The Promise of Power

October 15, 2008

This sermon on Acts 1:6-26 was preached 9/14/2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)

Do you ever dream that you’re in school, sitting down to take a test, and realize, “I never studied! I never even went to class!”

Or perhaps you dream that you are about to begin an athletic event - and realize you never practiced.

How do those dreams make you feel? Do you feel that way when you are called upon to be a witness to Jesus? Do you think, “I don’t know enough! I need years of study to properly witness! I can’t possibly make these people listen!”

Last week we began our series in the book of Acts. We saw that this book is not really the Acts of the Apostles. Only two apostles are prominent, but it is not a synopsis of their lives either. Instead, Luke opens by saying that his first volume, his gospel “dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach.” Acts then deals with what Jesus continued to do. Acts tells of the continuing work of Jesus.

We saw last week that:

1) Jesus assigns the apostles a task: “Speak of what you know! Be witnesses to the truths you have seen! Proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins! And take this message to all nations!”

2) Jesus also promises the power to accomplish the task through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, in fulfillment of what He calls the “promise of the Father.” We looked at three Old Testament prophecies that Jesus might have been referring to:

From Joel: God promises that He will pour our His Spirit on all flesh. This distinguishes the promised future event from the way His Spirit worked in Old Testament times, falling on a subset of the people, particularly leaders who must fulfill a great task.
From Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36: All God’s people have a new heart of flesh, God’s Law is written on their hearts. And Paul notes that this is fulfilled in his day: he tells the Colossians that they have Christ in them.

So Jesus assigns a task, and promises His apostles the power to fulfill the task. Then the rest of the book of Acts shows God at work, saving, sending, and judging - even working sovereignly through the evil acts of evil men. The result: The Word of God increases and prevails mightily.

This morning: We’ll look more closely at those to whom Jesus assigns this task. Jesus speaks here to His remaining eleven apostles after the death of Judas. What are they like? What do we know about these apostles? Are they great men, highly accomplished?

No. If anyone had nominated one of them for a position on the Jewish ruling council, the response would have been: “He is unqualified! He is inexperienced! He doesn’t have enough education! Furthermore, he’s not from Jerusalem - he’s just from some rural backwater!”

That response would result in part from prejudice against those from Galilee. But even seen through our generally sympathetic eyes, there is not much to commend these men. Indeed, Scripture does not present these apostles as great men. Yes, in the gospels they occasionally show tremendous insight. For example, Peter responds to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” by replying, “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God!” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus then says Peter is blessed, for God the Father revealed that central truth to him. God gave Peter tremendous insight into the most important truth of all.

But lest we think highly of Peter, in that same passage he shows tremendous stupidity. Jesus predicts His suffering and death - and Peter rebukes Him. Jesus says He will die - then Peter says, “This shall never happen to you!” (Acts 16:22)

These are the people Jesus has to work with. These are the people to whom Jesus assigns His task. What hope is there for that task to be fulfilled?

In today’s passage, Luke highlights both the limitations and the potential of these men. We’ll look this morning under 3 headings:

Weakness and Ignorance
Sufficient Knowledge
Overwhelming Power

Much of what I will say about the apostles applies directly to you and me. We too are weak and ignorant. But we too have sufficient knowledge - yes, even the brand new Christian - and we too have access to overwhelming power. So listen - and then fulfill the task.

Weakness and Ignorance

Consider how much weakness and ignorance these 11 apostles showed just in the previous two months:

Peter denied Jesus three times - to servant girl.
All scattered and ran when Jesus was arrested.
After the crucifixion, they were hiding behind locked doors out of fear (John 20:19).
Jesus Himself calls the larger group of His followers, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25)
And then there’s Thomas: After being told that the risen Christ had appeared to the other disciples, he said, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe” (John 20:25).

These are not exactly strong qualifications for leadership.

But even from here on out in Acts, we see the humanness, the fallenness of these men:

Acts 15: Barnabas and Paul disagree sharply about whether to take John Mark with them on their missionary journey, since he abandoned them during the previous one. They actually split over this disagreement.
Acts 16:7 In this curious verse, Paul attempts to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. Whatever it means, Paul was trying to do something God did not want him to do

So there is not much to commend these eleven apostles.

Today’s text adds to our reasons for doubt about their qualifications. Here, they display three weaknesses:

A Fundamental Misunderstanding

Acts 1:6 when [the apostles] had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Jesus has just promised that they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. The apostles know the Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Spirit, including those we looked at last week. They know that in Joel, just four verses after God says He will pour out His Spirit on all flesh, He says “I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem” (Joel 3:1).

So at the level of interpreting the text of Joel, theirs is a good question. The book of Joel - and other Old Testament Scriptures - speak of the coming of the Spirit and the restoration of the kingdom together.

But given all that Jesus has said to them, all that Jesus has taught them, and even given other Old Testament prophecies, the question highlights their weakness: They haven’t really been taking to heart what Jesus has said.

If Jesus is to restore kingdom now, many questions arise:

When are all men going to hate the disciples (Mark 13:13)?
When are they be persecuted for His sake (Luke 21:12)?
When is the Gospel going to be preached as a testimony to all the nations (Matthew 24:14)?

The question displays a fundamental misunderstanding of what God is doing at that time. The Eleven do not here understand their calling, and will not apart from Holy Spirit working in them. They desperately need the Holy Spirit.

So Jesus tells them:

“It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” (Acts 1:7)

That is, “It’s better for you not to know.”

Kids: How do you feel when you ask your parents a question, and they reply, “You’ll understand that when you’re a little older.” Doesn’t part of you think, “I’m old enough! I can know NOW!” Yet there are things that we cannot comprehend until we reach greater maturity.

That is what Jesus is saying here: “There are things you need to know, and things you don’t need to know. You don’t need to know the timing of the restoration of the Kingdom. You do need to believe it will happen. Your role is not to have secret knowledge of God; don’t desire that. Don’t think of yourself as particularly wise or insightful. You don’t know many things. That’s fine. Indeed, that’s good. Focus on what you do know, and communicate that.”

So the first weakness of the apostles is a fundamental misunderstanding of their role in God’s plan.

A Diversion from the Task

We see the second weakness in verse 10. Jesus ascends into heaven. Then what do the disciples do? They stand around, gazing into heaven.

The angels ask:

“Why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

Do you hear the rebuke in those words? The angels are saying, “You’ve been given a task. Your task is not to speculate about when Jesus will return. Your task is not to think back nostalgically about the time Jesus spent with you. Your task is not to focus on the privilege of being present at the ascension. Until Jesus returns - He has work for you! Do it!”

Indeed, Jesus has told them in Luke 12 that those servants are blessed whom their Lord finds doing His work when He returns. They need to apply themselves to the task.

Getting Ahead of God

We see the third weakness in the story about finding a replacement for Judas, verses 15-26.

This story shows both positive and negative aspects of the apostles. Note that my interpretation is somewhat controversial - a number of commentators don’t find anything wrong with the actions that Peter takes. So consider what I say, and search the Scriptures to see if these things are true.

Jesus has told apostles not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father - that is, the gift of the Holy Spirit.

They don’t depart. They meet together with other believers - including Mary (and, by the way, this is the last reference to Mary in the Scriptures). While they meet, they pray.

In addition to the excitement they feel about Jesus’ resurrection, and ascension, they experience pain associated with Judas. Remember, Judas was their friend, their companion. They trusted him. No one suspected him. Judas betrayed Jesus - but he also betrayed THEM. As they meet together, few in number, they feel him missing.

Struggling with this, Peter does the right thing: he searches the Scripture. He finds that David himself had been betrayed, and that those betrayals foreshadow Judas’ acts.

This is a comfort to Peter, as he sees that all that Judas did was part of God’s plan. So he preaches on this topic from Psalms 69 and 109 to the gathered followers. This was good, right, and proper.

Peter also sees in Scripture that the office of the betrayer should be filled with someone else. He applies this to the present situation. Once again, he is right.

But gets the method and the timing wrong.

The Holy Spirit is coming. The apostles ill be filled with power from on high. And God will fill the role of Judas by a method and in a time and place of His choosing. Peter, instead, chooses the wrong method and time.

Method: There is no need for the apostles to cast lots. They are reverting to a method used in ancient Israel for discerning God’s will. But the New Covenant is about to arrive! They will all know the Lord, from the least to the greatest (Jeremiah 31:34). Never again will lots be used in Scripture.

Timing: Years later, when Jesus appears to Paul on the road to Damascus, Paul becomes the apostle “abnormally born” (1 Corinthians 15:8 NIV). Thus, in a book that focuses on God reaching the nations, the apostle God chooses to replace Judas is the apostle to the nations.

So the apostles once again display a weakness: Getting ahead of God. They do not understand where they are in redemptive history; they don’t understand the importance of the coming of the New Covenant, the centrality of their new relationship to the Holy Spirit. Indeed, they don’t understand their task.

So the apostles are weak and ignorant.

Is the task hopeless then? Does Jesus just need to get rid of these guys, and come up with others who will be better qualified, more competent?

No. These are the men Jesus has chosen. They WILL accomplish His task.

How will they do this, when they are weak and ignorant?

Sufficient Knowledge

They are ignorant, yes. There are indeed many things they don’t know.

But they have sufficient knowledge to spread joy in Christ.

Remember the threefold purpose of the church:

To express joy in Christ: Worship
To deepen joy in Christ: Discipleship.

These first two continue for all eternity. The third purpose, however, is fulfilled in this age:

To spread joy in Christ

So what does Jesus tell them? Remember, He told them initially to remain in Jerusalem until they are clothed with power. But He says in verse 8:

You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Luke 24:47 is even more explicit: They must preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations.

They don’t have tremendous knowledge. But they do know what is most important:

They do know that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah, the Son of the living God.
They do know Jesus lived a perfect life.
They do know what Jesus taught.
They do know Jesus died on the cross, according to God’s plan, taking on Himself the penalty for all the sins of those who would believe in Him.
They do know Jesus rose from dead, according to God’s plan.
They do know Jesus ascended to the right hand of God the Father the Almighty.
They do know Jesus is coming again, just like He left them, according to God’s plan.

They don’t have special insight. They don’t know all they would like to know. They can’t answer every question.

But they are witnesses. They know Jesus. And they will be His witnesses,

Not only in this city of Jerusalem, but in their entire nation
Not only in their nation but among the surrounding peoples who despise them
Not only among those who are nearby, but to the very ends of the earth

They are weak and ignorant - yet they have sufficient knowledge to fulfill their task.

Overwhelming Power

Consider again the extent of the task God gives these weak, ignorant apostles: They are to take the message of salvation and joy through Jesus to the end of the earth.

What does He mean by “end of the earth”?

Jesus is alluding here to Isaiah 49:6. Paul will later allude to this same verse in a sermon (Acts 13:47). The verse in Isaiah concerns the coming Servant, Jesus Himself:

It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

The “end of the earth” surely includes the concept of geographic distance - the disciples are to go to all places where people live. But there is an even stronger emphasis on cultural distance. For the Scripture says He will be a “light to the nations.” The word “nations” refers not to “political entities,” but to peoples, people groups, cultural entities.

In Acts 13:47, Paul makes this explicit: Since the Jews have rejected his teaching, he is going to the non-Jews. He then remains in the same geographic area, but takes the message of the Gospel to the other nations, the other ethnicities around him.

How in the world is God going to use Jewish fishermen and tax collectors to reach all the nations? Simply to travel will be difficult. But then how will they communicate the Gospel:

To malicious, death-threatening Jewish leaders?
To hateful Samaritans?
To pompous, oppressive Romans?
To intellectual, philosophical Greeks?
To wild, unpredictable barbarian tribes?

Can these weak, ignorant apostles do that?

Yes.

The task is impossible - apart from God’s power. So God promises overwhelming power: The power to change enemies. The power to replace hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. His power. Power that He then displays in Acts chapter 2: An overwhelming power that, when He chooses, no one can resist.

Lessons for Us Today

1) Acknowledge our weakness before men

We are still weak. We are still ignorant of so much - to some extent because of our own fault, in that we too are “slow of heart to believe all the Scriptures have spoken”, and to some extent because still it is not good for us to know all things.

You do not have to pretend you have an answer to every question - because you don’t! That’s not necessary. Be willing to admit your weakness and ignorance.

2) Acknowledge our weakness before God

We cannot reach the nations apart from His power.
We cannot build the church apart from His power.
We cannot live Christian lives apart from His power.

Now, we can do some things on our own:

We can organize people to go throughout the world, doing good deeds.
We can build large organizations that have “church” in their names.
We can live lives that look good to those around us, and thus gain the admiration of others.

But we cannot spread joy in Christ, deepen joy in Christ, or express joy in Christ apart from God’s power. We must be on our faces, pleading with God for power, acknowledging our weakness, acknowledging our sinfulness, our daily need to appropriate the cross, our daily need for forgiveness by the blood of Jesus.

We are responsible, yes, to study, to learn, to strategize about how best to fulfill the task.

But God will glorify Himself among the nations through His weak followers. He will be glorified in the result, and He will be glorified in the means, as weak followers go out in conscious, active dependence upon Him.

3) Proclaim what we know is true

We proclaim the Gospel. And the Gospel fundamentally is a simple message.

There is a place for scholarship. There is a place for deep study.

But we are all called to be witnesses. Speaking the Gospel is not only for experts, not only for those with doctorates in New Testament theology or apologetics. We all have sufficient knowledge of this simple message to glorify God through proclamation.

4) Trust His great power toward us who believe

We are weak, but He is mighty.

On our own, we can do nothing, but by His power, we can do all things.

He will work through our failures and in spite of our successes.

He will work to bring His Gospel to every nation.

He will give His church, His ambassadors, the words and the strategy to complete the missionary task.

We go in personal weakness.

We go with much ignorance.

We go with considerable sinfulness.

This is true whether we go to our neighbor or to another continent.

But our God is mighty to save.

He breaks down barriers. He overthrows kingdoms

And He will bring all the nations, all the peoples to Himself - through people just like you and me.

Indeed - through you and me.

So trust His power. Know He is at work.

Be His witness - to the end of the earth.

Posted by Coty Pinckney | Filed Under Blog, Sermons, acts | Leave a Comment

Continuing What Jesus Began to Do

October 15, 2008

(This sermon on Acts 1:1-5 was preached 9/7/2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)

Think of an important historical figure. What was his or her greatest accomplishment?

For Thomas Jefferson, perhaps authoring the Declaration of Independence.
For Abraham Lincoln, keeping our country together.
For Martin Luther, taking his stand on the Word of God, and returning much of the church to biblical authority.

Some of you may be thinking of scientists, missionaries, authors, or explorers. Different men, different women, different fields of endeavor - but for all their varied accomplishments, the question makes sense.

Now: Consider Jesus: Can we ask the same question about Him? What was Jesus’ greatest accomplishment?

I hope when you hear that question you’re somewhat uneasy. For if we were to judge Jesus’ accomplishments on the same basis as the others we’ve mentioned - frankly, there’s not much there. For a period of time shorter than one US presidential term, he traveled around with a dozen men, in a backwater province of the Roman Empire; He taught publicly, and made some pretty outrageous claims. He healed people, a few rather dramatically. Perhaps during His lifetime as many as 200 people believed He was the promised Messiah. But one of his closest associates turned Him in to authorities for a few thousand dollars. The Roman governor executed Him.

That doesn’t sound like much of an accomplishment compared to Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther, or Isaac Newton, does it?

But there’s a huge difference with Jesus: His death is not the end of the story.

We celebrate what Jefferson, Lincoln, Luther, and others accomplished prior to their deaths. For Jesus: We celebrate what He accomplished in His death, in His resurrection, and what He continues to do after death.

We begin today a series on the book of Acts. This is the second volume written by Luke, the traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. This volume was written about 30 years after the crucifixion. Each volume begins with a note to a man named Theophilus, who seems to be a prominent Roman official who has heard much about Jesus, but needs assurance of the truthfulness of the reports. So Luke says he writes: “that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:4).

Luke opens the book of Acts with these words.

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, ² until the day when he was taken up

This is a pretty strange statement. Imagine two-volume biographical study of Lincoln, written decades after his death, with the second volume beginning, “My first volume dealt with all that Lincoln began to do until his assassination.”

That makes no sense for Lincoln. Why does it make sense for Jesus?

To speak this way implies that Jesus is still at work.

John Wilkes Booth’s bullet ended Lincoln’s accomplishments. But the cross did not end Jesus’ accomplishments. The cross was only the beginning

The Gospel of Luke records much of great importance:

Jesus’ birth and perfect life;
His teaching on sacrifice, on leadership, on the kingdom, and on money;
His predictions of His own death - He knew He came to die;
His predictions of His resurrection on the third day.
It also records the fulfillment of all these predictions: He is arrested, tried, condemned, crucified dead and buried.

But that’s not the end. Jesus rose from the dead and showed Himself to His disciples. They saw Him. They are eyewitnesses.

Acts 1:3 emphasizes this

He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

The risen Christ is not an illusion. He is not a vision. He eats fish. The disciples touch Him. They interact with Him. He is alive.

And He continues His work to this day.

This is the message of the book of Acts: Jesus began His work during His earthly life and He is still completing it.

This book records the continuing acts of Jesus Christ.

This morning, I want to introduce the book by considering what Jesus does in the first five verses, and then looking briefly at what He does throughout the book. Our outlinje will have three headings:

Jesus Assigns a Task to His Followers

Jesus Promises Power to Fulfill the Task

Jesus works!

I pray that by the time we finish, you will have confidence that today we have the same task, the same power. I pray that you would have no doubt that the same Lord continues to work - as today we complete the works of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Assigns a Task to His Followers

He was taken up after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. (Acts 1:2)

What commands had Jesus given His disciples? At the end of Luke we read:

Repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things (Luke 24:47-48).

Note the nature of task: Jesus is not instructing them to go and accomplish a great, challenging deed - to climb the highest mountain, to discover electricity, or to invent a car that gets 100 miles per gallon.

Instead, the task is this: “Speak the truths you know to others. You are witnesses, so bear witness! Tell others of their need for repentance. Tell others that God created man in His image to show what He is like. God created us so that we might love Him with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. Yet we rebelled against that purpose. From the very beginning we sinned against the infinitely holy God, and thus deserve infinite punishment. But,” continues Jesus, “tell them also that God sent me, His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, paying the penalty for sin. Tell them that God raised me from the dead, proving the penalty was sufficient, proving that I remain alive and active. Tell of the opportunity to find true forgiveness in me, if they repent and believe in My Name. And tell this to all nations, all people groups, including your enemies and oppressors.”

This is task: His disciples are to bear witness to all peoples: “Jesus died for your sins! Jesus is risen from the dead! He reigns! Repent! Trust! Believe! Have eternal life! Fulfill the purpose of your creation!”

Jesus Promises Power to Fulfill the Task

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.” (Acts 1:4-5)

Jesus here clearly associates the promise of the Father and baptism with the Holy Spirit. Luke 24:49 contains same idea, using somewhat different language. Jesus first says, “I am sending the promise of my father upon you.” Then He says they will be “clothed with power from on high.” So the promise of the Father concerns the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit gives power.

But what promise is Jesus referring to? Where in the Scriptures of Jesus’ day, the Old Testament, did God promise the Holy Spirit?

Let’s look at three passages that allude to this promise. First, Joel 2:28-29, which Peter will quote at Pentecost explaining what happened that day:

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

In this prophecy, God says that He is going to do something different in the last days. Note carefully: What is different? What is unusual about this prophecy?

The difference is not that the Holy Spirit is active. Many times in the Old Testament, individuals are filled with the Holy Spirit. Recall Fred’s first sermon on Gideon several weeks ago. Judges 6:34 (NIV) says “The Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon” (NIV). Elsewhere in book of Judges alone, we find similar statements about Othniel, Jephthah, and Samson.

So what is Joel prophesying that is different?

The difference is that God promises to pour out His Spirit on all flesh. His Spirit will not only come upon important individuals called to great tasks, but will be on all of His people.

The prophesy then elaborates on this point, detailing some of the many categories of people: sons and daughters, old men and young men, male servants and female servants - all types of people.

As we make our way through Acts we will see the fulfillment of this prophecy. In this book, God’s Spirit falls on both women and men, both old and young, both free men and slaves, both Jews and Gentiles. God indeed pours out His Spirit on all flesh.

The second Old Testament passage that contains the promise of the Father is the promise of a New Covenant, found in Jeremiah 31. God says this covenant will not be like the one that the people broke:

³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34)

So do you see the difference with the previous covenant? In the New Covenant, the Law, instead of being an external set of rules as it was for so many of the Israelites, will be internal. It will be written on the hearts of all the people.

And note the picture of intimacy: Every one of God’s people, from the least to the greatest, will know the Lord - unlike the Israelite community, in which many, many were stiff-necked and hard-hearted. Knowing God is now the defining mark of the people of God. Ancestry is not important. Ethnicity is not central. Knowing God is central.

This writing of the Law on the hearts of the people, this intimate knowledge of God, can only result from the work of the Holy Spirit. The promise of the New Covenant, then, is the promise of the Father - the promise of baptism with the Holy Spirit.

The final Old Testament passage that points to the promise of the Father is found in Ezekiel 36:25-28. Note that God is speaking to “the house of Israel” in these verses, and that the word “you” is always plural in this passage, thus referring to the entire house of the true Israel:

²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ²⁶ And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. ²⁸ You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Here again is the promise of the Father. God’s covenant people would no longer have hard, stony hearts that resist God’s work. Instead, God gives them a new heart, a new spirit - a spirit that is soft, compliant, willing to follow Him, willing to serve Him. Indeed, God gives them His own Spirit who - in words similar to Jeremiah 31 - will enable them to obey Him, to walk in His statutes, to obey His rules. Thus they truly become God’s people.

This is the promise of the Father. The days of God’s people being rebellious and stiff-necked are over. He will send His Spirit on all His people - and they become truly His.

In Colossians 1:26-27, Paul makes the same point after Pentecost, after the promise of the Father has been fulfilled. In this New Covenant time, Paul speaks of:

the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. ²⁷ . . . which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Paul says, “Christ is in all of you! Every true believer has God dwelling in Him. The Spirit has come. The promise of the Father is fulfilled.”

So this is the promise of the Father: The Holy Spirit within us, Christ within us. And this is what John the Baptist refers to when he speaks of Jesus baptizing us with the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of Joel 2, Jeremiah 31, and Ezekiel 36. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is what Paul looks back on in Colossians 1: Union with Christ. The Spirit of God in you, Christ in you, giving you power to obey His commands, giving you power to know Him, and giving you power to complete the task He assigns.

So we’ve seen the task, and we’ve considered the promised power; finally:

Jesus Works!

The book of Acts displays this truth clearly. God has given the disciples a task, and has promised them power. In the narrative, again and again and again Luke shows clearly that God is the one at work, even while Peter, Paul, John, Philip, and Silas are traveling, preaching, and suffering.

Consider four ways God acts in the book.

1) God saves

In Acts 2:47, after Pentecost, Luke notes:

And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Note: The Lord added to their number. Salvation is God’s work, not the work of the apostles.

In Acts 13:48, Paul and Barnabas are preaching in Antioch of Pisidia, in what now is Turkey:

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. (emphasis added)

Who appointed them to eternal life? Only God could do that. He saved them. They believed - by the power and grace of God.

In Acts 16:14, Paul is in Philippi. The text refers to a woman named Lydia:

The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

In the text, this is almost an offhand comment. But God had to open her heart. God was the one at work. Paul spoke - the Gospel had to be proclaimed! Thank God for Paul’s faithfulness to his calling But God is the one who uses the proclamation of His Word to open Lydia’s heart. God saved Lydia.

In Acts 18:9-10, Paul is in Corinth, where he faces significant opposition:

⁹ And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”

This is more than a promise of protection. God promises that He has a purpose for Paul in this city; God will save His chosen people through Paul’s proclamation of the Gospel. God will bring it about. Jesus Christ is continuing His work. God saves.

God not only saves, but also:

2) God sends

God does not depend on His apostles figuring out where to go. He guides and directs their steps.

In chapter 8, God tells Philip, one of first deacons, to go down to the desert road. Philip obeys, and finds a royal official from Ethiopia reading Isaiah. Philip explains the meaning of the passage, and God saves the official. Then, after Philip baptizes him, verse 39 tells us “the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away” to another place where he continues to preach.

In chapter 10, God gives Peter a vision three times. Then the Spirit tells him to go with the Gentile servants who have just arrived at his house. The result: The servants’ master, Cornelius, and his entire household is saved.

In chapter 13, Paul and Barnabas are serving in the church in Antioch:

2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off (Acts 13:2-3)

Philip, Peter, Paul, Barnabas: In each case, Jesus continues His work. God calls. God directs. God sends.

3) God judges

In chapter 5, many in the early church are selling property, then giving the proceeds to the church in order to help the poor. A married couple, Ananias and Sapphira, sell a piece of property, and give money to the church. They claim to have given all the proceeds, but they lie. They have retained some for themselves. God kills them both.

In chapter 12, Herod has put the Apostle James to death; he then arrests Peter, planning to execute him also. God saves Peter miraculously and then, while Herod is exulting in the crowd proclaiming he is a god, the one true God strikes him down. And Luke notes that his body was eaten by worms.

Jesus continues to act - in part, through exercising judgment.

4) God sovereignly works through evil acts of evil men

Virtually every chapter has an example of this. We’ve already seen that God worked through Peter’s arrest and his miraculous release. Paul’s conversion when he is headed to Damascus to destroy the church is another example. The arrest of Paul and Silas in Philippi is another, for God saves the Philippians jailor and his family.

But let’s look in more detail at chap 4. The church is praying, marveling at God’s sovereignty. This is part of that prayer:

“There were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” (Acts 4:27-28, emphasis added)

The crucifixion - the most evil of all acts - was planned and predestined by God and used for His very good purposes, even our salvation. Indeed, God uses this evil act to save some of the very priests who plotted against Jesus.

Do you see the overall picture here? This book is not the Acts of the Apostles. This book is the Acts of Jesus, the Acts of God, the Acts of the Holy Spirit. God is the one who saves, who sends, who judges. God is the one in control - even when it looks like evil has the upper hand. God acts. He is sovereign.

The Result of Jesus’ Work

Five verses scattered throughout Acts highlight the result of God’s work. The church faces many challenges in these pages. But through it all - through dissension, through persecution, through trials and difficulties - God’s Word prevails:

Acts 6:7: After the resolution of the dispute over the care of widows, Luke records that “the word of God continued to increase.”

Acts 9:31: After the persecutor Paul is converted and sails to Tarsus:

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Acts 12:24: After Peter is miraculously released and Herod has been eaten by worms:

But the word of God increased and multiplied.

Acts 16:5: After the decision in Jerusalem that Gentiles need not culturally become Jews to be saved:

So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

Acts 19:20: After Paul performs miracles in Ephesus, and former magicians burn their paraphernalia:

So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

This is the result of Jesus’ work. The Word of God multiplies and prevails; the church increases. God is at work. Nothing can stop His plan.

Jesus is risen. He builds His church. And the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.

Conclusion

This is the message of the book of Acts: Jesus continues His work.

No enemy can thwart Him
No barrier can stop Him
No people can resist Him

He is mighty! He prevails! He destroys all opposing powers!

And this almighty God, this conquering King calls to you. He invites you to Himself. He says: “Come to me - I will comfort. I will forgive. I will restore. Come to me! Why be stubborn, resisting, to your own destruction? Turn! Turn and be saved!”

He calls to you. So throw yourself on the mercy of the ever-living, ever-active, crucified and risen Lord! Trust in His saving blood.

And then: Having been saved by His blood, will you fulfill His task by His power?

That’s the question this morning for all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You have a task. You have His power; His Holy Spirit is within you.

Will you play your role? Will you be His witness?

He has proven Himself alive - to us.

He has given the promised Holy Spirit - to us.

He has given the task - to us!

Will you fulfill the task?

Posted by Coty Pinckney | Filed Under Sermons, acts | Leave a Comment

Audio for August 17 Sermon

August 31, 2008

We had some recording problems with the August 17 sermon, “Work Hard Yet Relax During the Race of Faith,” but thanks to Michael Black and Matthew Pinckney we now have a satisfactory version of the audio online here.

Posted by Coty Pinckney | Filed Under Blog, Sermons, The Race of Faith | Leave a Comment

Maintain Your Form and Finish Well in the Race of Faith

August 27, 2008

(This sermon on 2 Timothy 4:6-8 was preached 8/24/2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)

Many expected the Beijing Olympic marathon to be slow, as runner after runner would succumb to the pollution on top of high heat and humidity. So when this morning the leaders took off at close to world record pace, a number of runners - including the top Americans, Dathan Ritzenheim and Ryan Hall - decided around three miles that that was suicidal, and backed off, hoping to run a slower, more even pace, and pick off stragglers. Such tactics had worked well in a number of past Olympic marathons.

But not today. Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya had other plans. He had prepared for these conditions. When the day dawned quite clear for Beijing, he was confident he could run a fast pace all the way to the end.

And he did. With a little over two miles to go he picked up the pace - and immediately dropped his last competitor. Running smoothly, relaxed and strong, he entered the stadium with a large lead. The crowd roared, cheering him on. He celebrated as he ran the last quarter mile on the track. Sammy Wanjiru finished well.

Our question this morning: Will you also finish well?

To get the gold medal, you have to finish the race. The marathon is 26 miles 385 yards. If you stop at 26 miles, 384 yards, you do not win - no matter how far ahead you are at that point.

The 1954 Commonwealth Games are remembered not only for the Miracle Mile between Bannister and Landy that I mentioned two weeks ago, but also for a case of NOT finishing well. The WR holder for the marathon, an Englishman, Jim Peters, set a pace in hot and humid conditions no one else cared to match. He entered the stadium with a huge lead - at least 10 minutes. He had run more than 26 miles. But with only half a lap to go, he collapsed. He got up and fell six times. He tried to crawl. But he did not make it to the finish line. He was rushed to hospital - and though he recovered his health and lived until 1999, he never raced again.

For the last several weeks we have been considering the biblical images of running the race of faith.

We have seen that we must first decide: Am I a runner? If so: We must be consistent and disciplined in our training. We must battle our besetting sins, whatever they may be. We must stay alert to the unexpected temptations and hindrances that Satan throws in our path. Yet we must not focus on dealing with sin - we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus as our joy, as the one with power to help us complete the race, and on his return. We also must work hard to rest in Christ, actively depending on Him always. Jesus doesn’t want our toiling. He wants our trust. So that is our main work. Our tasks are then done in dependence on Him; we pull the yoke by His power. He is responsible for the outcome.

Today, as we finish this series, we look at the finish line, using 2 Timothy 4:6-8 as our text.

Paul writes this letter from prison. He knows he will die soon. He is finishing his leg of the race, and is passing the baton to Timothy. So, reflecting on his own life, he concludes with these thoughts about finishing the race:

I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:6-8

We’ll look at this text under 3 headings:

Maintain Good Form to the End!
Remember the Medal!
Join the Cloud of Witnesses!

Maintain Good Form to the End

You are at the end of a hard race. Your legs feeling heavy; your muscles are feeling tight. Fearful thoughts enter your mind: “I can’t do it! I’m falling apart! I can’t kick! I can’t finish well!” As those fears increase, your form begins to fall apart: Your shoulders tense up, raising your forearms, thereby shortening each stride; your face and neck become tight. You are no longer relaxed. And consequently, you slow down.

Most runners slow down at the end of a race in part because of fear, not solely because of tired muscles. This aspect of slowing down is completely in control of the runner.

How can you fight that? How can you teach runners to finish well?

The key is maintaining good running form all the way to the end. Much training at the elite levels aims to enable the athlete to do just that. Through mimicking conditions at the end of a race, the runner learns to respond rightly. A good coach will give his runners lots of practice in dealing with those feelings of fear. His coaching will become so ingrained in his athletes that they will finish well. This is true for me even today, many years after I last ran a serious race. If when finishing a hard run, I start to feel my legs tighten, without even thinking I’ll check my shoulders and my jaw, focus on the elements of my stride, and work to maintain good form to the end.

Thus, instead of feeling fearful when tiring, a well trained runner will have just the opposite sense. At the end of the race, as he feels tightness in his legs, he’ll think, “This is it! This is what I’m trained for! All my opponents are hurting at least as much as I am. And I KNOW that I can dig down for that final sprint. I’ve done this thousands of times in practice. OK. Here’s where I break the race open. 1 2 3, Hit it!”

Just so in the race in faith. We are to maintain form. Paul says: “I have fought the GOOD fight.” The word translated “good” does not mean “morally upright.” Paul surely was morally upright, but that’s not what he is communicating here. He is saying, “I fought well. I ran the race well. I maintained my form to the end.”

What does maintaining form mean in the race of faith mean?

It means to do all that we have talked about in the past four weeks:

Be consistent, be disciplined
Keep going through the pain
Rejoice in the Lord always
Be alert to unusual temptations
Focus on Jesus
Strive to rest
Rest while striving

That’s all part of maintaining good form.

And if, like a runner, you have trained yourself for godliness, the right response to crises will be ingrained into you. When a challenge comes that tempts you to lose form, you will respond by focusing on Jesus, resting in Him, rejoicing in Him. You will tell yourself, “It’s natural to panic. But Jesus has prepared me for this. I have his Word. I have the examples of those who have gone before me. I know He is faithful. By His grace, I can do this - and I can endure and rejoice in Him to His glory.”

This is what Paul did. That’s why he could say, “I have fought the good fight.” Consider his life (we’ll do much more of this in months ahead as we journey through the book of Acts):

Paul and Silas praised God in the Philippian jail;

he was beaten and shipwrecked, but continued to be faithful to his calling;
he proclaimed the Gospel boldly even when he knew that would result in persecution.
He was afflicted, persecuted, perplexed, and struck down, but never in despair.
He never acted ashamed of the Gospel,
he never lashed back at his persecutors,
he was never quarrelsome.
He kept his good form, focusing on the Lord Jesus Christ, rejoicing in him, despite all the challenges the world could throw at him.
He ran the good race.

So he summarizes all these points by saying, “I have kept the faith.” There are two aspects of this keeping faith we should note. First, Paul lived out the faith - that’s what we’ve just seen. He set an example; he showed what having good form means. Second, he guarded and protected the faith. As a teacher, he had to watch his own teaching, and he had to refute those who taught wrongly - as we saw in our series on Galatians. So Paul taught the faith well, he taught the whole counsel of God, and he argued effectively with those who tried to distort it.

Thus, in keeping the faith, Paul was fulfilling the instructions he gave Timothy in his first letter: “Watch your life and doctrine closely” (1 Timothy 4:16). He lived out the truth, and he guarded the truth. He kept the faith.

Think for a minute about good form in the race of faith. Good form is what enables you to run well, to run fast, to get you to the finish line first. Good form does not necessarily imply that you will look great to others.

For most of the Beijing marathon, the eventual 3^rd and 4^th place finishers looked a lot better than the eventual silver medalist. But there are no style points in running - whoever gets to the finish line first is the winner, not the runner who looks best. Good form only matters if it helps you fun faster.

Just so in the race of faith: The opinions of others only matter as they reflect biblical truth, and as they help you to live out biblical truth. The key is to focus on Jesus, to rest in Him. The key is not any particular way of doing that which has worked well for someone else.

So we are to maintain form. And we are to maintain it to the end.

For the marathoner, that means maintaining form all the way to the finish line, all 26 miles, 385 yards.
For the sprinter, that means running well all the way through the tape - not letting up don’t at the end.
For the race of faith, that means maintaining form all the way to death.

How often do you contemplate your death?

Our society pretends there is no death. But the Bible teaches just the opposite:

Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days.”
James 4:14: “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

Regularly contemplate your death. It may come tomorrow. It may come decades from now. But unless Jesus returns before your death, you will die. So prepare for it - like a runner training for the end of the race.

Paul has done that. He has contemplated his own death many times. So he writes in today’s text, “I am already being poured out like a drink offering” - an apt image for one whose head will be cut off.

But note how Paul talks about his death. Does he say, “I’m really fearing the executioner raising the ax!” No. Like the runner confident in his final kick, Paul looks at his forthcoming death positively.

Notice the words he uses:

Verse 6: “The time for my departure has come.” Death is a departure. The ship is leaving port, departing one country, heading towards another. This is a common event, simply a time of transition.

So Paul’s first word picture is a neutral image of death: It is a change. It is normal.

But then in verse 8 he gives not a neutral but a positive view of death. This leads us to our second heading:

Remember the Medal!

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day

Understand the image. The word “judge” here does not picture a courtroom. Instead, Paul is continuing his running image. Paul is running his race. Jesus is at the finish line. Paul is looking to Him, keeping Him in his sights, running to Him.

But Jesus is not only the goal, but also is the finish line judge. Earlier in this letter Paul had written,

An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. (2 Timothy 2:5)

So the 2^nd and 3^rd place finishers in the Beijing men’s 200 meters were disqualified by the judge. They stepped on the line on the curve. They didn’t compete according to the rules.

Jesus is the finish line judge. And Paul is confident that he has competed according to the rules, that he will not be disqualified, that he will finish the race by God’s power, and thus that he will receive the victor’s crown.

So do you see the positive image of death? Death is not a negative. It is a necessary step toward the crown. It is the last 100 of the race.

Now, Paul is very clear that this crown is not something he earned. In all his letters, he tells us, “I didn’t earn this by my merit, by my work. It’s all of Him. I was the chief of sinners. I rejected His plan, His Gospel, His Way. He created me for His glory, but I turned my back on Him. So I deserved His just condemnation. But He sent His Son to die on the cross, and He opened my eyes to see Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Through faith, the benefits Jesus gained at the cross are credited to my account. He brought me to Himself. He has enabled me to run the race. He will bring it all to completion. He will give me what I don’t deserve.”

So as Paul approaches that final finish line, Jesus, the finish line Judge, declares, “HE IS MINE! He has My righteousness! He forever will be My beloved! He will forever have My character! He will forever be My delight! He together with all believers of all times places will be My precious bride: Holy, spotless, perfect.”

This is what is coming. So the Word tells us again and again:

“The one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:13
“If we endure, we shall also reign with him” 2 Timothy 2:12
“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Revelation 2:10

So maintain good form to the end. Remember the medal. The crown of righteousness, and all that implies, will be yours.

Join the Cloud of Witnesses

Paul writes 2 Timothy not as autobiography. He’s not trying to record his feelings, he memoirs. He doesn’t tell Timothy about fighting the good fight and finishing the race to record a fact about his life. Instead, he is exhorting Timothy and all subsequent readers: “Do this! Run the race! Maintain YOUR form! Keep the faith!”

He makes this absolutely clear in the last half of verse 8: This crown of righteousness will be awarded “not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

Paul is saying, “Timothy, long for Jesus’ appearing! Focus on Him, on His return! You can do this by His grace! Look to Him! This crown will be yours too! Endure to the end!”

Do you see what Paul does here?

Even as he is entering the stadium, finishing his race, completing his marathon, he is encouraging Timothy to run HIS race, to complete HIS marathon.

In effect, even while he is still alive, Paul has become part of the great cloud of witnesses of Hebrews 12:1. Do you remember that image?

“Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses . . . let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

We noted that these people are witnesses in two senses. First, they bear witness to Jesus’ faithfulness. Second, they look at us, they encourage us to lean on Jesus, to depend on Him.

That’s what Paul is doing here: He joins the cloud of witnesses encouraging Timothy and us to run the race.

This is a key complement to the racing image. The race of faith is not run alone. Right now, we are together, running the race together, all together headed to the finish line. And right now, we can be part of that great cloud of witnesses.

God puts us together to do this for those like us, who are going through similar struggles, as well as for those NOT like us, who can help by having a different perspective on our struggles:

Older to younger: What a blessing it is to those of you in your teens, twenties, and thirties to have in this same church older folks, several decades ahead of you, to tell you of God’s faithfulness over the course of their lives, to speak of their running the race, to describe their challenges and God’s faithfulness to them.
Younger to older: Again, what a blessing to the older folks to have you all who are young in age and young in the faith in the same body. You remind us of the enthusiasm of newfound faith, and you display the marked change in life after God’s miracle of new birth.
Across cultural and ethnic differences: What a blessing to see the same faithful God working through the same Word, with people who are completely different from each other.

We are all running the race together. Right now, we are to be part of that cloud of witnesses for each other, as we bear witness to the grace of God

Conclusion

Let me expand on that image in conclusion:

Picture now the race of faith in all its glory. Millions of runners, from all times and places, representing every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Men, women, boys, girls, young, old, healthy, sick, black, white, Asian, African - All called by God’s grace, all looking to Jesus, all running the race to Jesus. Satan is there too, tempting the runners, trying to divert them, to throw obstacles in their path, to get them to pick up objects that will weigh them down.

In this great race, some have finished. They stand with Jesus at the finish line, bearing witness to His faithfulness. They cry out, “He enabled me! You can do it too! He is faithful!”

Others are quite near that final line, and, like Sammy Wanjiru this morning, they are running well. They too cry out, like Paul, “I’m closing in on the finish line. I’ve run a good race by God’s grace. I’ve kept the faith. You can too! Keep those eyes fixed on Jesus! Endure to the end!”

Then there are others, perhaps stumbling like Jim Peters, collapsing close to the finish, or sitting on the side of the road, massaging a sore calf muscle, weeping - they’re not even half way, and they’re wondering if they can possibly make it.

They need your help. You need theirs.

Will you cry out, “God is faithful!”

Will you massage that stiffened calf, to get your fellow runner back in the race?

Then there are those on the sidelines, telling you you’re foolish, that the Beijing pollution will kill you, that you can’t run that fast to the end, that you’ll never make it.

Will you both focus on Jesus - and exhort them to enter the race? Will you complete the team, bringing in all the number of the redeemed?

Ahead of you are many hills, along with many twists and turns. Not only heartbreak hill, but betrayal hill, cancer hill, loneliness hill, abandonment hill.

But on all these hills, throughout the course, there are thousands and millions who have gone before, crying out to you through the Word, through history, through those alive today: “He is faithful!”

And there are thousands and millions behind you who need to hear your faithful witness: “He is faithful!”

Your final 385 yards may be straight up a mountainside. Or it may be easy and downhill. But whatever it may be:

Keep the faith. Fight the good fight. Finish the race. Hit that final sprint.

The crown is ahead. So run to Jesus! And praise Him - together with all the saints - for all eternity.

Posted by Coty Pinckney | Filed Under Blog, Sermons, The Race of Faith | Leave a Comment

Work Hard Yet Relax During the Race of Faith

August 18, 2008

(This sermon was preached August 17, 2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)

No one in the history of mankind has run 100 meters as fast as Usain Bolt did yesterday. And yet - did you see the head-on shot of his race? He looked completely relaxed.

This coming Saturday night, watch the men’s marathon. Ryan Hall will run over 26 miles, averaging well under 5-minutes per mile. That’s fast. Indeed, looking around, I don’t think there’s anyone here this morning who can run one mile that fast. Yet while making that long, sustained effort, his stride will be fluid and his face relaxed.

Are these two anomalies?

No: All good coaches teach their runners to relax.

When trying to run as fast as we can, we have a natural tendency to grimace, to tighten the mouth, the neck, the shoulders. But all that is counterproductive. All that slows you down.

In order to run fast, you must relax.

Why is this? It is actually quite logical, for two reasons.

First, if I am going to use every ounce of energy to achieve my goal, I must not waste any of that limited supply of energy on something irrelevant. Now, I don’t run with my jaw, or my fists, or my shoulders. So those must all relax, they all must use no energy, so that all of my energy can be focused on those parts of my body that must work hard if I am to run fast. To achieve the supreme physical effort, we must relax every part of our body not necessary to that effort.

But tightening other muscles not only wastes scarce energy, it also hinders us from running faster. When we run, our leg muscles are alternately contracting and relaxing. Tightness in one part of the body easily leads to tightness elsewhere, hindering the necessary relaxation, and slowing the runner. Tightness in the shoulders also has a direct slowing effect, as we’ll see next week.

So we have a paradox: running fast is hard. It requires a great deal of energy. We must work hard if we are to run fast. And yet, we must relax in order to run fast.

Is there a parallel in the Christian life?

By all means. During the service we read passages from Hebrews 4 and Matthew 11, that say, in part:

Make every effort to enter God’s rest!
I will give you rest - Take my yoke upon you!

On the surface, these sentences don’t seem to make much sense. The first sounds something like: Work real had to go to sleep! Many of us know from experience that this is counterproductive. Then Jesus promises rest - right before telling us to act like beasts of burden.

What is He talking about?

He’s talking about a central truth of the Christian life - what Ray Stedman calls a “revolutionary new principle of human behavior.”

This morning we want to look at these two passages, and learn about this paradox of work and rest. We’ll do this under two headings, one for each passage:

Hebrews 4: Striving to Rest

Matthew 11: Resting while Striving

Striving to Rest

Hebrews 3 and 4 is a lengthy, sustained, complicated argument focused on this theme of striving to enter God’s rest. Sometime in the next couple of years I hope to preach through Hebrews; at that point we will look at this text in detail. This morning, I only want to help you understand the main point, and why it is so important.

In chapter 3, the author quotes Psalm 95, saying, in part:

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness. . . . As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” (Hebrews 3:7, 8, 11)

This psalm tells of the Israelites who, on their way to the promised land, displayed their lack of faith in God through disobeying Him. They grumbled against Him, they wanted to return to Egypt, they refused to enter the promised land, fearing the giants.

But Psalm 95 is more than history. It also contains a promise. The Holy Spirit, speaking through David, says: “Believe! Trust! Don’t harden your heart like they did! And you will enter my rest!”

With that in mind, then, let’s read Hebrews 4:9-11

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

So: Entering God’s rest involves resting from our works. And we must work hard to rest from our works. We must strive to rest.

Entering God’s rest clearly pictures eternal salvation: Entering His presence, dwelling with Him forever in the new heavens and new earth. To enter God’s rest is thus more important than anything else we can imagine.

But it would be a mistake to think of our entering God’s rest as only something future. We enter His rest NOW, in this life.

David surely understood that. Remember Psalm 23?

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

This is a picture of living a life resting in God. Who is the actor in this psalm? God - again and again and again. David trusts in God’s promises, while God leads and guides, showering His love on His servant all the way into eternity.

When we enter God’s rest, we trust in His work, we lean on Him, we depend on Him.

So listen: Striving to enter God’s rest today is working hard to trust in God’s promises, every minute of every day.

We trust initially, through believing the Gospel: that God created us for His glory; that we all reject that purpose and rebel against Him; that He sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all who would believe in Him hereafter; that the benefits of that sacrifice accrue to everyone who will repent and believe this Good News.

Subsequent to salvation, we continue to trust every minute of every day. Because in this life we are ALWAYS tempted to lean on our own resources, to lean on our own understanding. We must acknowledge that we CANNOT save ourselves, nor can we make ourselves into the type of person we desire to be, nor can we accomplish ANYTHING for God through our natural resources.

We can never merit salvation through good deeds, nor can we ever merit God’s commendation through acts we do in our power.

So when we enter God’s rest, we confess to God: “I am a sinner; You are the Savior. In my natural self there s no good thing, only darkness - You are all goodness and light. I can ONLY become what I want, I can ONLY become what YOU desire, through Christ in me: changing me, working out His purposes in me. So may my work apart from Your power cease. May your power take over.”

As Ray Stedman says:

We do not have what it takes, and we never did. The only one who can live the Christian life is Jesus Christ. He proposes to reproduce his life in us. Our part is to expose every situation to his life in us, and, by that means, depending upon him and not upon us, we are to meet every situation, enter into every circumstance, and perform every activity. We cease from our own labors.

But this is not easy. We must strive to depend continually on God. We always are tempted to act in our natural selves, apart from God’s power. So we must strive to enter God’s rest by continually checking ourselves:

When your spouse speaks in an angry tone, and you’re tempted to lash back in kind: Pray, seek God’s power, turn to the Word (”A gentle answer turns away wrath”); speak words of peace.
When you’re complimented over something you’ve done, and are thus tempted to exalt yourself, to think how great you are: Pray, seek God’s power, turn to the Word (”Apart from Me you can do nothing,” “he who humbles himself will be exalted.”)
When a challenge is presented to you at home or at work, and you must plan a response, and you’re tempted to rush right in and figure out solution using your own resources: Pray, seek God’s power and insight, and turn to the Word (”If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”)
When faced with moral failure in your own life, and you’re tempted to say, “I can overcome this! I will discipline myself, I will improve myself!” Pray, seek God’s power, turn to the Word (”Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”)

Striving to enter God’s rest is to live a life of active dependence upon God, disciplining yourself to turn to God, to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit, to lean on Him.

As John Piper says:

Do you see the great lesson here? The Christian life is a life of day by day, hour by hour trust in the promises of God to help us and guide us and take care of us and forgive us and bring us into a future of holiness and joy that will satisfy our hearts infinitely more than if we forsake him and put our trust in ourselves or in the promises of this world. And that day by day, hour by hour trust in God’s promises is not automatic. It is the result of daily diligence.

A marathon runner must continuously monitor himself, asking: “Is there some tightness in my jaw? Relax! Are my shoulders coming up a bit? Drop them!”

Just so, we too must monitor ourselves, saying, “Relax! Relax! Relax! Don’t flex a single unnecessary muscle. Relax! Strive to enter God’s rest!”

Resting While Striving

Hebrews 4:11 tells us to work hard at entering God’s rest, at depending upon him. If I stopped the sermon here, you might conclude that there is no hard work in the Christian life, other than the hard work of making sure we enter God’s rest.

But other passages tell us to work hard for God - yet to rest in Him in the middle of such work.

For example, in Colossians 1:29 Paul says, “I toil.” He toils! And he is not here discussing the toil to enter God’s rest. He’s discussing the toil he faced in spreading the Gospel.

There is no doubt that Paul worked hard. He details in his letters many of the obstacles he had to overcome: Beatings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, death threats, rejection, exposure to the elements - and eventually execution.

So Paul worked his tail off.

But what is the difference between Paul and, say, the rich young ruler? The rich young ruler, remember, tells Jesus he had kept all of God’s commandments from his youth. We might be tempted to laugh at that - but he is unquestionably sincere and, undoubtedly, those looking at his life would conclude that he was an upright, honorable man.

But he has a nagging feeling that all that obedience isn’t good enough. He feels that he needs to do something more.

So he asks Jesus: “What must I DO to inherit eternal life?” He WANTS TO toil for God! He says, “Give me some task to do - I’ll do it!”

How does Jesus reply? Jesus does not tell him to go do some great feat requiring perseverance, danger, or hardship. Instead, He tells him to do the easiest thing in world. Indeed, all he has to do is to give one command to a servant, and it’s done.

And yet this easiest task in the world is exceptionally hard.

Jesus says, “Get rid of everything that you think shows that you are important. Give it away.” And Jesus does NOT say next, “Then you’ll be worthy of the task I give you.” Instead He simply says, “Then FOLLOW me.”

Jesus doesn’t want your striving. He doesn’t need your toiling. He wants your trust.

Those who don’t have faith in Christ strive to live up to some standard, and fail. They then either fool themselves into thinking they are what they aren’t, or they justify their failures - “I’m only human” - or they feel overwhelmed, finding it impossible to live up to their own standards.

What about Christians? What happens when we strive, apart from God’s power?

We too become burdened. We are so busy, we are working so hard, we are toiling and striving - and all the joy of the Christian life has left us. We get caught in a fog of unbelief, through which we can’t see God - so we go through the motions, saying all the right things, doing all the right things, but we’re not really trusting God. We are not striving with His power; we are flailing away with our own power. And so we are weary, burdened, wondering how in the world God’s work can go on without us.

To such people Jesus calls out:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Rest! That sounds wonderful!

But look at Jesus’ very next words:

Take my yoke upon you.

Try to imagine that you have never heard these words before. What would you expect Jesus to say after “I will give you rest”? You surely would not expect Him to say, “Now work like a beast of burden!”

So we might respond: “God, I’m burdened! I need rest - not a yoke! I can’t handle more hardship, more effort, and more hard work!”

What does Jesus say to this? He first of all goes on:

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me.”

He is the one who can teach us how to take up work and rest at the same time. For Jesus rested - and He worked.

And He goes on to say:

For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30)

So when faced with a task that must be accomplished, we are not to grit our teeth, saying, “Yes, I can! I can do it.”

We must admit: “I cannot do this! I am unable! In my natural self, I will fail!”

And turn to Him. He is our yokemate. It is HIS yoke. We are paired with Him. And He pulls. So when we pull - it’s really by his power.

That is how Colossians 1:29 continues: Paul says,

For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

This is the difference between the rich young ruler’s toiling and Paul’s toiling. Christ wasn’t at work in the rich young ruler. He as at work in Paul. And He works in us!

For, as Paul says earlier in Colossians, this is the mystery of the Gospel, the mystery hidden for ages, now revealed to all: Christ in you, the hope of glory.

As a runner relaxes every muscle except those involved in running, we must relax from our won efforts, and so that God works through us.

So do you need speed? Someone with more speed than Usain Bolt dwells in you, and is empowering you.
Do you need endurance? Someone with more endurance than Ryan Hall dwells in you and is empowering you.

And you need Him - every minute of every day. You need Him - at every task. At every task.

We have a tendency to think of God as our ace in the hole. We’ll pull Him out in desperate conditions, but outside of those relatively rare occurrences, we are fine, thank you. We consider ourselves reasonably bright, fairly well-read, somewhat talented, sufficiently educated, and overall pretty nice, good people who can accomplish quite a bit on our own. But we know that crises may come into our lives which we couldn’t handle - a death, a disability, a loss - and we know that eventually we will face that final crisis, our own death. We certainly acknowledge that we need God at those points. But the rest of the time? Our attitude is, “I’m ok. I can handle it.”

When you say that, you are like a runner talking back to his coach: “I run better when I clench my jaw. It feels natural for me to tighten my shoulders!”

You can’t run that way - and you can’t live the Christian life that way.

Every runner should trust his coach, even though that coach is fallible. But In the race of faith we have the perfect coach. And He tells us: “You do not have the resources to run this race. Don’t think you only need Me for the final five yards, to help you across the finish line. You can’t start without Me. You can’t accelerate without Me. You can’t maintain your speed without Me. Apart from Me you can do nothing. So look to Me! I’m pulling with you, making My yoke easy. You are not working for Me. I am working in you and through you, for My glory.”

Friends, this was revolutionary for me in the mid 1980’s when God first opened up these truths to me. I had thought of the Christian life as devoting time and energy to God’s cause. And I considered myself able to do much for Him. God first shattered my self-assurance by showing me I couldn’t even succeed in marriage apart from His power. Then he gave me a series of excellent teachers who explained, in somewhat different ways, these key biblical truths.

I have studied these truths time and again, and since have taught them repeatedly.

But listen: I still struggle with this!

When running the race of faith, I still clench my jaw and tighten my shoulders. That is, I still keep stepping out under my own power. I still fall too easily and too often into a prayerless striving, acting as if my hard work will accomplish God’s purposes.

Back when I used to run marathons, Beth and I would plan for her to drive to different sections of the course. I wanted not only her cheers, but also her observations, telling me if she noticed any tightness: “Your jaw is tight! Drop those shoulders!”

I still need similar reminders from you - “Rest in God! Trust Him! Lean on Him continually! Pray without ceasing!”

Conclusion

Where are you in this? My friend, you need these reminders too.

We will conclude with two final exhortations, two final reminders, to three types of people:

First: Are you striving to please God, hoping He’ll let you into His presence? There is no way you will ever impress God. There is no way you will ever please Him - apart from His work in you. Jesus says: “Come to me! Enter my rest! Stop all this counterproductive activity.” Admit that though God created you for His glory, You’ve toiled to glorify yourself. Admit that you are thus a sinner, deserving God’s judgment. Trust in Christ and in His death on the cross to cover your sin. Come to Him! Enter His rest.

Second: Are you saved, but caught up in the trap of trying to live up to the ideal Christian life on your own?

Or third: Do you - like me - have a right understanding of the biblical doctrines of salvation and sanctification, yet you keep leaning on yourself and not on God?

To these two groups, Jesus says the same:

“My yoke is easy. My burden is light. Depend on Me. Turn to Me for the strength to pull on this yoke. Rely on my Word. Trust My promises. I have begun a good work in you - I will complete it.”

Make every effort to enter God’s rest. And then: In the work He gives, lean, lean, lean on Him.

Trust His promises. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Even if you walk through the valley of shadow, He will be right there. In the daily temptations to anger, to annoyance, to lust, to pride - He is there, providing a way out.

So follow Him. Trust Him. Delight in Him. Relax. And work hard - by His power - in the race of faith.

The Ray Stedman quote is from What More Can God Say? (Regal, 1974), p. 52-53. It can also be found online at www.raystedman.org. The John Piper quote is from his sermon on Hebrews 4:1-11, which is available online here.

Posted by Coty Pinckney | Filed Under Blog, Sermons, The Race of Faith | 1 Comment

Why are my Pastors and Elders so Disappointing, and What Should I Do About It?

August 13, 2008

(This is a summary of the last sermon in the six-part series, “God Gave Pastors and Teachers,” preached on July 20, 2008. The audio is available here.)

What do you expect from a pastor?

What do you expect from an elder?

Consider this description of the perfect pastor found in various forms on the internet:

The perfect pastor works every day from 7am until midnight and is a wonderful family man. He is content with a salary of $100 a week, wears stylish clothes, drives a late-model car, buys plenty of books, and donates $100 a week to the church. He is 29 years old and has 30 years pastoral experience. He condemns sin roundly but never hurts anyone’s feelings. He is enthusiastic about missions, but never encourages anyone’s child to live the rest of his life overseas. He makes 5 visits daily to members’ families, visits shut-ins and the hospitalized, spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched, never misses a committee meeting, and is always in his office when anyone calls. That’s the perfect pastor.

People tend to have high expectations of pastors - and they are often disappointed. Some end up hopping from church to church, trying to find someone who fits their ideal. Others work hard to get rid of each inadequate pastor who comes to their church, expecting to be able to find someone better. But then after a few months or a few years, the next man proves just as disappointing.

Surely God doesn’t intend us to church hop, nor does He intend us to trade in our pastors for a newer model every two years.

How should you handle disappointment in pastors and elders?

This is the last sermon in a series on church leadership entitled “God Gave Pastors and Teachers.”

Last week, we discussed how the congregation should honor and esteem their pastors and elders, imitating their faith, and submitting to them joyfully and willingly:

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)

But we also saw that the congregation, in the end, is responsible for the church maintaining right doctrine, and is responsible for the church displaying the Gospel in its corporate life through its unity and purity.

How do these ideas go together? How can the congregation maintain right doctrine, and submit to its elders, if the elders are beginning to teach wrong doctrine?
How can the congregation maintain purity in the church and condemn sin if an elder sins and he is telling them to be quiet and submit to him?

Furthermore, what should you do as a church member if you are disappointed in an elder/pastor? You don’t think your disappointment is the result of unrealistic expectations. You realistically expected him to act one way, and now, he is acting another. When should you be quiet? When should you say something? To whom?

The Bible gives us some guidelines here, beautifully balancing our responsibility to submit with our responsibility to protect.

Last week, we briefly gave part of the answer, in saying that Hebrews 13:17 does NOT mean: “Do whatever your elder/pastor says at all times.” Instead, we summarized the right attitude toward elders with John Piper’s words:

a church should have a bent toward trusting its leaders; you should have a disposition to be supportive in your attitudes and actions toward their goals and directions; you should want to imitate their faith; and you should have a happy inclination to comply with their instructions.

We’ll explore these issues much more deeply today. Once again, there is not one passage that says it all. So we’ll be looking at a number of texts today. I encourage you to go back, look at the context of each, pray over the Word, take them all to heart.

We’ll look at this topic under three headings:

1) The Accountability of the Pastor/Elder: Five principles from 1 Corinthians 3 and 4

2) Dealing with Unfaithful Elders

3) Dealing with Disappointment in Elders

1) The Accountability of the Pastor/Elder: Five principles from 1 Corinthians 3 and 4

Paul has been discussing factions in the Corinthian church. Some folks have been lining up behind different leaders, including himself and a teacher named Apollos:

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 1 Corinthians 3:5-7

Principle 1) Leaders are ultimately only important because God uses them

Leaders are useful to the church ONLY because God supernaturally takes their words and ideas and Infuses them with power. The true church is not built because of leaders’ program ideas, personalities, talents, or experience. It is GOD’s choice to work through them. So the fundamental question about any leader: Is he yielded to GOD? Is he seeking GOD’s face? Is he asking God to work through him?

No one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw– 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. (1 Corinthians 4:1-5)

Principle 2) God will test each pastor/leader’s work on the Last Day

THAT is the pastor’s primary accountability. His accountability is not primarily to the congregation (”Tell me what you want me to do!”) nor even to himself (”This is how I know I can serve best!”) but to God (”This is how Scripture describes the Gospel ministry.”)

Principle 3) Elders/pastors are servants of CHRIST, not servants of the church

This principle is closely related to the second. Elders do indeed SERVE the church - they exist to benefit the church! - but they are not UNDER THE AUTHORITY of the church. Now, that doesn’t mean the congregation should refrain from communicating to pastor or elders how they may be helpful. He may well need to listen to that advice. But both the pastor and the congregation must realize: The congregation does not have authority to tell a pastor/elder how to operate his ministry.

Principle 4) God’s judgment of a man’s ministry will depend in large measure on factors that others cannot see.

1 Corinthians 4:5 says that God will bring to light what is hidden; He will disclose heart issues, such as: Is this man seeking God’s glory or his own? Is he praying, seeking God’s power, or depending on his own efforts? Since these unseen heart issues are so important, Paul says don’t judge. God will do so, with all the information, at the proper time.

Principle 5) Pastors/elders are stewards of the Gospel - and they therefore must keep the Gospel front and center

This is what Paul means when he says they are “stewards of the mysteries of God.” Not that they have some secret knowledge they guard that no one else has. But they have the GOSPEL! And it is precious. They must make it known. In Colossians 1:26, Paul makes clear that the central mystery of God is now revealed to ALL believers. He defines this mystery as “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” That is: God created man for His glory, but from the beginning the first man and woman rebelled against that purpose, setting themselves up as the measure of right and wrong. They and all their descendants were therefore subject to God’s just condemnation. But God sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty we all deserve for this rebellion. All those who trust in Christ’s blood alone for their standing before God are credited with the benefits of His death, and can live for all eternity, fulfilling mankind’s original purpose: To bring glory to God.

Pastors and elders must communicate the cross, the Gospel, through teaching, through preaching, through the way they live. That’s their responsibility.. That’s how God will judge them. EVERYTHING they do must be tied in to the Gospel.

Do you see how these principles free you?

In general, you are not responsible to judge your pastor’s performance of his responsibilities. It is not your responsibility to fix him, or to improve him. God may well use you in his life. There are things you may need to say to him that will be helpful.

But there’s much you don’t know. God knows all, and will judge all. Barring overt obvious sin, you are to leave the judging to God.

You are to honor, esteem, joyfully and willing submit, speak up when appropriate, live out the Gospel yourself, and trust God to work in him and through him to His glory.

2) Dealing with an Unfaithful Elders

God sets a high standard for elders:

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. ( Peter 5:1-4)

He warns not only elders and pastors but all teachers:

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. (James 3:1-2)

Furthermore, we know that elders can and do fail, as Scriptures show:

(Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders) 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert. (Acts 20:29-31, emphasis added)

Indeed, Paul makes provision for the public rebuke of an elder:

Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. (1 Timothy 5:19-20)

Therefore, we can never say “Obey your elders, whatever they may say.” The congregation must live out the mandates discussed last week: They are responsible for the church maintaining right doctrine; they are responsible for the church displaying the Gospel in its corporate life through its unity and purity.

While the congregation not responsible for fixing or improving pastors, it IS responsible for rebuking or dismissing a pastor for clearly wrong doctrine or for clear, obvious cases of sin.

In A Display of God’s Glory, p. 40-41, Mark Dever lays out a helpful categorization of matters facing churches. He divide issues on two criteria: Importance and clarity. All issues will fall into one of four quadrants; he then asks, What is role of the congregation and the elders in each?

For those matters that are unimportant and clear or unimportant and unclear, the church is free to decide any way it likes. The matter is unimportant!

For those matters that are important and unclear - such as, Is now the time to plant another church? What should the next sermon series cover? - there is considerable need for input and discussion, but in the end, the congregation must trust its leaders and follow them.

For those matters that are important and clear - such as what is the Gospel? What is sin? - the congregation has great responsibility. THESE are areas the congregation needs to be united around. If elders go astray here, the united congregation must step in and rebuke them. This should not take place over ambiguous, unclear issues or possible sins, but when there is a clear violation of the Gospel, or of the church’s statement of faith, or clear, obvious sin, the congregation must assert its authority.

Every church should have mechanisms in place to deal with such problems. Every church should have:

1) A system of financial accountability, separating pastoral and financial roles;

2) A covenant, in which members and elders explicitly agree to be subject to the church’s discipline;

3) Clear guidelines to follow on avoiding even the appearance of sexual impropriety.

If you’re a visitor, and your church doesn’t have such mechanisms, and you’re worried something wrong is going on, your first step should be to try to get accountability and transparency in place. Make that argument biblically. If the leadership is not willing to be accountable - that is, their disagreement with you is not over a specific method of accountability, but over having any accountability at all - then you should leave that church, even if nothing wrong is going on at present. That is a recipe for disaster.

But assuming such mechanisms are place: How does one deal with serious moral or doctrinal failure in an elder?

I can only mention but can’t discuss two important types of issues for time’s sake:

1) Criminal acts: Make sure you follow the law. Don’t cover up a crime. Don’t try to handle a crime on your own.

2) An elder who is overstepping his bounds, giving commands in your personal life, such as telling you to take a certain job, to marry a certain person, to live in a particular place.

Instead, we will focus on cases where an elder is clearly undermining the Gospel, either doctrinally through violating the church’s statement of faith, or in his life through clear, obvious, non-debatable cases of sin without repentance. In such cases, the church must rebuke the elder publicly, as we saw above in 1 Timothy 5:19-20. Consider also Matthew 18:15-17:

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Note that right after this, Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” And Jesus answers, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” Jesus is not telling us to avoid forgiveness. He is telling us to rebuke sin.

Note also that in Matthew 18 Jesus must be referring to obvious sin. For He assumes you are right in accusing your brother of sin. It must not be a matter of opinion. Jesus doesn’t even hold out the possibility that your brother explains what happened, and you’re now convinced no sin was involved. Jesus is here talking about cases of clear, obvious sin, such that when anyone else knows the details, they will agree that serious sin is involved.

If this sin is not so obvious and clear, or if the sin looks obvious to you, but others informed of the facts don’t agree with you, then Romans 14 come into play. The judgment is a matter of opinion:

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 ¶ Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. (Romans 14:10-13)

Do you see the importance of the sin being clear? The purpose of church discipline is to communicate the Gospel. The purpose of discipline is to enable the church to fulfill its threefold Gospel purpose: to express joy in Christ, to deepen joy in Christ, and to spread joy in Christ. That purpose is UNFULFILLED if there is clear wrong teaching, or clear wrong living by an elder. So discipline is intended to UNITE the church BEHIND THE GOSPEL, not to DIVIDE the church over matters of opinion and judgment.

Thus, the church should never attempt to discipline a member or elder over a matter of opinion, or over a debatable matter of interpretation.

But when clear sin is taking place, when there is clear false teaching, when there is no repentance, then, “Let him be to you as Gentile or a tax collector.” In such cases we are to treat the guilty, unrepentant person as an unbeliever, removing him from the church - and from any church ideally - hoping to push him to repentance. That is the goal.

Many churches and elders have experience in exercising godly, biblical discipline. It is wise for any church facing such an issue, particularly concerning a church leader, to seek the help, advice, wisdom, and guidance of such experienced pastors.

What if you’re in a church where false doctrine or obvious sin are going unpunished. And you can’t get rid of the erring elder - either because there is no mechanism to do so, or because the mechanism fails? That’s the time to leave.

So pastors/elders will be judged on the Last Day by God, and are accountable to Him. But pastors/elders who clearly deviate from core doctrines, or who engage in obvious sin, must repent or be removed by the congregation.

3) Dealing with Disappointment in Elders

What if you are disappointed in an elder, but the issue is not serious doctrinal error or obvious sin? Such disappointments might arise from:

The direction the church is headed
The way Sunday School is conducted
Issues in the service, or in the building,
The way pastors/elders allocate their time,
Doctrinal issues not in the church’s statement of faith
Possible sin which is not criminal and not obvious

Three points to remember:

1) Remember as we saw that the pastor/elder is GOD’s servant, not YOURS

2) Remember your responsibility is not to fix the pastor/elder, but to help the church achieve its purpose through its staying faithful to central doctrines and through its purity and unity.

3) Remember to be humble. In particular, remember that you don’t understand your pastor’s calling, his responsibilities, and his challenge in balancing those responsibilities as well as he does. Your pastor/elder probably has thought long and hard about how to serve well. He probably knows the Word well, and has studied the relevant passages about pastoral ministry in depth. He probably is well aware of his faults, limitations, and sins, and is trying to deal with them. So be humble! Acknowledge in your heart and verbally that you could be wrong. Look again at 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 and Hebrews 13:17. Ask yourself the questions from Piper’s summary of the congregation’s attitude towards its leaders. Make sure that both in intent and in outcome you are working to build up the church.

So, having remembered those things, if you are still disappointed, ask yourself:

Is it time forbear, or time to speak? We should be more likely to speak to an elder or pastor about matters that concern us in his life than with the typical church member. For the elder should be mature, and thus should be able to take criticism, even invalid criticism, and sort through it. Virtually every pastor I know welcomes responds positively to respectful, healthy criticism.

So don’t go to your pastor/elder saying, “You need to do X, Y, and Z much better!” Or, “I’m fed up; I’m leaving.” Indeed, never leave a church without seeking the prayer and counsel of the church’s pastors/elders, and going through an extended period of time praying for the elders.

Instead, use words something like these:

“Here are some issues we’re facing. We expected X to happen. What we see is Y. Help us here. Did we have wrong impressions? Is there a gap between your own goals and reality? Can we help to improve things in this area? (Note: Sometimes what frustrates us most about church is the very area where we should be serving.) “Know that we are committed here. But this is an important issue to us - important enough that if it is not resolved, we’re going to be quite uncomfortable. We want your prayers, your counsel, and your input. ”

If the issue is specifically related to the pastor/elder’s job performance: “We know that we only have an inkling of what it’s like to be a pastor. So take this advice knowing that we trust you to hear and to put what is right and possible into effect.”

That’s a way to communicate disappointment in a humble, submissive way. Churches benefit greatly if that type of communication happens.

If you communicate in this way and, in the end, must leave the church, you most likely will go with the prayers and blessings of the leadership. And that is the best way to leave a church.

Conclusion

God gave pastors and teachers. They are His gifts to His church. They are servants of Christ and stewards of the Gospel. A church must have Gospel-centered pastors and elders if it is to fulfill its purpose of expressing joy in Christ, spreading joy in Christ, and deepening joy in Christ.

But the church is made up of wandering, stupid sheep, and thus elders will disappoint members for two reasons:

1) Because the flock is made up of sheep with unrealistic expectations for leaders;

2) Because leaders themselves are sinful, limited, sheep.

So don’t be surprised at disappointments. If you’re not disappointed with Fred and myself today - you probably will be at some point soon.

But listen carefully: Every disappointment is an opportunity to display God’s glory. We are put in community in part so that we can live out forgiveness and forbearance when we do sin. God will use even our failures, even our limitations, even our sins to display His glory through is church.

Then we will see the cross that much more clearly. Then we will display the mysteries of God that much more fully. Then the world can see repentance, and faith, and love in new, different ways. Then those around us can see that we are far from perfect, but we are forgiven - and we forgive others - through the blood of Jesus.

That’s what we want to build here: Not a group of perfect pastors, elders, and members - we’ll never achieve that in this life. But a group of forgiven sinners, continuing to sin to our dismay, but continuing to point to the cross, repenting and seeking His face together, confessing and forgiving and loving each other and building each other up - so that even through my sins and failures, even through your sins and failures, we might all be built up in love, being equipped for the work of the ministry, being built up as the body of Christ, growing up into Him who is our head, until we all attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

That’s our calling. That’s our goal. That’s our destiny.

Posted by Coty Pinckney | Filed Under Blog, Sermons, church leadership | Leave a Comment

Stay Focused and Alert in the Race of Faith

August 13, 2008

(This sermon on Hebrews 12:1-2 was preached 8/10/2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)

You’ve trained for years. Day after day. Season after season. Long runs. Interval training. You’re prepared.

Now the opening ceremonies are over. Your Olympic race day has arrived.

Over the course of anywhere from a few seconds to a bit over 2 hours, you must put into play all you’ve learned; you must put into effect all the strength work, all the cardiovascular work you’ve done. One mistake, one brief loss of focus, one moment of indecision could set aside years of training.

What do you need to remember as you race in order to run to win?

How will you run the race?

A number of you have run in events where place is completely irrelevant. You’re not so much running AGAINST others in the race, as WITH them. Your goal is not to beat others, but to complete the distance, or to achieve a particular time.

Not so in the Olympic track events. In these races, time is almost irrelevant. Your only goal is to win the race. If you can win in a slow time - that’s fine.

In order to win, you have to beat your opponents, either mentally or physically. So, particularly in events 400m or longer, every coach hammers this point into his athletes’ heads: Your goal is to make the race develop in such a way that others can’t catch you, or to make the race develop in such a way that those who can catch you think they can’t.