Like a flood - Acts 9:20-31

Recharge and cleanse

Floods are very destructive. We’ve seen that first hand here in Texas with the Central Texas floods on July 4. Lots of water in a short amount of time in a concentrated space is damaging. The Central Texas floods killed more than 130 people and did more than $18 billion dollars in damage.

Bad things happen in floods. It is for this reason that throughout the Bible, flooding and storms involving water typically not only symbolize judgment, but are used by God in judgment. N.T. Wright, the British theologian, has said that God gave water boundaries at creation, and judgment and evil happen when water doesn’t stay contained within those boundaries. The biggest of the water stories in the Old Testament is a flood… the worldwide flood.

However, lost in all the destructive qualities about flooding are benefits. Floods recharge the soil with nutrients. They also cleans the soil and the land of contamination… a cleansing effect. Places that were once dry are made fruitful and become green. In other words, floods are both salvation and judgment, depending on the context.

It’s in this second sense that we’re going to think about this morning as we consider the book of Acts and its impact on what is happening here in San Benito.

Acts 1:8 as history

We’re going to try and keep this as simple as possible. The passage we read just now involves the very beginning of St. Paul’s mission work. And before the book of Acts is done, this really bad guy named Saul will be responsible for what is still the greatest mission effort since Jesus. St. Paul is why we are here this morning. It’s hard to believe one guy could effect so much, but we see right away, when Paul meets Jesus for the first time, he immediately is talking to anybody and everybody about the Good News of Jesus.

Just before Jesus went into heaven to the right hand of the father, he gave this promise to his disciples:

Acts 1:8 “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

From Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. And as we have made our way through Acts these past few weeks, we can begin to see how the Good News of Jesus is moving from Jerusalem to Samaria to Africa… through the Ethiopian Eunuch. And now, St. Paul is going to be used to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth… or at least Rome.

Here’s a helpful graphic that helps us see just how the Gospel is moving from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth in the book of Acts:

(graphic) These concentric circles are the places mentioned in Jesus’ Promise, and the gospel of Jesus is going to move from the center outward. You’ll see here that the Table is at the end of the earth. I just want you to notice that the story of Acts is moving from Jerusalem to the end of the earth. And as Acts unfolds, this movement is explosive. To the point where it begins to feel like a flood.

Years ago, I was in the creation museum near Cincinnati and there was an exhibit explaining Noah’s ark and the great worldwide flood story we find in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. In that video, they had a computer generated illustration of what the flood may have looked like as it covered the earth. I found that video online this week… or at least a portion of it, and here it is:

(video)

Again, that’s a depiction of what it could have looked like. But I want you to consider what you just saw in light of what’s happening in Acts. It’s not water flooding the earth, but the Gospel. When Jesus promises to fill the earth with his glory and story, when Jesus promises that His Good News would move from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, this is what he meant. A reversal of the judgment of the flood. When it’s all said and done, the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus will cover the entire earth.

We are not there yet, of course. But the question then becomes one of how is he going to do it? Again, this is where the book of Acts and its story are so important. And this is where it intersects us here in San Benito. Throughout the book of Acts, Dr. Luke makes a series of repetitive statements.

Fourteen times in Acts we are told these two things:

The Word of God grew (spread)

The church increased in numbers

Over and over and over again… the Word of God spread or increased. And the church increased in numbers. The first is causing the 2nd. 14 times. The Good news is moving to the ends of the earth because the Word of God… or the Good News of Jesus is moving to the ends of the earth. And how does the Word of God grow in Acts?

God’s word grows through:

Preaching and teaching the Word

The Holy Spirit using the Word

The phrase “the word” or “the word of God” occurs more than 26 times in the book of Acts. The church in the U.S. spends hundreds of millions every year in the efforts to grow Christ’s kingdom. But more often than not, it’s the obvious that gets missed: the Word of God is the key to everything. I know we have a portion of our American Christianity that would say the Spirit is the key. But make no mistake, here in Acts, the Spirit is inseparable from the Word. The Spirit does not operate apart from the Word. Over and over again, wherever the Spirit is mentioned in Acts, the Word is in the same mention. To quote on theologian on the book of Acts: the Word is the hero in the book of Acts. The Word grows and as the Word grows, the church grows in numbers… and in Acts, those numbers are quite large.

How is that Word spreading?

Luke also tells us that the Word is spreading through very specific means: Seven times in the book of Acts the increase of the Word and the increase of the church is specifically tied to preaching and teaching the Word.

Proclamation and teaching is mentioned in Acts 38 times (Six times in combination)

And when we talk about proclamation and teaching, we’re talking about the Good News of Jesus. We’re talking about Jesus and his grace, his mercy, his forgiveness, his love for us. And I know this is where we jump out of the conversation. It is so hard… What do you feel when you see me or anyone hold up a Bible? I’ll be honest. I recoil. It doesn’t give me goosebumps. This is why we’re talking about it this morning. This Bible has been used in terrible ways. We have a hard time believing that Jesus would use this to spread his name and fame anywhere. Because we’ve been hammered by this. We’ve been abused by this. We’ve been wounded by this.

Don’t say you haven’t. It’s OK to admit it. People weaponize this. I’ve lived it. And it’s weaponized by people who believe that when Acts mentions The Word, it’s talking about all the do’s and don’ts. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard in my life someone claim “I stand on the Bible as God’s Word” and “what this world needs is more Bible.” When I was a little kid, one of the songs we were taught to sing in church went: ‘The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me; I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.”

That sounds great. Highlighting the importance of the Bible. But you know what they are saying? We’re standing on the dos and don’ts. It was all about behavior. We need more do’s and don’ts. We need more of God’s law. The law will cure us of all that ills us. And the Bible became more important than Jesus because it was divorced from the primary importance of the Good News of Jesus.

I was rescued from all that when I realized with the help of others.. there’s more to the Bible than that… and in fact, the dos and don’ts are not the Bible’s main focus. The Bible’s main focus is on Jesus and his redemption of us. This isn’t to say the dos and don’ts aren’t important. But they cannot grow Christ’s kingdom. There is no life-giving power there.

And that brings us back to our text this morning. In Acts 9, the biggest threat against the church is a guy named Saul. And Saul sees Jesus on the road to Damascus and his life was turned upside down. You know what Paul is doing within days of seeing Jesus?

Acts 9:20 Immediately Saul began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”

OK, we could say so much there, but we’re only looking at one point: Paul is so enamored with Jesus and his forgiveness that he IMMEDIATELY began proclaiming the Gospel. He doesn’t waste any time. 5 times in this passage Paul is talking Jesus. And it’s not the do’s and don’ts that has Paul all fired up. It’s the Gospel. It’s Jesus, the Son of God, the one who gives unconditional grace and forgiveness. That’s the Gospel. And through Paul, over the next few years, the Gospel is going to flood Europe. He’ll never stop talking about it.

Here’s the effect of the Gospel being proclaimed over and over and over again… this passage concludes with one of the summary statements of Acts:

Acts 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

The Word grows. The church grows. The Word grows. The church grows. That’s the rhythm of the book of Acts. But that’s also the rhythm of the Gospel growing to the ends of the earth. The Word grows. The church grows.

The spread of God’s Word and the growth of the church

What can we say about the increase of the Word and the increase of the church?

The Word of God fuels or causes church growth.

The Holy Spirit uses the Word to grow the church.

Jesus promises that His Good News will be spread all over the world, and he and the Holy Spirit are going to use the Good News to connect people to himself. And the work of the Holy Spirit is to This is why the preaching time is important to the growth of our church. This is why Jesus and Tacos is important. The Women’s Table Connection Bible study is important. Even the Ask the Pastor lunches. Jesus has promised to use His Word in preaching AND teaching to grow his church. The church is not a club. And it’s more than a gathering. It’s why we have defined what a church is this way:

A church is  where God’s people have gathered to hear God’s Word preached and receive His sacraments.

This is how the church exploded across Israel and eastern Europe and finally into Western Europe and into Asia… the Good News of Jesus spread as His Word was preached and taught and as people received the Sacraments. The Word grew. The church grew. The Word grew. The church grew.

We’re all about outreach here at The Table. Mission is in the church’s DNA. We are a sent people by the very nature of being a church. But the aim of the outreach and mission and all the activity is to connect people to Jesus in Word and Sacrament. What is it that grows community here in San Benito? It is the Good News that Jesus forgives. Jesus gives grace. Jesus died FOR YOU. FOR our neighbors.

There are so many people that need to hear about Jesus’ love and forgiveness. The Gospel of Grace. He has done so much for us. He wants to use us to provide that Good News to so many more. We may be small… but we’re always going to be pushing that envelope of strategically reproducing ourselves wherever Jesus has us. How do we know the Holy Spirit is at work among us? He is growing His church by growing His Word.

Let’s Pray. 

The Table

Mission all begins here. Right here at this Table. This Table is on the move. Jesus is always expanding His kingdom through Word and Sacrament. He is present, expanding His kingdom with Himself.

Benediction