Acts 29
The Church
October 2, 2022
If I asked you to turn to Acts 29, in your Bibles, you wouldn’t find it. You would think something’s a little off with Pastor Michael today. More so than usual. Because there really is no Acts 29. It’s like Moses running a special telling us there’s an 11th commandment.
The book of Acts is such a fascinating book of the Bible. It details the start of the church, some of their problems, the persecution, the dysfunction and the miracles. About 50% of Acts gives us detail about Paul. The writer of Acts is the apostle Luke. As he’s closing the book of Acts, he wrote this - - -
23 When they had appointed a day for Paul, the Jews came to him at his lodging in greater numbers.
From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.
24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.
25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement:
“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
26 “‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
27 For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him,
31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. - Acts 28:23-31
There’s so much in what Luke is telling us in these final words of Acts. And so much that he leaves unsaid. In short, while he was in prison, Paul was teaching all people about Jesus. He was trying to reach the Jewish people be synthesizing the law of Moses with the grace of Jesus.
Some believed, some didn’t. Many left after one particular statement Paul made, which was the same statement Jesus made in Matthew 13, which was first stated by Isaiah in 6:9-10. It was pretty blunt and a little brutal.
To be told that your hearts and ears have grown dull and you’ve closed your eyes, would make a few folks pretty irritated.
That’s blunt! And to be honest, that was true then, and it’s true today.
Luke then tells us Paul boldly taught and preached about Jesus.
And then - - nothing! BOOM! The story of the start of the church ends. I don’t like movies that just end. I want an ending. It’s unsettling. Luke doesn’t wrap up the story by adding some nice concluding paragraphs.
And - - - we’re left with Acts 29, the unwritten chapters about the next steps and future of the church. We catch glimpses in Paul’s letters, but nothing more.
Acts ends abruptly . . . But maybe it’s to send the message that our business is unfinished. It’s to know that the church hasn’t ended. It’s an ongoing movement, so, I believe the church, our church, FBC, is now writing our own Acts 29.
Think about how many people in Madison, Grant and Delaware counties don’t know Jesus. There are about 310,000 people in these 3 counties. I don’t know how many claim to be Christ followers as opposed to being fans or admirers of Jesus. That’s actually something we’ll talk about beginning next year!
I would guesstimate there’s about 75,000 - 100,000 people who don’t know Jesus. That means we have work to do. It means we have history to write for the next generations. It means we must continue writing Acts 29.
We all know we live in a torn and broken world. I really believe if we’re willing, and that’s a big IF . . . if we’re willing then we should have a better understanding of the fallen nature of the world. We understand that because of passages like Romans 3:23, when Paul tells us - - - -
23 For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. - Romans 3:23
We all sin, and as a result we don’t bring glory to God. It’s pretty straight forward. Paul also wrote about his desire to do what’s right, yet, he still sinned, as he tells us in Romans 7 - - -
15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. - Romans 7:15, 19
Anyone want to say AMEN to that?! We’ve all been down that road. If you’re a Christian, then you’ve been redeemed by Jesus. You’ve been saved by the grace of God. It means there was a time in our lives we proclaimed “I AM A SINNER and I NEED YOU, JESUS! Forgive me! Come into my life!”
We admit we sin, that we’ve broken God’s law. But there’s lots of people out in the world who would never say they sin, because sin is not in their vocabulary. To admit we sin, means we hold to a higher authority, God!
But many don’t hold to this view. Or at best, they would say certain things are sin. But they would also say there’s no absolute truth and God is not the ultimate authority. They have freedom to do whatever they want.
We need to understand we were once and often times remain in rebellion to God. We still sin, we often do it consciously. So, we too are missing the mark and putting a separation between us and God.
So, this is what I’m postulating. As someone who admits to being a sinner, I should have a better understanding of sinners because I am a sinner. Maybe that’s coming at it backwards. Or an entirely new way to view this. But I know that as a sinner, when I came to believe Jesus was Lord and Savior - - that He saved me from eternal destruction and gave me hope in this world and eternal life in a world to come, I know He gave me this amazing grace.
It’s what Paul acknowledges in Romans 6:23 - - -
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23
It’s the duality of our faith at work. Admission I sin, yet saved by God’s gift of grace. I want to help us better understand others who don’t know Jesus. I should NOT expect a non believer in Jesus to act like a believer in Jesus. You know what I mean?
If you believe in Jesus, then I expect you to act like a believer in Jesus. But I can’t hold someone to a different standard, a different moral code, a different ethos which is all based on faith in Jesus, if they don’t know Jesus.
And for me personally, that really helps me understand the person who doesn’t know Jesus. I grasp it because for the first 25 years of my life, I didn’t believe in Jesus. And I know there are times when I’ve struggled with Jesus as well and asked lots of questions and had some deep and intense and sometimes loud conversations with Him. (I believe I can be loud with God, and I believe you can too! That’s for another day, or come by and we’ll talk about it.)
So, as we’re talking about the church, what does this mean for First Baptist Church? I’m so glad you asked.
You see, in the book of Acts, listen to what happened in Acts 1 - - - -
3 Jesus presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 And while staying with them He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which,
He said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked Jesus, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
9 And when He had said these things, as they were looking on, Jesus was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. - Acts 1:3-9
I want to focus on verse 8. That’s key for the church and our future. I believe the great Commission is the mission of the church . . . from Matthew 28, when Jesus commands us - - -
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. - Matthew 28
This is the mission of the church, in my opinion, the mission of every church. But Jesus gives us further instructions in Acts 1:8.
Jesus is calling us to be His witnesses in the world. What does it mean to be a witness? The word witness is a legal term. It’s the same word that is used in court when someone is called to be a witness and give their testimony. That’s what we’re called to do - - - to give a testimony, our testimony to the world about Jesus.
Then Jesus said this - - -
8 . . . you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” - Acts 1:8
He doesn’t tell us how to do it, but Jesus tells us where to do it. And it starts right here at First Baptist Church. The witness and testimony of Jesus Christ must start right here.
Every Sunday we come into this building with one purpose and that is to worship Jesus, period. We come and give of ourselves and thank God for the amazing abundance of blessings He’s given to us. We demonstrate the love of Jesus to one another. If we can’t love one another, we can’t love the world.
And because we love one another, because Jesus has loved us, we have this overwhelming desire to pass on His love to others, RIGHT?!
Notice the progression from Jesus. And that’s where our community comes in and that’s what Jesus is talking about. He said “you will be my witnesses in JERUSALEM . . .” I believe this is the call for us, as well. We start out locally. We start in our own backyard.
And this is our Jerusalem. You’re in the upper room right now. God is talking to each of us, REMAIN IN ME . . . FOLLOW ME. REMAIN IN ME . . . FOLLOW ME. And we will follow Him. There’s no wavering in our mission to follow our Lord, Jesus.
Our Jerusalem, is named Alexandria (SLIDE 2 - Alex). The slide you are looking at is a satellite view of Alexandria. Since our church is located in Alexandria, we must look into our community, that’s what Jesus meant when He first said to be His witnesses in Jerusalem.
We are called to be a community church, a neighborhood church. We are to become contagious, passionate within this community and change the community. We need to know what the needs are. We can’t be a church in Alexandria and be totally unaware of what’s happening. I know it happens, but we need to know and be ready to help proclaim Jesus.
We need to know how we can serve others. Even when there’s not a need, how can we bless them? And in the midst of the blessing, they experience the power of Jesus at work through our love and grace.
We can’t wait, that is one of my gripes about the universal church, we’re always “reactive,” not proactive. It’s part of the extremism I believe Jesus is calling for. Reactive churches are passive and quiet about their faith. Proactive churches are active, passionate and relevant to a community that desperately needs to know and experience the love of Jesus.
Knowing is the start, but that’s not enough, it’s taking action. We infect others with our passion, our love for Jesus. And because we have that deep longing, that deep love for Christ, that passion and excitement spill over into our everyday lives. And believe me, people will be blessed by God. And we will be blessed, for one very simple reason, He says He will! Remain in me and you’ll bear much fruit
Then Jesus added, 8 “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea.” (SLIDE 3- counties) And then as the Gospel spreads, it moves out of our backyard to the region, and we take the word to our homes and to our workplaces. I’m just showing our 3 local counties, but I know the Word will extend to more counties.
Then we hit our Samaria. That becomes more national. It’s the USA. (SLIDE 4 - USA) Now you may think how can that happen, how are we gong to infect the USA. Maybe it happens because someone we infected with the gospel of Christ, moves to Indianapolis and makes a difference in that part of the state, or somewhere in the USA. It’s the amazing way the good news travels.
How many of you have family that grew up in this church that live out of state? I have 2 kids who grew up here. One is in Texas, the other moves to Ohio on Tuesday. So, the message of Jesus is extended from this church to new regions.
People move from Alexandria to different parts of the United States and they’ve made a difference, and it started here, because we don’t compromise the message.
Finally, we go to the ends of the earth. (SLIDE 5 - WORLD)
We support missionaries. We do projects which go overseas. Think about what’s coming up with Operation Christmas Child. We have an opportunity to impact the ends of the earth. They and we are making a difference in the world, even if we don’t know all the details. We trust God for the details . . . we just do the work.
It takes effort. Sometimes it’s really hard work to be the church God calls us to be. It takes people, it takes commitment, it takes sacrificially financial giving, it takes a heart that’s passionate about Jesus.
When we have that, even when we don’t quite get the results we hoped for, we know we’re doing what God wants us to do, and when we do that, we can’t go wrong. Yet, I know when we’re doing what God wants, we will most certainly be blessed. It will happen in ways which very well will amaze us.
So, I believe that’s the call for our church - - we start right here in our backyard, and work out from there over time in concentric circles. It does not mean we don’t support missions, but it means we put our time and our energy in our community, and we do it together. Our purpose is to make disciples . . . new disciples . . . more disciples, more spiritual disciples, healthy disciples.
There’s more to talk about. But I’m going to stop there, because we’re going to talk more about the local church next week.
This is what I see us doing right now. I see us moving forward from kind of a Covid malaise. Not that we go willy nilly and forget all that’s gone on. But we and so many churches have been in a holding pattern.
We’ve made great improvements, which has benefitted us so much and as we end, before we close I’m going to give you a great example of one of the ways, we’ve impacted the world with changes we’ve made.
For now . . . trust in the word of God. Call on Him to know what He’s calling you to do in His kingdom to make a difference.
