The Servant of All

In a church structure, there should be a number of leaders, or elders. The leadership of the church is a group of people, although there is a leader amongst that group. We need to be sensitive to what God wants to do. He is building His church, and we need to build a structure that allows Him to do what He wants to do among the congregation. We are ambassadors for Christ and we should share His good news with others who don’t know Him. There is a hurting world out there. We should share our faith and proclaim the Gospel. That is always paramount with what we do in the church because that is what Jesus wants us to do.

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1 Peter 5:1-3

That is a description of what an elder is, or the leader of a church. They have a responsibility to feed the flock. What is an elder’s function? What are the qualifications for being an elder? They are the servant of all. God appoints whom He will, so He inspires who we appoint as elders.

The word ‘feed’ can be translated as to shepherd the flock of God. All the words used in the Bible to describe leaders in the church – overseer, pastor, bishop – are essentially describing one job. It isn’t that there are separate jobs in the functioning of a church. There have to be people who are in leadership over individual churches.

Titus 1:5

Acts 14:21-23

Appointing elders was not something random – it was very serious. It was the church of God, and it wasn’t done lightly. There are many other scriptures that show that the early church appointed elders.

Acts 6:3-4

God is directing his church, so those leading the church must be able to minister the word.

1 Timothy 5:17

There is no point having someone in leadership who does not know the Word of God and who is not clear on doctrine.

1 Timothy 3:4-5

Hebrews 13:17

The leaders of the church need to watch for the church’s souls. They are accountable for people’s souls and they have to look out for them. They should be aware of the circumstances in a person’s life that God might be working them through for the benefit of their souls.

Hebrews 13:7

It matters how the leader lives his life.

Acts 20:28

It is God’s church. It is not the leader’s church.

Ephesians 4:11-12

Elders are leaders which have the capacity to teach the Bible correctly.

1 Timothy 3:2

At the end of Jesus’ life He spoke to Peter and told him three times: ‘Feed my sheep’.

Jashua 5:13-15

Titus 1:9

There is a protection, where you have the leadership of the church who know about sound doctrine. Part of caring to the flock of God is protecting them from false teachings.

There is also a certain amount of discipline involved in being an elder or a teacher.

Matthew 18:15-17

If someone will not put something right, the leadership will be involved with it.

1 Peter 5:2-3

Someone in leadership does not have the church as his private workforce.

1 Timothy 3:1-13

The qualifications in leadership are very clear from that passage.

Titus 1:6-9

The job description for someone in leadership is clear. It should be that with a leader, what you see is the truth. There is no double life. They should be faithful, and fully aware of their responsibility before God to outwork what He wants from them, as God builds his church in his way and his time.

1 Peter 5:1-6

It is God who exalts you. All of us should be faithful, reliable and trustworthy. God will help us progress in our lives because all that we are and do is as unto God.

Matthew 23:11-12

Jesus, as our example, made Himself of no reputation. He took upon Himself the form of a man, so that He could go through life and end His life on the cross as the servant of all.

Leaders should be beyond reproach both inside and outside the church, and should be the servant of all.

John 10:9-11

Cast all your care upon him, because He cares for you.

Acts (Part 1 of 4) - The Early Church

This is a very significant time to be studying the book of Acts.

I obtained a book called the Outline Bible some time ago. It gives a synopsis of each book of the Bible. The author says that Acts is the only unfinished book in the Bible.

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Tonight we’ll look at Luke, the author of the book, and then we’ll look at the theology. We want this to be relevant to our lives.

Acts 28:30-31

The book ends up with the fact that there was no hindrance to the proclamation of the Gospel. We are here because this is the church age. Time will end when the church is complete.

It’s exciting to study the book of Acts, because it is primarily about the church. This book should be called the Gospel of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel of the resurrection, the Acts of the ascended and glorified Lord.

Acts talks much about Paul. He wasn’t an apostle who met with Jesus. But the book is to do with the acts of the ascended and glorified Lord. It deals with the early church, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, how God moved, how evangelisation took place, how the Gentiles were included, and the emergence of the early church.

We’ll take themes from the book of Acts, and we’ll focus on the Holy Spirit. We need to be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit wants to do in us individually and collectively.

In the Old Testament, we are mainly aware of the activity of God the Father, in the creation, the flood, the calling of Abraham etc.

Then we have the four Gospels, mainly about God the Son, manifesting God in the flesh.

Acts looks mainly at the activity of God the Holy Spirit.

We need to be careful how we refer to the Holy Spirit. We readily assume God the Father, and then the Son – down a bit from the Father. And the Holy Spirit is just “somehow” there. We’re aware of the Trinity, but if you put God in front of each one – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, it helps put the Holy Spirit in His rightful place. That’s why when you read the verse about grieving the Holy Spirit, it allows for that respect and dignity.

In acts we look at the activity of God the Holy Spirit.

We know the Spirit was present in creation. He moved through key individuals, and caused men to write the scriptures. 66 books all inspired by God’s Holy Spirit – God the Holy Spirit. The prophecy running through the Old Testament was that a day was coming when the Spirit of God would be poured out on all flesh.

Joel 2:28-32

That day was coming. It was prophesied. And in Acts we come to the occasion in time when the Holy Spirit was given.

John 7:37-39

There you have it again – the fact of the Spirit being promised and given.

Luke 24:45-49

And again – the promise of the Spirit. And God the Holy Spirit is the one who makes you emboldened, secure, as a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Acts we’ll see how when the Spirit came they were emboldened to be that witness.

Who wrote Acts? It was written by Luke. He wrote the Gospel and the Book of Acts, and you could treat them as one book. He wrote 40% of the New Testament. Luke and Acts are a two-part volume of one book.

We think of the Gospels as being written by those who walked with Jesus, but Luke didn’t. He was a doctor, an educated Greek. He was careful to pinpoint in history where everything happened.

Luke 3:1

You can’t get more specific than that. He intended to make things accurate and careful. This was the method by which the documents in the first century were regularly dated. Luke/Acts is the first attempt at an historical record of the Christian movement from the inside.

We’ve looked recently at the martyrdom of Stephen, and how vivid the account was. The criterion of the appointment of the seven deacons was that they should be filled wit the Holy Spirit. Elsewhere Luke uses eye-witness accounts. He goes in for thorough investigation, and claims that he was guided by the Holy Spirit.

We have two volumes of one book with a structured account of the life of Jesus, and then the growth of Christianity in Acts.

Luke 1:1-4

The Gospel was addressed to a particular individual and was an account of the life of Jesus. Now let’s look at how Acts starts :-

Acts 1:1-2

Luke was written to Theophilus and so was Acts. Luke refers back to the Gospel in the opening of Acts.

At the end of Acts, there’s an unfinished work. But look at the end of Luke :-
Luke 24:49-53

They went back to the Jerusalem, and it was there they were endued with power.

So you can see the link between the two books.

There are several possible divisions of Acts ...

In the first division, we see Chapters 1-12 dealing with the beginning of the church around Jerusalem, where the focus is on the leadership of Peter and John. And then the rest of the book deals with the expansion into the Roman empire, focusing on Paul and Barnabas.

Another division is to see Acts 1-7 referring to Jerusalem, 8-10 to Samaria and Judea, and 11-28 to the ends of the earth. You’ve thrown a rock in a pool and the ripples are spreading out, and the ripples are still happening, and one of them is here tonight. It’s exciting to study this as a church in the 21st century, each wanting to do what God wants in our lives.

A third division sees the book as six panels, each divided by the Holy Spirit bringing a close to that section, and at the end of each you change up a gear. More people join the church ... and more ... and more. You get a sense of what God is doing to establish the bride of Christ.

Under this division, the first section runs from 1:1 to 6:7, where we have a description of the primitive church in Jerusalem, its preaching, common life and the opposition. Everything is Jewish. The early believers continued in association with the synagogues – and you can understand that.

But now it was to go out from Jerusalem to the Gentiles – and a completely different mindset was required. Peter was required to eat something which he had always seen as unclean, but God said it was clean, and Peter realised he was caught up with the maelstrom of the church reaching out to the Gentiles.

In your own life, be careful if God brings across your path someone who you thought was beyond salvation. Woe betide us if we pigeonhole people. These people are those for whom Jesus died. Be open to what God wants to do through you in sharing the Gospel.

Acts 6:7

That marks the end of the first section, and things go up a gear. The number of disciples multiplied.

The next section runs from 6:8 to 9:31. Here we go out geographically to those activities carried out by the Hellenists, the Greek-speaking Jewish Christians. It includes the conversion of Paul who was a Hellenist Jew.

Acts 9:31

The ripple goes out again – Judaea, Galilee and Samaria.

The next section is 9:32 to 12:24, and gives a description of the first expansion to the Gentiles. The key is the conversion of Cornelius. His conversion was through Peter, not through the Hellenists. Peter was Jew, and it was a direct intervention of God.

Acts 12:24-25

Again the Word of God grew and multiplied.

Did this multiplication take place only in the early church to launch it? Is it a thing of the past? Obviously there was a start. But what are we looking for now in this church? We’re looking for what God wants to do here. That will involve preaching this Word so that faith will be engendered in others and so that others will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. The problem will be finding room for all the people.

The next section runs from 12:25 to 16:5. It describes the first geographical expansion into the Gentile world with Paul as leader. The church meets in counsel and does not reject its Gentile brothers, nor does it lay Jewish ritual practices on them. They had to come to terms with what was going on. Did they force these practices on people, or did they accept that God was pushing things out to the Gentile world? It shook their thinking.

Acts 16:4-5

Increased – multiplied. At the end of each section, there’s gathering momentum.
The next section runs from 16:6 to 19:20 and shows the expansion into Europe.

Acts 19:20

The final section runs from 19:21 to the end of the book, and describes the events which moved Paul and the Gospel on to Rome. Three times Paul is declared innocent of any wrongdoing.

The key to understanding this book of Acts is Luke’s interest in this momentum, in the switch from Jerusalem out to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Something similar happened with the Moravians, with them moving ever outwards, and you end up with Moravian missions in the Pacific islands. I believe people will go out from this church, and missionaries will go out.

Luke’s interest in the growth of the church means he doesn’t go into things you might have expected. He doesn’t go into biographical details. He doesn’t talk about church organisation. There are no details about how the deacons were appointed. We have principles in church organisation, but it’s not written down. He doesn’t explain how leadership passed from Peter to James. There’s no talk of Crete, etc, etc. He seems to know what he was going to write, and it was a direct line from Jerusalem to Rome. He’s not interested in standardisation of conversion. Sometimes baptism comes first. Sometimes it comes later. Sometimes he mentions tongues, sometimes not. There’s no indication that the Gentile churches had the same communal life as in Jerusalem.

But Acts is to be seen as a model – the joyful progress of the Gospel, changing lives. And because this is God’s purpose for the church, noting can hinder it.
I want now to look at the purpose of the book.

Purpose 1: At the beginning of Luke, Theophilus was mentioned. He was probably a Gentile official, and Luke wanted him to understand more clearly the historical events which underlie the Christian faith.

A handful of people. uneducated men and women, had turned the world upside down.

Acts 17:6

That’s power, when you turn the world upside down in the face of opposition! Whether it’s Wesley and Whitfield confronted with a world soaked in gin ... Within two centuries Christianity became the main force of the Roman Empire, and by the 3rd century Constantine declared it the official faith.

Acts 1:8

The key verse. That’s the ripple effect going out from Jerusalem.

Purpose 2: There are eight sermons of Peter in the book, one of Stephen, one of Philip and one of Paul.

Purpose 3: There are four things which show the continuation of God’s purpose in history.

History 1. The events in Acts are seen as being brought about by the will and purpose of God.

Acts 2:23

Acts 4:27-29

God brought this about and was undertaking what He wanted to do. They were in the path of God’s destiny for them.

History 2. The life of the church is seen as the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy.

Acts 13:46-47

Complete confidence that they were in line with what God wanted. They weren’t wavering. There was an urgency, a focus. You can see the life of the church as the outworking of the Old Testament prophecy.

History 3. The church was directed by God at crucial times.

Acts 13:2

Acts 15:28

Acts 16:6

Acts 18:9

Specific intervention.

Acts 23:11

And again. Specific, clear, definitive, directional. The purpose of God. And that’s what we want in our lives.

History 4. The power of God was seen in signs and wonders.

Acts 3:16

Purpose 4: To detail the mission, which we know about from Acts 1:8.

Purpose 5: To set out the message, which was straightforward – Jesus, whom God raised from the dead is Lord and Messiah. He offers forgiveness of sins, and He sends the Holy Spirit. The main story relates to the spread of this message.

Purpose 6. To describe the progress made despite opposition.

Acts 14:21-22

Purpose 7. To talk about the opposition. This is why you can have confidence in what’s going on in your life. God is working out His perfect purposes for your life. And God will make things clear because He loves you.

There are parallels with the opposition Jesus faced. When Stephen was martyred and persecution came, it was the means of spreading the Gospel. It’s strange how God sees things and how God is in control of any circumstance for your good.

Purpose 8. A big theme is the inclusion of the Gentiles. There were tensions when this took place. Should Jewish practices be continued? Luke shows how the problem was solved. When the Spirit fell on the Gentiles, Peter was prepared to eat with them – but it’s not clear everyone else felt the same way. The Jerusalem council confirmed the point that circumcision was unnecessary, but set other standards.

Then Acts also chronicles the increasing refusal of the Jews to accept the Gospel.

The books does refer here and there to the organisation of the church.

Acts 4:32-37

Acts 2:42-50

It’s quite a lifestyle. Does it mean we sell our houses? I don’t think so. But what’s our heart in relation to our possessions? That’s the key thing.

Small group meetings, the importance of the Spirit, the source of joy and power, who guides the church in their choice of leaders, their evangelistic activity (generally in teams of two or four), based essentially on the lives of Peter and Paul.

What would it be like if I were to start recording the acts of the people of Trinity in 2009? Looking at each one of you who have made the effort to come here tonight. It would be a lovely book to write because of what God will do through you and for you, outworking His purposes.

I Will Build my Church (Part 1 of 2)

Matthew 16:13-20

God will build his church. Trinity Church isn’t my church or your church, it belongs to Jesus Christ, it is part of the church worldwide. Jesus said, ‘I will build my church’. So despite anything that happens, irrespective of circumstance, God will build his church.

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During this coming year, we will prove and witness Jesus building his church. In the days of the Early Church things happened and it appeared that things were going wrong.

Acts 6:1-4

The number of disciples was multiplying, and there was a lot of work to be done. They had to organise things so that there were others who they could appoint with responsibilities.

Acts 6:5-8

There was a dispute with Stephen, and the religious people were dismayed at his actions.

Acts 6:9-10

There was something special about Stephen, because he was open to whatever God wanted him to do and he wanted to see God’s name lifted up.

Acts 6:11-14

It was complete fabrication. Stephen knew that he had done nothing wrong. All he had done, was what God had asked him to do.

Acts 6:15

Acts 7:1-8

Stephen was emboldened in this council. He was speaking the truth, and the truth cuts. No one can deny the truth. They can make out they deny it, but the truth is the truth.

Whatever abilities and gifts God has given you, and whatever measure of faith you have, God wants to work through you, as you take your part in the church, and then as we together reach out to those who need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, 'I will build my church'. There are people who will come here who don’t yet know Jesus Christ. There are people who you will speak to to bring here so that they might hear. As this year progresses, so we will see a translation of looking inward to looking outward.

Acts 7:37-38

He refers to the church in the wilderness. He’s linking what was happening right then to history.

Acts 7:38-39

Acts 7:47-50

Where does He dwell? In you and in me. As I take my part in the church, so it is that God works through his people. He doesn’t dwell in a temple made with hands.

Acts 7:50-53

Acts 7:54-61

That was an incredible shock to the people of the early church. They knew Stephen knew his Lord and Saviour. They knew his faith. He had been chosen. He was one of the seven chosen to serve. He knew Jesus and saw Jesus just before he died, but it shocked them. Here they were getting things organised, and then one of them was killed.

Acts 7:58

In the darkest night, in the darkest moment, God’s light will shine. Everything seemed to be going wrong. Stephen had gone. And yet, the impact on Saul would have been incredible. A few chapters on we witness the conversion of Saul. He was the prime mover against the Christians. As he was on the way to Damascus, Jesus spoke to him.

Ephesians 2:19-21

That is one of the best definitions or expressions of the church. When anyone walks into a church, they witness people. It’s not the building, it’s the people. We have love one for another. We’ve been redeemed to bring glory to Him.

The time has come for each of us to take our part, in whatever direction that is. By God’s Holy Spirit, he will outwork his purposes through each one of us. As he does so, he will draw other people to himself, and it’s wonderful.

When they saw that dark day when Stephen died, in the working of God, Saul became Paul, he became a Christian, and the church expanded, more than they could have ever thought about. Then the Gospel went from the Jews to the Gentiles, to the whole world.

You are going to be free to take your part in what he wants you to do in his church. That’s something to embrace, not to be afraid of. Be open to what he wants you to do in this time.

Holding forth the Word of Life

As Christians, we need to hold forth the word of life.

In the early church, God organised everything so that His word of life came upon a variety of people and changed them forever.

Acts 16:12 – 18

The damsel was a fortune teller and her masters were running a business through her and conning people out of money.

Acts 16:19 – 34

How did God get hold of that keeper of the prison? The keeper had carried out his job and locked Paul and Silas in prison. When the earthquake happened Paul and Silas had the opportunity to escape but they didn’t, which resulted in the keeper of the prison coming to them and asking what he must do to be saved.

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God Knows What He Is Doing!

God manoeuvres things in the circumstances of mankind because He loves us. God knows what He is doing in the affairs of man. He knows what He is doing in building His church. He knew what He was doing when His son went to Calvary.

Philippians 1:1 – 7

God does what He does at the time He does it for a purpose. There is no template of how God operates. He is faithful and He is love. God has opened our hearts and our minds for that word of life to come and dwell inside us.

Philippians 2:1 – 4

These verses are very practical. The people of Philippi knew how the church had started and the miracle that happened with the earthquake. Paul wanted them to hold forth the word of life. They needed to be aware of what God had done in their midst. God builds His church in His way and in His time.

Philippians 2:5 – 8

The reason why Jesus humbled Himself, was because He knew what needed to be done in order for the church to exist. For the joy that was set before Him he endured the cross. He went through everything for you and me and forgot His own reputation. Nothing matters other than what is inside of a person.

From generation to generation God communicates His life, because He loves us. What’s the future for us and our children? Our future is to bring praise to the One who has given us life inside. Our future is to communicate to others and allow Him to share his love to others through us.

Philippians 2:9 – 11

He’s alive. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. His life is communicated to people and changes them on the inside. We are here at this time in our life, because He wants us to hold forth the word of life that He has given us.

What Is Your Foundation?

Philippians 2:12 – 13

It is God who is working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Our standing before God does not change because of the current circumstances in our life. What is the foundation of your life? Where is your trust?

Philippians 2:12 – 15

Across the world there are people who can’t stand the Gospel and so we are to be as lights in the world, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. We are going to hold forth the word of life, and recognise what God has done in our lives.

What’s the future of your life? To allow God to work in your life and to be obedient to Him. The keeper of the prison didn’t consider that putting Paul and Silas in prison would result in His salvation. How are you going to react to a new circumstance? What’s your foundation? Where are you going? There are people who are just waiting for that time when God’s life comes to them.

Philippians 2:16

Are you going to hold forth the word of life or are you going to let a circumstance turn you about? You know the miraculous provision of God and how God’s life was communicated to you. God is organising His church in His way worldwide. He knows what He is doing.

He’s a wonderful saviour and the church is His bride. There is nothing that can prevail against it. He went to the cross, took everything in Himself and died to it, so that sin could be conquered in your life. You don’t have to live contrary to God, your life can change. There was a reason for the miracle that happened in Philippi.

God is faithful. He is true. He is all love. He forgives you and me. He has forgiven you and me. Why? Because He is building His church.

We’ve only got one life. Let’s go forward, holding forth the word of life.