In Jesus Holy Name May 31, 2009
Text: Acts 2:1-5 Pentecost - Redeemer
“God’s Vision For His Church, Part II”
“Telling the Good News”
What did Peter preach? Standing in the streets of Jerusalem, Peter spoke these words: “Men of Israel, listen to this Jesus of Nazareth …was put to death on a cross but God raised him from the dead … He has ascended to the right hand of God.”
When Billy Graham preached in London, England for twelve weeks in 1954, an Anglican clergyman came to him and said: “Mr. Graham, I attended every night for three months and you preached the same sermon every night.” Mr. Graham said later: “I thought I preached a different sermon every night, but I knew what he meant.”
One must proclaim the love of God, the cross of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus. There has to be the fact of sin and man’s response by repentance and faith. All of this must be proclaimed by an evangelist in every message. There may be many different illustrations, different biblical stories but the gospel is the same.#
Rev. John Stott, in his book, “The Living Church” writes The “Church” is not an accident of history. On the contrary, the “Church” is God’s new community.”# We have been called out of spiritual darkness to declare God’s praise. Each congregation must evaluate the culture in which we find ourselves. THEN We are “to make known by word and deed the love of God displayed in the crucified and risen Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that people will repent, believe and connect their heart and mind to Jesus as their Savior, then obediently serve Him in the fellowship of the local congregation.
“One of the most important questions facing Christians in every age and in every place is this: What values and standards are going to dominate our national culture? Most countries today are increasingly pluralistic in both race and religion. That is to say, Christianity, Islam, Secularism, materialism, ancient religions and modern cults all compete for the soul of our nation and for every human soul.
In yesterday’s Merced Sun Star there was an article entitled: “How a Black Woman Became a Rabbi.” Alysa Stanton of Cincinnati, began quenching her spiritual thirst discovering Judaism after a search that began at the age of 9. Alysa’s spiritual journey took her through Catholicism, Charismatic Christianity, several Eastern religions and finally Judaism.” In a post churched America she simply demonstrates the spiritual hunger. Jesus still gives every person a free will….but he depends on us to tell the story, it is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction and conversion.
Will Christians be able to influence their country so that the values and standards of the Kingdom of God permeate the whole national culture? What are Christian values and standards? Honesty, Truth, Love, and respect for human life, moral and bioethical issues, love and respect for stewardship and God’s creation. Respect for the sanctity of human life, including the unborn, the handicapped and the aged, victims of dementia, the homeless, those trapped in poverty, respect for a person’s reputation.
Psalm 45:7 tells us that God loves righteousness and hates evil. So God sends every Christian into the world to tell the story of His love, and to make disciples, to make our communities more pleasing to God by our good deeds. To be salt and light.
Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. If the salt loses its saltiness how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out.
A city on a hill can not be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they place it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men so they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.
The message Peter preached in the streets of Jerusalem does not change. In the “churched” society , following WWII, we put “In God We Trust” on our coins. As a nation we added “one nation under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. Proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus meant that you could build the “church building” and people would come.
In this, the 21st century, the culture has become pluralistic. Christian values and belief that Jesus is “the visible presence of the invisible God” is viewed as only one religion among many and Jesus as only one Savior among others. Peter’s pronouncement that “Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other names under heaven given by which we can be saved” is rejected as arrogant, presumptuous, exclusive and intolerant.
NOTE: Love does no hard to one’s neighbor. Rom. 13:10
NOTE: Christian values behavior. Romans 12:9-11
NOTE: Donald Posteriski in his book Reinventing evangelism. writes: Restoring Jesus to the true statues he deserves will not be an easy task. Making more announcements about Jesus will do little to nudge North Americans toward a genuine personal faith in Jesus. Religious holidays now simply remind us of Jesus’ life but for most people the greater gift will be a day off. Our old strategies to reach others with the gospel no longer work as well…. The days of the Big Billy Graham Crusades, the days when one could just build a church and people would come… no longer work as well in the post church America. We can no longer assume people understand what we mean when we use the world “heaven”, “salvation”, “sin”, let alone “church” words like “Justification” and “Sanctification.”
Luke tells the story of the Good Samaritan. He always got good marks for his good works. In the story of Zacchaeus, when he accepted the forgiveness of God the word got around town about his changed behavior. When we act like Zacchaeus or the Good Samaritan in a world where the drive to “get” is more powerful than the desire to “give” People will ask why. It opens the door for us to tell why we are so honest, why we care, why we give of ourselves. I still think the classic story is the following. “In one of our recent classes for new members I asked one of the members how Jesus had made a difference. The answer she gave: “I no longer throw trash out the car window.” Wow!
Today, the Church must find ways to proclaim Jesus when people ask. “How can one religion claim a monopoly of truth? Are there not many different paths to God? to quote Alan Colmes.#
In this, the post-church society, Christians are to be radically different from new Christians. When the Christian lives to imitate Jesus, teaching our children to overcome “selfish” behavior, practicing love and acceptance of one another – then Jesus said “The world will know that you are my disciples.” Just as God called the children of Israel to be His special people, to be different from their prevailing culture. The Apostle Paul wrote: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world.” Be transformed in your mind and heart.
2nd, Christians in the post-churched world of the 21st century must permeate non-Christian society. We can not be socially segregated but remain engaged – letting our light shine – by both your words and deeds.
Salt & Light# are both effective commodities. They change the environment into which they are introduced. When salt is introduced into meat or fish, something happens: bacterial decay is hindered. When the light is switched on, something happens; the darkness is dispelled. The influence of Christians on society is intended by Jesus to be both negative (checking the spread of evil) and positive (promoting the spread of truth and goodness and the good news about salvation in Jesus).
It is not only individuals that can be changed, but societies can be changed. We can not perfect society, but we can improve it. Only when Jesus returns in glory will a new heaven and a new earth are created … until then do the good works were created to do and verbally share the love of God in Jesus and leave the “convicting” the “conversion” of a soul to the Holy Spirit. (3rd Article -Apostle’s Creed -Martin Luther)
A single Christian family who takes an uncompromising stand for honesty, integrity, righteousness, encourages others to follow. One Christian home can influence a whole neighborhood, an entire little league baseball or soccer team.
Last week I pointed out that most of us here have had the privilege of experiencing life in the “churched society” of the 1940’s and 50’s. In God we Trust was easily read on our coins. Today experience challenges Christianity.
The Church is to be a visible, living embellishment of the good news, the Kingdom of God demonstrating what commitment looks like under the umbrella of Jesus. People have to see with their own eyes that the words of Jesus make us different. We must continue to introduce people to Jesus – our mission statement.
The Bible tells us that Jesus has changed us from enemies into friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also. “God wants to redeem human beings from the grasp of Satan, so that we can fulfill our purposes that he created us for: 1) to love God, 2) to be part of God’s family, 3) to imitate Jesus, 4) to serve Jesus and others, 5) to tell others that God’s love displayed at the cross and empty grave of Jesus.#
NOTE To be effective the local church must structure itself for mission
Telling others how they can have eternal life is the greatest thing we can do for them. The consequences of telling others about Jesus will last forever, the consequences of your job will not! As a student, mother, preschool teacher, salesman, or manager, or whatever you do, you should keep your eyes open for the people in whose heart God is at work and then placing them in our path.
Jesus said to the disciples in Acts 1`: You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Simply stated, we are to share our story of what and how we came to know Jesus and the difference he has made in our life.
Sharing your story is sharing your personal experiences with Jesus. In a courtroom a witness isn’t expected to argue the case, prove the truth, or press for a verdict, which is the job of the attorney. A witness simply reports what happened to them and what they saw.
Unbelievers would probably lose interest if you started quoting Luther or other theologians. Personal stories capture our attention. A shared story builds a bridge that Jesus can walk across from your heart to theirs.
Peter writes: “Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect.”
Call it evangelism, call it witnessing – scary terms. It is a partnership with God. We tell our story. The Holy Spirit argues the case, proves the truth, presses for a verdict. To witness, to tell the story of Jesus and his death and resurrection; to tell the story of how Jesus has made your life different is the job of the first disciples and ours. The Holy Spirit does the rest.
The Holy Spirit is the chief actor in the book of Acts. The book begins with 120 disciples waiting in Jerusalem. Jesus had promised to send the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, Jews had gathered in Jerusalem from all over the world. The Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to speak in foreign languages. They simply told the promises of God in the Old Testament were fulfilled in the person of Jesus.
Jesus emptied himself of his glory in heaven and humbled himself to serve. He took upon himself our human flesh and bone, lived life, endured temptation, experienced human sorrows, felt our hurts, bore our sins on the cross and died in our place. The Holy Spirit raised him from death. He became human without ceasing to be God. Now he sends us into the world to tell our story.
In the rest of the Book of Acts we watch as the Holy Spirit creates missionary people to share their story. Philip shared the word of God with the Ethiopian in his chariot. Philip then shared the gospel with Samaritans. Peter went to the home of a Gentile, Cornelius, Centurion in Caesarea.
Soon afterwards Jesus called Paul to carry the message of salvation to Gentiles and Jews living throughout the Roman Empire. Galatia, Asia, Macedonia, Italy. Today in the post church culture we are invited to simply be a “witness” and tell our story about how Jesus changed our lives.
