“One of our number…”
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Handout
Intro
Intro
Transitions. The book of Acts plays an essential role in the biblical canon: it is a bridge, capable of connecting the gospels with the epistles.
We can therefore define it as a book of transition: from the life of Christ to the Church of Christ.
Liberations. Acts also tells of the liberations produced by the preaching of the gospel.
For the first time, pagan nations, entire cities immersed in idolatry experience the grace of God: salvations, miracles, healings, wonders in favor of the Gentiles.
Some scholars compare the book of Acts to the book of Exodus.
Indeed, Exodus tells of the liberation of a nation, while Acts tells of the liberation of all nations.
The story of the book of Acts is nothing less than the liberation of the peoples of the world held captive by the gods of the nations who enslaved them in their idolatry and unbelief.
Michael S. Heiser (American Author)
The Church of Christ. There are so many aspects that we can consider regarding the Church of Jesus in this first chapter of Acts. For example:
They seek God's guidance, even throwing dices in a prayer meeting.
It is a method that they will no longer use, in fact it will be the Holy Spirit who guides the Church in prayer.
It is necessary for the Church to return to seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Today we do not need dice, because in the Scriptures we will find everything we need to make the right choice.
They been transparent, in fact Luke reports the most embarrassing event in the history of Christianity: the betrayal of Judas.
The greatest evangelistic crusade was born from the honesty of a small group of believers who are not afraid to face reality, to look at the rubble left by Judas' betrayal.
This courage to confess what had happened, that is, Judas' sin, will allow God to fill His church with power:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Application. Do you really want the power of God to descend upon your life? Do we really want the Holy Spirit not only to be present in our hearts, but that He has presidency over our hearts?
Then let us confess, declare before God what is wrong, and let us forsake it.
Confessing sin is not informing God, it is agreeing with him.
Derek Cleave
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Sermon's outline. This morning, through Peter's report, I want to consider the life of Judas.
As we rejoice over Rachel's decision to follow Jesus, Judas' story provides us with remarkable points for reflection.
Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter provides us with the identikit of the disciple we do not want to be. In fact:
Judas was just a number;
Judas was a disciple;
Judas had everything the other disciples had.
N.1 - Judas was just a number
N.1 - Judas was just a number
A disciple. At the beginning of His earthly ministry, Jesus chose His disciples:
When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles
Among these disciples was Judas. Judas' call was to discipleship.
The term disciple does not only mean when someone follows a master, but above all it implies being equal to one's master, adhering to the Master's teaching and reflecting His character.
God can give you a whole new set of instincts, a new set of moral desires, a new moral bent so that you will do right because you are right. This is what the Word of God says. This is what the gospel promises. This is the call of Jesus Christ to those who are ready to follow Him and be His true disciples.2
A. W. Tozer
300 Illustrations for Preachers Socially Isolated Dogs and Socially Isolated Owners
In an article for the New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell writes that vicious dogs are often not inherently vicious, but are the product of their owners: “The dogs that bite people are, in many cases, socially isolated because their owners are socially isolated, and they are vicious because they have owners who want a vicious dog. The junkyard German shepherd—which looks as if it would rip your throat out—and the German shepherd guide dog are the same breed. But they are not the same dog, because they have owners with different intentions.”
Like these dogs, Christians have a master we should look to for how to act. Jesus is our master and we should reflect his character.
Just a number. Yet, even though Judas was called by Jesus to be His disciple, Peter remembers that he was part of the number of the twelve, but he was no longer a disciple.
Application. This morning Rachel, through her baptism, is not simply proclaiming that she is a number of a group, but that she is a disciple of Christ.
Unfortunately, there are so many believers, saved by Jesus, transformed and blessed by the Lord, men and women who have tasted the love of God, but who are only numbers.
The Church is not made up of numbers, but of people who have decided to dedicate their lives to Jesus.
We cannot confuse belonging to the body of Christ with membership in the gym: we do not sweat, we do not train, we do not improve... We just need to have the number.
The Christian life is belonging to Christ and to the Church of Christ, not simply having the number.
The apostle John, in denouncing those nominal disciples, emphasizes the lack of that indispensable belonging:
They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
David. The emphasis is not on the number but on the belonging:
All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.
Like these men, we too approached King Jesus because we were tired of this world and in debt because of sin, and in Jesus we found a new life.
Jesus did not save your life just to represent a number in a Sunday service.
Do not settle for being a number... live as a disciple of Christ.
N.2 - Judas was a disciple
N.2 - Judas was a disciple
Disciples for a time. Peter, in his speech to the newborn Church, speaks of Judas in the past tense.
In fact, because of his betrayal, Judas decided to take his own life.
In the Gospels we have many people who were part of groups blessed by Jesus:
The crowd fed by Jesus in the desert;
The 10 lepers healed by Jesus.
Application. Unfortunately, Judas' story is similar to many believers. Of these people we can say:
Before he was always joyful in the Lord, while now...
Before he gave himself for the work of God, while now...
Before he read the Bible and prayed, while now...
Before he was assiduous and zealous in participating in services, but now...
Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man.
Dwight Lyman Moody (Evangelist)
The author of the letter to the Hebrews remindes us:
But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Rachel, our prayer is that you will live each day as a disciple of Jesus, until He returns to rapture His Church.
Questions. Were you a disciple but no longer? Were you dedicated to the Kingdom of God but now you no longer do anything for the King? Return to Jesus this morning.
N.3 - Judas had everything the other disciples had
N.3 - Judas had everything the other disciples had
He could become an apostle. The apostle Peter, regarding Judas, presents another detail.
In fact, Judas had shared the same ministry as the other 11 disciples.
The term shared means to receive, to obtain the same ministry that Peter and the other disciples had received.
Just remember how Judas:
He was called by Jesus like the others;
He received the same teachings of Jesus;
He saw the same miracles and wonders;
He had the same resources of heaven at his disposal;
He had received the same promises given to the 11 disciples.
Yet, instead of going from disciple to apostle, he went from disciple to traitor.
Application. We want to reiterate once again that every disciple of Jesus has received, has obtained from Heaven everything he needs to grow and achieve the goals established by God.
Our God is not an unjust Father like Jacob, who prepared a special garment only for Joseph, while for the other children he had given nothing.
In Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man makes an accusation against Abraham:
“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
“ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
There are no excuses: if we do not reach the goals that God has set for us, it is because we did not want to!
Someone has collected a few choice excuses that were offered to police officers in relation to automobile accidents:
“An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished.”
“I had been driving my car for forty years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had the accident.
“I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.”
“The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I ran over him.”
“The guy was all over the road; I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.”
“Suddenly a tree was there, where no tree had been before!”438
Rachel, in Christ we have everything we need to grow, improve, mature.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.
Unknown
Our prayer is that every excuse may be 'abandoned' (it is the fault of my family, society, the Church, etc.). We recognize that in Christ we can do impossible things:
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Just a number. This morning we officially celebrate a new disciple of Jesus, not a number on the membership list.
A woman of God who has decided to follow the Lord all the days of her life.
A woman who recognizes that in Christ she has received every blessing and who will never make excuses, but will carry out with the help of God the Lord's plan for her life.
