power. They came to influencing it instead of just it influencing and corrupting them.The infilling of the Holy Spirit was a spiritual breakout for the church But that wasn’t the only breakout.
B. THERE WAS A FAITH BREAKOUT.
Focus today
I mean by that …
a. FAITH BREAKS OUT OF THE CHURCH…INTO THE PUBLIC ARENA
i.e. story of mentally handicapped church. It went from being something talked about being behind closed doors to something taken into city square and the marketplaces of life. Jesus breaks out of the prayer rooms and stained glass sanctuaries out into the streets, marketplace, neighborhoods, etc I admire the courage of Peter and these disciples.
Remember the context.
This is Jerusalem.
- This is the place that a little over a month before had come with swords and torches to arrest Jesus. Who were fearsome and threatening enough to cause Peter to deny even knowing Jesus 3 times that night.This is the place where the religious leaders and Roman authorities conspired together to crucify this innocent man.
- This is the place where the crowds had shouted “Crucify him! Crucify him! Give us Barabbas.”
- Who would blame them if they just kept their belief to themselves?
- Who would blame them if they only talked about Jesus behind closed doors and within the 4 walls of church?
But the Holy Spirit created another breakout. They broke Jesus out of the stained glass sanctuary and the hallowed walls of the church and unleashed him in the public arena. They dared to utter his name in the market place, in the school hallway, in the living room of neighbours, in the workplace.
PART 1: THE BREAK-OUT MESSAGE
What message did they break out with?
Acts 2:14 – 41
3 BASIC COMPONENTS TO THIS BREAK-OUT MESSAGE
Take a moment to look at the content Peter’s message.
1. BELIEVE IN JESUS
He declares boldly his faith in Jesus Christ as God’s Messiah.
v. 22 - 2 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
We see their conviction stated plainly in Acts 4:12
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
- Jesus wasn’t just a nice guy.He wasn’t just someone who gave us a good example that it would nice if everyone followed.
- He wasn’t just a good teacher.
- He wasn’t just a good political leader.
No Jesus was no ordinary man.His message….his life….his death….and now his resurrection pointed to the fact that Jesus was God’s Son and Savior of the world.
i.e.
Josh McDowell years ago put it this way:
Jesus claims really didn’t leave us with many options:Being he said he was God’s Son then he is either…
a. liar
b. lunatic – deluded to who he was like the mental patient who claims to be Napolean
c. Who he said he was.
- If Jesus lied he lied consistently and was willing to die for a lie and convinced everyone around of his lie….Not often do you have liars who command that respect
- Hard to believe most impactful person in history of world was lunatic….and who authored the most mentally healthy principles ever.
The logical conclusion to those around him was who he said he was.
1st part of the journey to being a Christ follower:
Who do you say Jesus is?
Remember the options of what he left – liar, lunatic or God’s Son?
One of the 1st crossroads of faith is deciding who Jesus is.
2. ADMIT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
He makes no bones about the fact that we are responsible for our sin.
Peter says,
Acts 2:23 - This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,?b? put him to death by nailing him to the cross. Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
We are responsible for what we have done with Jesus Christ.
We have to see that the Cross is something done by us before we can see it as something doe for us.
i.e.
Rembrandt’s picture – Jesus on the cross….in the corner among the crowd is a face that bears the resemblance to Rembrandt’s. He recognized he was there in that crowd.
- We were there in the envy of the religious leaders
- We were there in the greed of JudasWe were there in the cowardice of Pilate
- We were there in denial of Peter
- We were there in the fickleness of the crowds
- We were there.
Peter pulled no punches in pointing the finger at our responsibility our sin. 3x he points the verbal finger – “YOU,YOU,YOU”
The 2nd crossroads on the faith journey:
Accepting responsibility for our individual and corporate sin.
It’s admitting we chose some wrong paths.
We wanted to do life our way instead of God’s way.
In one of my all-time favorite movies there is a line by a Catholic bishop feeling the weight of death of many SA Indians on his conscience. “And thus is the world we have made.”
Note:Today we don’t like to take responsibility for things. We want to call it “mistakes".
We like to shift responsibility by calling it “disease”, ‘upbringing”, environment, genetics….all factors , don’t get me wrong.
As Karl Meninger asked in his great book: “Whatever became of sin?”
But the good news of sin is - You can do something about it. It can be dealt with. You can be changed.
2nd step is :Admitting we are sinners. We did wrong. We helped by our choices to put Jesus on the cross.
But he doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t stop with just pointing the finger.
3. RECEIVE GOD’S GRACE
Acts 2: 37
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter didn’t reply:
- “It’s too late.”Or “You had your chance.”
- Or “You should’ve listened the first time.”
No, he probably with outstretched arms and tear-filled eyes gave this invitation:
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
To these people who felt the weight of their sin and their action for putting Christ to death he holds out the hope of grace and forgiveness.
And they eat it up. They come in hoards….3000 in one day.
Sometimes we forget Part 3.
The message of grace…of forgiveness.
It has been said that “The church has done a much better job of convincing people they are sinners than convincing them they can be forgiven.”
I believe we live in a world today that longs for the melody of grace. Buried deep in our soul are the pains of regret, the remorse for the brokenness we have left in our wake, the damage we done to others, the guilt we carry for our response to Jesus’ world….And we ache for the hope of grace.
And so the 3rdcrossroads of faith is :
Accepting God’s grace. His forgiveness for our sins.
So…
- Believe Jesus is God’s Son who came because God loved us so much that he gave his only begotten son.
- Admit your sin.
Repent – admit and take a new course.
- Receive God’s gift of grace…his forgiveness for your sin.
- Who do you say Jesus is?
Ready to say – He is the Christ, God’s Son, Savior?
- Are you ready to admit to God, yourself, and others your sin?
Acknowledge that you have played a part in the world we have….the life you have….
- Are you prepared to take a step of faith and believe that Jesus death on that cross took care of your sin….to accept his grace as a gift.
Express that to God.
PART 2: HOW DID PEOPLE RESPOND TO THIS BREAK-OUT MESSAGE?
As we follow thru Acts, we see a progression of reactions to this break-out message .
a. People were cut to the heart by the message and a large number came to faith.
Acts 2: 41 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
3000 did what perhaps you did today.
But there is also a 2nd reaction. One that often comes when the church brings it’s message into the public areana.
b. Hostility & attempted legal restrictions
In Acts 4 the disciples are taken before the court of their day ,and ordered to no longer speak Jesus name in the public arena. Basically they are told to keep it private. Confine your faith to your homes and church gatherings. Don’t bring it into the public arena.
In Acts 4:16 we see a vivid example: Sanhedrin (high court speaking)
16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” 18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. 20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Reaction
The disciples refused to be intimidated that Jesus had no place in the public arena.
c. Persecution
By Acts 7 the church is facing no longer just political pressure but outright hostility and persecution. Stephen is martyred for his faith and that unleashes a wave of persecution resulting in Christians being scattered all over.
Acts 8:1(NLT) – “A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem, and all the believers except the apostles fled into Judea and Samaria….But the believers who had fled Jerusalem went everywhere preaching the Good News about Jesus.”
Reaction to Jesus being broke out of the walls into the marketplace – acceptance & hostility.
Application
Let’s fast forward 20 centuries to our day. Like our New Testaments brothers we face these same reactions & tensions. At the core of who we are as Christians is this conviction of who Jesus is, our need of him and this call of grace. We feel a call to share that. We sense the directness of Jesus words when he said : “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria & the uttermost parts of the earth.”And yet we feel this tension whenever our faith intersects with the public arena. We are afraid of offending. We wrestle with the teeter-totter extremes of:
- Forcing my conviction and faith on others
- Allowing others to muzzle me and influence me to keep faith private.
Becky Pippert described the tension well when she wrote:“Christians and non-Christians have something in common: We’re both uptight about evangelism. Our fear as Christians seems to be, “How many people did I offend this week?” We think that we must be a little obnoxious in order to be good evangelists. A tension builds inside: Should I be sensitive to people and forget evangelism, or should I blast them with the gospel and forget about their dignity as human beings?” (Becky Pippert:Out of the Salt Shaker)
And we wrestle with it in so many realms:
A. Home/Family
If we are spiritually alone we wrestle with how do I live my faith at home? We feel tension over : What do I say? How much?
Over involvements – how involved can I get in my faith without offending my spouse?
B. Social Interactions
- When do I bring up Christ? When and how do I engage in spiritual conversations? Do I invite my friend , neighbour to church with me?
- Do I dare speak up when they want to do something I don’t feel good about?
C. Workplaces.
Christian employees wrestle with:
- How do I impact the atmosphere of my workplace? Do I confront the language and behavior? Do I post Christian screensavers on my computer?
- Do I go to the bar after work with my colleagues to remind them I don’t judge them and want to be friends?
Christian employers often wrestle with…
- How do I bring faith into my business? Do I opt for prayer meetings before work and hope it trickles through? How do I align the business values of my company with the values of my faith?
- Do I personally engage my employees in spiritual conversations?
D. Political Realm
As citizens in a democracy we wrestle with…
How am I to bring faith into our democratic processes?
My concern is that we have become so fearful of being identified with Christian Koran-burning, hate-mongering extremists that we avoid entering into the public debates?
How are we to respond to abortion? Because we don’t want to be identified with bomb-blasting extremists do we avoid expressing our views?
i.e
.I am very troubled with the rhetoric coming out of many Christians regarding the gay rights and marriage issue. We may not agree with it but often we are so hurtful and demeaning in our words and tone. I attended a conference about how Christians need to think and respond to gay people. Listen to the words I heard an ex-gay share :
"Christians often say , “Love the sinner, hate the sin. When it comes to the gay issue we certainly have the hate down, we need to work on the love.”
Summary:
Last week I said Acts 2 has 3 issues that make us uncomfortable. If it isn’t the Holy Spirit , it is evangelism. We wrestle with how to bring our faith out of the Upper Room into the public arena. And there are no easy, cliché, right ways…
Question:
- Like all of us I suspect you wrestle with bringing Christ out of church on Sunday into the other arenas of your life (i.e engaging in spiritual conversations, etc). But each of you also face some unique challenges in your situations/professions to not bring your faith into that arena.
How have you experienced that tension?
How have you sought to live out that tension?
Exercise
- Pray for these folks and who they represent.
- Pray for us as individuals and as a church for a break-out. We will be made bold by the Holy Spirit to take Jesus out of the stained glass windows of the church with us and out into various arenas of our lives. For some that starts even in your home. But into our neighborhoods, workplaces, friendships.
- And also pray that God would also give us wisdom, love, and sensitivity in how we do that.
Conclusion
When the Spirit came on Pentecost there was a faith breakout. The message of Jesus broke out of the Upper Room into the public arena. It broke out with conviction, clarity, and seasoned with grace.
- Does that breakout need to happen in your life?Where do you need to grow – sensitivity to people or in boldness?
- Most of us – boldness
- How long has it been since you initiated a spiritual conversation with someone away from church? How long has it been since you even felt the urge to?
- How do you feel about inviting someone to go to church or a Christian event with you? Are you afraid to even declare that you go to church? When was the last time? Why?
May the Holy Spirit bring about a Pentecost break-out in us. That we may BE the gospel in the public arena.
Mother Teresa once said to her sisters after a mass one morning:
"During the mass you saw that the priest touched the body of Christ with great love and tenderness. When you touch the poor today, you too will be touching the body of Christ. Give them that same love and tenderness.”
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The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ac 2:22
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ac 4:12
b Or of those not having the law (that is, Gentiles)
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ac 2:23
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ac 2:36
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ac 2:37-41
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ac 2:37-41
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ac 4:8-20