Becoming an Acts 1:8 Church
-God’s Word Around the World-
Acts 1:8
Acts 17:16-23
Our goal for the Willow Vale Church is to become an Acts 1:8 Church. The history of the church as recorded in the Book of Acts reveals a dynamic church. The church was alive with the power of God. The church in Jerusalem started out with a launch team of 120 people and experienced spontaneous expansion first in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria and unto the ends of the earth.
The church of Jesus Christ is an organism more than it is an organization.
The story is told of a German soldier wounded in World War II. The German soldier wasn’t seriously wounded so he was sent home and told to check into his local hospital. The next day he walked to the hospital and found two doors into the hospital, one said for those seriously wounded and slightly wounded, he went the slightly wounded door. He found himself in a hallway. He walked to the end of the hallway and found two more doors, one marked for officers and non officers. He went through the non-officer door and found himself in a long hall way. At the end of the hallway he stood before two more doors. One was marked “Party Members” and the other “Non Party members.” He went through the “Non-Party members” door and found himself back outside the hospital.
He walked home and his mother asked him how his visit to the hospital went. He told his mother that he didn’t receive any help but she should see how organized the hospital is.
Without the blessing of God and the fullness of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of the local church we are just like any other secular organization. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and the life of our church that makes a difference.
One thousand church attenders were asked, “Why does the church exist?” 89% said, “To take care of my family and my spiritual needs.” 11% said, “To win the world for Jesus Christ.” The example of the early church is clear. The mission of the church is to win the world to Jesus Christ.
Our goal is to be a dynamic New Testament church – an Indigenous church:
Rooted in Christ
Grounded in the Word of God
Relevant to the Culture
Self supporting
Self Propagating – sponsor new
churches
Self Governing
The Apostle Paul is our example in becoming an Acts 1:8 Church. Acts chapter 9 God called Paul a Jew and former Pharisee to become a missionary to the gentiles.
Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas are sent out as missionaries on their first missionary journey. Acts 16 Paul has a vision of a man in Macedonia, “Come over and help us.” Paul and his missionary team of Silas, Luke and Timothy traveled on their second missionary journey from Troas by boat to Macedonia. In Macedonia they journeyed to Philippi. They met with a small group of women by a river outside Philippi on the Sabbath. Lydia a wealthy woman from Thyatira had moved to Philippi and accepted Jesus as her messiah and was baptized along with other members of her household.
Lydia’s home became the lodging place for the missionary team while they were in Philippi. As Paul and Silas went about their missionary work a slave girl (demon possessed) a fortune teller followed Paul and Silas and tried to disrupt their ministry. After several days of her agitation Paul spoke to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her,” and instantly it left her.” (Acts 16:18)
When the demon left her so did her fortune telling ability. Her master realized his source of income dried up and stirred up a mob against Paul and Silas so the city official had Paul and Silas put in jail. It was midnight and while Paul and Silas were singing praises to God the Lord shook the foundations of the jail and the doors and chains fell off every prisoner. When the Philippian jailer realized what had happened he asked how he could be saved from another possible earthquake that might bring down the prison walls and kill all his family. Paul used the opportunity to point him to Jesus and the entire family of the jailer came to faith in the Lord.
From Philippi Paul traveled 100 miles to Thessalonica the capital city of Macedonia with a population of 200,000. (Acts 17:1) There a large number of Greek men and many important women of the city came to faith in Jesus. Jewish leaders in the city became jealous and searched for Paul and Silas to attack them, but Paul and Silas left by night and traveled to Berea.
In Berea Paul and Silas went to the synagogue and taught the people there about Jesus. The Bereans were eager to hear what Paul was teaching.
Trouble makers from Thessalonica heard that Paul was teaching in Berea and traveled to Berea to stir up trouble. Paul sailed to Athens Greece while Timothy and Silas stayed behind and joined Paul later.
Acts 17 What Paul saw in Athens stirred his heart. He saw a city without faith in God the creator of heaven and earth. The city was given over to the worship of idols and statues of Greek gods. Paul didn’t hole up in a hotel for private prayer and meditation. He practiced what he did all his life, when faced with challenges he would take a situation like a sour lemon and turn it into lemonade.
When Paul arrived in Athens he found himself in one of the most famous centers of philosophy, religion, art and architecture the ancient world had ever known.
In Athens Paul preached and taught in two places, in the synagogue and in the marketplace. (17:16-17) Paul spoke to the Jews in the synagogue and to Gentiles in the marketplace. We can learn a lot from the way Paul spoke to the people in Athens. Paul understood their culture and spoke to their needs.
Paul observed that the city was given to idolatry. The Greek historian Pausanias says that there were more idols in Athens than in all the rest of Greece combined. Paul would see them wherever he turned his eyes. He tried to reason and taught the Jews in the synagogue and Gentiles in the market place. There was in Athens one great "market place," or Public Square. The porches around it were favorite places for discussion.
In former years Athens had been famous for four schools of philosophy.
• The Academy of Plato
• The Lyceum of Aristotle
• The Porch of Zeno and
• The Garden of Epicures
In the time of Paul only two schools survived: Epicureans and Stoics. The Epicureans believed the supreme goal in life is happiness and held that the gods were careless about human affairs. A man’s best course was to get as much pleasure out of life as possible. With them pleasure was the chief good. They held an anti-god outlook on life. Since there was no life after death your goal in life is to indulge in all the please you can get in what life you do have.
The Stoics were fatalists, they believed in a sort of pantheism, (people should be one with nature) and insisted on self-righteousness. They goal was to talk and debate about natural law and the things of life. Epicurus was the founder of the first sect; Zeno, of the second. To the Epicureans the individual was supreme. To the Stoics universal law was supreme.
From the point of view of the people of Athens Paul was teaching about a false god not authorized by the State. For Paul to teach about Jesus and the resurrection was to put him in danger of being arrested like he was in Philippi.
Paul was taken to the Areopagus to have him present his views to the council and prevent another mob violence that happened in Philippi and Thessalonica. Areopagus is the Greek term for Mars’ hill. (Acts 17:22) The hill was a place of assembly. There the supreme court of Athens met. The court was made up of 30 city officials. There the courts that sat concerning religious matters convened. The associations had something to do, probably, with Paul being taken here to speak, though the meeting was informal and not official. The hill is about fifty feet high, and was then surrounded by the most glorious works of art in Athens with the historic Parthenon in the background. It was in harmony with the spirit of the city that he should be called on to speak to gratify the curiosity of people seeing new thoughts.
Paul was presenting the good news of the Gospel to the literary capital of the ancient world, the most cultured city of the earth. In this city many Romans sought to finish their education. Athens was the home of philosophers, orators, sculptors, painters and poets, and the great university where many thousands of strangers were gathered for study. This ancient city of so glorious history was the modern capital of Greece, and had a population of about 100,000 people.
Athens was a city of spiritual darkness. Satan had blinded their eyes so they looked to many gods and not one Creator God. Each family had an altar to the goddess Zeus in their yard to protect the home; a pillar dedicated to Appollo to protect the family members; and a nonpoisonous snake in the pantry, representing Zeus, which ate the food offered to it each day. At every meal, they offered food to Hestia, the spirit of the earth, and they had a household altar on which whey offered wine to Agathos Daimon, the “good demon.”
Acts 17:22-31 Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill in the Areopagus. He spoke to them in a positive way. He didn’t attack them for their false philosophies. Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious (superstitious). For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. (The Greek word used here is “Agnosto”) where we get the word Agnostic. An Agnostic is a person that worships gods but not the one true God. Paul ssays, “Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.” The introduction of Paul has always been regarded as a masterpiece of skill. He does not say, "In all things ye are too superstitious" or ye are "more religious than others." His remark is a compliment, and he confirms it by a statement that he had found an altar to the unknown God. Besides thousands of altars and statues of deities whom they named, this altar was dedicated to the "Unknown," as if to some deity whose presence they felt, but whom they did not comprehend. This Unknown, he announces, I declare unto you. Ancient writers speak of altars at Athens to the unknown God, or gods. Such an introduction was well calculated to fix the attention of his critical audience.
Under the allowed law of Athens Paul was going to speak to them about their “Unknown God,” a god they legally worshipped. If Paul could prove that his preaching concerning Jesus and the resurrection was an exposition of the UNKNOWN GOD then he was not breaking their law of teaching a false religion. Paul used the opportunity to proclaim the Good News of about Jesus Christ to people that were hearing for the first time that Jesus was their Messiah and Savior.
Paul preached that God that made the world. He now declares the attributes of that unknown God: (1) The God that made the world; (2) Lord of heaven and earth; (3) dwells not in temples; (4) not worshiped by human hands; (5) gives life to all that lives; (6) made of one blood all nations; (7) appointed that men should seek the Lord; (8) we are his offspring; (9) hence, the Godhead is not like any idol made by human hands. It dishonors so glorious a being to liken him to man’s device.
The gospel is world-embracing: (1) All men, (2) everywhere, are command to repent. (Acts 17:30) This call to repentance is urged because God hath appointed a day; the day of coming judgment, when the world will be judged through Christ. Of this the resurrection of Christ is an assurance. Athens had had her day. She was once the mistress of the seas. The same fact is true of every nation. If Jesus was raised, all men will be raised, then we have the assurance of a general judgment after death.
(Acts 17:32-34) “When they heard of the resurrection of the dead some of them sneered and other mocked.” The Epicureans were materialists like the Sadducees. They no doubt mocked at the idea of a resurrection. The Stoics probably wished to hear again of this matter. There was a division of sentiment. So Paul departed. He regarded the field less fruitful than others. Certain men . . . believed. His labors were not without results. Dionysius, one of the judges of the court of the Areopagus, the judges that were chosen from the noblest men of the city, was converted, along with others. Dionysius was a highly intelligent leader. He had a good reputation in the city with high social standing. Historians speculate that Dionysius became the first Bishop of Athens.
Whether the Apostle Paul was in Jerusalem, Antioch, Macedonia, or Greece he was faithful in proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah. Paul was faithful to the great commission to make disciples of all nations and people groups.
In becoming an Acts 1:8 Church we helped start the Korean, Sky Church four years ago and the Hispanic- Salvation and Praise congregation over a year ago. We have sent mission teams to Korea, Mexico and to Native American Indians. A week ago Pastor Park held two American Indian youth camps in Santa Rosa and Clear Lake, CA. 700 youth participated with 9 baptisms in Santa Rosa and 23 at Clear Lake. Last year we helped purchase property for a new church in Cambodia.
God’s Word is powerful in reaching people in all cultures.
Mai Ling’s Story
The teacher at a pastors training conference in Northern China couldn’t help but notice the intensity and attentiveness of a young woman in the audience. After the session, designed to strengthen Christians spiritually and help them learn to effectively use His Word in evangelism and discipleship, he made a point of meeting her and listening to her story.
Her name was Mai Ling, and she helped lead a group of six churches with about 12,000 combined members. Pleased to have the opportunity to share, she revealed how she became a Christian.
Walking down the street one day, she had noticed a piece of paper at her feet. Curious, she reached down and picked it up. It was a page from the Bible—from the Gospel of John, Chapter 3. Captivated by the words of Jesus, she read them over and over. In the process, she discovered her Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
But the story didn’t end there. Mai Ling brought thousands of people to Christ using that same page from the Gospel of John. Her exuberant faith and that one page of Scripture laid the foundation for six Christian churches!
“What can I do to help you?” the teacher at the conference then asked Mai Ling.
“I heard if I came to this meeting I could get a Bible,” she replied.
The teacher was astounded. This vibrant, committed Christian—who had shared her faith with so many—still did not have a Bible!
“One page is all I have of the Scripture,” Mai Ling said. “I know Jesus is the Savior because of this page of the Bible, but there is so much more I must know and share!”
For six months, the 12,000 Christians in the six churches she started had studied that one page of Scripture and continued to grow through the sustaining power of God.
Such is the power of God’s mighty Word, and such is the spiritual hunger of millions of people in China and other countries who have little or no access to Scripture.
You can help us become an Acts 1:8 church, by doing small acts of kindness on a daily basis.
God won’t ask what kind of car you drove, but He’ll ask how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation.
God won’t ask the square footage of your house, but He’ll ask how many people you welcomed into your home. God won’t ask about the clothes you had in your closet, but He’ll ask how many you helped to clothe.
God won’t ask how many material possessions you had, but He’ll ask if they dictated your life.
God won’t ask what your highest salary was, but He’ll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it. God won’t ask how much overtime you worked, but He’ll ask if your overtime work was for yourself or for your family.
God won’t ask how many promotions you received, but He’ll ask how you promoted others.
God won’t ask what your job title was, but He’ll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.
God won’t ask what you did to help yourself, but He’ll ask what you did to help others.
God won’t ask how many friends you had, but He’ll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.
God won’t ask what you did to protect your rights, but He’ll ask what you did to protect the rights of others.
God won’t ask in what neighborhood you lived, but He’ll ask how you treated your neighbors.
God won’t ask about the color of your skin, but He’ll ask about the content of your character.
Let’s work together to make the Willow Vale Church an Acts 1:8 church – reaching our Jerusalem our Judea, Samaria and unto the ends of the earth.
Next Sunday Missionary Phyllis Sortor will be here to tell us how we can get involved with her in missionary outreach to Nigeria.
