Awareness

ethical character and social justice do matter; but outward expression of faith means a little bit more

Today I am starting a quick three-week series that takes a look at outward faith. Here is the reason, it seems obvious in the New Testament that there was an expectation for the followers of Jesus to express the faith they had in Jesus outwardly towards others; faith in Jesus was not meant to be kept inward as just a private thing. It is about more than just letting other people see our behavior—more than just being a good moral person. And it is about more than helping other people—more than just social justice. Don’t get me wrong, our ethical character and social justice do matter; but outward expression of faith means a little bit more.

Think of it this way. Many of us after church grab some coffee and stand in little circles and talk for a while. When I stand in one of those circles and hear conversation about football which talks about teams and players and stats and who got recruited from what school and what various TV sports analysts are saying, I can figure out pretty quickly that this is a group of people who are pretty passionate about football because they follow and know all the information, and they love talking about it. It is a passion that is not just a private part of life kept hidden, when you talk to them you cannot help but hear about it.

a passion I have and sometimes I cannot help sharing it whether you want to hear about it or not; I just cannot keep it in, I feel like I have to express it

I will admit (and maybe those of you who know me better already know this well) I love to talk about my hobby of cooking. I never seem satisfied to just share food with people, somehow I can’t stop myself from talking about how I made it and all the ingredients and the technique of putting it all together. Sometimes I need to be reminded that plenty of people simply do not care about that and don’t really want to hear me talking about all of that. But it is a passion I have and sometimes I cannot help sharing it whether you want to hear about it or not; I just cannot keep it in, I feel like I have to express it.

assumption in the New Testament that our faith in Jesus is supposed to be like that—something we naturally express outward because it is such a central part of who we are and what we do and what we live for

There is an assumption in the New Testament that our faith in Jesus is supposed to be like that—something we naturally express outward because it is such a central part of who we are and what we do and what we live for. But let’s be honest for a moment; many of us struggle with that—expressing our faith in Jesus outwardly for others doesn’t feel natural. Add into it that in today’s culture an outward expression of faith has become tainted and twisted by a resurgent trend of Christian nationalism which makes true followers of Jesus cringe when we see such blatant use of religious language and symbols dragged into culture wars that have nothing to do with sharing faith in Jesus.

How do we live today as people who have an outward faith?

It leaves a question for us to consider. How do we live as people today who have an outward faith? It is still an expectation from the great commission in Matthew 28 that we are disciples who make other disciples. I don’t think sharing our faith has to feel as unnatural or uncomfortable or as scary as we might imagine. So in these next three weeks, let me run through what I am going to call the ABC’s of outward faith. We will begin today with a story in the book of Acts about a follower of Jesus named Philip.

Acts 8:26–38 (NIV)

Acts 8:26–38 NIV

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian  eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “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 is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”  The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

what was it like for Philip to hear the voice of God?

There are some natural questions I would have if given the opportunity to chat with Philip about this scene. I wonder what it meant for him to hear an angel giving him instructions. I wonder how Philip heard the Spirit prompting him to approach this particular traveler along the road. I do not for a moment doubt that it was entirely possible for Philip to hear an audible voice. But I also do not doubt the power of God to speak into our hearts and into our lives in ways that are entirely miraculous and supernatural beyond how we would normally hear voices speaking. So, I wonder what exactly Philip heard and how he heard it.

Samuel had to learn to hear God speaking

did Philip have to learn how to become aware of the prompting of the Spirit?

Back in the Old Testament there is a story of when God first spoke to the prophet Samuel while he was still a child. The Bible tells us that in the days of Samuel the word of the Lord was rare. And in that story, Samuel hears God speak several times in the night and gets up thinking it is actually the priest Eli who is calling out to Samuel. The young boy Samuel wasn’t aware that this was actually God speaking. And I don’t know if young Samuel would have ever become aware of it except that Eli realized what was actually happening and told Samuel how to respond the next time God speaks. In that story, when God first revealed himself to Samuel, the young boy wasn’t aware of what it was. And when I read this story of Philip in Acts, I wonder to myself if Philip caught on right away when the voice of God first came to him, or did Philip have to learn how to become aware of the prompting of the Spirit?

the first step in the ABC’s of an outward faith is “awareness”

This is why I think the first step in the ABC’s of an outward faith is “awareness.” A faith that expresses outwardly comes from an awareness of how and where God is moving in and around your life. Those guys who gather in a circle in the lobby after the service with their coffee and talk football would be able to say anything about football unless they are aware of the games and how they turned out and who did what and where the teams go next. I might stand in this circle and mostly just listen because I am not looking to keep track of how all these teams rank and which players are racking up what kind of stats. I am not very aware of what goes on in the football world, so there is not much for me to express about it.

faith that pays attention to what God is doing and where God is at work around us

This is why an outward faith must begin with awareness. It is a faith that pays attention to what God is doing and where God is at work around us. Let’s talk about how that happens and what that looks like. Let me be the first one here to admit I do not actively look for ways to share my faith in Jesus as often as I could. I will be the first one to admit that many of the times I have had an opportunity to share my faith in Jesus it was because the question came to me by someone else, not because I was the one pursuing the opportunity. The moment landed in my lap even when I wasn’t looking for it to happen. I wonder how many other moments passed by completely ignored if only I had been more aware of the opportunities.

maybe Philip heard the voice of God because he was already living with an awareness about him

Maybe Philip heard the voice of God in ways that helped him become aware of the opportunity God was about to place in front of him. Or maybe Philip heard the voice of God because he was already living with an awareness about him. Maybe Philip was already looking for those opportunities to share his faith; and so, when God came knocking Philip was ready to open that door and respond. And this story goes on to illustrate something for us about the way God speaks yet today. Philip comes up along side the Ethiopian official as he is riding in his chariot. If you are trying to picture the scene, this isn’t as though Philip has to go running along side of galloping horses. This kind of chariot is more likely a cart that is being pulled more slowly by an ox and a camel or something like that. It would have been easy for Philip to come walking along side of this cart as it was traveling on its way.

awareness that God is already speaking at this moment through his word

What we see then is the Ethiopian official reading and trying to make sense of a passage from the prophet Isaiah. He is reading the word of God. God is already speaking at that moment through his word from the Old Testament prophet. While it is certainly evident in scripture that all throughout the times of the Bible God spoke in special ways to certain individuals, those people were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write those words down. And the collection of all those books eventually came together in what we call the Bible. And for thousands of years now that collection of books we call the Bible has been translated into countless languages throughout the world. This is what the author of Hebrews says about it.

Hebrews 1:1–3 (NIV)

Hebrews 1:1–3 NIV

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

awareness begins by reading and knowing the Bible

The Bible tells us in this passage from Hebrews that the age of God speaking directly through prophets is past. Now that God has perfectly revealed himself through Jesus, that revelation of God is preserved for us in his word. We see this story in Acts of Philip helping an Ethiopian official recognize and hear the word of God by seeing Jesus revealed in scripture. It is the same scripture that we have today. If you need a place to begin in order to listen and hear the voice of God, we have it right here for us today in the words of scripture. It begins by reading and knowing the Bible; that is the place where God speaks today.

my awareness of what God is doing in the world around us today can only happen by having an awareness of what God reveals about himself in scripture

We believe that God still nudges hearts and works through the lives of people yet today—people of faith, people like you and me. But we also believe that the Holy Spirit uses the word of God in scripture to guide that revelation to us. God would never tell you to do anything that is contrary to the message of the Bible. God’s will for you always has a connection to the message of his words in scripture. Our awareness of what God is doing in our world around us today can only happen by having an awareness of what God reveals about himself in scripture.

As God makes himself known to us in scripture, that awareness becomes more and more self-evident. Maybe you’ve had an experience like this. The car I have been driving for several years is an Acura I picked up as a used car while living in Denver. I had never owned or driven an Acura before that, and I didn’t know much about them because I hardly ever saw them. But it amazed me after I was driving this car for a while just how many other Acuras I saw out on the road. How is it, I wondered, that so many other people suddenly started driving the same kind of car as me? Of course, the answer is not that so many more Acuras suddenly appeared on the road; the answer is that they were all there before, but I never noticed it because I was not aware of it. Once that awareness hits you the first time, now it seems like I see it all the time. In fact, sometimes it fees like I cannot help but see it all the time.

awareness deepens by making it personal

my own faith formation — Jesus gave himself on the cross for my salvation

That is where your outward faith begins. It starts with an awareness of where God is already at work and what God is already doing to place these opportunities for expressing your faith right in front of you. I’m going to pick this up again next week as we continue this series. Because the next question in the ABC’s of outward faith is to ask what to do once you are aware of the opportunity. I am leaving that question today for us to pick up next week. Today starts with awareness; and awareness starts with reading and knowing God’s word.

awareness looks for opportunities to express faith outward

start with one

Step two of awareness is looking for that opportunity in your life. Let me leave us today with this one take away. Start with one. Start with a prayer that God would show you just one person who needs to know and hear and experience the grace of God in their own life. Don’t worry yet about how you will respond and what you will do—we’ll get to that. Start off with awareness. Pray that God would lay upon your heart just one person or perhaps one household. I wonder if Philip started with a prayer like that. I wonder if Philip prayed for God to show him one person who needed to hear about the grace of God that comes to us in Jesus. God showed that opportunity to Philip. I am convinced that if you each begin earnestly praying for it, in time God will show you an opportunity for the next step to take in sharing an outward faith.