Acts - Part 4
September 17, 2023
Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been looking at the Book of Acts and the way that the disciples & early believers started the church after Jesus was resurrected & went back to heaven.
Based on Jesus’ prediction in Acts 1:8 of “...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…”, we’ve been asking the question What would you do for the kingdom of God if you were given the unlimited power to do it?
The miraculous way that the Holy Spirit fell in the upper room and the supernatural ability that the disciples had immediately afterward makes it clear that this “power” that Jesus sent through the Holy Spirit is nothing short of a genuine SUPERPOWER. But often in our modern life, it makes the baptism of the Holy Spirit seem like it’s ONLY for the sake of supernatural, superhuman abilities. During this series, we’ve used this tag line: When the PEOPLE of God become filled with the SPIRIT of God they now have the power to DO the Christian life. But…
What if the baptism of the Holy Spirit isn’t just about the power to do superhuman things…but the power to have a NEW NORMAL in the Christian Life.
We talked about the new languages these disciples were given on the Day of Pentecost so that the people from all over the world could hear these uneducated men & women “declaring the wonders of God in [their] own tongue…” (Acts 2:11)
- We talked about the power that the Holy Spirit gave to Peter to speak out with eloquence & clarity in a demonstrably different way to his normal speech & behavior… “aren’t these the Galilean fishermen?!? How are they able to speak like this?”
- We talked about the BOLDNESS that was given to the first believers who were baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31).
But if you read the rest of Acts you see that for each of the Apostles mentioned… Peter, John, Phillip..then Saul, Barnabus and others… this way of thinking and speaking and acting wasn’t just a momentary miracle of superhuman ability, it became the new NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE.
Let’s read together about the new “Normal Christian Life” that Acts talks about, I think we’ll find that the new normal for the 1st century believers was exactly what we need here & now in the 21st century.
Acts 6:1-8 Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. 6 And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.
7 The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. …
NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE:
● Taking care of the widows/orphans: social justice being done without losing the importance of the Gospel.
● The group took on responsibility…NOT just a few people doing everything: Share ministry, responsibility, activity
● Positive administration, logistics & planning.
● Continued spread of the Gospel
● Great wonders & signs
Acts 8:26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) 27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.”
NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE:
● Hearing directly from God / the Holy Spirit
● Obeying immediately
● Sharing the Gospel with individuals...even opportunity for sharing with royalty & dignitaries.
● We have NO IDEA what amazing things came from this ‘high ranking official’ going back to his home nation to share the Gospel. Likewise, when we obey to share the Gospel with someone, we often can’t know how this will impact future generations… but the fact remains that “I obey, right away” as the new normal has great impact for the Gospel.
Acts 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.
NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE:
● Living in peace
● Being built up / encouraged (as opposed to discouraged, depressed, downcast)
● Living in the fear AND comfort of the Lord
The next one is from Acts 10. In Acts 10:1-8, we find a GENTILE named Cornelius who was a Roman centurion but who also greatly feared God. Cornelius has a vision where he is instructed to go to a certain city & look for Peter… so he sends 3 of his best guys to find Peter.
Acts 10:9 On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; 11 and he *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, 12 and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. 13 A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” 15 Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.
17 Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; 18 and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. 19 While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.” 21 Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?” 22 They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.” 23 So he invited them in and gave them lodging.
Now before we get into the normal Christian walk stuff, let’s unpack this a moment: Peter is up on the roof praying at about noon, sees a vision of a bunch of animals (both clean & unclean) and is told to eat. He is HORRIFIED as a devout Jew … but as the story unfolds, he eventually gets the picture (what is it with this guy & stuff repeated 3 times!?!?), then Cornelius’s guys show up & he begins to realize REALLY what the dream meant: God is taking the Gospel to the Gentiles too.
As the story progresses into the rest of the chapter & the next, It’s obvious that God is truly democratizing the Gospel – bringing it from something that is exclusively Jewish & including all the Gentiles as well.
And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him. 24 On the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered,
This moment right here… when Peter steps across the threshold of Cornelius’ house, this is called “the lynchpin of the Gospel”... like a hinge, opening the door to ALL humanity to receive Christ instead of Jews only. If
NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE:
● Learning to Hear from God & obey even if it’s difficult
● Learning to ACT according to God’s will & not simply man’s traditions. ● Ability to share even to those we disagree with or find ‘hard’ to like… ● Crossing “racial” boundaries & norms so the Gospel can flourish.
Acts 10:44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. 45 All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, 47 “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” 48 And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days
The NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE takes on new meaning, authority and a supernatural ability to DO what has previously NOT been possible.
We’ll definitely have to explore this further… To Be Continued!