Old Dogs, New Tricks
Notes
Transcript
The U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between rails) is four feet, eight-and-one-half inches. Why such an odd number? Because that's the way they built them in England, and American railroads were built by British expatriates.Why did the English adopt that particular gauge? Because the people who built the pre-railroad tramways used that gauge.
They in turn were locked into that gauge because the people who built tramways used the same standards and tools they had used for building wagons, which were set on a gauge of four feet, eight-and-one-half inches. "Why were wagons built to that scale? Because with any other size, the wheels did not match the old wheel ruts on the roads. "So who built these old rutted roads? "The first long-distance highways in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been in use ever since. The ruts were first made by Roman war chariots. Four feet, eight-and-one-half inches was the width a chariot needed to be to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses." Maybe "that's the way it's always been" isn't the great excuse some people believe it to be.
Have you ever heard the saying that it’s difficult to teach an old dog new tricks? Or what about we’ve always done it that way? Humans are notorious for resisting change in a variety of ways. That might be why many things do not change.....how about these examples:
The Cubs losing.
Politicians making promises they have no intention of keeping in order to get elected.
Doing the same things over and over again, but expecting a different result.
People with predictable habits or responses.
We live in Packer country, so I might be remiss if I didn’t mention that at least in the last 30 years, the Packers winning the North.
We get so set in our ways, even in the church. Have you ever heard any of these in board meetings, committee meetings, or just in casual conversation?
Well, we can’t stop that program we’ve been doing it for years. It had so much impact a while ago, we just need to get more serious about it.
You can’t take XXXX down, it’s always been there, or so and so’s family donated that.
We can’t reach out to those people, they are XXXXXXX.
I’m too old to do any of that any more, time for the younger ones to do it.
Well, don’t we pay the pastor for that?
I haven’t been called to evangelism.
and on and on........
I have a question for us to consider this morning. Is radical change even possible? Can we read the same old passages of Scripture in new ways that correct previous misunderstandings or even bad teaching we may have received? Or is our reading of Scripture so set in stone that we cannot receive new revelation that dramatically contradicts old interpretations?
Let me just tell you this morning, that if God is not revealing new things to you through His Scriptures then you are the problem, not Him! God continues to reveal himself through Scripture and continues to teach us new things, but only if we approach Scripture with an attitude of willingness to change and openness to whatever He might want to speak to us!
Before we get to our passage in Acts, I want to take us back to Luke chapter 24. Many of us know this account of the two on the road to Emmaus.
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
These two men knew the Scriptures intimately. However, there faces were downcast and we see Jesus (who they did not yet recognize) telling them that they are not understanding and he is giving them a new revelation. Jesus was right in front of them, but they were missing out. As all of this occured along the way, they testified that their hearts burned with them as he opened Scripture to them. It wasn’t until later when they were breaking bread together, when their eyes were opened to recognize Jesus.
The same is true for the gathered disciples in Luke 24:36-49. In verse 45 we see:
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
They had read the Scriptures before, probably many times, maybe even memorized them. However, they we see that they never really understood them. Could it be that we need our eyes opened today to rightly understand the Scriptures just like the two on the road to Emmaus and the gathered disciples in Luke 24? I think the answer is yes, but what does that look like?
I think we might find the answer in today’s text. We see Peter preaching, addressing the large crowd that just witnessed the miracle that was Pentecost. Peter, the same follower and disciple of Jesus who was frankly dense as a board before the Crucifixion becomes the articulate interpreter of the Old Testament in Acts 2.
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!
16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
25 David said about him: “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.
30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.
31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.
32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.
33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ’
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
The passage starts out with Peter standing to speak. Standing is the posture often used in this time period when addressing a crowd with a public speech. Notice also that Peter mentions the other 11 apostles, indicating that the coming message represents the twelve and not just Peter. Peter reminds the crowd who had just witnessed the miracle of Pentecost that the hour is early, thus the speakers were not drunk.
Instead, we see him reference the fulfillment of Scripture through the prophet Joel. Joel wrote about the outpouring of the Spirit who would allow all people to call on the name of the Lord. Peter recognized that the prophet was speaking about the events that had just happened, thus began the period that every generation has thought they were in, the last days.
In verse 22, Peter points out that Jesus’ divine activity by miracles, signs, and wonders are indicative of his identity. Peter points out to the crowd that the death and resurrection of Jesus were part of God’s divine plan. God knew what would happen when he sent his Son to earth, yet did it anyway. Nothing that happened was a surprise to God the Father. Jesus needed to die in order to defeat death so that death had no hold on him! This was all a required part of the plan for the redemption of humanity and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which had happened that morning.
Moving to verse 25, we see Peter quote from Psalm 16. This psalm of David describes his royal position and the hope that he will not be abandoned to the grave. Yet, David died, was buried, and his tomb could still have been visited. David was dead, proving his humanity.
But it is also important for us to note that God made promises to David regarding one of his descendants. This one would occupy the throne, not be abandoned to the grave, nor see the corruption of his flesh. The Peter returns to Jesus, explaining that just as the gift of the Spirit is the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to David. The language is royal and messianic: Jesus has been raised from the grave, ascended, exalted, and has received the Spirit from the Father to impart to the waiting disciples.
When we get to verse 37, after everything that had happened that day, this is the part that gives me goosebumps every time I read it. We see the question being asked, what shall we do then? It’s a logical question, one probably each of us would have asked in that moment. I love Peter’s response. In fact, it is the first call to repentance after the gift of the Spirit.
Peter answers in
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Repent and be baptized. This is the message that Peter had for the crowd that day. The gift of the Holy Spirit wasn’t for just the apostles, or just for the Jews, but for everyone. Repent and be baptized, be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the same message that we are to share today with others every chance we get. And it is not just with words, but maybe more importantly with actions, with how we live our lives every moment of every day. Serving others, including those we don’t like, or consider our enemies, or are different than us, or are poor, or many other things, but all people every day. Those who welcomed this message were baptized right there, that day. In verse 41 we see that 3000 people were added to the family of Christ that day. What a day to rejoice!
What then? What happened next? Verse 42, gives us a clue. Fellowship, devotion to the teaching of the Word, learning more about Christ and what it means to be a disciple, dedication to the church and the breaking of bread, and dedication to prayer.
Oh how I long to see God move like that friends! What if God moved that way in Howard and in Green Bay today? Would we believe it? Would we be ready to jump in and disciple new believers? Would we rejoice with the heavenly hosts that people were being saved? Sometimes I fear we have lost the fire and excitement that comes with people finding Christ. Let’s live in such a way that we might see that kind of harvest.
As we close this morning, I have a couple questions for us to ask ourselves. As I ask these questions, I’m going to ask you to close your eyes and pray. Ask God to point out where we need to listen to and hear him more. Maybe he wants to tell us something, but we need to yield in order to hear it. Here are the questions I want us to consider:
Is it possible that we have been wrong in our reading of the Bible? (Is it possible that we were taught bad theology? What about our own biased, out of context reading?)
Do we quote texts to support our position when others read teh same texts in different ways? (are we quick to defend our view or are we willing to listen and learn from each other - we do not always get it right - maybe God is using that person to teach us - remember iron sharpens iron)
Are we open to the reality that our eyes may need further opening? - (apostles and travelers to Emmaus in Luke 24)
