Embarrassing moments
On my book shelf in my office I have a book called ‘Tall Tales of a Big God’ written by a man called Maurice Smith. Maurice is (or at least was) an international Christian Speaker travelling all over the UK, and Europe and particularly the USA. And his book is a compilation of some of the most embarrassing moments of his ministry.
He says that there was one time when he was speaking at a meeting in Glasgow – and he was always accompanied by his guitarist friend called Dave – who would lead the worship at these meetings.
And at this particular meeting as he was giving out their ‘Hallelujah’ Song sheet so that people could sing along, he came to this young woman, who in spite of several attempts, refused to take a chorus sheet from him. All she would say, very sweetly, was ‘no thank you... no thank you’! He says that she didn’t open her eyes but was obviously in that state of smiling ecstasy so well known to swaying charismatics. But Maurice was nothing if not persistent and he kept on insisting that this young girl take a chorus sheet from him. Until that is one of the leaders whispered into his ear, ‘She’s blind Maurice’.
Well obviously he felt really bad and desperately turned to his guitarist friend for help. ‘Dave, play something quickly’
Dave duly obliged and instantly struck up with the chorus – ‘Open our eyes Lord, we want to see Jesus’. Maurice said ‘Feeling bad turned to feeling awful. But one look at the blind girls face who was now laughing uncontrollably, swept all embarrassment away.
George Bush
Perhaps though, the title of ‘king of embarrassment’ has to go the old President of the United States – George W Bush. His embarrassing quips became so numerous that they actually gave them their own name – ‘Bushisms’.
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." Washington DC, 5 August, 2004
"I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. A West Texas girl, just like me." Nashville, Tennessee, 27 May, 2004
Barbara Bush
And his mother had her moments too. When Barbara Bush visited Tokyo she was lunching with Emperor Hirohito at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace. Looking around her elegant surroundings, she complimented Hirohito on his official residence.
"Thank you," he said. "Is it new?" pressed Mrs. Bush. "Yes."
"Was the old palace just so old that it was falling down?" asked Mrs. Bush. In his most charming, yet regal, matter, Hirohito replied, "No, I’m afraid that you bombed it."
Sir Thomas Beecham
Last one - Sir Thomas Beecham, the British conductor, once saw a distinguished-looking woman in a hotel foyer. And he was sure that he knew her from somewhere, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember where or her name. But he stopped to talk to her anyway. And as the pair talked he vaguely remembered that she had a brother. Hoping for a clue, he asked how her brother was and whether he was still doing the same job. "Oh, he’s very well," she said, "And, yes he’s still the king.
Apologetics
I’m sure that we all have moments in our life that we are deeply embarrassed about, perhaps even ashamed of. Things we’ve said, or things that we’ve done that we wish we hadn’t. I’m sure that there are things about each one of us that we simply don’t want anyone else to know about – because we find it far too embarrassing. And sadly that embarrassment all too often overflows into our spiritual life and into our Christian faith. In fact we are so embarrassed about the Christian faith, we’re so embarrassed about what we believe that we’ve even called the arguments in defence of the Christian faith ‘Apologetics’. As if we need to apologise for believing what we believe!
The great evangelist Dwight Moody once wrote, " I do not believe there is any false religion in the
world that men are not proud of. The only religion of which I have ever heard, that men were ashamed of, is the religion of Jesus Christ. Some time ago I preached two weeks in Salt Lake City, and I did not find a Mormon that was not proud of his religion... I never met an unconverted
Chinaman who wasn’t proud of being a disciple of Confucius; and I never met a Mohammedan who wasn’t proud of the fact that he was a follower of Mohammed; but how many, many times I have found men ashamed of the religion of Jesus Christ, the only religion that gives men the power over their affections and lusts and sins. If there was some back-door by which men could slip into heaven, there would be a great many who would want to enter it, but they don’t like to make public confession.’
BUOTC
When I used to work in an office in Bristol – I was cornered one day by a very excited girl. ‘Is it true?’ she said. ‘Is what true?’ ‘Are you... a Christian?’ ‘Yes’ I said, ‘I am’. ‘Are you... born again’? she asked. ‘yessssss!’ ‘Me too’ she said, ‘but don’t tell anyone - nobody else knows’.
It’s a shame, it’s a real shame. Are you embarrassed about your Christian faith? Are you ashamed about what you believe and about the One in whom you believe?
Peter and John before the Sanhedrin
Here in Acts Chapter 4 we see that Peter and John have been hauled in front of the Sanhedrin. This is the high court of the Jews. What was their crime?
Well remember last week Peter and John were on their way to church when they came across a lame man begging for money. But money wasn’t what Peter and John gave him. Instead, they gave him something far better. ‘Silver and Gold have I none, but what I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, walk’!
And Peter took hold of the man’s hand and lifted him to his feet. Now this was something that the man had never been able to do before. Needless to say, it was an attention grabber. And soon the crowds were gathering around him as this former lame man began walking and leaping and praising God.
But not everyone was pleased about what was going on. And when the Jewish leaders heard about it they had Peter and John arrested. And you can just picture the Temple guards pushing their way through the crowd and grabbing Peter and John, and dragging them off to be held overnight in jail. The next day they are brought before the Sanhedrin and questioned about what they were up to. And remember these were the same Jewish leaders who only a few weeks earlier had trumped up some charges so that they could get Jesus arrested and crucified.
But despite the danger they faced - Peter and John weren’t intimidated by them, despite the danger they faced - Peter and John weren’t frightened by them, despite the danger they faced - Peter and John weren’t embarrassed to speak up, despite the danger they faced - Peter and John weren’t ashamed of what they believed. On the contrary, they stood before their judges and with great confidence, and with great boldness, they proclaimed the truth of the Gospel, they proclaimed the name of Jesus.
I want to say three things this morning about why these disciples were able to stand with such courage and conviction which will help us do the same.
They were Spirit filled
And the first thing that I want to say is that they were filled with the Spirit. Verse 8, ‘then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said...’.
What an amazing transformation had taken place in the lives of these disciples. Only a few days ago they had been frightened, trembling, spineless, denying people. When Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemene the disciples ran away as fast as their legs could carry them. In fact Mark tells us that when the guards grabbed hold of one of the disciples he fled away naked leaving his garment behind – that’s how frightened they were!
We know that Peter himself, 3 times, blatantly denied that he even knew Jesus let alone was associated with him. And when Jesus was crucified the disciples hid behind locked doors terrified that they would receive the same fate.
But now just a few days later here is Peter and John standing in front of the same people that had Jesus crucified – bodly proclaiming the name of Jesus! What had changed? What was different? What had happened?
Pentecost – that’s what! Acts chapter 2 tells us that before the Holy Spirit fell on those believers they were still hiding away behind closed doors – but when the spirit fell the first thing that happened was that it pushed them out onto the streets, it pushed them out of the building in which they were hiding, and out amongst the people, and it opened their mouths so that they began proclaiming the good news about Jesus Christ!
And that’s what happens when you get filled with the spirit. It pushes you out of the building and into the community around. It opens your mouth so that you can begin proclaiming the good news. It takes away the fear, it takes away the embarrassment, it takes away the shame, and makes you a witness for Jesus Christ.
And if you don’t know whether or not you’ve been filled with the spirit – then you haven’t been because he doesn’t do it in secret. If church for you is only about what happens here on a Sunday – then you haven’t been. Because the Holy Spirit always pushes God’s people out of hiding, out of their buildings and into the community.
And it makes God’s people proclaimers of the good news. It turns Gods people into preachers. What kind of preachers?
They were Jesus Preachers
Well that brings me to the second thing I want to say – and that is these disciples were Jesus preachers. Verse 10, ‘It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth... that this man stands before you healed... Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved’.
These disciples unashamedly preached JESUS!
Isn’t it funny how in our society today you can talk about God - you can talk about Buddha - you can talk about Muhammad - but don’t you dare mention the name of Jesus. I don’t know if you remember, but Franklin Graham was invited to say a prayer at the inauguration of President George Bush in 2001. And he ended his prayer with these words, “We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” Within days, a lawsuit was filed against President Bush for Graham’s prayer, alleging that it was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. People were completely outraged that Graham invoked the name of Jesus.
But let me tell you - for over 2,000 years the name of Jesus has not just reformed alcoholics, but it has transformed them. The name of Jesus has purified prostitutes, it has made liars into people of the truth, it has turned haters into lovers, it has cleaned up the most foul of mouths, and the name of Jesus has saved souls from hell!
Mohammed won’t save you, Buddha won’t save you, Confucius won’t save you. Every other religion on earth has this one thing in common: their founder is dead. But this morning I can bodly proclaim, and I can boldy preach that: “I serve a RISEN Saviour." And that’s why it’s the only name!
And I want to say this morning that the only name that we should ever preach, the only name that we should ever proclaim, is the name of Jesus. It’s the only name that we can put our hope in, it’s the only name that we can put our faith in, it’s the only name that we can build our lives upon – it’s the name of Jesus. And there is power in his name!
1. There is power for salvation in the name of Jesus. Peter told the Sanhedrin ‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Ac. 4:12).
2. There is power for healing in the name of Jesus. "Silver and gold have I none; but what I have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’ (Ac. 3:6-8).
3. There is power for prayer in the name of Jesus. Jesus said, "I will do whatever you ask in my name... You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.’ (Jn.14:13-14).
4. There is power over demonic forces in the name of Jesus. Paul was being troubled by a woman with an evil spirit and when he got fed up of her antics, he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" And the spirit left her. (Ac. 16:18).
And there is a day coming when all the powers of heaven and earth will bow down at the name of Jesus. Paul tells us "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." (Philip. 2:10,11).
If you believe it, say Amen!
These people were Jesus preachers because they knew that there is power in his name. And his church today needs to be Jesus preachers. Unashamed, unequivocal, uncompromised, because there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.
They were Bible Preachers
The final thing I want to say is that these disciples were not only Jesus preachers, they were also bible preachers. Look at verse 11 – they quote directly from Psalm 118:22, ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone’. In fact if you study the book of Acts you’ll find that there are 11 Sermons in 28 Chapters and if you look at these sermons you will notice that these Apostles quoted huge chunks of the Bible.
Look at Acts 2:17
Look at Acts 2:25
Look at Acts 2:34
Look at Acts 4:25
Look at Acts 7:42
Look at Acts 7:49
Look at Acts 13:33
Acts 13:41
Acts 13:47
Every time these Apostles opened their mouths to proclaim the good news – huge chunks of scripture came pouring out.
And yet in our modern church far be it from people actually preaching the scriptures, our pulpits are full of people who are trying to re-write the Scriptures to try and make them say what they want them to say. And those things they can’t re-write they try to explain away as only of relevance to the period of time in which they were written.
And it seems like the whole Christian church is trying to dissect, and alter, and change, and manipulate the scriptures to make them try to say what they want them to say, to try and make them fit into our 21st century way of thinking, to make them politically correct.
‘Oh but these are difficult passages’ they say. ‘These are problem passages’. No they’re not! There is no such thing as a difficult passage. There is no such thing as a problem passage. The only reason that they are difficult, the only reason that they are problematic is because they don’t fit with your world view, they don’t say what you want them to say.
But St Augustine was right when he wrote, ‘If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.’ I believe that. Once you start rejecting what you don’t like, once you start changing the scriptures to make them say what you want them to say – then it is no longer the word of God that you believe, and it is no longer the word of God that the church is proclaiming.
Hebrews 4 says, ‘For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edges sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart’. But if you rewrite the Scriptures to make them say what you want them to say. If you change them to make them ‘politically correct’, then you will blunt the sword. And of what use is a sword with no edge.
Charles Spurgeon tells the story of a Church Warden who was worried about a weather vane which was about to be placed on the church spire. When he saw it on the ground, it appeared to him as being far too large to be safely fixed up on the Church Spire. ‘Surely’, he said, ‘when the north wind blows, it will tear down the vane, and the steeple too’. The one who’s job it was to fix the vane tried to assure the Church warden by telling him that when the wind blew, the cockerel would turn around so it wouldn’t offer any resistance to the full force of the gale. And the the Church Warden had an idea. Those four letters N.E.S.W. they too were very large and would offer serious opposition to the wind. Could they not be made to revolve also? This of course might mitigate the danger – but of what use would the vane be?
And Spurgeon goes on to say, ‘In certain quarters, they are trying to make the cardinal points of truth go round with the wind. To this we object. Let the weathercocks spin around as much as they please. But we must have fixed pointes of faith. As for us we find infallibility in the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament, and our desire is to have them opened up to our minds by the Holy Spirit. Those who choose to do so, may invent a changing Gospel; but we believe in ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday; today; and forever’.
Can we say the same today I wonder? Do we believe in the infallibility of the Old and New Testaments? Are we Bible preachers? Or is the church and the message we proclaim compromised by our desire and our eagerness to appear politically correct. The church is in one hell of a mess, it no longer knows what it believes, and it is deeply divided, simply because it has departed from the eternal truths of scripture. A classic example would be the openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson. In 2008 he was interviewed by Andrew Marr on the BBC and questioned how he could reconcile his lifestyle with the scriptures. This was his response:
‘God didn’t stop revealing God’s self when the canon of scripture was closed at the end of the first century… Jesus says this amazing thing at the last supper. He says to his disciples "There is more that I would teach you but you cannot bear it right now. So I will send the Holy Spirit who will lead you into all truth". I think we’ve seen the Holy Spirit leading us in terms of the full inclusion of people of colour and of women and of people who are physically challenged and now God is leading us to the full inclusion of gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.’
In other words he doesn’t accept what the Bible says about his lifestyle because he knows all too well that his lifestyle stands in complete opposition to the scriptures. But let me say this. If the Bible says it’s wrong – then it’s wrong! Whether it was 2000 years ago or today! If the Bible says it’s sin – then it’s sin! Doesn’t matter whether it was 2000 years ago or today! You can try and change it, you can try and manipulate it, you can try and find a ‘get out clause’ in the original Greek– but you know what not even the original greek will change what the english version says – it will only enhance it.
Do you spend all your time trying to make the Scriptures fit your life? Trying to make them say what you want them to say? Or are you willing to make your life fit the Scriptures? And proclaim them, unchanged, unadulterated and unchallenged. We must be Bible preachers!
Conclusion
You know I really do believe that the Christian Church, particularly here in the UK is weaker than it has ever been at any other time in its history. And it’s weaker because - in many parts - it is no longer ‘Spirit filled’, it no longer preaches or upholds the name of Jesus, and it no longer preaches or upholds the unadulterated Word of God.
And as a result it has become weak, it has become shallow, it has become powerless, it has become ashamed of what it is supposed to stand for.
The early church in Acts made a tremendous impact on the world. They saw people being healed, they saw demon possessed people delivered, they saw lives being transformed and changed – ‘and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved’. Why? Because they were filled with the spirit, they preached the name of Jesus, and they preached the Scriptures.
And I believe with all my heart that God wants to do the same through us. We have the same God, we have the same Jesus, we have the same Scriptures, the same Holy Spirit, and the same gospel message.
My prayer is that we will return to being a spirit filled, Jesus proclaiming, bible preaching church and when we do he will make us extra-ordinary people living extra-ordinary lives and he will add to our number, daily, those who are being saved.
