Jeremiah 6:16 (New Living Translation)

This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.

The old way isn’t the relevant way. The old way isn’t the technological way. It is the ancient way as some translations quote this verse. It is the way of prayer, communion, and actually reading your Bible to know God. It is a return to the fundamental basics of loving God enough to actually spend time with Him…to love God enough to pursue a greater relationship with Him.

The young preachers of my day are guilty of not spending any time talking about such things today…but they are starting to. Just recently I was asked to review a book in which the author says that God is calling for a new reformation…and yet this reformation is not so new…The author is calling for a reformation of the great commandment to “love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” He is calling for us to go back rather than forward. If I’m being honest, all I could think about while reading this was, “He is just coming to this conclusion now in his life?”

For all of our zeal and fire in trying to evangelize the world, my generation struggles in the basics. We want to run before we walk…and we’ve become somewhat palsied because of it. That is why we lack in power and in the Spirit.

Jeremiah 6:19 (New American Standard)

Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their plans, because they have not listened to My words, and as for My law, they have rejected it also.

Look at the description of what the Lord says that the disaster will be…the fruit of their plans. That’s the truth. The other translations describe it as “the fruit of our schemes”, “the games that you are playing”, and “the fruit of your thoughts”…whatever way you want to look at it…the one thing you better come to grips with is that there is only one way…and that is God’s way. All other roads lead to destruction.

We must go back to go forward! We must return to prayer and Bible reading and get to know the God of the Bible…not the God of our imagination. We must abandon our God-less plans and pursue a life-long relationship with Jesus Christ. We must seek the ancient ways and the old ways. We must develop a closer relationship with God by depending on the great “I AM”…not some program. God is a relational being and delights to know us…He delights in loving us…He delights in doing good to us…but make no mistake about God’s plan…God’s plan is to reconcile the world to himself by transforming and conforming the world into the image of Christ. That is priority number one…because whatever isn’t conformed and transformed will be burned up in the eternal fires of hell.

Acts 8:27-31

So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

This wasn’t coincidence that Philip met this man on the south road…this was a God ordained moment. Philip is living the adventure of his life…Literally God is leading him in the way he should go…and listen…that is how it is…you don’t know what you are doing next sometimes…sometimes you are just told to go…so you do it…and it leads to great experiences and it leads others to Christ.

I think what I loved the most in this scenario is the fact that Philip could’ve stayed in Samaria. After all Samaria was hopping with excitement while Philip was there. It doesn’t make any sense to leave a place where you have found absolute success. But hear me…God so loved Ethiopia that He sent Philip away from a successful city wide ministry and back onto the “desert road.”

Acts 8:1-4 (New King James Version)

Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.

Stephen is dead. That chapter is over. Now we are introduced to the man that for all purposes sat in the back and watched as a council of spiritless preachers stoned a man to his death. The scripture now desires to label Saul as a man that was pleased or consenting to the death of Stephen. Saul understood why they were stoning him and absolutely agreed that it needed to be done. For Saul, however, it was really more than that…You see something stirred up inside of Saul. Something resonated with his soul to see justice done to those that would rail blaspheme against God and God’s people. Something stirred up inside of him to do what he believed to be right…

There is nothing more dangerous than a young man/woman with a passion to see justice.

So Saul terrorizes the church…chasing them down and imprisoning men and women everywhere. He was relentless…the scripture says that he made “havoc” of the church and scattered its followers…the result is underground churches that are scattered like the wind.

Let me read to you how the Message Translation reads…

Acts 8:3-4 (Message Bible)

And Saul just went wild, devastating the church, entering house after house after house, dragging men and women off to jail. Forced to leave home base, the followers of Jesus all became missionaries. Wherever they were scattered, they preached the Message about Jesus.

Did you catch that? “The followers of Jesus all became missionaries…”

Here is one thing we have in common with the “Acts Church”…we struggle to be evangelistic and missional…we usually aren’t evangelistic and missional unless we are pushed to be…let me remind you that it is in the first chapter of Acts that we see this mandate made by Jesus…

Acts 1:8 (New King James Version)

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

This is God’s redemptive plan of action…That you will receive power…when…the Holy Spirit has come upon you…and this is directly related to being a witness to God and for God. Some of you today wonder where has the Spirit of the Lord gone from our churches here in America…it could be quite possible because we are misusing its power for our well-being than the well-being of those God has called us to serve? I’m not saying that we don’t have healing services…I’m not saying that we don’t have moments of when the Holy Spirit falls on us to use the gifts that God has given us…what I am saying is that the power given to us when the Holy Spirit falls is first and foremost given to us so that we might evangelize and energize the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others! The more you become like Christ, the less self-serving you will become. Christ lived to serve…and so it should be found in us. It’s then that God will honor His promise to send us power from on high…and when that power comes we will know to use it for what it was intended to be used for…the enlargement of God’s kingdom…and not our churches…

It took the church quite some time to get outside the four walls. Miracles are happening all over the place. Great things are happening…but it was never God’s plan that it stay right there in Jerusalem. It was never God’s plan that the church be inclusive. The Churches responsibility and mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ…to our community first, then to the surrounding communities, and then to the rest of the world. That is His plan…that is His mission…and if you are a follower and disciple of Christ…then it is yours.

So when the Church fails to get outside of its comfort zone…when it fails to bring the Good News to its neighbor…God makes a way… Death in this life is no punishment, Hell is punishment. God is so willing that none should perish and that all know that Jesus is Lord that he allows men like Saul to be birthed into being…men that have a will and passion to see the church in havoc…men that have a passion to see the church destroyed…because listen…the church never left Jerusalem. They were told that they were supposed to…but they didn’t. It took this persecution to create missionaries.

Acts 6:9-15

Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Opposition arose…That is the nice way to say it.

More and more the religious elite could see their influence and credibility slipping through their fingers. Men were leaving the broken down law driven system and yearning for the freedom of Christ. Wouldn’t you? Even today there are still churches that operate under giant legalistic terms…you’ve got to talk this way, walk this way, dress this way…that isn’t the gospel. The Gospel declares that God is a forgiving God and is understanding that you don’t have it all together. God knows you are messed up. God knows it’s easier for some of us to create a rule based system to follow because we don’t naturally want to follow God.

My wife likes to say it like this, “People are coming to church…conforming to a set of rules…but their heart isn’t being transformed by the Holy Spirit.” What wonderful wisdom that is. Well here is what it looks like. Stephen is the example here of what you are supposed to look like as a disciple of God…because he is a regular guy. He is a 3^rd generation Christian…

Notice how the religious elite try to argue with Stephen…but it goes nowhere. So they stir up the people to gossip…because if there is one thing that hasn’t changed in 2000 years…it’s gossip. Gossip is a formable business these days. We have magazines, TV programs, and websites everywhere dedicated to bringing the latest gossip to the forefront. We feed off of it and call it entertainment today.

They produced false witnesses…I think the Bible is too kind here…they produced liars that were willing to falsely condemn men to death. These men aren’t religious men at all…they are men of money, greed, power, and corruption. They have abused the system for the gain…

So they brought Stephen before the entire council…

There he is standing in the center…the hateful stares of spiritless preachers…Pastor Rick Dubose, the North Texas District Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, once said, “There isn’t a man meaner in the world than a man of God that has lost the anointing.” Can you imagine this scene? Stephen is standing in the center of the room with most likely the full knowledge of what they have said and done. He doesn’t deserve this…but he is facing it. Can you relate? Some of you have been in situations in your life where you didn’t deserve the situation…but you had to face it.

So the council looks down on him…they stare down their noses…having plotted this entire event. What do they see? Do they see a man bitter about the situation that he is in? Do they see a man that has no heart for them? Do they see a man standing before them ashamed and not confident in his God?

No…

They see him standing there and the scripture records his face was like an angel…and listen…last I checked in scriptures in the Bible…angels appeared heavenly, holy, and terribly frightening…

I long for the day where men of God will bear the countenance of these heavenly beings again…Preachers used to be terribly frightening men/women…they used to have a great deal more zeal for what God thought…and a lot less for what men thought…

One such man was George Fox…I don’t suspect many of you have ever heard of him…

George Fox was born in 1624 in England. George was 11 years old when he surrendered his heart to the Lord and grew up to be a frightening preacher. He was born long after the Reformation fires had burned out. The clergy of that time had given themselves an abundance of education…but also comfortable living. So fox began preaching…He had little education, no training, and no advantages of any kind. However, the Spirit of God was on George Fox…It is recorded about George that when he preached men got the shakes. The name Quaker was given to Fox and his followers because of the quaking of the men/women who came to hear him preach.

In reading this man’s biography I loved how the writer make this statement about George Fox, “Though he made others shake…no man could make him shake.”

Where are the great men/women of God that are willing to take a stand on what is right? We are dealing with lives in the balance. How much do we love those that we are called to save? Do we love them enough to tell them the truth? Jesus did! More than ever today we are in need of discernment. We need God to reveal to us today who needs to be talked to like the lady at the well…and who needs the tongue lashing like the Pharisees.

Lord grant me the courage to stand boldly, as Stephen did, and proclaim your Way, Truth, and Life!

Acts 8:9-11 (New American Standard)

Now there was a certain man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city, and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from the smallest to the greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.

“Claiming to be someone great…”

Interesting, really? I don’t think so. I think we’ve heard this dog and pony show before. Many claim to be great but that is how you know that they aren’t really so great. For the most part we recognize it when someone has a better view of themselves than others do…we call it arrogance…or pride.

And here is the thing…

You might have some gift like Simon does. He had a gift of creating awe inspiring moments (our modern day media pastor)…but He was using it for his own glory and not God’s…and that is how it is, isn’t it? In the church we see gifted people all of the time…but do they have a pure heart? Are they using the gift that God gave them to reflect the glory of God?

Each one of us possess gifts from God…to some it’s obvious…to others, not so much…but in all things if you are in the full knowledge of Christ…it is your responsibility to use your gift in a way that edifies the body of Christ to the glory of God! We are not an independent people that are just allowed to gallivant freely and use our gift to wherever we see fit. We are servants of the Most High God! We must seek His will for our life…and that includes our gifts as well…

Many today don’t seek God out when using their gifts…they are just seeking the attention of man and hoping to fill in that missing gap with their unique gift or talent. They wield their God given gift around as if they weren’t bought with a price and as if it’s theirs to use for their own glory. Its’ dangerous business…and usually one that leads to depression, doubt, fear…and worst of all it distances you from God.

When I was called into ministry, the Lord blessed me with a great zeal for Him and His word. He also had blessed me years earlier, before I was saved, to be a musician. Now here is what I experienced early on in my ministry; my calling to pastor was there. It was strong and I knew it with all my heart…but also there in my heart was music. I loved music. All music. Music was my passion, my heart, and my soul. I preached for about a year or so before I was offered an opportunity to play music on a greater scale. Now I am going to be honest…I have never felt that music was what God specifically called me to do…but at that time my passion for the music was greater than my passion for God. So I jumped on the opportunity…and let me say…it was a short and successful run at it. We, as a band, did well in the music scene…but it was some of the most miserable years that I’ve ever gone through. At the end of that run, I literally cut the strings on my guitars…sold my amps and equipment…and quit for a few years….

I didn’t understand that God was to be my source. I didn’t understand that my gift was given to me so that I would edify Christ and it wasn’t given to me so that I could use it self-servingly. In the end, and I am just being honest here, I was loving myself more than I was loving God. I was loving my gift more than I was loving God…and I was hoping that since God was my message, that He would also make the music more than what it was…which was man-centered.

But before I bare all the weight…let me point to the next thing that is important we recognize…The scripture says twice that they “gave him attention”. We all play our part in bloating the egos of men/women when we can’t discern those that are fishing for attention and compliments. Simon was constantly before the people, which is where he wanted to be, but the scripture is specific that the people liked being in front of him and further added to his ego. They gave him the attention he wanted but that isn’t what he needed.

As I was researching all of this I couldn’t help but think of Absalom, David’s first born. He too needed to be before the people at all times too. He played into the hands of evil men because he loved to be exalted and praised greater than he loved wisdom. 2^nd Samuel 14:25 records the fact that the people praised him for his wonderful beauty…and yet is was his beautiful hair that hung him to his death. Vanity runs deep within our veins and we are need of a great God now more than ever to deliver us of this great disease.

Let us move on and we’ll come back to this in a little bit…

Acts 8:12-13 (New American Standard)

But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. And even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip; and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.

“But when they believed Philip preaching the good news…”

Listen…they might have been entertained…they might have been fooled…they might have settled for a cheap imitation of joy while they watched Simon the Magician…but when they heard the good news…that is when the real rejoicing began. If you’ll remember it was just a few verses ago that the scripture says that the entire city rejoiced at the coming of Philip…because he brought the good news with him…gospel good news, amen? They might have been lost in sin with the magician…but now they are alive in Christ! I love it! Even the magician got saved! Simon couldn’t deny what was happening. He was witnessing it firsthand…this was no mere magicians trick…this was the mysterious King of Glory. Simon was a magician and yet he could spot no sleight of hand…this was a power he had not known…this wasn’t some form of trickery. This was God!

Acts 8:14-17 (New American Standard)

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.

There are whole theologies wrapped up in these verses…

Samaria had received the word, they were baptized, but they hadn’t been baptized by the Spirit. These are great differences and every Christian should have a basic understanding of this. I’m not going to get into this one…but I think it is worth your investigation to look into this. Also, in reading and researching this, I find it very interesting that the Spirit didn’t immediately come to them as they heard the word like it did in Acts chapter 2. The Spirit fell as the apostles laid hands…and here is a great fact…

You don’t get to define how the Spirit moves. You don’t get to control the Spirit. It comes precisely when it wants to and to whomever it wants to. You don’t get to wield it as a power given to you to maintain and monitor. It is the power of God and a Comforter to His people. The Spirit isn’t defined by one event like in Acts 2…in this case it is received as the apostles laid hands on the people. So it is reasonable to say that the Spirit can fall corporately and it can also fall on an individual’s separately. I bring that up so that we remember not to place God in a box. Just because the Spirit fell like it did in Acts 2 doesn’t mean that it’s going to fall like that every time we have service. If anything, that should be a good reminder of who is in control and who isn’t…

Acts 8:18-24

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that if possible the intention of your heart may be forgiven of you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

Now we are at the root…

Now we are seeing the heart of Simon…

Luke 6:45 (NIV)

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

I think Simon genuinely wants to help people. I think he is gifted in being a man that can grab the attention of the people. It would be all too easy to demonize him. But listen…The man that used to live off the attention of others is now trying to live the Gospel of Christ which tells you that you must die to your fleshly desires. The Christian life is about living a life that exalts the God of heaven…it is what we were created for! It’s hard. It isn’t easy to lay ourselves down before God. It isn’t easy to give God our gifts, our dreams, and our desires. However, it is the key to true joy and happiness.

Sometimes to get to that point we first must address the issues that keep us from living it…

Peter said it like this, “Your heart isn’t right.” Sound familiar. I hope so, because I think it is something that is all too familiar. For Simon, his unhealthy heart is exposed as bitterness…and bitterness isn’t pretty. It festers and grows until you are isolated…because no one wants to be around someone that is always bitter. Simon is bitter because it isn’t all about him anymore. It isn’t about what he can do and he is really having a hard time dealing with that. So he reaches out and out of his own heart the issue is exposed. Now Simon is going to have to deal with this, no doubt about it and there are many people out there just like him…

And listen…Peter is speaking in love here…might be a little harsh but it is still in love…but that is what love looks like. Yes love receives us like we are…but love also helps us to become greater than we are. That is what Christ is doing in us. He is working those things out. It hurts. It’s painful. We don’t like it sometimes when the contents of our heart are poured out for all to see…but that is what it takes to be conformed unto Christ.

I said we would come back to the first series of scriptures…so let’s do that real quick…

Acts 8:9-11 (New American Standard)

Now there was a certain man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city, and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from the smallest to the greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.

“Who formally was practicing magic…”

Change…that is what it looks like…We lay ourselves before the cross of Christ with our hearts exposed to embrace the change that is going to come from within. Simon formally practiced magic…he used to be one way…now he is another. Is Simon’s road going to be difficult? Yes, but isn’t most of this life difficult? Since I’ve became a follower of Christ…this life has been difficult…because I have had to lay down much of who I was to become what He wants me to be…which is more like Jesus.

What in your life is going to be exposed to you in 2010? What are the things in your life that are in need of change or correction?

Acts 6:6

They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

The ministry of the “laying of hands” has been around since the early church. Praise God that it is still alive and well. There is something about laying hands on someone and praying for them. Do I believe that God can touch someone without laying hands on someone? Absolutely! However, when we touch someone, it’s as if we share in their burden…we partake of their passions…and we become one in spirit. We lay hands symbolically to convey a transfer of power, anointing, and blessing…but we also convey love, sympathy, and compassion.

Acts 6:1

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

The Church was growing by leaps and bounds and here is a lesson to be learned. Anytime an organization balloons in growth there are always going to be leadership gaps. The scripture says that the number of the disciples was increasing daily. More people equal more problems…and that is precisely what we see happening as widows are being overlooked…but before I address that…let’s look at the heart of what is happening here…

“The Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews…”

A Grecian Jew was someone that wasn’t born in Israel. They were born from another area and were sometimes looked at as lesser Jews. Obviously the Hebraic Jews were born in Israel and often paraded themselves as the authentic thing. So what you have here is prejudicial acts in the church. One race of people claiming to be better than the others…but listen are now under the blood of Christ trying to reconcile differences in the church…and here is the thing…that is going to breed problems…but the intentions here are great. God is breaking down barriers. Normally the Grecian Jews wouldn’t have attended a Hebraic synagogue because Grecian Jews speak Greek…Hebraic Jews spoke Aramaic. However, under the leadership of the Apostles we see some of the first ever bilingual services happening and we are seeing some of the problems that are in need of being worked out.

Last thing I want to look at here is the fact that there was some form of ministry that included distributing food to widows on a daily basis. The early church tackled the responsibility of taking care of widows, orphans, and the poor. Literally from the beginning…we’re only in chapter 6 here…there seems to be a ministry that helps people. That’s important. This is the heart of God. You’ve heard me say it over and over. My heart is helping people. I want to help the poor and downtrodden of our society. I want use our abundance of resources and supplies in an effort to grow the kingdom. I want to bring Jesus to the heart of the poor and needy…and so should you.

Jeremiah 1:19

Just started reading through Jeremiah yesterday...noticed this...

Acts 5:40-42

They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

Acts chapter 4 started with the healing of a crippled man lying helpless at the gate of the temple. It started spectacular. It started with momentum. Peter and John find themselves having an overnight stay in a jail cell because of it…but God delivered them and by the next day they are out.

Let me interject that we have an understanding that the world isn’t going to always get our message…as a matter of fact we are told by Jesus that they are going to hate us for it. So the apostles aren’t surprised when the religious sect that crucified Jesus throws them in jail. However, chapter 5 starts out with an internal issue in the church that doesn’t sit well with God and a harsh reality sets in on the church that God will reveal our hearts publically. Ananias and Sapphira die because their pride had swollen their eyes shut. God once again answers mightily and the church is saved from the inside out.

So the Word of God prevails and travels onward capturing the souls of men, women, and children from all over Jerusalem…but the religious elite are going down without a fight…so the apostles find themselves in jail again. This time, however, God sends an angel to deliver them…and once again they are out and about preaching the Gospel.

What is my point?

God anointed them to heal the sick…it lands them in jail…God delivers them. God exposes a married couple in the church as frauds and killed them dead as an example to others and saves the apostles from having to deal with the issue. The apostles continue to preach the Gospel which lands them in jail again…God delivers them in the form of sending an angel…

This time, however, they might have been spared a return to jail…but they took a beating.

Did you hear that? They were beaten…

God chose not to deliver them of the beating. Did they deserve it? No! Yet that didn’t move the hand of God.

There are some theologies out there today that actually make people think that they will never suffer…or that God is going to deliver them out of every circumstance. I don’t know where that comes from…but I know it has to end. Suffering is a great teacher…one that we don’t like…but it often reveals what is actually in our heart.

Probably one of the most notable people in the Bible associated with suffering is Job. Job suffered. If you know his story…then you know at the end of his suffering he makes this statement…

Job 42:5

“My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.”

Job could tell you more about God than any of his friends…and in the end his friends have to rely on his knowledge of God to pray for them and seek God for them. Suffering is a great teacher…far greater than we give credit for…