Gospel On The Ground 140724

Bethel Elim Church

Key Text: Acts 16:1 -5

Acts 1:8 …you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’

From v.8 the Bible tells us the account of how God’s fledgling church became His witnesses in all the Earth by the power and enabling of Holy Spirit. The gospel started moving along the ground, moving out from Jerusalem and into Judea, Samaria and even further into the heart of the greater Greco-Roman world at the time. The early believers in Jesus carried the story of Jesus with them wherever they went. The gospel was spread primarily by word of mouth and is still the same today. James 3:9 … the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. The kingdom of God started to invade the kingdom of this world. Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium, so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In defence of the Jews of the area, Paul had arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left because everyone knew that his father was a Greek. 1 This is an interesting moment. Paul has just come away from the council of Jerusalem, where the decision had been clearly made that it was unnecessary for Christians to obey all the Jewish law. Acts 15:5…some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.’ Peter stands up in the council and reminds the religious leaders, that God had ordained that he would be the one to take the gospel message to the gentiles. He goes on to make the point that God had given even the gentiles Holy Spirit Acts 15:9 …and He (Holy Spirit) made no distinction between us and them having cleansed their hearts by faith.’ So why are they intent on putting a yoke/burden on them that God has not, by insisting that they be circumcised first? Paul and Barnabas off the back of Peter’s defence, begin to tell of all the signs and wonders they have seen Holy Spirit do through them amongst the Gentiles. Paul concludes the debate Acts 15:19 Therefore, my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, So Paul more than anyone, passionately believed that it was not necessary for men to be circumcised and in his letters he was scathing of those who insisted on it. So then why did he insist that his new companion, Timothy should go through a ceremony which he believed was entirely unnecessary? The answer is a simple one, he believed that their priority was to preach the gospel and that they must ensure that nothing got in the way of that.The greatest blessing we can bring to another person is to introduce them to Jesus. God has entrusted us with the most powerful words we can speak. The message of Jesus has the power to transform lives.- we are the evidence of that fact. The witness of our lives still remains potent and powerful. Paul knows full well the temptation we all feel to at times be ashamed. It can be so easy to allow our fears, doubts and worries about what other people think to stop us from speaking about Jesus. Understanding this Paul writes Romans 1:16 ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.’ How can this be? How does a man who lived a relatively short life of around 33 years and spent most of His time within a 100 miles radius, change the entire world and the course of all human history? If Timothy was to work effectively among Jews then it would be much more helpful, if he was circumcised. Timothy’s mother was a Jew and so he already had much in common with Jews and his circumcision would make it much easier to relate to them. Paul set out his thinking on this subject in 1 Corinthians 9:19- 20he wrote: For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.

(Msg) Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralised—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view.

1 Corinthians 9:22…I have become all things to all people, that by all (not any) means I may save some.

The particular challenge that Paul was facing may feel very far removed from our own situation, but the principles are the same. There are many people for whom the good news of Jesus is a completely foreign language. The gospel message will often split hearers into two groups. We see this later in Rome as Paul preached Acts 28:4 … some were convinced by what he said but others believed.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

That means that we need to go out of our way to make connections. We need to look at ourselves and see if there is anything that we can change in order to get closer to others outside of our usual circles. For Paul nothing in the world was more important than bringing other people to Jesus and that should be the same for us too. Question: What could we do to reach out more effectively to our families, neighbours or work colleagues with the good news of Jesus? We can learn a lot from Paul. When he went to a new place, it was his usual practice to make contact first of all with those attending the synagogue. The synagogue is a consecrated space used for prayer, study, assembling and reading of the Torah. Had to be 10no.Jewish males. Thessalonica, Berea Athens Here he found not only Jews but also people who were interested in the faith, who hadn’t made a full commitment. It was a good place to talk about his faith and he was ideally qualified to speak with understanding to both Jews and Gentiles. Acts 17:17-18 …he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. But he didn’t leave it at just synagogues, he also went regularly to the public Square. That was a more random activity and I love the way that Luke records him meeting those who happened to be there. v.17 And if that wasn’t enough, he also engaged in lively debate with the philosophers. The Stoics taught the development of self-control as a means of overcoming destructive emotions whilst the Epicureans believe that pleasure, enjoyed moderately was the greatest good in life. Paul was delighted to engage in debate with them. Paul approach shows us of the need for flexibility in spreading the good news. It is natural that we will want to speak about Jesus in church and celebrate our faith and that is right.The church of Jesus are mixed communities, embracing people with strong Christian convictions and others who are interested but uncommitted. But we shouldn’t for a moment imagine that speaking about Jesus inside our church buildings is enough. Jesus told his disciples to ‘Go’ 2000 years ago and he says the same to us today. We need to take the good news to coffee shops, to pubs, places of work, retirement homes, youth clubs, on social media and wherever people meet. Just like Paul, we need to grab every opportunity for speaking about Jesus. Question: Can you think of a new place where you could speak about Jesus? The word is on the move. The kingdom is on the move. As disciples of Jesus, we can’t help too but be on the move.