Acts 15. 1-35 To Let Outsiders Inside

Things were going pretty well in Antioch. They were developing a multiracial, multicultural, Church. They were reaching all sorts of people for Jesus. It was exciting, and news of it made other brought  joy to many believers.  Suddenly something happened that took the wind from their sails.  It stole their joy; it made them wonder whether they had made a mistake welcoming non-Jews into their church and a worse one sending Paul and Barnabas off to preach the gospel to the heathen nations.  They began to wonder whether the sense of joy about the success of the mission, was really misguided and misplaced.  They were considering a major u-turn in their practise. 

What happened was that visitors arrived from Jerusalem, uninvited and unauthorised, but with a pedigree, an opinion, a sense of authority and a message: they taught that you have to become circumcised to be saved (v. 1).    It is very easy for our freedom to be blown apart by a divisive element that come in with legalism, criticism, negativity.   There are two things Paul and Barnabas couldn't do with this.

Firstly, they couldn't defeat it .  (V. 2)  Their case was clear enough:  the Holy Spirit had called Paul to this work from the day of his conversion; the prophets at Antioch had confirmed that call so Saul and Barnabas were sent out with the Church's blessing; the Holy Spirit had revealed Jesus to Gentiles all over Asia Minor.  But still, they were not winning the argument.  This idea that you have to become Jewish to be a Christian had an influence, an appeal: the Church at Antioch didn't want to be out of step with the rest of the Church; it seemed they were being asked for a small concession: after all, non-Jews were allowed into the Church; they just have to get circumcised first. 

But  they couldn't accept it, either; for Paul and Barnabas, however reasonable it sounds, it's the thin end of the wedge: it is an attack on the freedom that the Gospel is all about. 

So they can't agree.     As a result, the church sent Paul and Barnabas of to Jerusalem to get a ruling from the Apostles there.   As they journey, they tell the churches what God has been doing among the Nations.... v 3f and after they arrive they're still talking about it. 

But as they gave their report, some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The gentiles must be circumcised and ordered to keep the Law of Moses.”  The same old message.  The same challenge.  An implied criticism: unless you do it our way, you're not doing it right.  So, not only was the Church in Antioch divided over this issue – so was the Church in Jerusalem. 

It began to be obvious who these guys were and where this idea was coming from.  Paul and Barnabas recognised them: what was happening was that something from their old lives – the teachings of the Pharisee party within Judaism – was still very much in charge of their thinking and speaking.  It sounded plausible; it made sense; but it wasn't the teaching of Jesus.  It was a direct challenge to the call to “let outsiders in.”   Paul later said that this Jewish legalism is another form of the “weak and miserable forces” they used to serve in their pagan days when they “did not know God”.  (Gal 4. 8-9)

 There are plenty of people around today who will teach a gospel of "Jesus and..." politics, respectability, Churchianity, traditional morality.  We need a Gospel of "Jesus only".  When we are speaking for a “party” whether political or theological, when we take up a “position” and are not prepared to negotiate around that, beware! We may find that we are speaking out of our old life.  Yes, the words may sound plausible; they may appear to make sense.  But if they are not consistent with what Jesus said, they are not from Jesus. 

Then, Peter spoke up.  Like Paul, he had been sent to the gentile Cornelius and his household, with that word “ Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” (Acts 10. 15)  He had seen how the Holy Spirit had come then as at the beginning, marking out the new believers as “the real deal.” And he reminded them that none of them were actually that brilliant at keeping the “law” so it was hypocrisy to expect new believers to do it.  

After that, people listened, perhaps with a bit more respect and without interruptions, as Paul and Barnabas had another go at telling their story of God at work among the Gentiles in Asia Minor.

Then James, the brother of Jesus spoke.   Now James had sympathies with the Pharisees. He had become a leader of the Jerusalem Church, maybe holding it together while the Apostles travelled around.  And he was a comparative newcomer: he was not convinced about Jesus until after the resurrection.  He hadn't been with the disciples at the very start. 

He had the ultimate “pedigree” as Jesus brother.  He understood those who were concerned about the Law.  He knew God's Word.  And out of that background he points out that this move among the Gentiles is something promised in the Old Testament –  it is part of God’s plan. Therefore, he says,  “we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God”. 

That’s the answer.  Jesus is good news or all nations, al sorts of people.  That is what the Spirit has been doing since the start of the Church; it's what God says in his word; it's what our experience of the Spirit confirms.  Don't call them unclean.  Don't make it difficult for them.  Don't be a hypocrite. 

As a result, the Apostles wrote a letter to the Church in Antioch, making one or two things plain. 
Firstly, “We have heard that some went out from us without our authorisation and disturbed you.”  The troublemakers had not been sent but had taken it upon themselves. 
Secondly, they told the gentiles to avoid “food sacrificed to idols, eating blood, the meat of strangled animals and to keep away from sexual immorality.”  It's good to keep away from  contact with false gods,  to avoid sins that everyone agrees are wrong,  and to respect one another's sensitivities.

Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch as soon as they could, to pass on this letter.    It brought great joy.  What a relief!   They had clear guidance.  They were able to remain part of the “Church” that was spreading all over the world.   They were able to continue with the spread.  They hadn't made a series of disastrous mistakes.  They didn't need to back pedal.  They could be united with each other and with the rest of the Christian church, in sharing the Good News of Jesus with everyone.  There was plenty to celebrate. 

And after the celebrations, there was a season of consolidation: Silas and Judas stayed for a short time and prophetically encouraged and strengthened the believers; Paul and Barnabas spent time with other members of the team in Antioch, teaching preaching (literally gospelling) God's Word.  They needed a firmer grasp on the Good News of Jesus' Kingdom, God's grace, life in the Spirit. 
And in response to that teaching, the church was shaped, not into a navel-gazing, self-obsessed self-satisfied little clique, but empowered and more intentionally open and welcoming. It wasn't long before Paul and Barnabas were sent on their next journey; soon they would be in Europe!

God still calls his people to keep away from the “Old life” with its divisiveness and legalism, to grasp the new life, “life in the Spirit”  and to be a missional church, a Good news church, an open generous joyful welcoming, going Church. 

© Gilmour Lilly February  2014

Acts 14. 19-28: Mission, Discipleship and Church.

1. Circling disciples   v. 20
After healing the lame man, you would have thought that Paul and Barnabas would have had a successful time preaching the Gospel; but Jews from Iconium turned up and created trouble so bad that Paul was dragged out of town and stoned, (the Jewish form of execution, which involved a kind of lynch mob throwing sizeable pieces of rock at the victim).  When the attackers thought he was dead and went away, the “Disciples  gathered around him.”  Literally, they formed a circle around him...  I believe that is a beautiful and important image for what discipleship is often  meant to look like.

As Paul experienced it, Discipleship was far from easy: here he is, after a potentially significant time of ministry, lying on the ground in a bloodstained heap, covered in bruises and open sores, possibly with a broken bone or two; almost certainly suffering from concussion.  He has been through the wars and is still in danger.  I don't believe he died – he refers to having been stoned (2 Cor 11. 25 ) but doesn't suggest that he actually died – but being left for dead in an out of the way place in the heat of the day could quickly have finished him off.

Some of us face huge challenges; we are under attack; we are in pain physically or emotionally; we face persecution, physical and moral dangers...   One of the activities of Disciples is that at times we circle one another...  to express compassion, protection and prayer.  You cannot have discipleship in isolation.  Discipleship involves a circle, and making a circle involves more than one person.

Let's make sure that in the times of pain, fear, and danger our brothers and sister go through, they are genuinely encircled by their Church: circled by people who know and love Jesus, and are prepared to
care.   How encouraging this moment must have been for Paul as these new disciples showed the depth of their spiritual life by gathering around him in that situation.
protect:  to protect: that may bean speaking out for someone who can't speak out for themselves; it may mean standing with someone who is under attack; it may mean pointing out the dangers so that they can avoid making silly mistakes.  “Love always protects”is a good translation of 1 Cor 13. 7.   We are able to “watch one another's backs, in the challenges of spiritual warfare.

It's kind of like circling the wagons in the old Western moves.  But beware: there is a false “circling” - when we are set upon protecting the institution, or simply our own self-interest.  A group of people can sometimes close ranks, to protect itself from the scary possibility of being outside our comfort zone: it's not so much “watching each other's backs, as the instinct of the beehive, to fight off the intruder.

Pray. Although Luke probably didn't mean to suggest that Paul was miraculously raised from the dead, he does seem to be implying that he was miraculously healed: the man left for dead rose up and entered the city.

2. Making disciples   v. 21
Then with amazing courage, Paul and Barnabas headed for the next city, Derbe, preached there and “Made a large number of disciples”.    The result of that minsitry of of encouragement was that the mission continued.  We are not called to circle each other so that disciples can get on with their lives. The result of circling one another and caring for one another, is that we are able to get on with mission.

And the Mission is making Disciples.  Not just decisions. Every believer is a disciple.  If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you are today a disciple.  Discipleship is not an optional extra for super-Christians.  All the stuff we are talking about today, is part of the ordinary, every-day bread-and-butter life of Christians.  You are part of Church.  You are called to mission; you are called to circle one another, to walk together.   You cannot have discipleship in isolation

As  Church, our vision remains “Learning to show the Father’s love.”  We are committed to life-long learning.  We are committed to the truth that every Christian is a Disciple, called to continue growing in radically following Jesus.

3. Strengthening disciples    v. 22 
Paul shows us that his call in life is not just about getting more and more people to sign up that they want to trust in Jesus.  It is about making and shaping Disciples.  So when he has finished at Derbe on the eastern end of the province of Galatia, he retraces his steps through Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples.  If they were going to survive in the difficult world they lived in, then they would need  strengthening.  The Greek word conveys the idea of being firmly established, like a stone set in the ground; or supported or nourished.  Paul wanted these Disciples' souls to become strong, so he draws alongside to encourage and comfort them.  (The word exhort is from the same root as “Paraclete” - a name for the Holy Spirit). In particular he needed to point out that the way of the Kingdom is the way of being different from the rest,   of being misunderstood, the way of suffering.

And as part of that shaping,  Paul has things to say about Church.  You cannot have discipleship in isolation.  The life of Disciples is inextricably tied up with the life of the Church.  So Paul shapes the life of the Church as well as the life of individuals....  He appoints “Elders” in every one of these Churches.  Note three things about that:
1. What they were.  The word used is “Elders”.  Now, that has become a kind of technical word: in Scotland it makes us think of the office-bearers in the Kirk. Brethren, Pentecostal-type churches and some Baptist Churches such as Charlotte Chapel have Elders.  It's become a “Churchy” word but what were “Elders”?  In Paul's day, the word had a simple, clear meaning within society: every Synagogue, every city, and the empire itself had its “Elders.”  But from the start Christian “Elders” were different – they were not just office-holders; not about governance  but about care as well.  I believe that in our approach to leadership it's OK to use language that the world will understand (instead of “churchy” language) and vital that, whatever titles we have for our leaders we have the values of Jesus.
2. Paul takes the initiative in this.  In Baptist churches we are used to the idea of “Congregational government”.  It's an idea that was radical when it was first developed before Britain was a democracy – but  it needs to be held in a radical balance with the need for leaders to lead.  Paul led by appointing Elders and when he left someone like Timothy or Titus in charge he expected them to appoint Elders too.
3. As the Church-planter he identifies those he sees as gifted – just enough – to keep the group moving in the right direction.  What is remarkable in this situation is that these “Elders” can only have been Disciples a matter of months at the most, maybe even weeks.  We do have a variety of different gifts – but God's anointing can overcome our lack of knowledge and experience.

And with these people in place, Paul leaves the area.  Strengthened by Paul's teaching and example, filled with the Holy Spirit, and with a tiny and inadequate feeling team to lead them, these wee Churches had to get on with living discipleship in their hostile world. That's a challenge for us in our hostile world!

4. v. 28  Time with the disciples.  
Eventually, Paul and Barnabas returned to the Church that had sent them out: the wonderful, boundary pushing fellowship at Syrian Antioch.  There they reported back all that had happened.  What a wonderful thing to give God the praise for what he had done.  Accountability is important in the Church; but it shouldn't be an ugly, legalistic thing; it should be a joyful thing that grows out of relationship...   And having told their story, Paul and Barnabas remained no little time with the disciples. 

Discipleship is about relationship. Time with the disciples.  Sometimes “Circling” one another in compassion, protection and prayer; sometimes comforting and strengthening one another; sometimes exercising a particular ministry; but always taking time with each other.

We need to take that time, not just to “do a job”, not even to pray or study th Bible – but to be with each other.  Relationships are an important part of discipleship. You cannot have discipleship in isolation.

So what are our action points from today?
Circling disciples: caring for one another and being cared for in the Body of Christ.
Making disciples: picking up the challenge that we are all called to discipleship and we are all called to make disciples.
Strengthening disciples: growing through the word, the Spirit, and the influence of leaders God has appointed.
Time with disciples: simply building relationships that go beyond getting things done.

© Gilmour Lilly February  2014

Acts 14. 8-20: Guidelines for healing ministry

Last week we saw how Paul and Barnabas had the exciting  “revival experience” of seeing  “Cross-cultural Crowds of Converts” and looked at  the place of Motivation, Preparation,  Communication,  Incarnation and  Demonstration in the life of a Missional movement.

Live with the mystery, engage with the ministry.
Luke then gives us a case-study on “demonstration”.  While one incident doesn’t tell us everything we need to know about the miraculous it does give us some important guidelines on  “How?”  to engaging with “Signs and Wonders”...

And the case Dr Luke gives is terse and unpromising: he was disabled, crippled in his mother's womb, he had never walked. Medically speaking, it was about as bad as it could get.  He hadn't been injured at birth.  He hadn't been run over by a number 19 chariot. A congenital defect meant he could not and had never been able to walk.  Then, one day, a small group of people gather in the market-place just by the man's begging-spot; two are obviously the leaders and one of them begins to speak.  He's talking about Jesus, the Son of God; the “change-bringer and sin-bearer”  who healed the sick, drove out the demons, died for sin and rose again...  And as he hears this message, the man thinks “If this Jesus who healed the sick is alive today, he can heal me, too!”  He realises that, “Nothing is impossible for God!” 

 That is where we start.  Nothing is impossible for God, because God never changes; the Jesus who healed the sick and drove out the demons is the same yesterday, today and forever.

There may be puzzles about why some people don't get healed in the way they ask.  But he is able to do it, and he wants to do it.  Sickness and suffering are the result of the fall, and are gatecrashers into God's world.  Let's accept that nothing is impossible for Him; that suffering isn't what he wants; and live with the mystery while trying to engage with the ministry.

Maintain the momentum of Mission
If there was a synagogue in Lystra (and there may have been, as there were enough Jews to cause trouble for Paul and Barnabas) Luke doesn't mention it.  But Luke doesn't waste words, and he may well not have wanted to repeat the same thing over and again.  What is clear though is that this incident took place in the open air, in the street or market-place.  And what is also clear is that Paul was preaching the Good News about Jesus.

All of that shows us that the healing ministry is about mission.  It takes place on the streets and is an activity of our “big-hearted God” who loves to give away the good things of his kingdom.

The word “Healed” (v 10) is σωθῆναι.  The message says “saw that he was ripe for God’s work”. We need to understand salvation as big enough to include wholeness in every part of life and healing to be part of the bigger package of salvation that people can receive from God.  Healing is part of the salvation God longs to give to people he loves.

Notice people.
Paul watched him closely as he spoke. (v. 9).  In the midst of speaking to the crowd about Jesus, Paul noticed this guy.  There may not have been much to set him apart from the crowd.  In every city centre in the empire, there would be disabled people sitting with their begging bowls.  Like so many disabled people he was below eye-level.  Yet Paul noticed; and began to focus on the man.

"Watch and pray" Jesus said. He meant "stay awake" but part of that alertness is observation.  Joking apart, when we want to engage in the healing ministry, we need to keep our eyes open.
The skill of observation is one we need to develop and use in personal ministry. What do you see? It may help you to discern what someone needs. It may even save your life...  There may be moments when we can, see something in a person, just with the eyes of common sense, that tells us there is an unusual level of pain, of need, or of faith in a person's life. 

Discern what God is doing...
So what are we "watching" for? There may be a sense of something perceptible: a peace, a quiet confidence. But I believe there was something interior, something that cannot be put into words.
We are watching for the Holy Spirit being upon a person. We are looking for something about the person that suggests God has imparted a gift of faith. Faith is God's gift. How do you "see" faith?

Paul speaks about spiritual gifts being "spiritually discerned"   (1Co 2:14)   Three things you can do from God's word...
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”  (Heb 4. 12)  Soak up the word
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”  Jn 10. 27  Hang around with the Shepherd and you will get used to his voice.
“Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” Rom 8. 14  Stand in your sonship.

Speak up!
Paul issues a command that seems pretty brutal: “stand up on your feet.”  But as Howard Marshall says this command “was at the same time time a divine enabling to him to jump up and begin to walk”.    It is a creative word, that brings God's healing into the man's life.  We may not be able to step out in the  sort of faith Paul exercised here; we can only operate  “according to our faith”, that is when you know that is exactly what God wants you to say and when you know that God is about to do something.  But we can begin to speak out in Jesus' name, creative words that bring his healing into people's lives.  Sometimes it's right to “pray” for healing.  At other times it's right to speak God's healing into a person's life.  Jesus rebuked fevers, commanded deaf ears to be opened...

Accept Ambiguity.  
The whole crowd “Went wild” (the Message”).  Speaking in their own language, they shouted “The Gods have come down to us!”.  They decided Paul must be Hermes (the messenger-god) and the older Barnabas must be Zeus.  Some of that went over Paul and Barnabas' heads; then the local priests started to offer sacrifices to them and they realised that things were not going according to plan.  Tearing their clothes in grief, they rushed among the people to make then understand that the one living God was calling them away from worshipping idols to trust in him alone. 

Things are rarely plain sailing: it's easy to stay in our comfort zone and see the dangers in unfamiliar forms of ministry.  Healing, Street pastoring, or whatever, can be misinterpreted.  It didn't put Paul off and it didn’t' put God off. So it shouldn't put us off, either.

We are only human,
Lastly, as Paul and Barnabas tear their clothes, they are having none of the glory! They stress, We are only human, like you.”  The Greek says “We suffer in the the same way as you.”  Paul and Barnabas were only human.  They were weak.  They suffered.  Paul once had to leave a colleague behind ill (2 Tim 4. 20), advised Timothy to take a little wine to help his indigestion (1Tim 5. 25) and prayed three times of have a “thorn in the flesh” (possibly illness) taken away (2 Cor 12. 7)
We have treasure in earthen vessels .  So
Even though we're only human, we can engage with  “signs and wonders”.  And...
No matter what miracles we see, we are still only human. 

© Gilmour Lilly February  2014

Acts 14. 1-7: “Guidelines for a Missional Movement”

After preaching the Gospel and planting new Church in Pisidian Antioch, Paul sets off towards Lystra, another Roman Colony, but makes a detour to Iconium, where as usual he goes to the synagogue and preaches the Good News of Jesus.  And there,  a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.  Cross-cultural, Crowds of converts.  Isn't that exciting and encouraging.  People believed: they were clearly convinced and converted. It's good when people believe; we all have individuals whom we want to see coming to that point in their lives. And those who did were Jews and Greeks – both sides of the biggest divide that the Church at that time had to work with.  This was  Cross cultural thing.  How exciting to see the message of Jesus touching diverse people.  Men and women, old and young, different races and colours, rich and poor; people who are “like us” and people who are totally different. And there were crowds: loads of people.  The Greek says a “many crowd”. 

Isn't that what we want?      What prevents it from happening?  Being Missional doesn't guarantee that “Revival” will happen.  But if we choose to run church our own way – we are on our own.   We need to “prepare the way of the Lord” removing the boulders and making the path straight for him.  What might that involve?

Motivation...   When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Iconium, they were eager to preach the Good news of Jesus.  When they left, they didn't go off into hiding.  They went straight to the next town and began to preach the Gospel.  Sometimes our motivation is a bit mixed up.  Sometimes – especially in smaller churches, we wish we could see people becoming Christians, to “bring them into the Church”.  Now I love the Church, as Paul did.  But his motive for preaching the Good news wasn't about bringing people into the Church.  It was about the reputation of Jesus.; and it was about the needs of the lost.  It's not about being proved right, validated by having people “admit” they were wrong and we were right.  It's not about recruiting for the church.  It's about a burning desire that lost people will be saved.  It's about longing for Jesus to be honoured.  The Gospel has to be something we are able to give away without receiving anything in return.

It seems like we need to have the kind of desire that Barnabas and Paul had for the Lost.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes on him should not perish but have everlasting life”.  We need to love like God did.

Preparation... God had actually done something already in the city: the converts were bot Jews and Greeks.  How could it be that Greeks used to worshipping many gods,  were hanging around at the synagogue  where the message was “Hear O Israel: the Lord your god is one God”?   Maybe when Paul and Barnabas arrived, they already had  a reputation, and loads of people crowded into and around the doors of the synagogue to hear.  Maybe when they arrived before the Sabbath, they said what they were there for.  Maybe they had already healed a few people. Surely,  the Holy Spirit was at work, breaking down barriers, creating openness to the Gospel.    That's Holy Spirit preparation, and I guess the only way we can do that sort of preparation is by our prayers.

Communication... They spoke in such a way that many believed. Not that they spoke “so effectively” (NIV): that suggests that the conversions somehow resulted from the clever words of the preachers.  Paul never made any claim to clever words.  But he spoke in such a way that people were saved.  That makes it a possibility for us: we can talk about Jesus in such a way that people are able to put their trust in him.  We need to present the Gospel in ways that are relevant, simple, clear, friendly and credible. 

It seems like taking candy from a kid.  Have you ever tried to take candy from a kid?  As a parent I can testify that it's not as easy as it looks!  You are likely to encounter some protest!  And despite the amazing success, this “revival” wasn't all plain sailing!  (v. 2f) As soon as it became clear that revival was happening, opposition started happening too.  Unbelieving Jews were turning gentiles against the  brothers (Luke’s' way of talking about the Church?)  

Incarnation    Paul and Barnabas respond – by staying put.  For A considerable/sufficient time they spoke boldly about the Lord...   they ignored the persecution and got on with the job they were called to do.  We need to avoid being put off by the problems, the misunderstandings, the hostility or the indifference we meet.  It is always a good idea to find out why people are indifferent, hostile, or suspicious.  We can do that through the gentle art of presence and conversation. 

Lengthy, persevering  ministry, staying  a long time.  Just being there.  We need to hang in there.  The trouble with many of our ideas of revival, is that they are based on our terrible desire for a quick fix or an easy life. 

Much of the work of a “Missional Movement” is the long, slow, painstaking work of “incarnation: it is being there, alongside people; sticking with them; partying with them; struggling with them.  Lesley has done some of her outreach work as a hospital inpatient, where she has had amazing opportunities to talk with fellow patients about Jesus.  Andy Scarcliffe when he was in Barnton, used to go the Leisure centre where the Church met.  He would take his laptop and prepare sermons in the café; he would work out in the gym.  He became recognised – part of the furniture of the place – and found opportunities to talk about Jesus.  Chris Duffett, last year's President of the BU of Great Britain, exercises an outreach ministry within old settee that he takes into shopping malls, and sits down with a sign that says “I will listen.”   That's why I try to visit the Helping Hands club as regularly as I can on a Thursday evening.  People have asked my why I chose to do a University Counselling course instead of a Christian one.  Part of the answer is that one word: Incarnation.

Demonstration:   The Lord was bearing witness to the word of grace by giving signs and wonders to happen through their hands. One specific aspect of this “incarnational" ministry, was that the Lord himself was through the evidence of the supernatural: “Signs and wonders”.  The phrase is used about 13 times in the OT and 16 times in the NT.  9 of these are in Acts.  “Signs and wonders” were very much part of what the early church understood to have been in the ministry of Jesus, and very much part of their ministry too. Note that God was doing this through their hands. 

1.  “God giving testimony” through the miraculous.  “Signs and wonders”  are God's work... God graciously gives this stuff away, because he loves men and women.
2.  It is testimony.  It's in the Mission context for a mission purpose – to confirm the word; not just to excite, impress, or comfort the in-group of he Church.
3.  it is through their hands.  Not just their prayers; and certainly not their skill or power.  Just their hands, as they allowed themselves to be channel;s of his power.
 The city as a result, is divided. (v. 4f) Some are with the Jews (in opposition to the Gospel, not in adopting Judaism; others are with the apostles.

Opposition    Apostolic ministry brought division.  It began with a subtle, underhand “smear” campaign (v. 2); grew into a division within the whole city (v. 4); until the Jewish leaders were plotting violence against Paul and Barnabas (v. 5) 

A Missional church, or one that is experiencing revival, is not going to be universally popular. It isn't guaranteed an easy ride.  However motivated we are, that motivation will be challenged.  However the Lord prepared the way, the enemy will try to block it; we can be the best we can in terms of good communication and loving presence, and still be  misunderstood and hated.  Even “Signs and wonders”, the power of God visibly at work, doesn't prevent us from having a hard time.  As a mission movement we need motivation, to preparation, communication, incarnation and demonstration.

© Gilmour Lilly February  2014

Acts 13. 13-52

The Speaker

Luke the storyteller doesn't waste words or bore his readers by repeating the same speeches over and over. Instead he gives us key speeches, like this one, as an example of how Paul preached in the synagogue... and it was Paul who was the preacher! Not Barnabas. In fact, Luke has already started referring to “Paul and his companions.” There's something very gracious and lovely about someone like Barnabas who was prepared to step back and allow the younger Christian, the less experienced and less proven one, flourish. There is something lovely about having the honesty and humility to admit “I don't have the gifts for this, but my younger brother has”. Barnabas had that wonderful quality. Son of Encouragement.

The Strategy:

Pisidian Antioch in the middle of modern Turkey was not a huge place – but it was a strategic place, on an important road. They go to the Synagogue on the Sabbath day; as visitors and maybe with a reputation for knowing the Scripture, maybe identified as Rabbis, they are asked if they have a word of encouragement for the congregation. That is their cue to talk about Jesus. The strategy was to begin with their natural contacts. And note that it became one of Paul's hallmarks, to do so.

The Speech

Look at the message Paul preaches in the Synagogue. Paul preached a narrative sermon telling the story of God's people and then the story of Jesus. There are two main themes Paul speaks about: firstly, Jewish history; and secondly, Jesus himself. But why does he start with the history of Israel? Why does he go back 1400 years, to before Moses? He has two reasons:

Firstly, Theological

Starting with the history of the Nation identifies Jesus as Messiah, the Coming King from David's family, the “Promised One” sent to fulfil prophecy.

It's as if there was a huge treasure chest of promises, that Israel waited for God to open up. In that chest there are

• Freedom from oppression;
• Healing;
• justice,
• peace,
• the Spirit poured on all kinds of people;
• knowing God personally,
• the forgiveness of sins.

These word Israel used for the contents of this treasure chest, is “The Kingdom of God” or “the Kingdom of heaven”. The expected their Messiah to bring this “Kingdom”.

Paul refers to the work of John the Baptist, preaching “repentance”. He is quite clear that it is sin that keeps that treasure chest locked up. Preparing the way for Messiah to come, means turning from your sin, from the wrong stuff inside you. Sin is the padlock that keeps that treasure chest locked up, and its treasures, the Kingdom beyond our reach.

And then Paul talks about Jesus. By tying the Jesus story in as clearly as he does with the story of Israel, Paul is saying “Jesus is the One who brings the promised Kingdom, Jesus is Messiah”... He announced the Kingdom. He demonstrated the Kingdom. By his death he deals with the sin that keeps the Kingdom out of our reach. In his resurrection, he proved that he is Messiah, showed that he is the Victor, that sin is dealt with and the Kingdom is an open reality now and for all eternity, for those who know Jesus. Jesus came and lived, and died and rose again, so that you can enjoy what is in the Treasure Chest... Or to put it another way, eh has two main things to say about Jesus. Jesus brings the Kingdom, and Jesus deals with our Sin. He is the Change-bringer and he is the sin-bearer.

That is important. You may run into people who want to say “Jesus was great, he was all about justice and peace and the Sermon on the Mount; and Paul was rubbish, banging on about sin.” And you may run into other people who want to say “The only thing that matters about Jesus is that he was God the Son who died for our sins and rose again.” Both of these views are wrong. Neither of them get Jesus right. Neither of them properly understand Paul. You can't have the Kingdom without the forgiveness of sins. And you can't have the forgiveness of sins without repentance and the Kingdom of god. You cant have what's inside the box, without using the key. And you have to be a wee bit daft, to have the key and not open the box.

In fact the gap between Jesus and Paul is a false one. Paul doesn't have much to say about the Kingdom of God. But he does tell us about Jesus the “Change-bringer” in different ways: “life in the Spirit”, our riches in Christ, Jesus the Victor; the New Creation, being the Church.

A proper understanding of Jesus as Future bringer, gives a purpose and a point to the forgiveness of our sins. The gospel is NOT that we can have our sins forgiven so we get to Heaven. The Gospel is that we have our sins forgiven so we can begin to live the life of he Kingdom of God in the here and now and continue to live in it for all eternity. The nature of the Kingdom, the reality of the reign of God, is what we are saved for. We are saved because God so loved the world. We are saved because God wants his world to live in his peace; to know his presence.

Secondly, Missional,

Paul is making the point about the Kingdom as well as the Cross. But there’s another reason why begins with history. He speaks as a Jew who knows Israel’s history, to other Jews who shared that history. He want to speak in a way that helps them turn to Jesus. He points (v. 27 )out that “the people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus” and wants his hearers not to miss the boat. When he spoke to Pagans in Athens, he took a different approach. There he began with “an unknown God”, what God is like, where we fit into the divine scheme of things. (Acts 17. 22ff, Luke's next record of Paul's preaching.) Now the message is the same. Jesus is the “Change-bringer” and the “Sin-bearer”. But the context is different. The unchanging Good News is contextualized, or presented differently to different contexts. Without changing it, we need to communicate it in a way that resonates with the culture we are talking to.

The four Gospels are an example of contextualisation. Mark was written first simply to tell the story to ordinary people. Matthew was clearly written fro mainly Jewish Christians, in a church that was just getting to grips with the idea that maybe the Gospel was for gentiles too. Luke was written for non-Jewish listeners, to tell them the story of Jesus and be able them to be part of this developing Church. John is the result of deeper reflection, written for thinking, culture-crossing people.

So, what does the Gospel sound like in your context? How do you talk about God? How do you talk about the mess the world is in? How do you talk about God having a better plan? How do you talk about God as the God of transformations? How do you talk about Jesus being change bringer and the sin-bearer?

The sequel

1. The conversation continued both formally (v. 42) and informally (v. 43) Many who had been listening continued to hang around and were encouraged to press in to discover God's grace for themselves. As the team focussed on those who wanted to listen – the Gentiles – they found ready listeners who were open to put their faith in Jesus.

2. Conflict was caused. Jealousy, blindness to the truth, arguments, abusive talk (v. 46), and before long, others manipulated into causing trouble (v. 50). Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet as a warning to those who were digging their heels in in opposition to the Gospel. There will be conflict. There will be opposition. The enemy will do what he can to prevent the Good News from being preached, being received, and acted upon.

3. Churches were created and encouraged. Paul and Barnabas moved on, to the next big city, Iconium, look what they left behind. A group of Disciples who were “filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” (v 52) The Good news of the kingdom and the Cross, of Jesus the Change bringer and sin bearer, results in men and women becoming disciples, but it results in Kingdom communities of faith being formed. What a wonderful thing to leave behind: a Church full of joy and of the Holy Spirit!

© Gilmour Lilly January  2014

Acts 13 – Heart of worship; heart of mission.

Heart of  worship
Coming back to the heart of worship.   Worship that changes the world!
Luke brings us back to Antioch in Syria, and mentions five worshippers by name: Barnabas who took the Gospel so seriously that he had sold a piece of land in Cyprus to provide for the poor in Jerusalem, and who had been one of the first to welcome Saul into the Church at Jerusalem.  There was a black guy called Simon: a Jewish name and a black skin suggests mixed race.  Lucius of Cyrene, another man with African connexions – though a Roman name.  Manaen (or Mehahen) who was related to Herod Antipas: high-born, from the not very religious part of Judaism.  And Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee who had been dramatically converted.  An interesting, mixed, well-travelled bunch, who “happened” to be in Antioch.  They were all “men of the word” . And they were worshipping.  It;s just possible that Luke mentions them because they were the church leaders and the the whole Church was worshipping; in fact it doesn't matter who were worshipping.  What is interesting is that they were worshipping: Luke uses the word “liturgy” here, which originally meant something a person did at their own expense, as a service to their community.  If someone paid for a water trough in the street, that was liturgy.  It was public service of worship to God.  If there were only five of hem, they were doing the same as the whole Church did.

What does “worship”  suggest to you?  A little group of people, going through the motions of religious observance?  They know what to do.  First a hymn, then a prayer, another hymn, a reading from scripture,  Or maybe they made the words up as they went along. Maybe the lifted their hands up to Heaven as Jews did in their prayers.   Maybe one or two of them spoke in tongues... 

We struggle with our different expectations of “worship” today.  Some Christians get involved in “Worship wars”  over the style and content of worship.  But what is all that about?  Why do we do it at all?  What's the point?  What difference does it make to a watching world, how we worship?  I suspect that for many people who don't have faith, church is seen as simply some weird, archaic mumbo-jumbo, singing and repeating meaningless words and symbolic actions. Whether it's solemn or joyful, the problem is it's still a fringe activity with little purpose or connection with the real world.   We walk in, we do the routine, we walk back out again.  The philosopher Soren Keirkegaarde, famously told a story about the Duck Church. “The ducks waddled into Duck Church, and sat on the pews.  The duck preacher waddled up to the pulpit and said 'Ducks – you have wings. Ducks, you can fly'.  And the ducks all said “Amen”, and waddled home. 

So these five men of God were worshipping.  They were hanging out with god.  They maybe wanted some guidance but they weren't simply “praying for guidance.”  They had a concern for the nations but weren't simply praying for the nations or for revival.  They were worshipping.  And they were fasting.   That tells me some that they meant business with God. It tells me they were serious about it.  They wanted answers to their prayer; they wanted to hear God; they wanted to be led by the Holy Spirit.  So they worshipped and they fasted.

 Worship is first of all about “presence”.  It is about wasting time with the Almighty.  Anything else, guidance, power, healing, conviction of sin, answers to prayer, flow from exactly that: when we are prepared to give the Lord that time of Presence. Sacrificial, needy, thirsty, hungry presence.  Worshipping God is spirit and in truth. 

Coming back to the heart of worship.   And from that heart, God speaks: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  Now maybe they already had a sense of call and this was the Spirit's moment to confirm that.  Maybe they had to find out what that work was.  “OK God, what are you calling us to do?”    But the call was to mission and evangelism.  Luke often uses “Work” in that way.

That moment when you realise “Hey there's a world out there”.  That's why worship changes the world. Such realisation is part of the purpose of the Prophetic work of the Missionary Spirit.   That – the turning inside out that orientates us towards mission – is part of the desire of the Holy Spirit in our lives.   To hang out with God is to begin to catch his heartbeat for the last the lost and the least.

Heart of mission
And so a fragile little “team” was sent out after more  fasting and prayer with laying on of hands.  Saul and Barnabas (two of the five best men in the Antioch Church) along with the young “helper” John Mark.   So off they went to the nearest port, Seleucia, and got a ship to Cyprus.  Why did they choose Cyprus?    It was a strategic island: prosperous and industrial with copper mines; Roman governed, Greek influenced and with lots of Jewish immigrants. And it was already familiar territory to  Barnabas. 

What is our mission-place, how do we know and how do we get there?  Sometimes God's strategy is to send us to the place we know well. 

As they journey through Cyprus, they meet a guy called BarJesus (“Son of Joshua”) or Elymas the sorcerer.  He was involved in all sorts of dark powers and probably fooled people into thinking he was more powerful than he really was.  He had influence: the Roman Governor used his services.  When Sergius, the governor, began to find out about Jesus, Elymas – or the spirits that were in him- saw trouble ahead and tried to stop Sergius from even hearing the Gospel.   We will face struggles, spiritual warfare, as part of mission.  Sometimes political, sometimes manipulating and undermining, sometimes brazenly supernatural, the enemy will try to Distraction, Discouragement and Deception to derail mission. 

We need to see these as Spiritual conflict, a “power encounter”.  We need to make them “power encounters”.  Look how Barnabas and Saul handled them: 

The power of the Spirit.  Many people are “Spiritual” but not at all committed to the Christian faith.    Some of their reasons fro avoiding faith are bad ones: there's something attractive about experience without dogma or demands.  But we are seen as peddling dogma and making demands without the experience.   There is a lot of paranoia about false gifts: Jesus said if we ask for a fish we will not be given a snake.  If we ask for the Holy Spirit  that is what Father will give us.  The enemy is smart.  He delivers up forgeries in the form of spiritualist healing, witchcraft, horoscopes etc. False healings, miracles and prophecies.  But listen.  Nobody ever forged a £4 note.  We have the reality of the Spirit's power and presence. We need to get out there!
 
Spiritual authority:  Direct challenge.  This is not the recommended way of talking to people about Jesus. It's not how they spoke to Sergius who was a genuine enquirer.  We want to win people not arguments.  But there is a point when we need to “shake the dust off our feet” when people are clearly unwilling to engage with the Gospel and are – and this is the crucial point – making an effort to prevent others from engaging with it either.

Word of faith:  not presumption.  Not arrogance; not simply interpreting things that happen “God got even with you there!”)  but speaking a faith word into people's lives, whether in prayer, or in prophecy

The result of all this, was that the Proconsul was saved! EH was genuinely looking for truth and could see the sense, in what Barnabas and Saul said, backed up in the power of what they did. 

And when we do come back to the heart of worship, we encounter the heart of god.  And when we to, we find he's a big hearted God.  We find we are pointed to the heart of mission.

© Gilmour Lilly January  2014

Matthew 2. 1-23 – What are you looking for?

Matthew 2. 1-23 – What are you looking for?

There must have been hundreds, maybe thousands, of people from Greece to India, from Ethiopia to the frozen wastes of Northern Europe, looking at the stars, trying to understand, predict, and control events in their world. Most people believed in astrology in the ancient world. But God tells us in His Word, not to have anything to do with attempts to consult the dead or foretell the future. Astrology, witchcraft in all its forms, divination in all its forms, is not how God wants us to get information. Hear what God says specifically about astrology:

Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them. (Jer 10. 2 NLT cf. Isa 47. 13f NLT)

How gracious of God, despite that, to speak into people's darkness, using exactly the tools they were used to: the movement of the stars. Despite the fact that they were looking for truth the wrong way, God spoke, possibly through the planets Jupiter and Saturn crossing paths. Jupiter was the royal planet and Saturn had for a long time represented Israel. This happened three times in 7BC and is consistent with the story as Matthew tells it. These wise men could read the message – a king of eternal significance, born in Israel. God is a God of grace who welcomes all nations. “Mission”, the Gospel for the Gentiles, is one of the big themes in Matthew – who wrote for Jews at a time when Gentiles were beginning to pour into the Church.

Yet why did only a few wise men from the East – an unknown number from a tribe of mystics in Persia – find their way to Bethlehem? Their search was not just frivolous. They weren't looking to know whether it was a good time to buy camels. They were the ones seeking truth, meaning, understanding. And, crucially, they were prepared to pay the price. It's amazing that men “with so little to go on should venture so far. God promises his people – and I think all people can call in on this promise – “you shall find me when you seek me with all your heart”. (Jer 29. 13)

The Magi, then, were looking for truth, knowledge, understanding. Their study led them to understand that something important was happening, and they felt they needed to be there. They were looking for a sense of connectedness with something bigger and more important than themselves. May God enable us, in 2014, to be people who are looking for truth: not just dry facts, but deep truth, truth that is understanding; truth that brings meaning into out lives.

Herod by contrast was looking out for himself. He was looking for power, and searching out threats to that power. Half Jewish, half Idumean (Edomite) he had come to power in a blood soaked coup. When he became king he killed the remains of the previous dynasty, including his own mother and sons; and slaughtered half of the Sanhedrin. The death of a few dozen babies in Bethlehem was nothing to him. He was a man of ruthless cruelty, paranoid about his own position. That was what mattered to him: his own prestige, comfort, ….

He knew enough about the Jewish faith to understand the hope and promise of Messiah coming. But he wasn't interested. Even if the Bible said it, even if God had promised it, even if God Himself were fulfilling his promise, he was going to put a stop to this. If he ended up fighting God, he wasn't too much bothered.

I hope none of us will start this year simply looking for our own interests. What a desperately sad way to live your life. How sad to see what God is doing, and deliberately set yourself against it.

The Chief priests and teachers of the law were looking for – precisely nothing! They were able to rattle off from Micah 5, 2-4, that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. (Fulfilment of Kingdom promises was another of Matthew's themes) Yet there was nothing of anticipation, nothing of hope; no excitement. No overwhelming desire to set out for Bethlehem. Nothing. They had their books; they had their knowledge and their information. They could dish up the facts, but they were neither acting upon them nor anticipating any God-action upon them. Their perceived “job” was to keep the temple open, to keep the tithes coming in, to make sure everyone kept the law, and to avoid rocking the boat. Maybe they were sold out to Herod. Maybe they were protecting their own skins. Maybe they were too diffuse a group of people to have a shared aim.

Sadly, there will be some who are looking for – nothing. It is tragic to be full of knowledge and information, able to rattle off chapter and verse, yet neither be changed by it nor expectant as a result. I wonder why that might be? It may be a matter of perspective.

For some of us, we don't know enough about God's word. How many of us never open the Bible between Sundays? How many only read a verse at day? I love “Word for Today”, but if you only read the verse and the comment, it's a bit like chocolate buttons: on its own it's not a healthy diet. You really need to do the “bible in a year” thing as well! How many of us have ever read the Bible from cover to cover? If you don't know God's word, if you are not absorbed by it and absorbing in into yourself, then the rules of perspective work: it's just too far away from us.

But how many of do read the Bible every day, have read it all, know it well, yet read it without any curiosity; without any passion, without any excitement. We're simply gathering ammunition, confirming our own prejudices, instead of begin curious about the meaning and excited about the direct voice of god? How many of us have the information at our fingertips – yet there is other information ready to hand as well – our tradition, our fears, our personal comforts and preferences are bigger, louder, closer than God's word. When Elijah had battled the prophets of Baal, Queen Jezebel threatened to kill him, and “And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life” (1 Kings 19. 3 AV) The enemy loves to make us “See” what he plans to do: his works of destruction seem close up, huge and loud.

Ass a result of turning the volume down on God's word, or allowing it to be drowned out by other voices, we can live without expectancy. We can live without obedience to the Word. We can be looking for nothing. That's not how God wants us to be.

And lastly, what about Joseph? Joseph had already made the journey from “looking for a quiet life” but he couldn’t have that with Jesus in his family! As he takes Mary and the infant Jesus to Egypt, and back to Bethlehem and then to Nazareth, he was seeking the well-being of Another and for the fulfilment of his own calling. Here was a man who had, despite the immense cost and pain, stepped up to the plate, suppressed his doubts about the girl he loved, followed God's guidance in dreams, and married the already pregnant Mary... This carpenter was now a man with a mission. Did you ever notice that Matthew traces the ancestors of Joseph, the husband of Mary, although Joseph wasn’t Jesus' father? That's because Matthew is interested in law, not biology. And legally, Joseph took on the responsibility of a Father to Jesus. That was his mission. This was Joseph's call: to ensure that whatever Herod or anyone else did, this Child who had been thrust into his life, would in turn grow up to adulthood to save his people from their sins. And to that call, he devoted his time, spiritual gifts, his opportunities and energy. This upright, good man, with a carpenter's eye for detail, is developing an openness to the guidance of the Holy Spirit through these dreams. When God says “go” he is willing to go.

This year, we need to be people who are like Joseph. People who are seeking the welfare of Another. People who are not living for ourselves, but living a life defined by the Servant King. And we need to be people who are seeking to fulfil God's call upon our lives. “What is God calling me to do? Because that, however costly or uncomfortable or embarrassing, I am going to do!”

I'm going to give the last word to “Word for today” for 31 December: “So, ‘hats off to the past and coats off to the future!’ Roll up your sleeves, go to work, and expect great things from God.”

© Gilmour Lilly January  2014