Evil in the Church Walls
Acts: How to Act Like the Church? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
A “hindrance” to church growth we see is church hurt
Roughly 38% of the non-church going say they don’t go because of church hurt
I have and to such an extent i stayed up to three in the morning crying
People in the church hurt people all the time unfortunately
People who do the hurting are not believers or either backsliding Christians
Not a new problem either
Jesus was murdered by church folks and one of his closest followers played a major role in it
Was Judas a believer? No
He either let selfish gains or selfish ideals drive his actions
In today’s passage as Peter is talking about Judas he quotes from two Psalms talking about the wicked (Psalm 69:25 & Psalm 109:8 are quoted here)
Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.
What do we do with this fact of Judas like people are parts of our churches? that is what we will be addressing this morning.
Evil in the Church Doesn’t Surprise God
Evil in the Church Doesn’t Surprise God
V. 16 Peter speaks saying “Brother’s, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand”
Jesus was not surprised by Judas and his intentions. Jesus knew Judas’ heart from the beginning
Judas would be the fulfillment of Psalm 69 and 109
What did Judas do? he sold Jesus out for financial gain, and this selling out of Jesus led to the crucifixion
Which at first glance looks like an event that would surely kill the Jesus movement at that time
But again Jesus was not surprised by the betrayal.
He already orchestrated Judas path to go in such a way that God would still be glorified
Man’s unfaithfulness doesn’t make God alternate to plan B
Do Judas’ till exist?
Yes, they are probably very few churches that do not have their own version of a Judas serving in the congregation
Do these people surprise Jesus? No, He knows they are there
As verse 24 lets us know the Lord knows the hearts of all
True believer he knows your heart
Judas He knows your heart, He knows the depth of the wickedness, he knows the selfish desires. So know you may be fooling everyone else, but you are not fooling Jesus. Judas’ wickedness was revealed and the gore seen in v. 18 is nothing compared to the agony Judas is facing now
I highly recommend you stop playing with Jesus and His people and repent
The Bible is full of example after example where people had evil desires and it never works out for their benefit, but for their shame and as they are put to shame God is glorified time and time again
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
“Against me”
Disunity, a Judas will drive disunity and pit themselves against others
Disunity is not of God
For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
As in all the churches of the saints,
“That many people should be kept alive”
God’s plan for salvation continues to go forward
Even in the damning of one man’s soul by their own foolishness many more may find salvation
Evil Has Bounds
Evil Has Bounds
In verse 17 we see Judas was “allotted his share in ministry”
Judas as not allowed to run rampant in Jesus’s ministry
Scripture shows us time and time again God sets limits for us all and limits the amount of damage the devil is allowed to do
God cannot and will not be undermined by the foolishness of man
Judas at no point had the power to undermine and destroy Jesus ministry
Words to the believer
A Judas cannot cause more damage than what God allows
Their is not a scandal in the world that cannot destroy a true church of God
The pain caused by a Judas is not pointless
When a Judas arises look for how God wants to redeem the pain and amplify the mission of the church
Our response to a Judas is vital
First and foremost approach with compassion, remember how Jesus treated Judas
We should respond with a call for repentance which is done through church discipline
Matthew 18 lines it out
First speak in private
Secondly speak with them with a couple others
Thirdly bring it before the church
Lastly treat them as an outsider
This is all done in a hope for repentance and to protect the integrity of the church
Combating a Judas Spirit
Combating a Judas Spirit
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
One accord
How do we find one accord base everything in One truth
We die to self and put God’s desires first
That means ministry is not about I, a ministry should be able to function without you
We trust in one Spirit, so if a ministry is of God and we are all walking as we should we are getting a unified vision
Now we all have unique gifts and personalities, so we all have unique things to contribute to that vision and mission
That means ministry is not about comparison
Ministry is not looking at another church going well they are doing this, why are we not doing this
Ministry is not looking at one another and comparing who does what and how much
Ministry is not about looking at how so and so behaves to determine how I behave
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
That means ministry is not about always getting my way
Again we all have different personalities and also we are all tainted by sin
Sometimes quiet frankly your opinion misses the mark and does not need to be carried out
Other times your opinion is not necessarily wrong but it is not the general consensus
It still can be useful in offering insight
sometimes the difference is a test for you
What do we do when we don’t get it our way?
First, pray and make sure it was not for unbiblical reasons
Secondly examine the majority view to rather or not it is unbiblical
Thirdly if it is nothing unbiblical you walk in one accord and ask how you can serve in the vision that was set forward.
What you don’t do is:
Drive disunity and gossip
Church hop (very childish)
Abandon church (what God were you serving if you abandon church?)
Conclusion
Conclusion
This is a tough message this morning, but it is the message God had for Hurricane, search your soul this morning as we get ready for the Lord’s supper
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
During invitation we need to all be praying preparing
You may need to take this time to fix a wrong
