Acts 15:10

So now, why are you putting God to the test, by placing a yoke on the disciples’ neck which neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear.

Peter is rebuking some believers from the Pharisee party who said you have to be circumcised and follow the law of Moses in order to be saved.

This is what we turn religion into isn’t it?

An unbearable yoke around people’s neck.

Heck, we probably do it to ourselves as much or more than we do it to others. Hold ourselves to an impossible standard of perfection then berate ourselves for falling short of it.

How many would line up for that church if we were painfully forthright with the message we tell ourselves?

Hey, you should join our community because we place demands and expectations upon you which you’ll never be able to fulfill (and no one ever has), then we make you feel shame for ever being born since you can’t keep up!

Woo hoo! Sign me up!!

Or we could go with door #2–verse 11:

Rather, we believe it is by the grace of the Lord Jesus that we shall be saved, like them (the Gentiles).

Amen!

If only we could tangibly realize how much God wants to do for us which we cannot do ourselves. If we’d but admit our weakness and let God do what God wants to do with us. Such sweet liberation this is.

Acts 14:15

“Men, men,” they shouted, “What on earth are you doing? We are just ordinary humans, with the same nature as you, and we are bringing you the wonderful message that you should turn away from these foolish things to the living God, the one who made heaven and earth and the sea and everything in them.”

Studying through Acts, I am floored by how many times this theme of not putting people on a pedestal keeps coming up. Here it is again.

The people in Lystra, after witnessing the Holy Spirit’s power through Paul and Barnabas, start treating them as if they are Zeus and Hermes. That’s the context for the verse above.

As ministers of the Gospel, we should be putting ourselves in position to be filled with Holy Spirit power in order for it to flow out and heal and bless others.

Also, we need to be ready to correct anyone who may look to us as if we are the originators of this power, and point them to Christ the true originator, as Barnabas and Paul did with their mini sermon in our verse today.

As we have said here before in years past: We’re merely Empowered Powerless Pointers to the Power.

Or EPPTTPs.

Acts 13:2-3

As they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

So they fasted and prayed; and then they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

I often wonder how much more we would hear from the Holy Spirit if, as communities of Christ followers, we spent more time in earnest prayer, fasting, and worshipping.

I think there’s so much more for us. So much more meaning. So much more life that we are missing out on because we’re not really listening.

In my experience, whenever I’ve prayed for the same thing everyday for even just ten days….supernatural movement happens.

How often I pray for something a couple of times before pathetically petering out. Or I spend a matter of minutes in worship. Or I fast for like an hour…No wonder I don’t see more of the “hand” of God moving.

When set up against the gift of life itself, as well as His self-sacrificing perfect love,  God doesn’t really ask for much. Yet we tend to give Him our leftover energy…if we even have any at the end of the day to give.

And so we miss out on the life we could have.

Not out of punishment necessarily, but out of our failure to claim what is ours for the sharing–the very Life of God.

Acts 12:20-23

Herod dressed himself in his royal robes and took his seat on the official platform to make a public address to them.

The people began to shout, “The voice of a god, not of a mortal!” 

Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the glory.

He was eaten by worms and expired.

Our author Luke and ancient historian Josephus (in his work Antiquities) are in agreement that the reason for Herod’s being struck was due to his acceptance of praise and glory that only God is worthy of. Josephus says he developed horrible stomach pains and died four days later.*

The essence of all sin is idolatry–a violation of the very first of the famous Ten Commandments. All sin goes back to this: Refusing to let God be God. It has also been phrased “the deflection of divine praise”.

Whatever you honor above God oppresses you and becomes your captor. God asks our surrender not because he is that big egomaniac in the sky, but because there is an order of creation and a way things work. Whatever you enthrone in your life–give most energy to we could maybe say–that is what has control of you.

Jesus has defeated all powers of darkness, so it is our surrender to those powers that gives them control, not that they have more power than God.

When you surrender to Jesus and make him Lord over your life, only then will you have victory, freedom, peace, and release from your captors and the power of their oppression.

There’s just a way things work.

Give God the glory and praise in all things and see what happens. Everyone I’ve ever known who has done this, or who I’ve read about doing this, lives in freedom.

What do you devote most of your energy to?

Where do your thoughts mostly go?

Where does your time mostly go?

Where does your money mostly go?

Whatever/whoever your answer is is your lord, and likely has control of you.

Hopefully it is the kind and benevolent Jesus.

*Probably a gangrenous bowel disease involving maggots.

Acts 11:23

[Barnabas] urged them all to stay firmly loyal to the Lord from the bottom of their hearts.

If you believe in Jesus as the Son of God, please, please, please, do whatever you need to in order to remain faithful, committed, and steadfast in your loyalty to him, in all sincerity and purpose of heart.

Acts 10:2,9

[Cornelius] was devout, and he and all his household revered God. He gave alms generously to the people, and constantly prayed to God.

Peter went up onto the roof of the house to pray. It was around midday…

The apostles, the early Christians we read about gave themselves to much prayer, to what we today might even call ridiculous amounts of prayer.

Their time management was…interesting.

Not a lot of books written on their skillful use of time.

And the results from this ridiculous use of their time?

Nothing short of amazing, supernatural, and world-changing.

Guess they knew where real power comes from.

Acts 9:36-42

There was a disciple in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas*). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor.

*The names Tabitha in Aramaic and Dorcas in Greek both mean “gazelle”.

Way back in 1980 and 81, my mom was pregnant with my sister. I must’ve asked 300 times if we could name her Dorcas if it’s a girl, and Moses if it’s a boy.

My parents weren’t havin’ it. They went with Rebekah.

Whatever.

Even as a youngster, I was so impressed with Dorcas after hearing her story in Sunday School.

First off, she is designated mathetria (“woman disciple”), a term reserved only for her, as in, it’s the only time this Greek word is used in the entire New Testament.

Awesomeness.

And how about the one line description of her as a person: She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor. Is there a much better legacy in the kingdom of God? What a reputation, what an identity! How wonderful would it be that when your name is brought up, people respond with, “Yeah, she’s always doing kind things and helping people who are down and out.”

What a woman.

Then there’s the whole sewing ministry she had. At her death, there’s all these widows standing around mourning, wearing the clothes that she made for them! What a sight.

And she’s raised from the dead! She was so beloved that the disciples call Peter in who is near Joppa at the time, he comes without question, and via the power of the Holy Spirt brings her back to life. This became widely known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

Amazing.

What an inspiring woman who points us to Jesus.

I can just hope and pray that if our daughters have any girls, they name one Dorcas. Heck, I’d be super happy with the Aramaic Tabitha. Or even Gazelle! Make it a soft G, I don’t care.

Acts 8:26-40

When they came up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch didn’t see him anymore, but went on  his way rejoicing.

This is a fantastic story. Philip is prompted by the Spirit, or an angel, to go to this desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip ran to it and sees this Ethiopian dude reading Isaiah.

No strtegery involved here, just listening to and obeying the Spirit of the Lord.

How Spirit attuned, led, and obedient are you?

What really struck me from this passage was verse 39 you see above. After Philip gives this guy the straight up Gospel, he is convicted and asked to be baptized right there where he sees some water. The Spirit snatches Philip away, not to be seen again by the Ethiopian, YET, he goes on his way rejoicing!

Humanly, you’d think he’d be quite bummed that this man who opened his eyes to the Scriptures and preached Jesus to him was taken away from him. Seems like he would want to bond and hang out and all.

But what we see much of in Acts is this emphasis on the power of the Spirit of God, and the comfort brought, the authenticity of being touched by God through people.

I just think we glorify people so much, that it takes our eyes off God’s Spirit. These new believers in Acts were made new by the Holy Spirit, and were not dependent on people for their joy, they were dependent on the Spirit. Now there were communities–the new church as God’s way of working in the world. This does not take away from that. But the true Gospel as I understand it does not leave us needy and dependent on other humans to prop us up–maybe for periods in which we are weak of course–I’ve definitely experienced that, but not for extended seasons, not for our whole life.

Our rejoicing comes through the Gospel, the Spirit in us, through supernatural means.

Acts 7:59

While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

As Stephen is dying he recites a form of a Jewish bedtime prayer that we read in Psalm 31:5.

What is interesting is that Stephen addresses his prayer not to Yahweh (exactly), as the Psalmist did, but to Lord Jesus. In fact, in the Greek it is “Kyrios Jesus”.

In the Greek translation of the Old Testament (Septuagint), the name of God, Yahweh, is translated into Kyrios.

You see what is happening here?

Stephen is commending his spirit to Jesus, who will receive him after death, because Jesus is now in the heavenly realm at the right hand of the Father, one with the Father.

The title Kyrios ascribed to Jesus indicates supreme sovereignty  over all creation. He is Lord and Master of the universe.

Sometimes people say you can translate and interpret Scripture in such a way that the authors are not really saying that Jesus is divine, or that Jesus is God, or that it is appropriate to worship him. Some say the proper interpretation is that Jesus was showing us that we are all God already, and we have only to realize it.

Nope.

The authors of Scripture are crystal clear in their affirmation of just who they saw Jesus to be–none other than the Creator of the universe, the mediation reconciling humans to God the Father. This may be rather difficult to comprehend theologically or metaphysically, but it is plain to see just who they were avowing Jesus to be.

And they were willing to die for it.

Acts 6:1-7

Around that time, as the number of disciples increased, the “Hellenists” raised  a dispute with the “Hebrews” because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

It’s somewhat comforting to know that the church has had its problems from the very start.

There’s some things you can just count on as the numbers rise.

You’ll always have people complaining about the church, about something.

You’ll always need people to organize things, like making sure widows are being taken care of, the bathroom has toilet paper, etc.

You’ll always need some in the church who are dedicated to God’s word and prayer without having the responsibilities to “wait on tables” (v.2)–not that they are above some of the daily organizing, but because so much time and energy is required in prayer for the ministry of God’s word to be effective.

And, as the word of God increases, the number of disciples will grow by leaps and bounds (v.7).