Sunday Sermon
sunday morning: 15th March 2009
acts 6v1-7
The story so far: the Spirit has been poured out on the church, leading to astonishing growth. The Apostles have been preaching and teaching, and many miracles have been performed. But all has not been without trouble: there has been persecution, and internal sin has also threatened to stop the progress.
But throughout it all the Message has still been proclaimed : Jesus is the Christ, 5v42.
Into chapter six this week we see further progress.
1) continual growth v1, v7.
The overall picture in this section is one of growth. Growth at the beginning and end.
There have been problems as we’ve seen, persecution, sin and more here, but still growth!
Not just small, hardly noticeable growth! V7 tells us that the growth came thick and fast.
And even many of the Sadducees came to believe!
App:
We need to remember that we should always be growing.
Personally first of all we should be growing in our devotion to Jesus.
Our desire should be to know and love Him more.
Where there is no growth something is wrong!
Secondly there should be growth in numbers of believers.
We have become too used to the situation we are in and so don’t question the lack of growth. In fact we often see growth as a sign that the preaching has moved away from the true Gospel!
2) growth produces problems and solutions:
a) the problem v1:
With so many people coming to believe, the arrangements for taking care of the needy became tricky! It seems that the native Jews were being looked after better than the Jews of the Diaspora – the Greek, Hellenist Jews.
Context: Acts 2v45, 4v35. The church had begun to take care of those in need. This was a natural expression of their thankfulness to God for all that he had done for them.
b) the solution v2-3, 5-6.
The solution to the problem is: get more people to help! Delegation.
The apostles had their work to do, they could not spend their time making sure the widows were all cared for!
But they did not say that the work was unimportant. Far from it!
They called for 7 men with special gifting to take over the work!
V3: they had to have a good reputation, be full of the Spirit and be wise!
It was a special task and special people were called to be “responsible” for it!
They were to be the leaders of the work and undoubtedly there would have been other under them.
Note the management structure! Quality leaders for a worthy task to do a quality job!
And then everyone is happy – v5. Problem solved.
App:
Problems are no bad sign!
If there are no problems then probably nothing much is happening!
Problems are not to lead to division! We solve problems today by dividing.
The early church dealt with problems by dealing with them through well respected, wise and Spirit filled servants!
3) cause of growth: in all this growth can we point to reasons for it?
a) the Word was the priority v2.
The apostles knew what they were called to do.
They knew that looking after the needy was a great worthwhile cause but they knew it was not for them! Preaching that Jesus was the Saviour was their job, nothing was more important than that.
App:
The Word is all important. The Word is Jesus.
The written word speaks of Jesus and leads to Jesus.
The apostles priority was to keep focused on Jesus – so that they in turn would be able to keep the people focused on Jesus.
b) prayer and the Word was prioritised v4: devoted to this work.
Knowing their task they were devoted to it!
We saw earlier on that the church was devoted to the apostles teaching (2v42), well the Apostles in the first place were devoted to it!
And in being devoted to the Word they were also devoted to prayer.
The two go hand in hand, because preaching the Christ, requires prayer.
Can’t have one without the other.
App
A vibrant prayer life comes from the heart that wants to know Jesus.
If prayer is dull and boring, then it is because it is not Christ centred.
c) The body worked together and the Word spread v7.
The final picture is of the word spreading and there being continual and massive growth.
The reason given for that in this section is that everyone was doing their job!
The apostles and the 7 men. The body was working together and there was growth.
The leaders were Christ centred, devoted to the Word and to prayer there was growth.
The church was helping and serving under the direction of the Apostles, there was growth.
App:
We are in this great mission together! All of us have our parts to play.
Only as we work together will there be growth.
sunday evening 15th March 2009
Rom 8v37-39
We have seen that God plans to make us beautiful people, that is people who are like Christ. Nothing is going to stop God in this work, he has called, justified and glorified already! Further we saw Paul drawing that great plan of God to its next logical step: “since God is for us”, who can be against us! Who will bring a charge, who will condemn? God is “for us all”. Who will separate us from the love of Christ?!
This week we will see Paul finally concluding these great wonderful truths.
1) no matter what life throws at us the Christian Conquers v37.
V35-36 is the context for this point. Paul has listed a whole array of problems that we might face and the early Christians did face.
But Pauls point is: these problems are nothing! God is for us, thus we are more than conquerors.
notes:
a) there is no promise of escape from the hardships of life.
But “in” these things, actually in the difficulties. And in “all” of the troubles, there is no exception, not one moment where there may even be a hint of failure!
App:
Life is tough. Being a follower of Jesus does not get us a get out of jail free card!
But in all of our troubles God is there! So it’s a blessed life!
b)the blessing is seen in the promise of overcoming the difficulties!
“more than conquerors”. How can you be more than a conqueror? A conqueror is top of the pile! We will not just scrap through trials, we will not even have a narrow victory!
The promise is that we are “super-conquerors”. Completely victorious!
Paul could have just said conqueror, he could have said victorious or other things.
But to say “more than conquerors”!
App:
How different this thought is to our usual lame Christian response!
We whinge and complain! But there is nothing to complain about!
The advert “more than car insurance...”
The Christian is more than surviving, more than struggling by, the Christian is conquering, more than conquering!
c) how come?
We often don’t feel that we are super-conquerors. Troubles, hardships etc tend to knock us down. But the truth is we overcome “through him who loved us.”
Again the love of God is the reason for it all! God is for us!
App:
Paul is revealing truth to us here that we need to live by.
Faith calls us to trust that in every situation we are super-overcomers!
Put feelings aside, put physical difficulties aside – you are more than a conqueror.
How we need this bold faith today. With the world falling into environmental and financial crisis, Paul says, and we need to say – we are more than Conquerors.
2) we conquer because God loves us v38-39.
a) Paul adds his own personal conviction to these last statements.
“I am convinced... separate us”. Through his experience of God Paul is convinced that Gods love is unstoppable and sure towards himself and all other believers.
· But what was there in his experience to give him such conviction?
Had he an easy life? Was he a follower of God from birth?
No, he persecuted the church and then was terribly persecuted himself!
His confidence was based not on his own experience but on what God had done in Christ!
App:
Personal conviction and passion is what we need too.
Paul was convinced, he had come to be convinced. We need to get to that point also.
But how? See later.
b) what was his conviction?
That nothing in all of creation, whether good or bad, could case there to be a separation between the believer and Gods love. No wedge can ever come between the believer and God.
He makes another list of things that we might be afraid of, things that might feel have the power to stop Gods love: life can’t separate, death can’t separate, angels can’t separate, demons can’t separate, the present can’t separate, the future can’t separate, no power can separate, ...... nothing can separate us from the love of God!
App:
What are you afraid of? Is that thing more powerful than God. Out of all the Christians in all the world, have you found the thing that will separate!? There is nothing!
There have been some reports of witchcraft and all kinds of nonsense in the past we while, we live in a New Age area. But all these powers – if they are real at all – are nothing in comparison to God!
You have nothing to be afraid of!
c) who is at the core of all this?
“the love of God that is in Christ Jesus” – The Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the ultimate and final proof of God’s love.
App:
Jesus needs to be our vision. Pauls passion and conviction came from his vision of Jesus.
Our conviction and passion need to arise out of what we see of Christ.
