Acts 22. 1-22 The power of your story....

The power of your story....

Paul stands up to make his “defence” in front of this Jewish crowd. But he does that simply be telling his story: the story of his journey with Jesus. And Jesus himself said (Lk 21. 12-14) that these moments when we have to defend ourselves (ἀπολογια) are opportunities for witness (μαρτύριον) So I ant us to look at the importance of our story

1. It links us with others. See verses 3-5.

• The way he addresses them Brothers and fathers,
• The language, Aramaic,
• The name dropping I studied under Gamaliel
• all create a sense of unity, that comes to a climax as he says he used to be opposed to the Jesus message just like all of you.

As he tells the story of his upbringing, conversion and life in ministry, Paul is deliberately making the links between himself and his hearers.

Story is a wonderful way of building community. There is a actually a great deal of literature out there on the subject. For example, Management expert Steve Denning says

• Storytelling builds trust
• Storytelling unlocks passion – whether it be commitment, love or as in this story, anger.
• Storytelling is non-hierarchical; teaching concepts makes the speaker an “expert.” Thursday before last, peter and I were cooking a curry for all the crowds assembled in Silje's home... and one of the bridesmaids came and started asking us theological questions. It's quite a nice way to liven up curry-making, having a discussion about what it means to be filled with the Spirit.

So here is a challenge: find someone who is a believer – and share some of your story with each other; then observe how the process has brought you together.

2. It is lively. (vv. 6-13)

Paul tells his story here with real narrative skill: it's exciting. In particular, his story is, over and over again, the story of Jesus, the story of god at work in his life:

• the Light – strong enough to be seen an midday, outshining the sun – and the experience of being blinded and helpless, a reflection of Dt 28. 28.
• The voice of Jesus (of Nazareth – an important detail for a Jewish audience for whom yeshua was a common name). It is the risen Jesus whom Paul is encountering.
• The question – “What shall I do, Lord?” This encounter with Jesus had changed him from an enemy of Jesus, into someone who can call him “Lord” .
• The visitor: Ananias who came to minster to Paul – and whose ministry word about Paul receiving his sight was fulfilled so Paul knew God had sent Ananias to him.

The whole narrative is a series of clear “God-event”. In our testimony, supernatural experiences, a genuine conversation with Jesus, our own inner transformation, and the actions of other faithful believers, come together to make a living story of god at work. We have a faith that is rooted in narrative – not stories made up to make a point, but stories that are the point: God-events recorded and reflected upon.

The first New Testament was not written but spoken – the stories of Jesus repeated over and over. No wonder Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel: it is the power of God to salvation. (Rom 1. 16)

It is the word of god: living and active and sharper than any two edged sword (Heb 4. 12) . So be sure to partner that narrative with your narrative – your story of god at work in your life. “You are our letter of recommendation, written on tablets of your hearts...” Your story lifts faith sharing above the level of simply “doctrine” or concepts, above the level of debate, to a level of experience – good or bad. And your life, your story, may be the only bible people read. “The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life” (Calvin)

So here's another challenge: Ask yourself, “Do I have a God story?” What in your story is clearly “God at work?”

3. It can be a tool for learning.

Paul is using his story to make the point that the Christian Way is in no sense antagonistic to its Jewish roots. Ananias ... was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews, who said “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.” (v 12, 14)

And Luke is no doubt aware as always of the wee bit of something slipped in here that will make useful teaching material, about baptism: Get up, be baptised and wash your sins away, calling on his name. (v 15) Baptism in the name of Jesus means baptism in which we call upon his name; and it is a wonderful symbol of washing our sins away – in Paul's case the sin of persecuting the Church and the Church's Lord.

We learn through stories. They are a wonderful way of quietly, gently getting to grips with the truth; especially when they are personal, individual stories of faith and God at work.

So here is another challenge: Can you say with integrity, that your story, your experience, confirms the teaching of Scripture? And if it doesn't, what are you going to do about it?

4. It has its limits: (v. 17-21)

Paul knew that already. He's not telling his story to save his skin. He's telling his story to share the good News of Jesus. As he talks about his vision of Jesus in the temple, several things become clear:

Firstly, that early in his ministry, God had told him persecution would happen

Secondly, The change from persecutor – holding the coats of those who stoned Stephen to death – to passionate follower of Jesus, has to have come from somewhere. But the Jews cannot accept that it is from God because his “call” to go to the Gentiles doesn't fit with their existing worldview – which remained one where Gentiles were dirty, undesirable outsiders. So they shout, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” And Paul knew from his own experience what it was to have felt the Holy Spirit prodding him towards faith at that point, and to have resisted.

So – despite the strengths, the links made, the lively experience retold and the learning offered through the story, the crowd reject that story and shout, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” . Throwing dust in the air was a very typical Eastern expression of loathing and contempt (similar to Muslims hitting pictures of Saddam Hussein with their shoes.) “Gentiles” was an emotional word; and it was the word that had begun the whole debacle.

Our testimonies don't compel, because God doesn't compel people to faith. Sometimes, as he did with Paul, God turns the volume up to make himself heard, but although he wants everyone to be saved, God doesn't compel people to faith.

Our story can be powerful. But it's not compelling, in the same way that a logical, answer to Richard Dawkins isn't compelling; in the same way that a miracle of healing isn’t compelling. Because, God doesn't compel us into faith. It has limits. It will not persuade those who are determined to reject it. It will not force men and women into faith.

Telling our story is a great strategy. It is one we need to master. But without the power of the Holy Spirit, it will fail. So we need to pray: to keep on banging the doors of heaven, asking for mountains of unbelief to be removed. And we need to persevere. To keep on loving people, to keep on sharing the Gospel; to keep on living consistently among people. Even when he arrived at his final destination on earth – Rome – Paul's first action was to call together the local Jewish leaders (Acts 28. 18); and even thought he Jews rejected his message, he still welcomed all who came to see him. (v. 30)

We don't know what God will do and we don't know what people will do, with our story. So our fourth challenge, is to identify someone whom you want to come to know Jesus – someone who hasn't moved an inch in years maybe – and pray for them.

© Gilmour Lilly September  2014

1 Timothy 2 - Call to Prayer for our world!

 1 Timothy 2

1. Called to pray for the world
Paul  urges – and that word at root means calls – the Church to prayer for or world.  It is part of our calling as Christians.  Peter says we are a kingdom of priests (1 Pet 2. 9).  We think we understand in Baptist Churches the idea of the “priesthood of all believers”: we don't need someone to stand between us and God – because Jesus our Great High priest has offered his own life for us – and we are therefore all priests who can approach God.  Every believer is a priest. But who are we priests for?  We often think we are simply or own priests:  but I believe we are meant to be priests for one another, and for the world.
All sorts of prayers: pleas, prayers, petitions and thanksgiving be made for our world.  It's difficult to discover quite what Paul meant by these words.  Pleas suggest specific requests in times of need; petitions is a difficult word to translate but the root idea is of meeting together to have a conversation; and of course there is thanksgiving (the word that soon came to refer to the Communion service!)   You may  not feel you are great at praying a long prayer but you can be part of the conversation.                                                   
For all sorts of people especially those in authority. Do you pray for all sorts? I challenge us: 
1. pick our least liked politician and pray for him or her – not that they will  get elected or win in the referendum but for blessing and encounter with God.
2. When you watch the news on TV,  instead of sitting there like Victor Meldrew saying “How awful” or “What rubbish,” pray blessing on them.

The outcome of our prayers is that we live in a  world where we can be gentle and peaceful not just quiet uncomfortable at but at peace with what is going on.  A world where there is space for reverence  and solemnity or dignity.  In other words we pray for our world so that we may live in a world that where there are
1. Righteousness and justice.  A fairer, purer world
2. opportunities for others to receive God's salvation

2. Centring our prayer on the will of God
It's easy to pray our prayers to be focussed on the Church's internal affairs: for “revival” or for “Missionaries” or for our own sick folk.  We need to pray these things.  But we need to pray for our world: it particularly pleases our heavenly Father when we pray for our world.  We are praying within the will of God because God loves the world.

"God desires everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth"

There are two errors that quench our prayers and our witness.
Our history of Calvinism that thinks God has determined who gets saved – and who doesn't.  " God desires everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth"
Modern universalism that thinks everyone is going to be saved anyway.  Paul says there is one God and one mediator who can fix our relationship with God, Jesus who died for us.
Everyone needs to be saved and to know of the truth; but God wants everyone to be saved.

So we need to pray and we need to take action.  According to Alan Donaldson, the average church member never shares their faith.

3 .Character of the prayer warrior
In v. 8 to 14, superficially it looks as if Paul is saying "men have to pray, and women have to dress modestly, keep quiet and have babies."  And yes, the the “men” in v 8 means adult males, not   mankind.  We need to unpack the bit about women: then we'll come back to the men.
We have 3 choices in dealing with this passage
1. Throw it out because it doesn't fit in our world.
2. Take it literally and at face value for today, or
3. Interpreted carefully and find out what it really means. I believe that's what we need to do.

Paul wasn't laying down a rule for for all time. I say that for a number of reasons...
1. The example of Jesus: Mary sat at Jesus feet as a student with a Rabbi (Lk 10. 39) , and Mary Magdalene was the first witness to the risen Jesus (Jn 20. 17).
2. The clear teaching of Paul, for example in Gal 3.28.
3. The example of Paul who in Romans 16, refers to a number of women who had leadership gifts and responsibilities:  Phoebe (v. 1) was a servant of the Church who travelled far afield on its behalf; Priscilla was one of his fellow-workers (v. 3); Mary (v. 6) and Tryphena and Tryphosa (v. 12) worked hard; and Junia (v. 7) was outstanding among the apostles.
4. The passage itself: it does temporarily restrain women but contains the seeds of liberation.  Let's look a bit closer at it...

Look at the contrasting verbs inverse 11f;
1. “Let a woman learn” (v. 11) is a continuous command.  The very idea of “letting women learn”  was extremely radical at a time, when it was often considered a dangerous waste of money to teach a girl to read.
2. "I do not permit” by contrast, is a simple present tense.  "I am not permitting..." 
Paul has reasons in the first century why he needs to restrain women form “cashing in” too quickly on their freedom in Christ.  But the fact that they are learning implies that they will be able to use what they have learned.

Paul uses a teaching method that anchors ideas to three known points: creation fall and redemption
1. Creation : Man was made first. This implies headship. Where my head goes my body usually goes too. In birth, the head comes first, but the body follows behind.
2. Fall: Eve was deceived. Adam wasn't. He just disobeyed. Whose sin was greater?
3. Redemption. “Women shall be saved through childbearing.” This has embarrassed the church since at least 370 a.d.  Clearly Paul doesn't mean having babies saves women. That would be tough on those who have never had children.  Some people suggest that “childbearing” means the birth of Jesus. I think they are wrong.  The key to the text is the meaning of the word “through”.  In Greek as in English it can refer to cause and effect: “through no fault of your own.”  But the primary meaning is passage in space or time.  “Pushing through the crowd.”   We should use “through” in this way here.  Women will be saved, in the midst of pregnancy, morning sickness, broken nights and all the other things that crowd into their lives, if they hold on to Jesus.  In other words, womanhood is no obstacle to salvation.  Women are saved in exactly the same way men are.

In Ephesus, there were people who were messing up their own faith and the faith of others (1. 3ff, 20)  It is possible that some of these were pushing women forward despite their lack of knowledge.  Could it be that some of the men were too ready to take a back seat and let the women get on with things. Often the intercessors in the Church today are women.   However,  we are all prayer warriors. Men should play their part.  Many years ago we had ornaments Pam had brought back from Africa, that we suspected may have had occult connections, and we felt we had to break them up and burn them.  Pam hit them with the axe, but made no impression.  The I had a go and broke them.  Pam saw an acted parable in that: men need to exercise spiritual authority in prayer and warfare.  Men and women are different.  Even a skinny guy like me, has a bit of muscle.  Men, we need to learn hwo to use that spiritual muscle God has given us.

All are called to be holy, distinctive,  and united. Our prayers flow from being what we long to see in our world. And especially, men are to “man up”, flex their muscle, exercise headship, and pray.

© Gilmour Lilly September  2014

Acts 21. 17-40

Acts 21. 17-40

So, eventually, Paul arrives in Jerusalem, and meets up with the Elders of the Church there – maybe 70 of them as the Church numbered thousands. There's a moment of joy and celebration as Paul introduces the brothers from Asia and Greece – living evidence of God at work.  And he hands over the supportive financial gift from the Gentile churches  – evidence of Paul's and their ongoing concern and respect for the Jerusalem Church, even though it was different to the gentile churches.

Whoops:  rumour and compromise
But there's a concern that the elders feel they need to raise.  (verses 20-21 There's a rumour going round. It's being said  that Paul doesn't' care about the “Law;”  not only is he preaching to gentiles but he's even telling Jews to give up following the law of Moses.  It's a rumour.  It's not true.  The elders at Jerusalem should have stood with Paul, given him the opportunity to speak to the local believers, but instead – almost as if they are tempted to believe it themselves – they ask Paul to go through this ritual purification and pay for others' sacrifices, in order to demonstrate he was “sound”.

The Elders totally misread the situation: the action appears to have done nothing to warm the Hebraic Jews to Paul and his team.  Paul unwisely went along with it.  As far as he was concerned, he had taken vows before and could do so again. 

Yuk: The world in the Church.   
Rumour, suspicions, gossip, unconfirmed assumptions, in the church, and being acted on by the Elders.  So Paul is in and out of the Tempe for a week... and some of the Asian Jews who had a score to settle with Paul recognise him in the street, with a Gentile guy called Trophimus; then they see Paul in the temple, and assume Paul has taken Trophimus into the temple with him. (verse 27-29) Now there was part of the Temple where gentiles were allowed: it was called the Court of the Gentiles.  To go beyond that, you had to pass signs warning that no Gentiles were allowed, on pain of death.  The Romans tolerated it, and archaelologists have actually found two of these signs. So it's not even likely that Trophimus had accidentally wandered in there on his own, far less been conducted in by Paul.  It's a rumour, an unconfirmed assumption. 

What is sad is that the Church was doing exactly what the world was doing.  Gossip; rumour, unconfirmed assumptions. Then they melted into the background and let Paul handle things on his own.   They were more concerned about surviving in Jerusalem than about truth, about brotherly relationships or about the wider mission.  There was no Barnabas figure this time; nobody was prepared to take Paul's side.    That's the world in the church.  When I as a student I heard a prominent preacher condem “guitaar twanging, dressing like worldlings, and using modern idion in worship”.  He was missing the point.  The world in the Church is when we treat each other no different to who the world would. 

 Aha: With Jesus
The same “urban myth” that drove the Elders to ask Paul to go to the temple,  drives the people there to start a riot.  The way Luke describes the volatile situation in verses 30-31 reads very much like the riot in Ephesus, two chapters earlier.  One or two rabble-rousers, everyone running together, the whole city in uproar, people being grabbed and manhandled, one shouting one thing, on shouting another.  Not only was the Church no better than the world, but the behaviour of these Jews is no better than that of the pagans  some months previously: Jerusalem was  no better than Ephesus.  Paul has to be physically carried by the soldiers to prevent the crowd from tearing him limb from limb.  And the crowd are shouting “Kill him, get rid of him; Away with him!” Does that ring any bells?  The same word is used in John 19. 15.    What is happening to Paul is not only the same as had happened in Ephesus, it is also the same as had happened to Jesus.

That's a eureka moment for Paul: I believe its' a moment of destiny and realisation. If I was Paul, I'd be crying tears of joy at that moment: here he is, the chief of sinners, and what an honour, the crowds are saying the same thing about him as they said about Jesus.    This connects with the depth of Paul’s   This whole journey for Paul as a journey with Jesus.  James S Stewart, Scottish New Testament Theologian ranked ans the best preacher of the twentieth century, wrote that “union with Christ” is the “key which unlocks the secrets “ of Paul's soul.  He uses the phrase “In Christ” 82 times.  Union with Christ
Deals with his past: There is no condemnation for those who are In Christ. (Rom 8. 1)
Gives him an identity in the present: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.   (Gal 2. 20)
Gives him a future hope.  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Phil 1. 21. )

Whee: a moment of opportunity.
So when he manages to get the Roman Officer's attention, the last thing on Paul's mind is saving his skin.  But he does want human contact with this guy... so he asks  “May I say something to you?”

Now, three years earlier, an Egyptian adventurer had tried to stage a coup in Jerusalem: he had gathered thousands of supporters.  He had told them the walls of Jerusalem would fall down at his  command (a bit like the story of Joshua at Jericho) and then they were to march in and kick the Romans out.  The walls didn't fall down, the Romans heard about the mob, killed some and arrested others.  The Egyptian disappeared. The officer assumed that this Egyptian had turned up in the Temple,  where he was not  popular and people had immediately wanted to lynch him.  Imagine his surprise when his “Egyptian” spoke with an educated Greek accent, politely asking for a hearing.  

“You mean you speak Greek – so you're not that crazy Egyptian?” 

No, I'm Jewish, raised in Tarsus, a respectable, self-governing city in Cilicia..  I know I'm under arrest an all – but do you mind if I speak to the crowd for a minute or two?” 

And maybe because the officer was caught off guard, maybe because he was satisfied Paul was a decent sort of guy, he gave him permission to speak.  God is at work – even in a desperate situation.  There was a moment of opportunity to say something for Jesus.  So speaking in Aramaic, the common language of the area, Paul begins to tell his story. 

Yeah:  riding the wave...
Like he has been since the moment he put his trust in Jesus., indeed like Jesus. himself at Gethsemane,   Paul knows and accept s that god's plan is working out....  he's not fighting it. He's not hiding from it.   He's riding the wave.

Its' a pretty scary wave to be riding.  Paul is in real danger.   The forces against him are confusing  – superficially respectable but actually quite pagan and satanic.    He's not even too sure the Jerusalem Church is really with  him.   His ally here is a Roman Colonel who wasn’t too good at checking his facts.  But Paul is riding that wave: he uses what he has – Roman Citizenship, Greek education and Jewish culture, to tell the people not only of his innocence but about the Good news of Jesus. He's not pleading for his life – he's pleading for theirs.

We need to become surfers – who will ride the waves god sends along – even if these waves are scary; dangerous; uncertain; in our families, in our streets, to take the opportunities we get, to talk about Jesus, to pray in his name for people, to do “kingdom” things, show the Father's love.  And leave the consequences to the Holy Spirit.


© Gilmour Lilly September  2014

Acts 21. 1-16

The kind Church the Spirit plants.

Isn't it good, when you go on holiday, to get to church?  You see what a different congregation are doing: comfy seats, coffee and doughnuts before the service, nice new actions songs for the kids, the minister wears robes – or jeans.  As Paul lands in Syria and works his way towards Jerusalem, he finds himself among churches he's not seen for years – maybe never been to before; but he has the joy of seeing that God is at work in these churches...  in Tyre, in  Ptolemais, in Caesarea, and even in Jerusalem

These were probably groups that had come into existence as far back as Acts 11. 19. In the excitement of the story of Antioch – remember, where the Church first began preaching the Good news to people who weren't Jewish  – and Paul's journeys from there, they are hardly mentioned until now, but God has at work by the Holy Spirit. In places that Paul has had no involvement, churches have sprung up. What are these Churches like that have been growing up without Paul's input? 

1. Inclusive
These had probably begun as groups of Jewish Christians.  Remember it was only when the Good news came as far North as Antioch that disciples routinely began preaching to Gentiles.   So these groups had begun as Jewish disciples – but most likely Greek-speaking Jews, and probably some gentiles had joined some of them over the years.  The were certainly quite comfortable with Greeks like Luke being around.  In Tyre, Paul found himself surrounded by not only the men but the women and children too. We are learning from Gods' word the importance of welcoming the children in our homes and our life together.  Even the Jerusalem church – which seems to have had a a bit more of a Jewish flavour – still had room for people like Mnason the Cypriot who had been there along time. Different flavours in different congregations; and even within those congregations, different characters and outlooks.

Look around you at the Church you are part of:  what sort of people are they?  They are a mix of male and female, old and young; outlooks can be deeply different.  But they are together. The fact that er are all different, means that there is a place here for you. 

2. Prophetic
They were places where people heard from God.   These were groups where they were used to hearing from God – not only through the preached word but also through the Holy Spirit's gift of prophecy.  In Tyre, “Through the Spirit” – that is in response to something they became aware of through the spiritual gifts of prophecy – they warned Paul to keep away from Jerusalem.  In Caesarea, Philip had four daughters who had a prophetic ministry.  And to Caesarea, came Agabus, who again brought an acted-out prophecy about what was going to happen to Paul.  

This wee passage tells us a lot about the prophetic ministry in the earliest Church. 
Diversity .  From unknown individuals in the Church at Tyre; to the daughters of Philip – young women, maybe teenagers; to Agabus who had exercised a prophetic ministry for years and been proved “Right” (see Acts 11. 28) .  We have a God who speaks; and we have a God who speaks through old and young; well-known and obscure; he could speak through you.

Discernment  Luke tells us that  “Through the Spirit” the Christians in Tyre warned Paul against going to Jerusalem  So who was right and who was wrong?   Should Paul have obeyed that prophetic word?  Or did those who warned Paul get it wrong?Paul knew God was calling him to go to Jerusalem, despite the dangers. God never contradicts himself.  So here's what I believe was happening.  The Holy Spirit showed them what was going to happen to Paul, confirming what Paul already knew. That was the “God” bit, “Through the Spirit”.  Then they concluded, “if this is what is going to happen to you – don't go!”  They, quite understandably but wrongly, decided God must be warning Paul not to go to Jerusalem. 

We need, therefore, to be careful about what we do with prophetic words.  We need to get in the habit of expectancy; but we need to get in the habit of self-awareness so we can spot when our own thoughts and feelings seep into what we are saying.  And we need to get the habit of asking questions: “Lord, I believe that this is what you are saying, but what does it mean?”  It is possible to get something  wrong.  All prophecy should be weighed and especially any prophecy that involves telling people “what God says they are to do.”

Then Luke gives us a throw-away piece of information about Philip's daughters, but doesn't tell us what, if anything, they said. (Incidentally, this is one of these indicators that Luke’s telling of the story can be believed: if he was making this stuff up, what would be better than to put some prophetic word into the mouths of Philip's young daughters?) It's perfectly possible that although they had  prophetic gifts, they were simply not given anything at this point.   Having a prophetic gift doesn't mean we are always prophesying.  In fact, Philip and his daughters eventually moved to Asia, where as more mature women they were sought out, not for the prophetic but as eye-witnesses of the earliest days of the Church.

Drama  But when Agabus turned up, he had a word from God.  He took Paul's belt; tied his own wrists with it, and then said “The owner of this belt is going to be tied up just like this....”   The Holy Spirit is a good communicator. The prophetic can come visually as well as verbally. It doesn’t need to be dressed up in language and grammar that is quaint and out of date: in fact I would go so far as to say that authentic prophecy will always be in a form that the hearers can immediately identify with.  

Depth.  The prophetic will not always involve promises of blessings and prosperity.  If we examine the prophetic in the Bible we find many times there are warnings and challenges.  The point about prophecy is not to make us feel good: it is to build us up and encourage us so we are able to make the next step on our journey.  Judgement without grace, and blessings without holiness, are equally marks of false prophecy.

We need to be a community with a reputation for being somewhere people hear from God.  We can hear from God both through Scripture and preaching that explains Scripture, and through the Holy Spirit: speaking directly into our lives, challenging us, correcting us, warning us.  Let us be expect to hear the voice of God.”

3. Loving.  
Paul and his team were show such love: this took a number of forms: 

Welcoming:  Hospitality that was more than skin deep.
The Church at Tyre welcomed Paul (and a sizeable team); they opened their homes to them. They opened their hearts to them: the fact that whole families including women and children accompanied Paul to the beach, shows that  Paul had embedded himself in families and become “part of their lives”.

Weeping: Dealing with emotional stuff.
At Caesarea they all wept over Paul as he went into a dangerous situation.   The Bible tells us to weep with those who weep, and we need to be brave enough to sit with people and support them when they are going through difficult times.  But at one point Paul had to tell them off for crying and making a fuss about the risks he was taking.  It almost seems a bit harsh of Paul to speak like that; but I guess he had his own feelings to deal with as he faced an uncertain future in Jerusalem. Like Paul’s friends, we sometimes don't get it right.  Sometimes our emotions get in the way of other peoples' healing. 

Walking.  Being there for people.
These were people who were prepared to walk with Paul through this difficult journey.  They travelled with Paul, not just to “see him off” but right the way from Caesarea to Jerusalem, so he could find Mnason's house.   Sometimes we need to walk with people when we can't fix their problems or stop them from doing something foolish.  It's important not only to weep with people but to walk with them.

4. Trinity
The Church, the ministry, the mission, is never just about us.  It is always about the mysterious, mighty, wonderful three-in-one God: Luke mentions all three persons of the Trinity:

The Spirit is constantly there, filling, empowering, gifting, speaking to God's people.

The Lord Jesus – who died for us and rose again, motivates us.  He deserves our absolute 100%
unconditional love, surrender. Love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all.

The Father: who rules over everything.  When Luke and the others couldn't persuade Paul to stay away from Jerusalem, (and they did try!) they had to say “The Lord's will be done.”  The Lord is King – and to come to him, receive him, can only be done in one posture – face down.

© Gilmour Lilly August  2014

Acts 20 v 13-38

Paul: A Man with a Plan

1.   Focus.  He wanted to get to Jerusalem before Pentecost, and time was getting kind of tight.  So, although he had spent three years at Ephesus, pr4ached the Gospel, laid important foundations and made good friends, he didn't want to go into the city.  There had been trouble before he left last time, and if eh was arrested, he might be stuck there for some time.  Even if he didn't get arrested, there were so many groups, how long might it take him to get round them all.  So he headed straight for Miletus, 25 miles or so south of Ephesus, and asked the Ephesian Elders – the leaders of the various congregations and small house-churches and house groups in Ephesus, to come and see him.  Cheek of it!  But Paul knew what he wanted, and he was working to that plan.  As  a leader, he was focussed enough that he was prepared to ask others to inconvenience themselves.  Paul's face was set towards Jerusalem in a way that was very much like Jesus himself. (See Lk 9. 51: As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.)

2.  Legacy
You know how I lived the whole time I was with you (v. 18)
The “Touch”.  Paul had touched lives.  He had worked, he had been humble, he had cried, he had persevered despite opposition (v. 19); he had used every method he could – “publicly and from house to house” (v. 20); and he has supplied his own needs and show a radical attitude to material things (v. 33f). His temperament and behaviour in every contact with people, has set a standard, provided an example for others to follow,.. 
“The Truth”  The Story – the Gospel of the Kingdom. (v. 25)  He has taught them useful truth: stuff that can be put into practise (v. 21) not just a load of theory. In particular he had called everyone – Jew and Gentile – to turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus; (v. 21) and that is useful truth that we need to act upon;  he has been preaching the kingdom (v. 25) – so he has talked about what life is like when God rules, and that too is useful, practical teaching. 
“The team”  The guys he is talking to are the “Elders” of the Church.  In  Acts 14. v23 we are told that Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church they planted.  So these guys may have been from a variety of congregations and house churches in Ephesus.  See v. 28.   They are the Shepherds  of the flock – which is God's church (not theirs!). They are  overseers or visitors  to care for the broken and needy.  They have to take care of their own spiritual lives as well as those of the flock.  Leaders, we can't steer others to port if we are not steering ourselves to port.  They are there (v. 29) to keep the flock focussed on the truth, on right teaching.   And they are plural.  The idea of a lonely individual who does that job – for a stipend or not, with the tile “Pastor” or not – is foreign to the New testament. Leadership is teamwork.

3.  Change.  He had begun as a local evangelist, become a travelling missional leader (remember – because a wise man called Barnabas encouraged him to join the team) and church planter; he had been a pastor and teacher, particularly during his third journey.  N and now he faced something different, more difficult to define: he himself would describe himself as an ambassador in chains (Eph 6. 20) – travelling at the Emperor's expense as a prisoner; encouraging all he met, sharing the Gospel, and writing letters.  Befriender, campaigner and author.

That change is a matter of shape; not content.  There are three constants in Paul's life.
He has always been about Jesus, forgiveness of sins and the Kingdom of God. Changing shape doesn't alter the message. 
he has always been himself.  Changing shape doesn’t' alter the man. We need to remain firm and constant on the message of the Kingdom Good news.  And we need to remain ourselves. Ministry involves being who we are, and using the personalities, skills and gifts God has given us.  Whether you're a quiet introvert, or a noisy extrovert; whether you're energetic and always on the go or slow and methodical; whatever your natural skills and talents; your training; your spiritual gifts; they are part of you.  Use them!  
He has always been a man of the Spirit.  Paul describes himself as compelled by the Spirit (NIV) or more literally “Bound by the Spirit” (AV, v. 22).   What does that mean?  That’s an unusual concept.  Paul himself says where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  (2 Cor 3. 17)  He certainly doesn't want there to be any legalism about his life – indeed legalism was one of the hallmarks of false teaching.  But it is only as we accept the bondage of the Spirit – letting him be in complete control of our lives what ever the cost – that we really experience the freedom of the spirit.

4.  Sacrifice:  There area a number of dark themes brooding over this passage: Paul's ministry was changing shape, and that may have sounded a bit scary.  We don't like change!  All change – even good change like leaving school or getting married or your child growing up and leaving home  – involves loss. One of our wedding pictures shows me with a very serious face on – I guess I had just signed my life away!  In a few weeks time our youngest son will get married in France.  I know that the father of a bride once said “I don't think I'm so much losing a daughter  - as gaining a bathroom!”  But seriously I know it's a good change – Pete's found a beautiful and spiritual girl; they want to serve the Lord Jesus together; but there's a sense of uncertainty and loss. Nobody likes change, because nobody likes the experience of loss.

Paul specifically knew he was facing difficult times; somehow the Holy Spirit had made it clear to him that he faced imprisonment (v 23) and that this was his last visit to Ephesus, where he had spent 3 years (v. 25)  And there would be challenges not only through separation from Paul but through false teachers.   No wonder there was a river of tears (the Message) as he prayed for the elders.   There is pain in life; and in ministry.  I'm sorry if that disappoints you, but it is the reality.

And then the elders accompanied him to the boat.  The word accompanied is used in various ways...
“conduct, escort, esp. a departing traveller”: that's the obvious one here. 
But it can also mean to “follow a corpse to the grave”, and that is what it must have felt like to the Elders.
But there's another meaning:  the word can mean “carry offerings in procession.”

The way to deal with loss is the way of conscious and voluntary sacrifice: in Romans 12. 1, Paul says present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.  It was in that spirit that Paul, “Bound in the Spirit” walked onto that ship, ready for whatever God had for him.  And in that spirit the Elders had to hand Paul – and themselves – over to God.  And as fully surrendered men and maybe women of God, they were ready to be shepherds of the flock and servants of the king.

Surrender is the attitude we need.  Now I value the healing ministry.  It is important. Just accepting everything isn't surrender: it's fatalism. We need to take seriously what Jesus meant when he told us to pray with faith, and that faith can move mountains.  I believe we need to “birth the supernatural” in or midst (to quote the title of a recent book by Heidi Baker).   But we get upset when things don’t work out the way we expect or want.  Why?  I believe some of our prayer is about “controlling God” (which actually is magic not faith.  And surrender means yielding control.  It's when we are yielded to him that we can pray prayers of faith.     Surrender is not a “bargaining chip” that we can use to get what we want from god. That would be another form of control.  It is simply surrender to him.  We say “God you're in charge; you're in control.  Your Kingdom come.” 

When we are yielded to God we can pray with compassion  instead of self interest. When we are yielded to God, we don’t waste energy chafing about the things we don't like or  understand. When we are yielded to God,  we are free from fear. When we are yielded to God, we can handle anything.

© Gilmour Lilly August  2014

Matthew 18. 1-14

 

"Who's the greatest?”

We are often obsessed with the question “Who's the greatest?” With matters of status, power, with “winning”. We don't grow up much from being like kids in the playground: measuring each other to see who's the tallest, bullying the kid who is wearing cast-off clothes, or saying “My Dad could hammer your Dad.” The life of kids in the playground reflects the disorder in our hearts. And even at a few weeks old, Georgie Grace is trying to let it be known who's in charge in the Mitchell household!

And that is the problem that Jesus faces even in his group of followers. (v 1) Jesus' answer is to get a child to stand in the middle of the circle (v 2). He knows the kid is not perfect. A newborn will scream the place down for what she needs. A toddler will grab something and insist “that's mine!” Jesus has no illusions about children. He knows what they are. They are simple, emotional, they express what they feel. They are simply, like the rest of us, wired for survival. But this child can teach the disciples something.

The only way

And the first lesson the child teaches is “The way, to be the greatest, in fact the only way even to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, is to turn around – a complete change of direction – and be like a child: not fighting for supremacy, but – well, what? The answer is humility.

It is the humility of the child that Jesus commends. The word “humble yourself” literally means make oneself small. It's a complete “turnaround;” in the adult world we spend so much of our energy trying to “big ourselves up”, when God calls us to “small ourselves down” We complicate our lives. We complicate our thinking. We jockey for position. We manipulate. We argue. We justify ourselves. What Jesus likes in the children is their humility. No airs and graces. Not sense of “I am better than you”. No sense of “I deserve” and certainly no qualms about asking for what they need. Children come with a humility. “Here I am. I have needs: I'm hungry, I’m scared, can you help?”

The complete turn-around to childlikeness, trust and humility are the way into God's Kingdom. That's a lesson we all need to learn.

Welcome

And it follows, that God cares about the children. It matters how we treat them. We need to welcome them (v. 5) That means in our homes. It means in our Churches. And to welcome someone doesn't simply mean we are pleased to have them there. Of course we are thrilled to be parents or grandparents. Of course we are thrilled to have children in our churches. But to welcome them we offer them a hospitable, safe, environment. The Greek word means welcome, accept as an ally, to take note of, and receive.

In the Film Greystoke, when Tarzan comes home to Greystoke, and breaks the rules by drinking his soup out of the plate, the old Earl, his grandfather, does the same and the rest of the guests follow the old man's lead. That's a welcome: every effort made to make someone feel at home.

To welcome someone means to remove the “stumbling blocks”. (v. 6f) The Greek word originally meant a trap spring – the bit of the trap that causes it to catch its prey. It came to be used of these stones that stick up out of the earth, on country lanes, that are so easy to fall over. It's happened to me a number of times – I limp home covered in blood because of some wee stone hidden in the grass. There are things in our lives that trip people up, hinder their journey and endanger them emotionally and spiritually. We need to get rid of these things. The same things often make us stumble as well. (v. 8f) We need to get rid of the baggage we carry around, habits and ways of behaving, that trip and trap other people, and trip and trap ourselves, that make us stumble. We need to rid ourselves of the baggage that hinders our journey, even if that is hands or eyes.

Little ones may be literal children or Jesus may be extending the meaning to include all of the least in society... the poor, the learning disabled, the physically and sensory disabled, minority peoples.

Woe to any who place a stumbling block in the way of little people – that is who make it more difficult to continue their journey. Especially their journey towards faith.

Respect

Secondly, Jesus says, “Do not despise the little ones.” (v 10) Respect. Honour them; listen to them; learn from them. Their angels are constantly able to look the Heavenly father in the face. The Bible says a lot about angels: nations, churches and even the smallest people have their angels who are constantly gazing on the face of God himself. We should treat the little ones with respect.

But Jesus calls God “Father”. I know there's a lot of stuff out there about contacting the angels – a lot of it moneymaking, and will take you into darkness not light. We don't need angel cards, and a whole pile of books and merchandise or some kind of knowledge about who these angel are. Because the angels look our Father in Heaven in the face. He is a father. He loves us just as we are and welcomes us just as we are. In fact all that angel stuff will get in the way. We don't need to know their names. We just need to say “Dad” to our heavenly father.

Then Jesus tells a favourite story of his about a lost sheep. (v 12f) There was only one lost, but the shepherd went out looking for that one. He's teaching us what it means to care for the little ones and the lost ones. And he's teaching us about our Father's love for us. He doesn't want even one to be lost. Respect the little ones. Respect yourself. God is out looking for the little ones; God is out looking for you. That's what the whole life of Jesus was about. (v. 11) God the Heavenly Father doesn't want any of us to be lost. He wants every one of us to come to know him, and trust him, and love him; to enter his Kingdom. (v. 14)

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we know that in your Kingdom, there, there is peace, strength, and forgiveness, and things are made better. We come to you humbly, wanting to enter your Kingdom. Thank you that Jesus came to seek the lost, and that you don't want anyone to be lost. Please receive us now into your kingdom as we turn to you. Amen.

© Gilmour Lilly August  2014

Acts 20. 1-12. Church as if people mattered

Luke continues the story of Paul's third mission journey:  after the riot in Ephesus, Paul heads off to Macedonia, at the Northern end of Greece.  Luke doesn't give us details but in Romans 15. 19 Paul says that he has “fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ, from Jerusalem all the way round to Illyricum.”  This was probably the time he reached Illyricum (which makes the line for the journeys of Paul in most Bible maps wrong!)   Paul just loved breaking new ground, going to new places and new people with the gospel.  But Paul also loved the Church: and much of what he did in this stage of his third journey was about the Church. Luke doesn’t' give us details of the mission – but does focus on the inner life of he Church. And it's good to do that.  Emil Brunner once wrote “The Church exists by mission as a  fire does by burning”.  Although he was a great theologian, I believe that is a dangerous statement.  It can lead to an unhealthy emphasis on the activities and outcomes of mission, and a productivity-driven and pragmatic vision of Church which undervalues the quality of our life together and the needs of the people who make up the Church.   The Church is both the agent and outcome of mission. Mission and pastoral care go hand in hand. 

Mike Breen and the 3D Mission movement talks about the balance between invitation and challenge.   Both are needed for a healthy Church and a growing Church.  We need the challenge to be engaging in mission; and we need the invitation to be cared for and loved as God's people. As we've looked at Acts 19 we have been hearing a challenge; now it's invitation time! 

Comfort and encouragement
So we find Paul revisiting the Churches of Macedonia and Greece – to “encourage” them.  Encourage is of course παρακαλέω... the word that speaks of invitation, encouragement , comfort,  motivation; the word that refers to the activity of the Holy Spirit, the “paraclete” – the one called alongside us, who encourages us and comforts us and motivates us as he invites us to the journey of discovering what God has for us. . 

We need encouragement. Some of us are going through difficult times;  some of us have been through difficult times; some of us simply have something in our hearts from god's word, that we hetcan use to “encourage” one another.  That encouragement, that motivation, that accompaniment, is something we need to be able to find within the Body of Christ.  If it's not there, something is wrong.    If all “church” does is make demands, there's something wrong.  If all Church does is purvey sentimentalism, something is wrong.  The word comfort comes from two Latin words: con meaning with and fortis meaning strong.  When people are comforted they are strengthened together.   Real comfort, someone effectively drawing alongside, will give s us the strength to continue the fight.

Teamwork
Paul is surrounded with people.  Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea (a relative of Paul's), Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.  And Luke the physician.  Notice he refers to the group as “we”.  Paul is in a team.  The work he does, whether it involves missionary initiatives, breaking new ground, or pastoral care, is done in a team.   There are  a number of advantages to team work:
1. Witness:  a team of keen believers from all over Asia and Greece, would confirm to the Elders in Jerusalem that Paul really was doing a good work as eh travelled the world.  Having a team means we can can confirm and support one another, whether in discerning God's will or in fulfilling or call, the responsibility is shared. 
2. Accountability:  one of Paul's projects is gathering funds from the gentile church, to help and support the struggling Church in Jerusalem.  Having a team that was pretty representative of the churches that had given the money, meant Paul was accountable: he wasn't going to disappear to Rome and live in luxury for the rest of his life. A team makes us accountable for our actions and how we steward the resources God has given us
3. Protection.  This was a decent sized company of men, some of them at least quite young and presumably fit.  Robbing Paul wasn't going to be an easy matter.  In a team, we look after each other.  “As a fellow team member, “I've got your back.”  I love the image of Marcello kneeling by the injured Neymar and shouting for help.  That’s the role of a team-member.

The Worshipping Community together
Once again Paul is in Troas.  This time, there is a church in the town.  Paul spends a week there and his last full day is the Sunday.  Now, it's difficult to tell whether Luke is reckoning the time by Jewish reckoning that meant a day began at sunset the previous evening, or by the Roman reckoning that meant the day began at Sunrise.  What is important is that the Church met of the first day of the week – the Sunday – in a conscious and deliberate focus on the resurrection of Jesus.  They were the people of resurrection, and the natural day to celebrate that was resurrection day, Sunday.   The time was interesting: it was an evening meeting – when people had finished the day's work.  In a struggling, working class community,  the Church met when people could get there. The convenience and needs of the poorest and most needy people was what mattered. 

Their worship included breaking bread: that  included a meal.  As Paul says in 1 Cor 11.21, some came to church hungry (not surprisingly if they had been working all day).   And at that meal, bread would be broken in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice for us on the Cross, wine shared in remembrance of his blood shed on the cross.  We need to remember that church is people and to retain the human side of Church.  Communion is not just a ritual but a family meal.

But it took them a long time to get round to breaking bread.  Paul was teaching the people.  Once again, the word Luke uses suggests dialogue.  You remember (from three weeks ago) how we saw Paul having a dialogue in the Synagogue (Acts 19. 8) and in the lecture hall (v. 9).  Well, he is doing the same thing in this upstairs room, with a group of committed believers.  He's teaching them.  He is ministering the word.  He kept talking until midnight.  (The Greek says he stretched out the word until midnight!”)  But the shape of that ministry was conversational. 

We place far too much of an emphasis on monologue – the preacher as lecturer or stand-up comedian.  That has its place, and it is wrong to suggest that people can't listen for more than five minutes these days.  But Biblical preaching was interactive and dramatic, not always a monologue; People learn when they are involved. they learn by action; by being able to ask questions; by answering questions and testing out their own understanding.  We have strayed from the Bible, and from good communication by our overuse of monologue. We need to rediscover dialogue.

Power. 
The conversation went on for so long, the room as full oil lamps which were using up the oxygen, and people got drowsy after a hard day's work.  A young man called Eutychus who was sitting in a window, dozed off, lost his balance and fell from the second floor window to his death.  Luke says  “He was taken up for dead” and as a Doctor,  he gives us the benefit of this professional knowledge.    When Paul says “his life is in him” he is not saying “he survived the fall” but “he has returned to life.”  In other words, Luke is describing a miracle.  Plain and simple.  And that miracle took place in the context of a situation of real need within the Church.  When eventually – at dawn – they took Eutychus home alive and well,  the Church were “Greatly comforted.”  Again, the Greek word is  παρακαλέω which implies comfort, encouragement, stirring up. 

We need to recognise that the Church is not just “there to reach the lost”  it is there: the people of God, and needs to live as though people mattered.  Comfort and encouragement, teamwork, space for our humanity around a table, conversations about faith – and space for the God of miracles to be at work.  And when the Holy Spirit is at work in the church, people are encouraged and comforted. 

© Gilmour Lilly August  2014