Jump Start # 2817

Acts 8:4 “Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.”

Restoration preacher, Benjamin Franklin, wrote in 1856, “A little preaching on the Lord’s day will not do the work. The word should be preached every day and every night, as far as possible. We cannot confine our labors to cities, towns and villages, expecting preaching to be brought to us, as work to a tailor, hatter or shoemaker; but we must go out into the country, among the people, and be among the people, and be one of them, as messengers sent from Heaven to take them to God. We are not to confine ourselves to the fine meeting-house, but, when we can do no better, go to the court-house, the town or city hall, the old seminary, the school-house, or the private dwelling, and preach to the people. We must not wait for the large assembly, but preach to the few, the small, humble and unpromising congregation; we must not merely pretend to preach, while we are only complaining of them, telling how bad they are; whining over them, and murmuring—showing contempt to them and all their arrangements—but preach to them in the name of the Lord, remembering that in every human form you see, there is a living spirit, upon which Jesus looked when He died and which is worth more than the great globe on which He walked. No matter how lowly, how humble, how poor and uncomely all their temporal arrangements, you will find on acquaintance, some who love the Lord, turn from their sins, and become jewels in the Lord’s crown of rejoicing. Do not go into the work with a can’t upon your lips, with disheartening words, but preach to them as for life; plead with them with their real danger spread out before your eyes, remembering the reward of him who shall save a soul from death.” (American Christian Review, Feb, 1856).

And, then, there is our verse today, they “went about preaching the word.” The context of our passage reminds us that the apostles remained in Jerusalem. Who was it that was preaching? Likely, the seven chosen in Acts 6 to take care of the widows. They were devout men who were full of the Spirit. Likely, it was those who simply loved the Lord. Most had not been formally trained. Most, if not all, had not spent a summer or a couple of years with an older preacher. None of that happened back then. They were disciples who loved the Lord and loved their fellow man. God used persecution to expand the kingdom. The growth came about from the disciples fleeing Jerusalem. They left and they took with them the message. Away from home, they preached.

As one studies early American Restoration preaching, one quickly recognizes that these messengers preached nearly every day. On Sundays it was in church buildings. But through the week it was in log cabins, under trees, in barns. The gatherings were a family here and there. But, they preached and they preached.

One of the wonderful upsides to the Covid pandemic is that preachers are back to preaching nearly every day of the week. Through blogs, podcasts, emails, texts, videos—God’s word is being taught daily and worldwide. This is something that I hope never ends. It takes incredible work, organization, effort to keep this pace, but the amazing good that is being done cannot be measured. The Lord’s word cannot be kept behind the closed doors of a church building.

And, today, for some many disciples of Jesus, the ability to share the message is easier than it has ever been. With a few clicks on a keyboard, a sermons, blog, podcast, video can be shared among Facebook friends, sent to family members and co-workers. Imagine in a church of 100, if every person, every day sent messages out on social media. Imagine that same 100 sharing the Sunday sermon with everyone in their network. Hundreds, even thousands could be reached. We have it so easy these days.

Every soul is valuable to God. Every soul is precious and redeemable. You might just be the bridge that someone needs to find the Lord. Talking to someone about the Lord, inviting someone to services, sharing a message is never a waste of time. That one soul you reach may in turn reach hundreds.

Go into all the world…

Roger

Jump Start # 2616

Acts 8:4 “Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.”

As congregations begin opening up and assembling together again, often at a limited scale and baby steps, one of the concern that many have expressed is that people may have become accustomed to staying home. Many congregations have gone without Wednesday evening services for several months now. The material and videos have been made available but folks are watching them at their convenience. It may be late at night in bed. It may been on a Saturday morning. And, what I have heard from many is the fear that some simply will not assemble again on Wednesday. They like the way things are being done now.

With that, I thought of our verse today. The persecution in Jerusalem caused the church to scatter. The apostles remained in the city, but many of the disciples got out and away from the center of trouble. As they spread, they also spread the word. In some ways, many of them would never be together again. They were out forming new congregations and putting a stake down for the Lord.

Here are some things I see after the Covid-19 restrictions are lifted:

First, folks will assemble. We have a deep faith and love for the Lord and His people. We understand the value of Bible study and for years we have benefited and learned so much this way. I do not believe the current storm will be the death of Bible classes.

Second, it will cause some to reevaluate the structure of classes. Our current Wednesday model was handed to us from the last generation. It worked well for them. Through this, we may find better ways and more efficient ways to teach God’s word. Bible classes are more than periods of information, there is the fellowship factor that is lacking in on-line videos. As things start up again, this may be the time to look at how well we have been doing in teaching God’s word. Are there better ways? Does Wednesday evening still work for this generation? As leaders think these thoughts, some adjustments, changes and better ways to do what has been done will be tried. Middle school is not the same as grade school. High school is not the same as middle school. College is not the same as high school. Different levels of age and maturity has expanded into different ways the school day looks.

Third, we must have some faith in the heart of the people. In our passage, as the disciples spread out, they didn’t have apostles with them to tell them to remember to assemble, take the Lord’s Supper, worship properly. They had been taught. They knew. And, in many ways it will be the same for God’s people today. They have been taught well. Our folks today know.

Fourth, the Lord’s last words to the apostles were to go into Judea, then Samaria and then to the rest of the world. It wasn’t peace times that accomplished that, but the trials of persecution. Had it not been for that storm, the disciples may have remained in Jerusalem. It was time to expand the kingdom and it took a storm to do that. And, likewise today, as the result of this pandemic and separation we may find the church stronger, more active and more connected than ever before. Expecting things to be as they have been may not be a good expectation. I’m seeing that things will be better. We’ve lived through the Spring without Gospel Meetings, yet the church was still growing. People are having to use other resources than face to face to stay connected. People are sharing more things that the congregations are posting. Many have watched more sermons, sat through more classes than they would have during normal conditions. As the storm passes, we may find more men ready to step up and serve as shepherds. We may find more useful ways to use deacons. Preachers have found a large network of teaching beyond the pulpit. Much good has been done, even during this storm.

Finally, we have found that the Lord has been good to us. We have survived. Our faith has remained strong. Our hope has not become tattered and nearly gone. Not at all. We continue to march ever onward, even through the storms that the world and Satan throws at us. This has prepared us for whatever else is coming down the road. We know, as life as taught us, that there will be something else after this. Our scars and our experience has shaped us to face whatever comes. Together with God we will make it.

The disciples scattered and the kingdom grew. The enemies thought the persecution would put an end to this movement. Instead, it was the very mechanism that helped it explode. No enemy is a match for God. The enemies underestimate the power of faith, love and hope. Together, with Christ, we shall more than overcome, we shall shine forth!

Roger

Jump Start # 2281

Acts 8:4 “Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.”

The book of Acts reveals two fascinating details of the early church. First, we find continual upward growth. The church grew. Numbers are given as evidence. Three thousand. Then, five thousand. Then, the word used to describe the growth is “multiplied.” Village after village, the Gospel was taken.

The other fact isn’t as obvious, but it’s there. The secret to this growth was conversations. People talked about Jesus. There wasn’t a printing house cranking out tracts. There wasn’t videos introducing congregations. No social media. No mass media. No print media. Most didn’t even have Bibles in hand to study with others. Word of mouth. Conversations. Life lessons shared. That’s how it began and that remains the best method.

Sometimes I wonder if today we do everything except the conversations. We have so many tools and so many ways to show a person the word of God. We have videos of the Bible lands to show a person what the places actually looked like. We have maps. We have interactive tools. We have fill in the blank sermon note cards. Lots and lots of methods, ways and information at our finger tips. But still, what we need are conversations.

We need friends to talk to friends about Jesus. We need them to tell them how they have come to believe that Jesus is real and what the Bible says is true. We need to have friends sharing the wonderful ways that God has changed their lives. It’s not the programs at the church. It’s not the get togethers and the fun times, the deciding factor must be Jesus. Friends who will tell friends about Jesus.

We need family members to tell other family members about Jesus. We need them to show family members in the Bible just what the truth is. We need them to not be afraid but to courageously answer the questions people have. The concerns today are not about Calvinism, but rather, why do the innocent suffer? If God is so good, why is life hard? What about abortion? What about gender identity? What about right and wrong? This is what is on the minds of others. What they want are serious answers to their serious questions. Not something cute. Not something that makes very little sense. Not something that is simply repeated and not thought out. Real answers for today’s questions. Conversations. Conversations that include Jesus. Conversations that are built upon the Bible.

We need neighbors to have conversations with neighbors. We need co-workers to have conversations with co-workers. We need conversations with the people that serve us in restaurants, and in hospitals and in other areas of life. And, we need conversations at home. Mom, dad and the kids, all talking about God’s ways. It’s not sermons, nor lectures, but conversations. There are so many things that happen at school every day. These are wonderful times to take a person back to the Bible way. Remind. Teach. Illustrate.

Conversation—that’s not the Sunday sermon. There, the preacher does all the talking and the audience does all the listening. Conversation is give and take. It’s listening, as well as talking. It’s asking questions as well as answering questions. It’s not pressure. It’s not threatening. It’s engaging, inviting and including someone into a conversation that you are in love with, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We can talk about sports so easily. We can talk about politics, even with those we disagree with. We can talk about the weather. We can talk about cooking, movies, TV shows, the traffic, the kids, the grandkids and just about anything and everything, expect when it comes to the Gospel. When we transition to that, it seems our tone, our facial expression and everything becomes so serious and we become so uncomfortable that it is obvious. It shouldn’t be that way. Maybe if we had more spiritual conversations with brethren outside of the church building, we’d become more comfortable talking with others about the Gospel. Too often, we enter a religious discussion with the goal of either changing someone or at least getting him into the baptistery. Maybe we ought to simply have a conversation and let the Lord work on the other things. Sow the seed. God will take care of the rest. Don’t focus upon the end result. Enjoy the conversation. Make it enjoyable for the other person. Make it comfortable. Build bridges and relationships. In time, more conversations.

Those early disciples scattered and preached the word. Conversations are a starting point.

Roger

Jump Start # 678

Acts 8:4 “Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.”

In our Jump Start yesterday, we saw that Saul gave his full approval of the killing of Stephen. The death of that preacher seemed to motivate Saul to personally and aggressive attack God’s people. Saul dragged men and women to prison. It wouldn’t take long before his name was known. The disciples would fear his name. The Jews would look upon Saul as a rising star, a hero among them.

Our verse today shows the impact that Saul was having. The disciples scattered. They left the area. Later, Luke picks up with this and says, “So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone” (11:19).

There is an interesting lesson here for us and it’s a hard one for us to grasp. Hardships, hard times, persecution was the means that got the disciples to spread out and in doing that the Gospel spread to other places. Had it not been for the persecution, many of the disciples may have stayed in Jerusalem. When things are calm we don’t see the urgency and often the need to do what we should. Throw in a bit of hard times and that changes everything.

This is not only true with the spread of the Gospel, it’s true concerning how serious one takes God and His word. Remember the prodigal? He was doing pretty good, walking away from home with a pocket full of money and a head full of dreams. The far country didn’t turn out as he planned. He spent everything, Luke 15 tells us. Then, came the famine. There are always famines in our life. It was at this point that the prodigal came to his senses. He was senseless when he was demanding his portion of the inheritance. He was senseless when he was going through the money with no concern for tomorrow. It was the hard times that brought him around. God used hard times, a famine, to bring Joseph’s family to Egypt. God uses hard times.

We fear hard times and trials so much that many of us panic when they happen. We pray for God to deliver us from the hard times. We want God to end the hard times. Could it be that the hard times is the means to bring us to where we ought to be? Maybe a good dose of hard times is what we all need to get closer to the Lord and to get about doing what we should.

I think it is interesting that Saul did not get his vision from the Lord immediately after Stephen’s death. God waited. God allowed some to be thrown into prison. Still God waited. God allowed fear to rise. God waited. God allowed the disciples to scatter. God waited. God waited until Saul was on his way to Damascus before He appeared to him in a vision. Chapter 9 begins with these words, “Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” (9:1). Still breathing…still causing trouble…still a menace…still causing fear…God waited and then He finally showed Himself to Saul.

Peace and prosperity can make people and churches fat and lazy. We need to be challenged. We need to be moved. Still water tends to turn green. Still hearts tend to smother faith. The disciples scattered, but they didn’t stay silent. They scattered but didn’t go underground. They scattered and told others the Gospel.

The kingdom grew because scared disciples continued to share the message of hope and salvation.

The loss of a job…the loss of a parent…tough co-workers…closed doors…resistance…opposition…hard times…persecution…all of these can make us hide in the shadows or like the disciples of Acts 8, they can lead us to speaking to others in other places.

Got someone in the family who just doesn’t care or is stubborn in their sin? Maybe praying for a night with the pigs will bring them to their senses. Parents, instead of always coming to help your grown children who made messes of their lives, maybe letting them come to their senses is the best thing. It’s hard. It’s hard not to step in and make things right. It’s hard not to undo the mess they caused. The father of the prodigal waited…but he waited at home. He didn’t send a check to the pig pen. He didn’t come out to the pig pen. The son, alone and desperate, came to something he never had seen before. It was his senses.

Hard times will do that. Hard times will remind us what is important. The early church grew, not because of some large scale planning committee, nor some super organization that collected thousands of dollars and hired a slick PR firm. It grew without TV ads, billboards, telemarketing, fancy fliers, magnets, buttons or any such things. It grew without fine church buildings to meet in. It grew without powerpoint sermons and packets to hand to visitors. It grew in the midst of hard times. It grew when it wasn’t popular. It grew because disciples told others about Jesus. That is the best way the church will grow. It will continue to do so when we get that lesson ourselves.  We don’t need this or that. What we need is a good kick in the pants by hard times to remind us to turn off the TV and pick up the phone and call a friend and talk to him like we never have before.

Hard times—God uses them…maybe we ought as well.

Roger