Proclaim 4: Witnesses of Hope
Notes
Transcript
Bookmarks & Needs:
Bookmarks & Needs:
B: Acts 13:16-43
N: Bible study card
Opening
Opening
Good morning, everyone! Welcome to Family Worship, and I wanted to say thanks for being here this morning if you’re here in person, and thanks for being here this morning if you’re online. We’ve had some special emphases these past couple of weeks with Grad Sunday and then Mother’s Day. This morning, we will continue the series we’re working through in Acts, but we will have one more special Sunday before it’s over when we celebrate the ministry of our Pastor Emeritus, Larry Miller, on June 6. Larry is planning on preaching that morning, and I know that I’m really looking forward to that.
I will address the new health recommendations from the CDC and the NM Department of Health, but I’m going to do so at the end of the service, so please be patient this morning. I promise it will be worth the wait, and we have a good reason for waiting until the end.
But before that.... next week, May 23, we will celebrate the relaunch of our Sunday morning Bible study classes for all ages! There is an updated Bible study card in the foyer, and the list of classes on our website has been updated. Feel free to check out any or all of the adult classes that seem interesting to you. For those of you online, one class will have a hybrid model, and one class will remain online only, and both plan to stream every week as well, so you can be involved in those if you’d like. Remember that Bible studies will begin at 9:15 and end at 10:15 to better facilitate children’s ministry drop off and pick up. We’re going to have donuts and coffee out in the courtyard as you come in, and we’re looking forward to a fun morning. It’s going to be great to study in small groups again!
Along with the relaunch of Bible studies, I need to speak to children’s ministry for just a moment. First, children’s ministry is going to be different than it was pre-pandemic. All children’s ministry kids will spend the morning in the gym for now (the southernmost part of the building). Since the south entrance is where child drop-off will be, we ask that no one else come into the building by that entrance on Sunday mornings, even though it will be open. Thanks for your understanding on this. Also, because of COVID rules for nursery and preschool-aged children, we will still be unable to have nursery or preschool during Family Worship. We do plan to have those available when COVID safe practices for those ages change, but for now, we will continue with no nursery or preschool during Family Worship. But as I always say: little ones are the sound of life, and I personally celebrate the fact that they are here in the room with us while we worship together, even if they make a little noise.
Two more quick announcements and we will dive into the Scriptures: I wanted to let you know about the total given for our one-day offering for the New Mexico Baptist Children’s Home last week on Mother’s Day. Our goal as a church was $4,500. I’m going to need a drumroll for this one… Last week, we received $7,258 to support that incredible ministry out in Portales! Church, both here and online, thank you so much for your generosity!
Finally, we have our bi-monthly business meeting tonight here in the sanctuary at 5:30. Yes, I know it feels like we just had one, and that’s because we did in April because we didn’t have a quorum to address the important votes in March. If we don’t make quorum tonight, we’ll have a special called meeting next Sunday morning if there is anything critical to vote on.
Now, let’s stand Bibles in honor of God’s Word as we read our fairly lengthy focal passage this morning, the sermon by Paul at the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch in Acts 13:
16 Paul stood up and motioned with his hand and said, “Fellow Israelites, and you who fear God, listen! 17 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors, made the people prosper during their stay in the land of Egypt, and led them out of it with a mighty arm. 18 And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness; 19 and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 This all took about 450 years. After this, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 After removing him, he raised up David as their king and testified about him, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my will.’ 23 “From this man’s descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel the Savior, Jesus. 24 Before his coming to public attention, John had previously proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 Now as John was completing his mission, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the one. But one is coming after me, and I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.’ 26 “Brothers and sisters, children of Abraham’s race, and those among you who fear God, it is to us that the word of this salvation has been sent. 27 Since the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize him or the sayings of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, they have fulfilled their words by condemning him. 28 Though they found no grounds for the death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him killed. 29 When they had carried out all that had been written about him, they took him down from the tree and put him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and he appeared for many days to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors. 33 God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second Psalm: You are my Son; today I have become your Father. 34 As to his raising him from the dead, never to return to decay, he has spoken in this way, I will give you the holy and sure promises of David. 35 Therefore he also says in another passage, You will not let your Holy One see decay. 36 For David, after serving God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and decayed, 37 but the one God raised up did not decay. 38 Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers and sisters, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you. 39 Everyone who believes is justified through him from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses. 40 So beware that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you: 41 Look, you scoffers, marvel and vanish away, because I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe, even if someone were to explain it to you.”
PRAYER: Pray for the peace, protection, and provision for Israel - the Scripture says that Israel is loved because of the patriarch, since God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable.
Have you ever given any thought to how many promises you make in a day? Now, we don’t always use the words, “I promise” when we make a promise. We could just say that we will do something or not do something, be somewhere at a particular time, or remember something or another. You could call these things where we are expected to keep our word promises. Most of these are pretty simple and minor in scope and importance. But in our lives, there are some promises that have a much greater weight, and we truly are expected to keep them no matter what. Promises like wedding vows, the swearing in ceremony of a law enforcement officer or military personnel, the oath that is taken before being a witness in a trial in a court of law.
These kinds of promises are vows that determine what will happen in the future: for example, when we make our wedding vows, we promise that certain things will always be true: we will have one another in good times and bad, sickness and health, when we are rich and when we are poor, for better or for worse, and forsaking all other romantic relationships for the rest of our lives. These are big promises!
This week, for the first time in this series, we are looking at a sermon of the Apostle Paul. In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas are on their first missionary journey to the region of Galatia, and here in chapter 13, we have Paul’s first recorded sermon.
As Paul gives this sermon to the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, he builds his argument around the promises that God has made, the work that He had done in making good on those promises, and then the ultimate fulfillment of those promises in the person of Jesus Christ. Interestingly enough, Paul was invited to speak by the leaders of the synagogue, possibly because of his impressive Jewish pedigree in both his family and his well-known teaching mentor, Gamaliel (ga-ma-lee-ayl). They apparently were unaware of his conversion, and this gives Paul the opportunity to preach a message intended to help them see the connection between the God of Promise and the Gospel of Christ.
1) God is a promise-making God.
1) God is a promise-making God.
In verses 16-22 of our focal passage this morning, Paul opens his sermon to those in the synagogue by giving a brief history of the nation of Israel. He quickly paints a picture that connects the dots of the past in the minds of his listeners: and these dots were all based on the promises that were made to the nation of Israel by the Promise-Making God. Paul’s layout of this part of his message was very quick and easy to track: He speaks of the patriarchs, enslavement of Israel in Egypt, their escape from that slavery, their wilderness wanderings, the conquest of the Promised Land, the time of the Judges, and the first two kings of Israel: Saul and David. This short section of Paul’s sermon covers a time span of about 1000 years of Jewish history in just 6 verses.
All of Israel traced their lineage back to Abraham through Jacob, who was renamed Israel. Abraham was given a great promise that had ramifications for all mankind:
2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Abraham was esssentially the starting point of a new designation of people: the Hebrew people. In this passage, God made a promise to Abraham that He was not going to go back on. He promised that Abraham would be blessed, and that the world would be blessed through him. Then later, in Genesis 15, God said this to Abraham:
13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens for four hundred years in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed. 14 However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterward they will go out with many possessions.
God here declares, or promises, that although Abraham’s offspring would be resident aliens in another land, and that they would be enslaved and oppressed, that God would judge the nation that they are oppressed under, and that they would come out of that land prosperous. And this is exactly what happened in Egypt: Israel went down to Egypt because of a famine in Judea, and at first it went well for them because of Israel’s son Joseph. But then Joseph died, and so did any pharaoh who knew Joseph, so Israel was then enslaved by the Egyptians.
Through Moses and by His miraculous provision for Israel, God brings them out exactly as He had promised—with many possessions and incredibly prosperous. But His people are disobedient, refusing to enter the land that He had promised to them: literally the Promised Land. So they wander in the desert for forty years until they are ready to enter and take possession of the Promised Land, and they do so under Joshua, as God had promised. God keeps His promises, working to keep wayward Israel on the right path over and over throughout the time of the Judges, until the nation of Israel asks for a human king. God knew this would come, because He gave Moses Deuteronomy 17:14-20 hundreds of years earlier for just such an occasion. He gives them exactly what they ask for: a king like all the other nations around them have, in the person of Saul. When King Saul dies, God gives them David instead, a man who the Scriptures say was “a man after [God’s] own heart, who will carry out all [his] will.” God had promised David that He would build a house for David’s line—and that in that line would be one that would never leave the throne.
God made a BUNCH of promises in the Old Testament. And these promises weren’t little promises: they involved predicting things that would happen years in the future, things that could not be controlled by mere people, things that would take a miraculous move of God to bring to pass. As Paul was preaching these first few verses of His sermon to those in the synagogue that day, these Jews would have been able to see how these came together, and the meaning behind them. Paul was taking them on a quick journey through their history and the truth of the promise-making God. But the point was to get them to understand that God had fulfilled even more than they had realized, because God is the promise-keeping God as well.
2) God is the promise-keeping God.
2) God is the promise-keeping God.
God decided to make these promises, and God decided to take action to maintain the nation of Israel in order to fulfill His promises. In the brief history that we just looked at in the beginning of Paul’s sermon, nearly all of the verbs in the passage are things that God did. Look in your Bibles again at verses 17-22: God “chose” the ancestors of the Israelites for His purposes. God “made” them prosper in Egypt. It was God who “led” them out with His mighty arm, and God who then “put up with” them, “destroyed” the Canaanites, and “gave” them their land. He then “gave” them judges, “gave” them King Saul, and then “raised up” David. God did all the work to keep His promises to Abraham and His people. And all of these promises led to one place: the Messiah.
In verse 23, Paul brings the promise-keeping of God to its greatest fulfillment: the bringing of the Messiah from the nation of Israel, through Abraham, through Israel (Jacob), and through David:
23 “From this man’s descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel the Savior, Jesus.
All of those promises in the Old Testament, all of those actions that God had taken, were for the purpose of bringing forth the Messiah, the promised Savior of the world, the promised King who would sit on the throne of David. Paul would later write to the church at Corinth that in Jesus, every one of God’s promises is fulfilled, and so we can affirm the glorious work of the Lord because we have experienced His salvation:
20 For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in him. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen” to the glory of God.
In Acts 13, Paul clearly preaches the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jewish people in Pisidian Antioch, connecting them to the identity and ministry of Jesus through a clear explanation of how Jesus had died, been buried, and had been raised from the dead by God the Father. He explained how Jesus had appeared to His disciples over a period of days, proving that He was the Messiah, before ascending to the right hand of the Father.
It was clear to Paul that Jesus was the good news that the Hebrew people had been waiting for because of the promises that had been made to their ancestors: that Jesus is the Messiah:
32 And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors.
And that same good news of the promise exists for us today. Paul was writing about something verifiable that had taken place in Jerusalem during his lifetime. He wasn’t making up some legend or story to pass down. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus were incontrovertible in Paul’s mind and life. They were not up for debate about their historicity. The apostles were witnesses to the crucifixion and burial, and they all (including Paul) were witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus, and the resurrection was the proof that Jesus really is the Savior. And that message, the message of the Gospel, is the message of salvation by God’s grace through faith in Jesus.
Jesus, the Son of God, was completely sinless and perfect. We are not. So when Jesus willingly died in our place on the cross, He took our sins on Himself and received the punishment that our sins deserve from God. The last thing that Jesus said on the cross was “It is finished—” the means of purchasing our forgiveness with His blood, the gateway to salvation, was completed. And then He rose again, defeating death, as Paul said in this sermon we are looking at this morning.
And when we trust in His finished perfect work for our forgiveness instead of our unfinished imperfect work, surrendering our lives to Him as Lord through faith, then we are forgiven, we are justified (made right with God), and we are promised eternal life—living forever in the presence of God after this life is over. And we also are given all that we need now, through God’s promises in Christ, to live lives of godliness and holiness, as Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:
3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
And because God has rescued us and given us salvation through Jesus, we have a mission to fulfill in the world, just as Paul had.
3) We should be a promise-proclaiming people.
3) We should be a promise-proclaiming people.
Because of what God has done for us in Christ, we are called and commissioned to share the Gospel, because we are witnesses of the hope of salvation and eternal life. Paul and Barnabas weren’t in Pisidian Antioch by accident. They went there with the express purpose of telling both Jews and Gentiles of the grace of God in the Gospel. They were going to proclaim it:
38 Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers and sisters, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you. 39 Everyone who believes is justified through him from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses. 40 So beware that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you: 41 Look, you scoffers, marvel and vanish away, because I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe, even if someone were to explain it to you.”
And the call that Paul makes to his listeners in the synagogue that day was that they should not turn away from what God was doing in their midst: that they would hear, repent, and believe. Now, I’m not going to say that all of us are necessarily called to travel to another country and preach the Gospel or evangelize. There is plenty of evangelization opportunity right here in our own back yard of Albuquerque, or whatever back yard you have were you are if you’re online. We’re called in Scripture to always be in a state of readiness to share the Gospel, to give an answer to anyone who asks us for the hope that we have:
15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.
We are called to be witnesses of hope. But notice what that Scripture says. It says that we are to “regard Christ the Lord as holy,” which is to keep Him in His proper place at the head of our lives, so that we might live a life that would make those who are lost see the hope that we have inside of us, so that they might ask why that hope is there. That might be in our home towns. That might be in a different part of the world. But the two go together: speaking the Gospel and living the Gospel.
The Baptist Faith & Message (2000 revision) isn’t a document that rules over Southern Baptist Churches. However, it is an explanation of the theology and position that Southern Baptist churches should all agree on. In BF&M 2000, Article XI: Evangelism and Missions, it reads as follows:
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
We, like Paul, are to live a life built on the rock of Jesus Christ, so that we can honestly and with joy declare the truth of the Gospel to those who are lost, so that they might receive eternal life through faith in Christ. This is what it means to be a witness of hope.
Closing
Closing
Touch on the response of the people here
42 As they were leaving, the people urged them to speak about these matters the following Sabbath. 43 After the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and urging them to continue in the grace of God.
They wanted to hear more, and many even followed Paul and Barnabas, and believed the Gospel (urging them to “continue in the grace of God.”) The message wasn’t complicated. They just witnessed to the hope that they had because of what Jesus had done for us. I pray that we would all see this kind of fruit in our lives as we faithfully proclaim the Gospel!
With that being said, let me first challenge us all to be intentional about living out our hope where the watching world can see it and ask. Then be ready to tell!
If you’ve never trusted Christ, then this morning, you’ve heard what Jesus has done for you. He died so you could be forgiven and live. The call that Paul gave to the people in Pisidian Antioch is the same: turn from your sin, believe the Gospel, and surrender your life to Him, trusting in what He has done for your salvation. And let me know if that’s you by email, or by hanging out in your seat after we dismiss this morning, and one of the pastors will come by talk with you about helping you start on this journey of faith. If you have questions about Jesus and salvation, please reach out and let us know.
If you believe this is where you can plug in through formal membership with the church family, please let us know that as well following service, either through email or by getting one of the pastors’ attention as people leave. We have a couple this morning who believe that EHBC is a place where they can come and be a part and learn and grow and serve. Richard and Randi Stone have been visiting for several weeks now, and I had the blessing of getting to sit down with them on Friday and hearing both of their testimonies of faith. Randi is coming today to join Eastern Hills by statement of faith, and Richard is not joining the church family formally at this time, but is glad to be a part of this community, believing that this is where God would have them attend, worship, and serve together. So we are receiving Randi for membership this morning.
Reflection
PRAYER
Closing Remarks
Closing Remarks
As I mentioned last week, we will have a memorial fellowship for Walter Hyde on May 28, at 12:45 pm in Miller Hall here in the building, if you’d like to attend. Their daughter has asked that you RSVP to her by email no later than May 24 if you are planning on being here for that time together. Her email is on the screen.
Also, remember that we are partnering with Family Life Radio to bless our local CareNet Pregnancy Centers through their “Ultimate Baby Shower.” You can drop off new, unwrapped baby items here at the church, either in the box in the office or the marked pull out-bin in the “Get Connected” table in the foyer until May 23.
Don’t forget that we have a special election going on right now for the federal 1st Congressional District in NM, which became open when Deb Haaland was confirmed as the Secretary of the Interior in President Biden’s cabinet. The election date is June 1, and absentee and early voting has already started. Please go and vote!
Bible reading: Psalm 7 today. We will read through the first 30 psalms, and then start Exodus.
OK. I promised that we would address the CDC and NM Dept. of Health change in guidance based on the apparent results of the COVID vaccine. We have waited until the end of the service this morning so that we aren’t springing anything on those who aren’t prepared for it, so thank you for your patience in this regard. On Thursday of this week, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people no longer need to either wear a mask or practice physical distancing in nearly all situations (there are a few exceptions, like healthcare workers and on public transit). The New Mexico Dept. of Health adopted those recommendations on Friday afternoon. Throughout the pandemic, we have always strived to follow the best science-based information that we had available to us as we made decisions. With the scientific evidence as it stands, we as a church are shifting our masking and distancing focus from a church-wide to an individual/family responsibility. Starting NEXT Sunday morning, masks will be at your personal discretion for yourself and your family during Family Worship and Bible studies. Wear a mask if you want to by all means. However, children will still have to wear them during children’s ministry in the morning, because those rules haven’t changed. However, I need to be clear that we are not going to ask who has or has not been vaccinated, because that is an exceedingly personal decision. We also are not going to set up vaxxed and unvaxxed sections in the sanctuary, because that’s the same as asking, and these will just promote disunity. Instead, we will all be gracious and loving to each other, being respectful of everyone’s individual choices in this regard, and do all we can to make this a place free of condemnation or judgment EITHER WAY. Can we covenant with one another on that?
Of course, if you ever feel ill on a Sunday regardless of your vaccination status… don’t come to the church building, and watch online instead!
I’m not giving any instructions on leaving this morning, and following our benediction verse, everyone grab a piece of burlap and remove it from the pews near you as an act of celebration. If you could get the tape as well, the staff would really appreciate it!
Benediction:
18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
God bless you all!