A Wonderful Pandemic

intro

A few weeks ago I was in Boone, visiting my wife, and we decided to invite my replacement there, the new pastor and his wife over for a little dinner and game night so we could get to know each other. They brought us a game we actually had, but it was initially so complex, we hadnt taken the time to learn it. The game was called “Pandemic.”

It is really a unique game. The players are actually not against each other but working together to prevent an apocalyptic pandemic. Your job as the players on this board game are prevent global outbreak of different viruses and diseases. It takes strategy, and coordinating together as a team to prevent the outbreaks. What is also interesting, is each person at the table receives a character card that shows your role in the game and each person has their own unique skillset.

The game is surprisingly hard, because the outbreaks could very quicly turn into the name of the game, a pandemic very quickly, at which point, everyone loses.

Its amazing how germs, viruses, sickness, and disease spread. My wife got about en entire week off teaching in the county she teaches at because there were over 100 kids sick throughout the county, so they elected to cancel school to get everyone well.

Its not just physical sickness that seems to spread. Ive noticed, poor attitudes multiply. Anger, lust, greed and all sorts of sinful habits can seemingly be contagious.

Its amazing how these things can start small, and then multiply and multiply and spread and grow much larger.

The good news is God has provided us with beautiful contagious things that multiply and grow, and grow quickly as well. Positivity is contagious. Smiles are contagious. Love is contagious....My friends hear this well…THE GOSPEL IS STILL AS CONTAGIOUS AS EVER. When the gospel began going out, and the Holy Spirit was moving amongst the early church, there was a great outbreak across Euro-Asia. It was not to be contained.

Of course this outbreak started small, with just a few willing people. Today we are going to spend a little time talking about holistic ways of growing together to reach those outside these doors, maybe even create an outbreak right here in Spartanburg. Before we go any further lets take some time to pray.

PRAYER

If you have your bibles, I want to encourage you to turn to Acts chapter 15.

depicts the early church’s Jerusalem council. If I could describe the Jerusalem council in some way. I would say it was not unlike our church’s General conference session. The purpose was to gather the church leaders and discuss and pray together seeking the will of God, and guidance for discerning truth and direction. Many of you seasoned Adventists know these meetings have no shortage of debates that take place. Obviously there were some big things being discussed and voted at our most recent meetings in 2015. I’ll be honest its easy to get sucked into all those debates and things, and quite easy to get frustrated at different decisions, or lack of decisions. One comfort to me is that the early church leaders, who were quite literally the apostles had the same struggles.

One of the biggest debates of the day was circumcision of gentile believers. Now this was just merely a symptom of the true problem, but I’ll get to that in a little later.

verse 1 picks up with the missionaries, Barnabus and Paul. I say Barnabus first because, something many of miss, is that Paul was actually Barnabus’s understudy or disciple, not the other way around. It was Paul was initially shadowing Barnabus. These two were some of the early pioneers in missionary evangelism. They were moving the gospel rapidly. They were boldly entering the pagan grecco-Roman land sharing the compelling message of Jesus. There were those Jewish believers present that felt the work they were doing was not in accordance with the law of Moses, particularly when it came to matters of circumcision.

Acts 15:1–2 ESV

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.

Acts 15:4–5 ESV

When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

I won’t make you all raise your hands, but have you ever encountered another fellow believer, whom you consider to be a fellow worker for the Lord, but that person hinders your work more than helps it? I wonder if this is how Paul and Barnabus felt. Instead of spending more time sharing of their fruitful ministry, they were talking about circumcision. Can you imagine the frustration they must have been feeling. They didn’t have planes they were traveling on to Jerusalem like Pastor Don and Robin (which they are currently in the Holy Lands right now, if you were not already aware). They couldn’t call and uber driver to bring them places. Every journey they made was long and challenging. Just returning to Jerusalem was a major task.

As we read we can tell the Holy Spirit was at work in this council as He is at work in all our endeavors if we will take time to listen, over pressing our personal agendas.

Acts 15:6–12 ESV

The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

Acts 15:6–12 ESV

The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

Acts 15:

Those of you who are familiar with reading Paul’s writings in the New Testament, know that Peter and Paul were not always totally on the same page. Paul calls out Peter for at times being one way with Jewish believers and another way with gentile believers. But here at this Jerusalem council Peter has stood to vouch for the appeal being made by Barnabus and Paul and being consistent with God’s message to him, to which he had already presented.

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 15

Peter reasons that since God is working among both Jews and Gentiles that to demand that the Gentiles become Jews is to doubt what God has declared. This point seems to be based on Peter’s vision about clean and pure food (10:9–23).

Peter is also reminding the assembly that there was no Jew who had totally satisfied the law to the extent of the suggestion being made.

See, what is profoundly taking place here is that Peter is reminding the assembly that the gospel is for more than Jewish believers. There was a mission field clearly in within Judeah, but the gospel expanded well beyond those borders. The purpose was not to make gentiles become Jews, it was to make Jewish believers and gentile believers into Christians!

I mentioned earlier, that this circumcision debate was merely a symptom of the real underlying problem. The larger argument wasn’t about these details, it was masked as these details. The larger debate was identifying who was God’s people. Even Jewish believers who had accepted Jesus were still seeing salvation as for the Jews, who they believed were the true people of God. The goal was not to reclaim the old Israel, but establishing the new spiritual Israel, made up of faithful believers, not simply their blood line or outward appearance.

See although everyone to a degree was committed to Jesus, there were still factions who desired the previous elitism of being God’s people.

Mrs. White writes in Acts of the apostles.

“The Jewish converts generally were not inclined to move as rapidly as the providence of God opened the way. From the result of the apostles’ labors among the Gentiles it was evident that the converts among the latter people would far exceed the Jewish converts in number. The Jews feared that if the restrictions and ceremonies of their law were not made obligatory upon the Gentiles as a condition of church fellowship, the national peculiarities of the Jews, which had hitherto kept them distinct from all other people, would finally disappear from among those who received the gospel message.

The Jews had always prided themselves upon their divinely appointed services, and many of those who had been converted to the faith of Christ still felt that since God had once clearly outlined the Hebrew manner of worship, it was improbable that He would ever authorize a change in any of its specifications. They insisted that the Jewish laws and ceremonies should be incorporated into the rites of the Christian religion. They were slow to discern that all the sacrificial offerings had but prefigured the death of the Son of God, in which type met antitype, and after which the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic dispensation were no longer binding.”

White, E. G. (1911). The Acts of the Apostles in the Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Vol. 4, p. 189). Pacific Press Publishing Association.

There is no problem to call yourself God’s people. I hope everyone here knows you are a child of God. But I meet those who are most concerned with those here inside the faith, more so than sharing the their faith to those outside our walls.

Now I want to be clear. A healthy church on the inside is only more able to sharing the good news outside. Having inward focused events and meetings isn’t bad thing. However, I believe everything we do as a church should be centered in sharing the good news outside these walls. If we are only inward focused, are we doing the work God has called us to? I’m not sure we are.Talking about a wonderful pandemic, we must remember we are not to contain outbreaks of the gospel, we want to see it explode! Now I want to say this as well. Sharing the gospel, and sharing our faith is not preaching at every person we meet. I preach on Sabbaths, but sharing the gospel is investing in peoples lives. Offering kindness, love, and support to those whom we come into contact with.

I’ve lived in the south east almost my entire life, aside from a 2 1/2 year period in Michigan while I was in seminary. North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and now South Carolina, and one thing I love, that I learned from my parents down here. If I am out walking I wave at everyone who passes by whether I know them or not. That sounds weird to some people, but when I was younger, I just thought everyone did that, until I got weird looks in Michigan. lol. I bring this up because just being friendly and polite is becoming more and mores counter cultural. But it remains just as contagious as ever. Building trust and and building relationships is key to being able to share a precious truth…and just plain being friendly is a great start, that I don’t think should be overlooked.

Paul and Barnabus were individuals who were working on the front lines of evangelism. They had learned how to cultivate relationships. In fact if we look at Paul’s example. He didn’t go and convert people and then just abandon them. He would leave, but kept in contact as much as humanly possible, writing letters and always eager to hear news of his planted churches. In a way they are imploring their brothers and sisters at the council to allow them to keep up the work and not further tie their hands behind their backs as they minister.

Acts 15:13-

Acts 15:13–20 ESV

After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, “ ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.’ Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.

After this was said, it was evident to them that the Holy Spirit was behind their ministry and confirmed among the other leading apostles.

Mrs. White simply add in reference to James message in the matter:

Acts of the Apostles Chapter 19—Jew and Gentile

The Jewish converts generally were not inclined to move as rapidly as the providence of God opened the way. From the result of the apostles’ labors among the Gentiles it was evident that the converts among the latter people would far exceed the Jewish converts in number. The Jews feared that if the restrictions and ceremonies of their law were not made obligatory upon the Gentiles as a condition of church fellowship, the national peculiarities of the Jews, which had hitherto kept them distinct from all other people, would finally disappear from among those who received the gospel message.

The Jews had always prided themselves upon their divinely appointed services, and many of those who had been converted to the faith of Christ still felt that since God had once clearly outlined the Hebrew manner of worship, it was improbable that He would ever authorize a change in any of its specifications. They insisted that the Jewish laws and ceremonies should be incorporated into the rites of the Christian religion. They were slow to discern that all the sacrificial offerings had but prefigured the death of the Son of God, in which type met antitype, and after which the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic dispensation were no longer binding.

“James sought to impress the minds of his brethren with the fact that, in turning to God, the Gentiles had made a great change in their lives and that much caution should be used not to trouble them with perplexing and doubtful questions of minor importance, lest they be discouraged in following Christ.

The Gentile converts, however, were to give up the customs that were inconsistent with the principles of Christianity.”

White, E. G. (1911). The Acts of the Apostles in the Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Vol. 4, p. 195). Pacific Press Publishing Association.

As I alluded to before, this council took a shift in thinking. They began to think outside their borders of Judea, and began to uderstand the purpose of their calling. There were still many Jewish believers who would be the thorn in the side of Paul’s traveling ministry. But within this council, The Holy Spirit moved into the open surrendured hearts. And because of this, the seed of the gospel was able to be sewn.

One of the reasons I admire the early church so much, is because of the committment of the church in areas of discipleship and small groups working together.

As Pastor Don alluded to last Sabbath. If we look to the example of Jesus. We see that he invested in a small group of disciples who were diverse in age, talents, and spiritual gifts. It was because of this investment in mentorship do we read and observe a transformation of young men who were at times bumbling reckless fools, Peter stands out in that department, to becoming leaders of a world changing movement. Those disciples, became apostles, and discipled others and others.

I believe it was the investment Jesus made in this group of largely young adults do we see their capabilities enhance as time goes by. Honestly, Jesus didn’t most of his time in a preaching crusade. He spent most his time impacting a few, and helping his community. Often we can very good at one of those things but very poor at the other. Those few he invested in, which did extend beyond the 12, went on to disciple and impact others. They did wonderful things on top of just preaching, but also trained people to live for God, and disciple more. They planted church communities. Many of these were small groups that kept growing, and planted more groups. One of the reasons many of many of our church leaders including myself and Pastor Don at the refresh weekend all seemed push for the idea of initiating small groups in this congregation is because we want our church to grow in relationships beyond the superficial, as well as lend an opportunity for more focused efforts to reach people beyond these doors. Meaning we believe small groups will help those inside these doors, but even more so activate and empower us to have a larger outward focus.

Small groups also lend us the ability to mentor or be mentored by others. At our last board meeting, I posed a question. Would it be to much to ask that everyone invest in the life of a young person, that they are not currently investing in. Purposefully praying, for seeking out, and working to mentor. Can you imagine if everyone in this room took up that challenge. The devil might find himself with a gospel epidemic on his hand.

Barnabus had been that mentor to Paul and they had had quite the ride together. But what we see is the Paul had been mentored to the point where he was ready to be spread his wings. Acts tells us that Paul and Barnabus seperated over a disagreement. But you know what, while they no longer worked side by side, their split was a positive one, each mentored others and their ministries continued in harmony with each other. The text doesn’t say they parted bitterly, they’re worked just transitioned a part from one another.

Sometimes that happens in the church as well. Sometimes things run their course and new things begin as well. But the same God leads and will continue to lead. Of course what is most important, is to allow the Holy spirit to lead. God will never lead us to be stagnant in our personal walk with Him and He will never lead us to be stagnant as a church. No that comes when we refuse His leading in our lives and as a church.

My friends today, as you go home or continue your Sabbath I want you to consider which person you would like to be.

Are we going to be the Paul, and Barnabus....those willing do go out and do the work God has called you to? Are you the person who is spreading a wonderful pandemic of the gospel, outbreaking all over the place you go?

Or are you Peter and James who speak up confirming the call of young people pursuing God’s call?

Whomever you are, don’t be the person at the Jerusalem council who as Peter put it, puts a yoke around the necks of the workers. These are the ones I believe are containers of the wonderful pandemic of the gospel we seek to spread!

I’ll close with this story,

when I was junior at Mount Pisgah Academy, I was sitting in a vespers early in the year and I remember having an idea, that maybe as students we could begin doing church services throughout the Carolinas. I brought that idea to our new interim chaplain Michael Bracket. Pastor Michael, who I suspect quite a few of you here know, looked at me and he said, lets make it happen. Pastor Michael didn’t say, you know that would be a lot of work, and really you kids aren’t really trained in preaching, you might not do it right.” No he said, “Let’s make it happen. It wasn’t but a month later that he had a group of us touring around in different churches. We even came to this church to lead, which was only about 12 years ago. It was that year Pastor Michael invested in me and helped confirm in a young person’s mind that God had had a plan for him to go into ministry. It was because someone like Pastor Michael had sought to empower someone who just needed that confirmation. It was there our small group called the “circuit riders” were reformed and began something that was very impactful to this pastor today.

As the early church formed, the Holy Spirit was poured out at the day of pentacost. Groups were formed, discipleship happened. Acts tells us thousands were moved.

My friendsThe Holy Spirit is going to be poured out again. He is stirring us to be moved again. I believe he has plans for us, not just later down the road, but here and now, but we have to be willing to be willing to be used and moved. Maybe its a joining or leading a small group, maybe its mentoring a new believer or a young person. Maybe it is something else God has been leading you. Whatever it is, I pray you will follow God’s plan for you, and that we as a church would follow after his plan for us! Let’s play our part in the wonderful pandemic, lets be an outbreak here in spartanburg, that stretches beyond our walls and even beyond our community. This is my prayer for us.