There were eleven of
them. Actually, there were around one hundred and twenty people, all confused
and all worried, but they were looking to the eleven for direction. The eleven
were also confused and worried, but they were hanging onto the final words of
their leader. Jesus had been with them and had led them, and the world seemed
promising and joyful. Then He had been killed and the people who had killed Him
also wanted to silence the disciples. The world now was a scary place. But
then, Jesus was back! Amazing! But then He was gone. He had left hopeful words
behind. The Holy Spirit would come and give them power and direction and they
would understand more, but that just hadn’t happened yet.
The eleven felt they
needed someone to make up for the loss of Judas and they did that, taking a man
from the one hundred and twenty followers of Jesus, but that was all they had
done so far. So, there was this gathering of believers, keeping a low profile,
depending on the eleven disciples (plus the new man) to show them the way to
go. All of their lives were in danger. Fear was everywhere.
This is how the Acts of
the Apostles (we normally just call it the Book of Acts) begins. Jesus makes
the promise of the Holy Spirit and then is taken up into heaven. The whole group
watches Him go and they are now alone. The leader has left them in a harsh and
unforgiving world. The last month would have been like a wild ride up and down
the Judean mountains. Jesus dies, returns, spends forty days with them and then
vanishes into the sky. It must have felt hopeless.
At the end of the Acts of
the Apostles we have these verses concerning the Apostle Paul from his
residence in Rome, the greatest city of the day. Acts 28:30-31—He (meaning
Paul) lived there (meaning Rome) two whole years at his own
expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the
kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness
and without hindrance.
Well, now. That is a big difference! In just
about thirty years of time we have a bunch of frightened people living mostly
in hiding in a single city, to Paul, apparently an important man, living in the
most important city in the world, in his own place, entertaining all kinds of
people and teaching them about Jesus without fear and without problems from the
authorities! Good heavens, living for Jesus is the way to success!
Many would have you believe such things. If you have faith
enough, you can name your price. You will have wealth and you will have health
and you will have a good life. We are told in Scripture that we ask but don’t
receive because we ask wrong, so ask in faith believing! Out of context.
Only that is not how it works.
Paul was a prisoner in Rome. He lived in a home that he was
renting because as a Roman citizen, he had that right, but he was not allowed to
leave the house. That is why people came to him. He was awaiting the final
judgment in his case. At the end of those two years he was beheaded for his
faith in Christ. Those frightened apostles gathered together in fear and
confusion had an experience with the Holy Spirit and they suddenly became bold
and sure of themselves, heroic even. They couldn’t be shut up, boldly telling
the Gospel to all who would listen. However, on a personal level, it did not go
well. While Paul was being beheaded on one side of Rome, Peter was being
crucified on the other side. Some historians put the two executions within a week
of each other. At almost the same time in a far away part of the Empire, Peter’s
brother Andrew was being crucified. Twenty years before Peter and Paul and
Andrew were being violently killed for their faith, James, the son of Alpheus, another
of the apostles, was triple executed for his faith in Christ. As a heretic, he
was sentenced to be cast from the pinnacle of the Temple to the Jerusalem
streets below. As one who gave his allegiance to someone one other than Caesar,
he was sentenced to stoning. As one who defied the authorities and continued to
spread the Gospel, he was sentenced to be clubbed about the head and shoulders.
One fine day, James the son of Alpheus, was thrown from the pinnacle of the
Temple, stoned when he hit the ground and then clubbed while he lay there. The
fall probably killed him, but an example had to be made.
The apostles received only bad for their efforts, at least
personally. But they became bold and fearless. They endured beatings and
imprisonments and all manner of privations. They were just men with all the fragilities
of men. Yet they rose to the occasion time and time again. In the end it cost
them their lives.
There are a lot of lies out there. One of the lies is that
if you are a Christian and you have enough faith, you can do anything and have
anything. Usually the person saying that follows it by telling you that you can
begin your faith walk by sending him or her your money. A few Bible verses here
and there taken out of context is all the speaker needs. The fact is, the
person who is committed to Christ and has all faith in Christ has exactly what Christ
wants that person to have. And that is what that person needs to accomplish the
will of Christ. Another lie that is out there is that if we have the gift of
the Spirit, we will know it by the manifestations of manic joy and being able
to heal people and being able to speak in tongues. The fact is, if we have the
Spirit working in us, we will be able to face all adversity, we will be able to
share the Gospel of Christ and we will have the peace of God that only comes
from knowing that what happens to us is in God’s hands.
Right now, we have this virus. We have violence in our
streets. We have an obscure political future. I hear people questioning God or
saying that this is surely the end. Look, Christians have faced up to problems
worse than this since Christ was crucified. Why are we running scared now? I
don’t know that Peter and Paul and Andrew and James didn’t weep as they went to
their deaths, but I do know that they could have avoided their deaths if they
had just shut up about Christ. But no, they were led by the Spirit, their lives
were His to do with as He saw fit.
This is a moment in time when Christians need to put their
personal feelings and fears aside. This is a time to stand for Christ in spite
of the adversity we face. The struggle will not end until you die, regardless
of what you do. We can share Christ in word and deed in any situation.
Allow me to get personal for a moment. I say these things
from the perspective of someone who has had to make some hard decisions about
serving the Lord. When I came to Indiana, I was fairly healthy. Diabetes, but
just on pills. Then, open heart surgery. That changed some things. But, in the
end, serving the Savior could still be done. After the surgery I was suddenly
on insulin. That changed some things. Then, my wife left me for a man from
Facebook. That changed everything. There for a while, I didn’t think I could go
on. But folks were praying for me and people were supporting me. I have always
tried to walk with the Spirit. Not in the “let’s get happy!” way, but in the
way of the Scripture. When my wife left, for a while I was not walking with the
Spirit. He was dragging me, holding me up, protecting me. Things began to clear
up. It became better. And then, another blow this week. A couple of months ago
I began to have some shortness of breath. Not bad, but with all of my recent
history, I told my doctor. Six weeks ago some tests were run and blood work was
done. On Monday of this week the doctor opened the conversation with the
question I never thought I would hear. “How many packs of cigarettes do you
smoke?” I thought she was joking. Without thinking I replied, “Well, there was
that one cigarette back in May of 1973, but that was it.” She looked at me
thoughtfully and then said, “Well, it looks like you are at the beginning of
emphysema.” All of a sudden the room was to small. My heart began to race. Sweat
came to my forehead. That smoke in May of 1973 really was the only one. No way
I could have emphysema. No way. And I said that to the doctor. Well, in six
months they would do the tests again, but she was pretty certain.
Monday was a blur. Tuesday was not much better. But on
Wednesday I woke up at around 4 AM (Not because I couldn’t sleep. That is when
I wake up.) I sat there and said to myself, OK, it isn’t fair. So what? Get up
and get it together. You have things to do, people to see, a job to do. Got on
my stationary bike and pedaled up a storm. I normally use that time to pray,
but Wednesday morning I allowed myself to mentally drift. Cleaned up, got my
breakfast, read my comics on the computer (I don’t know what I would do without
reading ‘Pickles’ every morning.) I sent out a few e-mails and by the time I
got in the car to head to the office, I was feeling pretty good about life.
You see, it isn’t fair. Not at all. My entire adult life
has been ministry. In spite of everything. But it is fair, because there is a
reason. Time will tell me what it is the Lord has for me.
You cannot turn on the television or the radio or look at
the internet without seeing all the really terrible news. Every time we turn
around something else smacks us. How on earth can we continue on??!!?
The answer is not on earth. As Christians, we have One
greater. We are not subject to the things of this world.
Wednesday afternoon I got over to see Duane Wagner. His
wife Esther died in June. His sister Lois Haupert died this past Monday. That
is tough. I wanted to make sure he was doing OK. We sat and talked for an hour
and a half. Mostly memories. Duane walks with the Spirit. Each day is a
challenge, but it is met in Christ. Every week day morning, those who want to
can come to the church at eight AM and have some time of prayer. Thursday
morning, Dan Speicher came in for a time of prayer. Dan lost his wife, Barbara,
in July. Before that he was coming in for prayer and he has continued that
practice. Dan walks with the Spirit. Each day is a challenge, but it is met in
Christ.
All of us need to put away our angers
and our evil thoughts and our judgmental attitudes and our fears and we need to
give everything over to the Lord. Philippians 4:12-13-- I know how to be brought
low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned
the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I
can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
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