Scriptures: Luke 24:36-53, Acts 1, 2

A vital faith is a contagious faith.  The infant church had a dynamic influence in Jerusalem following the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.  Are there lessons that we can learn from it in order to be what God would have us to be?

1.   There was a growing awareness of a greater reality

The disciples had been “slow studies”.  Although they understood that Jesus had an agenda, the end of his earthly ministry had been a blow to them which had left them confused and discouraged – shepherdless sheep on the verge of a scattering.  Peter, always the optimistic, courageous follower, had come to see the personal weakness in his own life.  He had denied Christ and then watched him die.  Whatever his concept of the role of the Messiah, he had begun to look back to the fishing boats and nets.  Even though he knew that Jesus was alive, he knew that things were going to be different or perhaps even over for him.  He was a failure.  When it counted most, he had come up short.  It was at this point that he was restored by the seashore and charged with the responsibility of “feeding the sheep”.  I am sure that Peter had no idea where this charge would take him but he was restored and he knew things would never be the same again.

Ill. Jeff Lapointe, engineer working on a fighter jet.

I love the story Gordon MacDonald tells.  Among the legends is the tale of a medieval sidewalk superintendent who asked three stone masons on a construction project what they were doing.  The first replied that he was laying bricks.  The second described his work as that of building a wall.  But it was the third laborer who demonstrated genuine esteem for his work when he said, "I am raising a great cathedral."

I think that every church and every Christian needs the awareness that they are a part of some larger plan or design and that they are contributing toward it in some meaningful way.  Church if it is to be meaningful must be an experience that engages us in that pursuit somehow.

I believe that vitality comes to our own lives and the life of our churches when certain conditions exist.  I am convinced that the church should be a place of genuine life. 

Some 70 percent of Americans believe that "most churches and synagogues today are not effective in helping people find meaning in life, "George H. Gallup Jr., America's leading pollster and a committed Christian, reports in the recently published 1992 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches.

Gallup believes the vitality of churches, synagogues, and faith communities depends very much on how effectively they respond to six spiritual needs of Americans as he perceives them from his surveys.

They are listed as:

 1. The need to believe that life is meaningful and has a purpose.

 2. The need for a sense of community and deeper relationships.

 3. The need to be appreciated and respected.

 4. To be listened to and heard.

 5. To feel that he is growing in the faith.

 6. The need for practical help in developing a mature faith.

   -- Pulpit Helps, March 1994, p. 15.p

There are some who, when encouraged to live with a “faith disposition”, bristle at the thought of pretense.  In other words, they believe that we should come to church and just let it all hang out.  Now I believe that when we are hurt, we should not have to hide it.  When we are struggling, we should share it with someone who can help to carry the load.  It is a wise person who seeks help. 

In the name of honesty and integrity must we always allow the darker sides of our personality and our dispositions to dispel a smile or a good word or an encouraging response?  Would it not be better at times to dig deeper to find something better to present to people?  There are many who in the depths of their despair, serve as great “encouragers” to others.  They do not hide or deny their pain but they do rise above it.  Their countenance is mostly unburdened.  They are not trying to fool anyone or make any pretense, but they are drawing from a deep reservoir of faith and strength because they genuinely believe that they are victors over their circumstances.  Paul asks in Romans 8, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

Never once since the world began

Has the sun ever stopped his shining.

His face very often we could not see,

And we grumbled at his inconstancy;

But the clouds were really to blame, not he,

For, behind them, he was shining.

And so-behind life's darkest clouds

God's love is always shining.

We veil it at times with our faithless fears,

And darken our sight with our foolish tears,

But in time the atmosphere always clears,

For his love is always shining.

--John Oxenham (1861-1941) 

o       His resurrection was the beginning of something new.  Jesus had appeared to them but had not stayed with them following the resurrection.  Although they were all amazed at what took place, they knew that things were not going to remain as they were.  Things do not remain the same – as long as they are alive they change.  The relationships that you have today with people will change.  Think about the change that lay ahead of these people.  They were done with their old religion – although they continued for some time to observe the Jewish faith along with their new experience.  It became superfluous.  They would now worship on the Lord’s Day rather than the Sabbath – they were no longer Sabbath-keepers which would have created ill will with those who were not ready to accept that the Messiah had come.  In their own right they were now priests – they had something that they had to do more than “showing up”

o       They began to understand the scriptures.

Luke 24:44 He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."  45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

Personally, I don’t know of anything that will bring vitality to a church or to individuals like an understanding of the scriptures.  I am not talking merely of reading the text but of thinking about the words, about taking time to ask yourselves some very relevant questions.  It is a wonderful thing when the scriptures begin to open up to you.

Some years ago, respected Christian leader D. J. De Pree of Zeeland, Michigan, addressed the annual Gideon convention in Washington, D. C.  In his message he pointed out that we must engage in ten important spiritual activities if we are to realize fully the revitalizing power of the Word. 

We must read it (1 Tim. 4:13);

eat it -- that is, take it into our very being (Job 23:12; Jer. 15:16);

bathe in it for spiritual cleansing (John 15:3);

look into it as a mirror to see our true self (James 1:23-25);

meditate on it (Psalm 1:2; 1 Tim. 4:15);

memorize it (Deut. 11:18; Psalm 119:11);

study it (2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 5:12-14);

teach it to others (Deut. 11:19; Col 3:16) ;

talk about it (Josh. 1:8);

and sow its seeds of truth in the field of the world (Matt. 13:3-9; Luke 8:11).

The daily practice of these scriptural admonitions will keep you in a state of perpetual revival.

The trouble with nearly everybody who prays is that he says "Amen" and runs away before God has a chance to reply.  Listening to God is far more important than giving him your ideas. 

Frank C. Laubach in Frank C. Laubach, Teacher of Millions.  Christianity Today, Vol. 35, no. 10.

1 Corinthians 2::6 ¶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.  7  No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.  8  None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  9  However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"-- {Isaiah 64:4}  10  but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  11  For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no-one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  12  We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.  13  This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. {Or Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to spiritual men}  14  The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.  15  The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:

 16  "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" {Isaiah 40:13} But we have the mind of Christ.

This can be a great source of vitality and encouragement to you if you will take time to study and ponder.  God speaks to us through His word.

o       They understood their part. 

46 He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, [47] and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. [48] You are witnesses of these things. [49] I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

I have always been challenged by Paul’s words in Romans 12 when it comes to maintaining spiritual vitality.  He writes: “Never be lacking in zeal, keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”

Somewhere in our lives we would be greatly helped by seeing that we all have a place to serve – a role to play – it may be grand or small.

Lord of all pots and pans and things, since I've no time to be

A saint by doing lovely things, or watching late with Thee,

Or dreaming in the dawn-light, or storming Heaven's gates,

Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates.

Although I must have Martha's hands, I have a Mary mind,

And when I black the boots and shoes, Thy sandals, Lord, I find.

I think of how they trod the earth, what time I scrub the floor:

Accept this meditation, Lord, I haven't time for more.

Warm all the kitchen with Thy love, and light it with Thy peace;

Forgive me all my worrying, and make my grumbling cease.

Thou who didst love to give men food, in room or by the sea,

Accept this service that I do -- I do it unto Thee.

                                             ... Cecily Halleck

2.   They lived with a spirit of anticipation

I love the idea of looking forward to something.  I buy Max Lucado books and put them on my shelves and just let them sit there.  There is a tremendous enjoyment for me merely in the act of anticipating what is to come.  Years ago in Moncton, I worked with the Seniors.  One of the things that made me incredibly sad was their attitude toward their ministry.  They took offerings in their weekly meetings and they would try to find ways to give their funds away to other ministries.  They had subconsciously adopted the attitude that the other ministries were more important and so they had no right using their offerings to further their own ministry to Seniors.  People grow old overnight when they begin to think that way.  It is selfless and noble but there are too many people who give up on life far too early.  We began a fund to take a trip to the Holy Land.  I had people over 80 years old contributing to the fund.  Some thought that this was ridiculous.  I maintained that there was nothing to lose.  If they died before the 2 years came then they never lost a dime.  They saved it for their heirs.  If they didn’t get to go to Jerusalem then they visited the new Jeryusalem.

o       They knew that something was coming from God.  He told them to wait in Jerusalem until they received power.  I remember the exhilaration of this feeling during my last few years in Moncton.  More than once I would say to my friends, “I feel like a runner poised in the starting blocks waiting for the gun to bark.”  I didn’t know what or when but I knew that I was ready.

o       They were willing to release the past.  Are you willing to do that?  Until you do you will not discover the fullness of the present and what God would like to do today.

Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. Tradition lives in conversation with the past, while remembering we are where and when we are and that it is we who have to decide. Traditionalism supposes that nothing should ever be done for the first time, so all that is needed to solve any problem is to arrive at the supposedly unanimous testimony of this homogenized tradition.

Jaroslav Pelikan in an interview in U.S. News & World Report (June 26, 1989). Christianity Today, Vol. 33, no. 13.

I survived the Great White Attack in Moncton in 1992.  Can’t tell you how happy I was.  No one could ever talk to me again about the terrible storms that they used to have when they were young.  It was clearly a record.

I believe that if we are to be seen as relevant to our society today we must be encountering God now and speaking of it.  It’s not enough to speak of God as we speak of the treasured memories of our childhood or, the good old days.  Those memories may be precious to you and they should be but they hold all the appeal of going to someone’s house for an evening of watching home movies.

o       They were convinced that they were living in the last days rather than living in the past days.  I am sure that the reason that God did not tell us the time is that he would find us waiting and focusing so much on that, that we would neglect our mission.  Jesus analogy of last days accounting was the example of the master returning to find things functioning as they would on any other normal day.  He wants us to be ready for his return by being faithful to our everyday tasks.  Can you imagine the idea of waking each day aware that this could be your last day on planet earth?

o       They were willing to wait.  This is extremely difficult.  When we live with a sense of promise the temptation can be strong to try to make it happen ourselves.

Second only to suffering, waiting may be the greatest teacher and trainer in godliness, maturity, and genuine spirituality most of us ever encounter.

n      Richard Hendrix,  Leadership, Vol. 7, no. 3.

God

Grant me to be

silent before you--

that I may hear you;

at rest in you--

that you may work in me;

open to you--

that you may enter;

empty before you--

that you may fill me.

Let me be still

And know you are my God.

Amen.

   -- Sir Paul Reeves in a prayer at the WCC Seventh Assembly in Canberra, Australia.  Christianity Today, Vol. 35, no. 11.

3.   There was an anointing on their activity.

We have read many times of the fulfillment of Christ’s promise on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.  This was Empowerment Day.  It was the birthday of the church, the introduction of the promised Holy Spirit.  Three thousand men were saved that day.

Acts 2:41  Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

If we got that word today from another church we would have a tendency to throw water on it.  “How are they going to follow all those people up?”  “I wonder how many will stick with it?”  “They are into quantity, we are into quality.”  But it happened as the scripture records it.  One day!  That’s anointing.

You cannot reduce the work of God to formulas or techniques or programs.  Plans are simply  - plans.  Even from a human perspective a poor plan worked well will accomplish most objectives.  The greatest plans in the world worked poorly will fail miserably.  From a spiritual standpoint, God can anoint what seems to be foolish in our eyes and make it dynamic.  He delights in revealing His strength in our weaknesses.  On the other hand, our greatest, most creative plans are worthless without the anointing.

o       The work of God is supernatural and mystical in it’s nature.  What is plain and ordinary, we can do largely on our own.  In the process of developing a personal vision based on the scriptural idea that, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13  There are certain things in our lives every day that we can do quite well whether or not God shows up to help – or so we think.  May God help us as a church and as individuals to aim to operate in God’s realm – the realm of miracles.  I would hope that people would look at First Wesleyan and see what is impossible for man to do.

o       Activity is no substitute for anointing.  We can be busy and ineffective for the kingdom.

Psalms 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.  Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

I have thought different times that we have so many “people-hours” to spend each week as a church.  God help us to spend them well.  Help us to spend them in the areas that count.  Help us to get the best return for our investment.  Keep us as a church from perpetuating things that have outlived their usefulness and are no longer effective.  Protect us from cluttering our calendars with fluff.

o       Real anointing produces activity.  It is impossible to claim to be anointed and to be inactive in the interests of the kingdom.  When God begins to move in people’s lives they are moved.  I believe that a church that is being blessed by God grows numerically, financially, spiritually.  These things are the result of a healthy vital faith.  If we are what we need to be then we will be blessed by God

o       There are always skeptics. 

Acts 2:13  Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."