I shared this message in revival last night and wanted to pass it along here…
Acts chapter 2 is a controversial chapter. Christians like to go there to argue about when the Holy Spirit arrived, whether we can duplicate the miracle of speaking in tongues, and whether this was the “baptism” Jesus talked about. But I think God’s focus is on the end of the chapter, in verses 41 and 47, where thousands of souls were being saved and lives changed.
In verse 41, the Day of Pentecost concludes with 3,000 souls being saved and added to the church. Verse 47 tells us that God kept doing this daily, but verse 42 is the bridge that connects the two. It simply says, “and they continued…” That phrase never really hit me before but it did this week. What’s the difference between having one big day (that soon passes) and having a series of big days? Continuing! Going on like the Energizer bunny!
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In the year 2000, Angie and I bought our first home. It was sweet! We took one day with the realtor. About the fifth or sixth and final house we looked at that day was the perfect fit. We headed to the realtor’s office and filled out an offer form and included with it our earnest money – a whopping $500 (big money for us at the time)!
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I’m convinced there is a vast shower gift conspiracy operating in our culture. Think about it. For a wedding shower, she has all the fun. Nobody buys the sweet “couple” golf clubs or pocket knives. And then the babies, the poor little babies. They don’t get anything fun – it’s all about Mom! What a sham!
Here’s the funny thing… God is behind this conspiracy! The Bible says that every believer has been giving some special ability by the Holy Spirit, and that we are given these gifts not so that we can look or feel good, but wholly for the benefit of… others! I hope you sense my sarcasm. This is the nature of God’s gifts, and if you want to enjoy life, you’re going to have to forget about all the benefits you want to receive and start thinking about your relationship to other people.
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There is a wrestling match going on inside every believer in Christ. It is the war between the Holy Spirit Who has intertwined Himself with our very being and our flesh, that part of us that acts and decides apart from the influence of God. One of the most common questions Christians ask is, “Will I ever be done with the fight, or will I always struggle like I do now?” And the answer is yes and no.
Obviously, we’ll be done with the fight and live on in infinite victory when Jesus comes to put an end to the war forever, but in this life, is real victory possible? The answer is twofold.
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I know this is a strange assertion, but I’ve been studying the book of Acts all morning and the thought hit me that Pentecost plus persecution produced the mightiest change agent in all of history – the local church empowered by the Holy Spirit. We are never commanded to purposely try to duplicate either, but we certainly ought to live in the warmth and glow of that early New Testament flame.
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I love being the Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church. This past Sunday marked three years that my family and I have been serving here and as I said from the pulpit last night, God has blessed us so far beyond what we deserve! We’ve come to love and know the people here and we’ve built a trust-relationship with them. They appreciate the Word of God and they show appreciation for their leadership. I am so humbled by them!
Yesterday was an awesome day. We closed out our Sunday School class called Marriage Matters and I think all the couples were challenged to deepen our love for each other. We had a great attendance as both morning services felt fairly full and Sunday evening was a great crowd as well. The music in all three services was probably the best I’ve experienced since coming here.
Before church a boy named Wesley came with his Mom to tell me about how he’d asked Jesus to be his Savior on Thursday night and that he was ready to be baptized. When I asked when, his Mom said, “aren’t you baptizing today?” So yes, we baptized two in water much warmer than the week before when a valve issue caused our baptistery to be 53 degrees.
As an added bonus, I ate “chicken over the coals” at the historic AQ Chicken House in Springdale. By day’s end, everyone kept talking about how they had really felt the presence of the Spirit of God in our services. I pondered the fact that we use that term sometimes without explaining it. We believe that the Holy Spirit takes up residence and lives personally in the heart of every believer, so when we gather together in corporate worship and we are all mutually submissive to God and to each other, His presence may be felt in a very real way by believers. It is this powerful presence of God that makes the difference in a winning Sunday and a normal one.
I thank God for all the winning Sundays we’ve had at Bethel, and I look forward to experiencing more of them for the years to come!
I recently received a little birthday gift from my awesome church staff for Borders and used it to pick up another C. S. Lewis book and Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. Mark operates one of the most well-known pastor’s blogs on the web and serves the National Community Church in Washington, D.C.
I’ve jumped into chapter one and love the principle already. Chasing the “wild goose” is basically an ancient Celtic way of saying “pursue the Holy Spirit.” Mark speaks of life as an adventure of chasing God, Who always manages to remain just out of reach. This life of chasing is filled with risks and pain, but that’s all part of it.
I’ll update you on my thoughts later, but chapter one is worth the purchase!
Angie and I recently attended a conference led by H. Dale Burke, Pastor of First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, California. (He followed Charles Swindoll as their Pastor.) Between the conference content and conversations in the hallway with dear friends, my heart was revived and encouraged. I was made aware of a comfort zone that I’ve kind of settled into of late.
Bethel is a great church filled with really good people, so it’s a happy place to minister. When people ask how things are going here, I tell them honestly, “We’re having a lot of fun!” Our numbers have been increasing. In fact, we’ve spent the last four Sundays over the 200 mark in attendance with near-record Sunday School numbers as well. Each of our Sunday School classes is adding members and we’re enjoying a long-term journey through God’s word together. Still, something has been missing.
When Angie and I first came to Bethel two years ago, we sensed that although the church needed a different direction and a fresh vision under new leadership. We dreamed and desired of taking Bethel to new places, all the while respecting the traditions that have been inherited by those of us who have come along after fifty years of ministry to the community.
We initially implemented some new ministries and techniques, which God has blessed greatly. But somewhere along the way, I fell into a comfort zone. Some of the changes were slightly uncomfortable for some. Mind you, nobody has been “upset” about anything, just slightly uneasy with change. Frankly, it’s always easier to avoid pushing the envelope when you know you’re making people uncomfortable. Meanwhile, I think we’ve begun to neglect the needs of the next generation. We’ve slowed down in our adaptation of the truth of the gospel to our kids and grandkids.
God has reminded me of why He brought us to this place. It was to reach lost people with the good news and to build them up in the faith. It’s not enough to have our membership rolls swell with newcomers, though we love having them. We must concentrate also on reaching out to those on the outside of the Christian faith who are looking in.
I want us to continue our commitment to the exposition of the Scriptures, unchanged. Our journey through the Word will not stop until the last verse has been explored (which will be long into eternity, by the way). The Sunday sermons will continue to be a length that allows time to expound God’s truth, with emphasis given to the original context and the modern, everyday-life application.
I also want us to start thinking more about our teenagers. Our youth leaders met this past Sunday morning and hatched some plans for a remodeled youth room. We launched a new site for Bethel Teens. We’re planning events, trips, fundraisers, etc. but we’re also praying about how our teaching and discipleship of teenagers can be more effective. Further, we’re going to do an occasional worship service with teens in mind.
We’re also going to continue to focus on the elements missing from many Baptist churches today; the joy of living the Christian life, the role of the Holy Spirit, and the freedom we have in worship. We’re going to continue to ignore any pettiness that may arise along the way, and we’re going to keep fixing broken lives by the power of God.
I’m fired up, and I hope you are too!
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Last night, millions watched the debate between Kelly and Brian Sabient (representing atheism) and Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (attempting to prove God’s existence without using faith or the Bible). I have reviewed as much of the video as I can stand and have come to some interesting conclusions.
At first, I was disappointed in Ray’s use of Scripture in his opening comments. He had made a commitment to prove God’s existence without the Bible and then proceeded to use the Bible, handing ammunition to his enemies who took full advantage of the moment and exploited his mistake. After much thought and prayer about the matter, I’ve come to the conclusion that Ray had not choice but to use Scripture.
This was his chance to speak to millions of “on the fence” people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to hear the gospel. Further, Ray believes that the Word of God has the supernatural ability to pierce through the hardness of the human heart. And finally, Christianity has made the mistake before of attempting to prove God’s existence without the Bible and our attempts at doing so have failed to convert people or change our surroundings. A convincing argument for a Creator might be fabricated from the witness of nature, but a converting faith is only borne on the wings of God’s inspired revelation of Himself to mankind. What was Ray’s mistake? It was in agreeing not to refer to faith or the Bible to begin with.
The reason I could not stand to watch the entire debate online, stopping the stream early instead, was because of the knot that formed in my stomach as I listened to Kelly blaspheme God in such an extreme way. My heart breaks for her. It is apparent to all who watched that atheism leads to intellectual arrogance and belligerence toward Christians. This rebellious attitude is not only proof of the fall of mankind into sin, left unchecked it always leads to the ultimate end of a soul unable to repent because of the hardening of the heart through the deceitfulness of sin. Should Kelly continue choosing to blaspheme God, she will inevitably push her will beyond the point of ever humbling herself before her Creator. She expressed that she’d rather go to hell than to live in eternity with a God she perceives as unfairly violent toward sinners. I hope this isn’t a self-fulfilling prophecy for her.
The thought that terrifies me the most is that they have become preachers of a false gospel. It isn’t that they question a Creator, it’s that they persuade others to purposely break the command not to blaspheme the Holy Spirit (a misinterpretation of Jesus’ intent, by the way). I’ve encountered the writings of Richard Dawkins and other such rationalists who purport that Christians are guilty of indoctrinating generations of people into believing in a warmonger-god. Yet the skeptics themselves are actively and intentionally recruiting followers to join them in their hate-filled, angry tirade against the very God who bought them with the price of His own dear Son.
At the end of the day, there will be millions who simply will not believe the gospel record. This is nothing new and we cannot naively assume that we’ll ever rid the world of atheism or agnosticism by simply arguing science or Scripture alone. What does seem to be new is the intensity with which atheism belittles people of faith. It is as though the battle lines are being drawn more clearly. The forces of light and darkness are engaged in a more intense form of warfare than at any other time in the recent past. Perhaps we’re moving toward a climax.
Perhaps it is that the day is soon coming when men will make their final choices concerning God and His Son. Should you accept the record of the Bible as inspired and inerrant, as I do, then you’ll discover that the Bible itself predicts the rising intensity of this debate toward the ultimate battle between Jesus and the forces of darkness. Thankfully, we who believe, already have the rest of the story laid out before us, and… Jesus wins!
I just finished reading Bill Hybels‘ newest book Just Walk Across the Room. I was so impacted by its content that I changed my sermon for this past Sunday. Instead of preaching on “The Power of Proper Life Stewardship” I preached on “The Power of a Walk Across the Room.”
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I'm a Christian, a Pastor to 
