Two Primary Themes

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

What are the themes being pushed in your church, local fellowship or your favorite media preacher? · Evangelism and reaching the world? · Prayer in schools? · Moral depravity of our society? · The 2nd Coming of Christ? · Worship? · Prayer? · Bible Study?

In the book of The Acts of Jesus there are two constant themes that under-gird all that is going on as the new fellowship around Jesus is launched into action. I find this emphasis by Jesus and His disciples to be most important for us today. To ignore these two themes may be short-circuiting spiritual life in the US church today. The two primary themes are the kingdom of God and the person of Jesus. Check out these three passages in Acts:

FIRST-In the opening chapter of The Acts of Jesus we are told about what Jesus taught the disciples in the 40 day intensive He had with them before He ascended into heaven. In Acts 1:3 we read: After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive (That's the person of Jesus). He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God (and here is the kingdom).

SECOND-Philip spoke to the Samaritans about these same two themes: But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God (That's the kingdom) and the name of Jesus Christ (and the person of Jesus), they were baptized, both men and women.

THIRD-Then finally in the last chapter of Acts we see Paul hosting the many visitors who came to be with him. He was very careful to teach these same two messages. Listen to this: They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God (Kingdom), and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus (Person of Jesus).

Then, a few verses later Paul is described in this way: He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ-with all boldness and without hindrance!

Have you noticed how many themes, challenges, urgings and pleadings we receive from our churches and studies in a given week? If we tried to apply even most of it, we wouldn't be able to do so. There's just too much! This is why I like the simplicity of the two themes Jesus and His disciples held together.

Maybe if we put our emphases upon simply the person of Jesus and the kingdom of God, just maybe we might experience the same things as the early church. Maybe focusing in this way is what we are desperately longing for. Maybe this is all we really need-Jesus and His kingdom. Maybe this is why Jesus made such a big deal about it when He said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else you're concerned about will be provided." JESUS AND HIS KINGDOM.

Misconceptions of Paul & His Mission

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

There are 4 misconceptions with respect to Paul: The first is the MISCONCEPTION OF HIS NAME. As a child growing up under the teachings of Christianity I learned along with most everyone else that Saul, the Jew, was converted over to become a Christian and now has the name of Paul. So, Saul was the Jewish name and Paul his Christian name. This is completely false.

There are two evidences that reveal the truth about his name: FIRST-Saul was his Hebrew (Jewish) name and Paul was his Greek name (to the gentiles). So, with this in mind you will see that Saul and Paul are interchangeable. S

SECOND-Saul, not Paul, is used several times after Jesus apprehended Saul on the road to Damascus. It is not a Christian conversion. If there is any sort of conversion, it is a personal transformation through Jesus. So, Saul, Paul, a Christian (a follower of the Christ) is now a follower of Jesus as the Christ.

The second is the MISCONCEPTION OF HIS CONVERSION. What was the core of Paul's belief? Why was he so triggered by the followers of Jesus to the point of putting so much energy into stopping them? The core of his beliefs was the hope of the Messiah, Who would someday come and bring deliverance to His people. The followers of Jesus just didn't fit into the "accepted" way of the Messiah Paul was looking for. In other words, Paul was looking for and protecting the purity of the coming of the Messiah. Or even more to the point, Paul was a devoted follower of the Messiah, the Christ. Paul could be called a Christian.

Now, as a Christian, Jesus apprehended his life on the road to Damascus. Jesus is still actively apprehending people's lives today-non-Christians AND Christians.

The third is the MISCONCEPTION OF HIS MESSAGE. When Saul-Paul was blinded, he was sent to Ananias in Damascus to get relief. Ananias was given by God what Paul should say and do. But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel-(Acts 9:15). Paul's message that he was to proclaim was very, very simple. He was to proclaim the name of Jesus.

The fourth is the MISCONCEPTION OF HIS MISSION. In the same verse Paul is given a specific mission-to proclaim the name of Jesus to three groupings of people. The three groups are the gentiles, their kings and the house of Israel. Paul was not just to speak to the gentiles as is normally taught.

Normally Peter is viewed as the one who speaks to the Jews and Paul is the one who speaks to the gentiles. However Peter is led by God to speak to the non-believer gentiles in Acts 10 and Paul continually speaks to a group of the believing Jews.

These are four common illustrations of how Paul and his mission are grossly misunderstood. Once you understand who Paul was and how Jesus came into his understanding, then it is much easier to make sense out of how Jesus works today. Paul doesn't want to be a Christian. He tried that and found it lacking. Then he met Jesus. Jesus apprehended him on the road to Damascus.

Here's the question: "Have you allowed Jesus, Himself, to apprehend your life?"

When Jesus Shows Up

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

Jesus shows up "where two or three come together in His name."

When Jesus shows up no one is the same again. · The dead are brought back to life. · The blind see. · The lame walk. · The deaf hear. · The mute talk. · Enemies and rivals become friends. · Women's status is elevated. · The poor are made rich. · The rich realize their poverty. · The lost are found. · The weak finds strength. · The strong are made aware of weakness.

No transformation is more vivid than what happened to the early disciples. They were weak-willed and timid, then found inner strength and courage. The usual reason given for this dramatic life-change is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

The resurrection is no doubt paramount, however I see their transformation coming from something else. Jesus spent 40 days with the disciples, where He spoke to them about the kingdom of God. Check out what Peter shared regarding that time, when he spoke to those gathered in the house of Cornelius: "We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen-by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

I think the real transformation took place during the time spent with Jesus, eating and drinking and discussing principles of the kingdom of God. And, this is the same today. When two or three are gathered together in the name of Jesus, He will show up and make a significant difference in all who see Him.

In E. Stanley Jones' book, Christ On the Indian Road, he shares this same principle of Jesus within the Indian culture. He says, "Jesus does not stand before the blind and the leper and the poor and the sinner and discourse philosophically on why they are in such condition, but lays His hands of sympathy upon them and heals them through his servants; and more-he puts his gentle but condemning finger upon the conscience of the hale and hearty Pharisee in the crowd and asks why he has allowed all this."

Jones goes on to say, "Christ is confronting men everywhere. He has got hold of us. A Hindu lawyer of fine ability gave an address to which I listened on the topic, 'The Inescapable Christ.' He said: "We have not been able to escape him. There was a time when our hearts were bitter and sore against him, but he is melting them by his own winsomeness. Jesus is slowly but surely entering all men in India-all men.'"

"How is it possible to limit or demarcate the lines of the Kingdom any more? He steps beyond them, and shocked and frightened like the Pharisees of other days we stand and wonder how far he will go in his warm sympathy and understanding. He eats with publicans and sinners and with the Hindu, too. No wonder H. G. Wells in summing up the influence of Jesus upon human history in his Outline of History exclaims, 'The Galilean has been too great for our small hearts.'"

Now, here's my point. If Jesus brings positive transformation in every life He encounters, then doesn't it make sense for us to introduce everyone we can to this Jesus? You see, when Jesus shows up, no one is ever the same again!

Healing In The Name of Jesus

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

There is a great story of healing in chapters 3 and 4 of the book of Acts. Let's take a look at it.

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer-at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: "People of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest's family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.' Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved."

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name."

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, "Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

NOTE the ingredients of a healing in the name of Jesus. FIRST-When God sets out to heal someone, he will use ordinary, uneducated people to work through. SECOND-When God sets out to heal someone, the one who is healed many times is looking for other solutions to his problem. The lame man was hoping for money. THIRD-When God sets out to heal someone, there will be lots of opposition from the religious leadership. FOURTH-When God sets out to heal someone, other ordinary people will be amazed. There is a ripple effect of faith that emerges from such an event. FIFTH-When God sets out to heal someone, nothing can stop it. When God opens a door, no one can shut it. SIXTH-When God sets out to heal someone, He will always heal in His special name-His unique and powerful name.

His name is Jesus.

In The Name of Jesus

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

There is a great worship song that goes, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name." What is there about that name that is so important?

In order to get this in perspective we must go way back to nearly 3500 years ago when Moses was being sent by God to face the people of Israel. Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:13-14).

From the beginning God's name is very important. His name is I AM WHO I AM. This means that God exists and always has existed. It is spelled in the Hebrew language by four letters without any vowels. It is YHWH. Some ancient rabbis have described the name of God as like taking a breath. It is Yah-weh. And every breath you take is like saying His name. His name is revered so highly by the Jewish people that they wouldn't even pronounce it. Instead they would use the word for "lord" in its place. Even today, most Jews will not spell out the word, God. They usually write it with a hyphen, G-d.

When we come to the time of Jesus, there is a lot of emphasis placed upon the name of Jesus. In the first few verses of John it says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only.

Later in John Jesus says, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." What is it about this Jesus that is so attractive? Well, in Acts 4:12 it says, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved." There is something about that name.

Remember when the Lord spoke to Ananias about what he was to tell Paul, who had just been apprehended by Jesus on the road to Damascus. He said, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.

When Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17, He makes an interesting reference about the name of God, "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me.

So what is the name of God that was given to Jesus? It is Jesus or "Yeshua" in the Hebrew. NOTE what this means. It is a combination of YE, short for Yahweh, and SHUA which means saves. So, the name is YAHWEH SAVES-Yeshua. It's a combination of the name of God given to Moses and the Messianic name given to God in the flesh-Jesus-God saves!

Even more specific is that Jesus makes several claims to being the I AM. When Jesus announced to His disciples He would be leaving, Thomas said, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

There is something about that name. The name of Jesus sets Him apart from all others, everywhere. As a Buddhist friend of mine said, "Jesus trumps everything and everyone else!"

This is why Peter and John were able to give the healing touch to the lame man in Jerusalem. It was all in the name of Jesus. This is why when two or three are gathered together in the name of Jesus, He shows up in supernatural ways. This is why we are to pray in the name of Jesus and He responds to our heart's cries.

In the name of Jesus. There is something special about that name. JESUS.