The Gospel Of Peace
Triton/NIU UBF Easter conference report By Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
Acts 10:36, “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of
peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”
On April 10th to 12th, Triton UBF and NIU UBF held an Easter Bible Conference entitiled, “The Gospel Of Peace.” The title of the conference was, “The Gospel Of Peace.” The key verse is “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:36) Sixty seven people (12 of which were from NIU UBF), gathered at beautiful Timber Lee Wisconsin, about a 2 hour drive from Chicago. A “lee” is a place of shelter. Timber-lee is spiritual shelter in this world. It is a Christian conference and retreat center under the auspices of the Evangelical Free Church of America. It is located near the southern part of Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine State Forest. The site encompasses over 600 acres of wooded, rolling scenic land. Its mission is to create engaging communities where people can encounter Christ through a dynamic camp experience. Our ministries last met at Timber-lee in 1995. Some attendants were high school students then, coming to Jesus for the first time. Several of these people returned to Jesus, at this same place, 14 years later.
Conference preparation began with two weeks of prayer meetings held at Triton. At these prayer meetings, God prepared our hearts through deep, verse by verse, Bible studies of 1 Corinthians 15 with Shepherd Teddy. Different groups worked hard to prepare a Student drama and CBF drama and an dramatic dance dedicated as a prayer for India pioneering work. Our music team worked hard to prepare inspiring praise music and special songs.
After a very effective “ice breaker” activity, led by Charisma Magno, the opening message was delivered by Andrew Norte, (NIU Music education), entitled, “Jesus, The Resurrection And The Life” based on John 11:25,26. We learned that where Jesus is there is hope, power, life and victory. In Christ, we can come out of the power of death, right now and live a life of faith. Andrew bore a double cross. He offered up his music talents to serve the music ministry, even premiering an original solo, “That’s The Power Of The Gospel.”
That evening we heard come inspiring life testimonies. Bamidele Taiwo (Business grad, Concordia University) shared how, at the age of two, he became disabled after falling out of a two story window. His parents loved and prayed for him. Jesus helped him overcome his bitterness. He does not live as a disabled man, but as a man of faith who has complete hope and trust in Jesus. He graduated in 2008 with a business degree from Concordia University. He prays to be a short term missionary to Argentina.
Kate Yoshida (political science grad) In the past she thought God was a punishing God keeping us under constant surveillance. After a conversation with Shp Teddy, she came to a realization that saving faith was not a matter of feelings, but it is a decision of faith based in the truth of God in the Bible. She came to know the God of grace and truth personally.
Tim Sagel (Electrical Engineering 3, NIU) gave his heart to write his first life testimony. He wrote 13 paged and reduced it to 5 pages. He could see how God saved a lonely, single seed and is helping him to be a shepherd for lost souls. God has been his friend over the years and has been training him to be shepherd and, one day an electrical engineer. Tim humbly received “revising” training from Julie Jesmer. He prays to be a blessing at the upcoming European Summer Bible Conference.
Lucy Kasango was our fourth sharer. She is from Zaire and is married to Elijah Kasango. She shared her sorrow that two of her three children were born with sickle cell anemia. She felt guilty about bringing them into the world. She suffers when she sees them in pain. But she found salvation and peace through trusting in the sovereignty of God. In God, there are no mistakes and God has a good purpose for her family, especially her children. She was released from self condemnation and received new joy and new life.
The second day began with group Bible studies. God raised up ten group study leaders. My leader was Rebekah Heusel. (daughter of Carl and Wendy Heusel) Though she is young, she prepared with her whole heart and boldly led sticking to the word of God. The message that followed was delivered by Ian Turner of Triton UBF. His message was based on Peter’s sermon found in Acts 3:11-21 entitled, “In The Name Of Jesus” Through his message we learned that we always have something to offer to the people, that is, the mighty name of Jesus and his life giving Gospel. Through faith in the power of Jesus we can do anything that God calls us to do. Ian also showed us that through sincere repentance, times of refreshing will come from the Lord. Ian had a double cross. One was message preparation and the other, leading the Triton/NIU Praise band.
That afternoon most people gave their hearts to testimony writing and sharing. Most people wrote and shared. The kids prepared together. There was free time. Many went horseback riding, others hiked and played sand volleyball. The highlight of the afternoon was Tim Lopez’s baptism by Shp Teddy. 60 people gathered at an amphitheater descending to a lake. In the cold water, Tim was baptized. It was his public declaration of his faith and his dedication of his life to following Jesus a shepherd and Bible teacher.
That evening Daniel Pitts delivered a message entitled, “Made Alive in Christ” based on Ephesians 2:1-10. Though Daniel is young, (High School Jr.) he delivered a powerful, clear and repentant message. God opened his eyes to see the he spent a lot of time doing nothing and accomplishing nothing. To him, church was boring. But after his baptism, his heart was changed. He decided to seek after God and engage his heart through Bible reading and prayer. His soul came alive in Jesus and encouraged all to come to Jesus to receive new life. After his message we heard some chosen testimonies, written that afternoon. Katherine Portugal (Triton College), shared about God’s work in her, who led her out of a faith based in culture and traditions to a faith based on faith in Jesus alone. Maggie Herrera (Criminal Justice, Triton College) thanked Jesus for freeing her from this world and its many lies and helping her to be found in Christ. Katalina Escobar (Triton College) lived a hedonistic, pleasure seeking life. But Jesus intervened and worked a miracle. He saved her from many destructive vices and even provided a sponsor for school. Sarah Jimenez confessed that though she had wandered from Jesus over the last 14 years, God has kept her. This conference, she was reminded of Jesus’ grace and vowed to return to her first love, Jesus. She committed herself to studying the Bible, 1:1 with Grace Norte and following Jesus, her Lord and Savior, once again.
Later that evening we were blessed with several presentations. The NIU UBF prepared a dramatic dance based on the Bollywood “Jai ho” dance at the end of “Slum Dog Millionaire”. In the dance a Hindu girl is converted by two missionaries. She receives some persecution, but overcomes and co-works with the missionaries to help convert her own people. Grace Norte and Mary Cedeno and Sarah Jimenez co-worked to produce a CBF drama based on 1 Corinthians 15. Triton Bible Club, led by Charisma Magno, produced a drama vividly depicting the suffering of young people who are living under the power of death. It was shockingly real but effective to reveal how the Gospel of Jesus has power to free anyone from the power of sin to give them new life. That night, students shared joyful fellowship around the campfire singing Kumbaya.
On the last day of the conference, we heard a message delivered by Shp Kevin Jesmer of NIU UBF entitled “The Gospel of Peace”, based on Acts 10:1-48. Through his message, we can see how God wants all people of all nations to receive the Gospel of Jesus. When any person, who repents of their sins and comes to Jesus, by faith, they are forgiven by God and become part of God’s family. They not only receive the forgiveness of sins, but also eternal life. They receive the peace of God that surpasses all human understanding.
The closing message was delivered by Shp Michael Norte. It was based on Acts 2:17, “Vision Possible” He pointed out that after receiving the forgiveness of God and freedom from sin God fills our hearts with his visions of his kingdom and his life giving work spreading throughout this world. As God’s people we are full of hope and vision in Christ. The young people of America can have this hope and vision when they repent and give their lives Jesus. It all starts when they begin to study the Bible, seeking to know Jesus. Michael left us with the question, “What is your vision for yourself and your ministry?”
At the end of the program, Shepherd Teddy led everyone in the reading of Romans 10:8-13, with special emphasis, that “…everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (13) He helped people to realize that all have sinned and need to come to Jesus to receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Then something historical happened. Shp Teddy initiated and altar-call. Half of the congregation came to the front to be prayed for. Many people shed tears of repentance and release. We pray for all who answered the altar call to give their lives to Jesus and serve him alone.
We thank God for many aspects of this conference. God sent about 14 new young people. Nearly everyone attended all the meetings and wrote testimonies. The praise and worship music was excellent. Everyone had a hand in serving the conference, from the music, to the dances the dramas, the messages and testimonies. We rejoiced at the fact that several people from the Triton Bible Club have been making the transition from the Bible club to 1:1 Bible study. The altar call, the baptism, the life testimonies are all evidences that the kingdom of God is advancing among us. So many times we have studied about post modern youth, how they are relational. I could see it at this conference. I could see the members of Triton Bible Club growing in friendship. They have an identity as a Triton Bible Club members. I could see people singing arm and arm. I thank God for leading my five children to the altar call, some of them had tears in their eyes. I thank God for bringing Miranda Forde (11 yrs old). She confessed that she came for fun, but I believe that she learned a lot about Jesus and is one step closer to meeting Jesus personally and the closest of all my kids’ friends to being a growing disciple of Jesus. Mandy Halek has new humble spirit and God used this conference to help her renew her spiritual life. Tim found new joy through meditating on and sharing the grace of God. Tim and Jennifer had joy serving the praise and worship times. Our family, Tim and Mandy Halek found joy serving the dramatic dance. Kathleen Haskins (RN) came to the conference on Saturday night. She called it a spiritual feast. She recommitted herself to more frequent daily bread prayer times with our family. Indeed the Gospel of Peace brought true peace and true joy to all of our hearts.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Should I Not Be Concerned About That Great City?║Ж
INTRODUCTION TO JONAH NIU UBF 4/25/09
Jonah 4:11, ⌠Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?║Ж
I thank God for blessing our study of the book of Acts. For over a year and for 31 lessons, we studied about the wonderful works of the Holy Spirit. It was very edifying to study the life of faith of the great Apostle Paul. Someone may ask, ⌠Why study the Book of Jonah?║Ж There are two reasons. The first, and least important reason, is that we want a change. We want to study some of the more obscure and unknown books in the Bible. Jonah fits that description. The other reason is that this is the end of the semester and we are headed into the summer ministry. For us the work of God does not end. It continues throughout the summer. We need direction for the summer months as a ministry. Jonah is a perfect book to mediate on in order to prepare our hearts for the months ahead. We can change our introduction key verse to read as such, ⌠NIU has more than twenty five thousand students who are walking in the darkness. Should I not be concerned about that great university?║Ж Indeed God is concerned about the salvation of 25,000 NIU students and so should we. May God bless the next four weeks as we study the short, but power and inspiring book of Jonah.
The book of Jonah seems like some obscure book that we could easily overlook. One is tempted to just sit through this book and read it quickly in one sitting. But don╗┬t do this. Let╗┬s take the time to discover all the treasures nestled deeply within it╗┬s pages over the next four weeks. When we do we will discover that this book is a revelation to God╗┬s people of his sovereign power and loving care for all his creatures, even cattle. (4:11) Jesus thought that this book was very important. It is mentioned by Jesus as a picture of his death and resurrection, and a call to repentance. Matthew 12:38-41 reads, ⌠ 38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." 39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one[a] greater than Jonah is here.║Ж Jesus also says something very similar in Luke 11:29-32, The point is, in the New Testament, Jesus compared Jonah's three days and three nights in the belly of the fish to his own death and resurrection. Jonah finally obeyed God and went to Nineveh with resurrection faith. Jesus praised the people of Nineveh for repenting when Jonah preached to them (Mt 12:39- 41). Jesus obviously thought that book of Jonah was very important. It is therefore a ⌠no brainer║Ж that we should also and study it deeply.
What is this book? Jonah is the fifth book of the Minor Prophets. The Minor Prophets are from Hosea to Malachi. It is very hard to find the book of Jonah, even for seasoned Bible students. So let╗┬s practice finding it. The four books preceding it are, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, and then Jonah. The four books following it are; Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Now, close your Bibles and then try to find the Book of Jonah, with out using the table of contents. It is still difficult I bet. This book is thought to be written in and around 780 B.C. and is different from the other prophetic books because it is a historical narrative. It tells the story of the prophet and does not center on his prophecies. (In fact, only one verse summarizes his message to the people of Nineveh (3:4)). There are other books that are short narratives. They are the books of Esther and Ruth. Though it is a narrative there are many spiritual truths that are powerful and obvious. This book is full of the supernatural acts of God, aside from Jonah surviving in the belly of the great fish, there is the vine that sprout and grew quickly, the worm that ate it, and, greatest of all, the repentance of entire city of Nineveh.
Who was the prophet Jonah? He was the son of Amittia. His home was Gath Hepher of Zebulun, north of Nazareth in Galilee, where he lived before the Assyrian invasion and destruction of Samaria. (2 Kings 14:25) His hometown sounds funny. In English, Hepher sounds like a female cow. He wrote this book to Israel and to God╗┬s people everywhere, approximately 780 B.C. Jonah preceded Amos and ministered in the northern kingdom under Jeroboam ll, Israel╗┬s most powerful king. (793 ║л 753 B.C.) A couple of his contemporaries were the prophets Joel (853 ║л 796 B.C.) and Amos (760-750 B.C). He might have been a member of the company of prophets mentioned in connection with Elisha╗┬s ministry. (2 Kings 2:3) His name means ⌠dove║Ж and he occupies a unique place as the first Jewish foreign missionary.
At time of the setting of this book, Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and the most important city in Assyria. Jonah probably preached before the Assyrians╗┬ rise to power. Nineveh was situated on the banks of the Tigris River and it had walls 100 feet high and 50 feet wide. It had 15 gates with one main entrance. The walls were over 7 ╗o miles in circumference. The city proper contained 125,000 people with a total population of about 600,000, which included all the people in the surrounding suburbs. (4:11) Though it was the main city in a relatively weak kingdom, within 50 years it would become the capital of the huge and wicked Assyrian Empire. The city was a grave threat to the security of Israel.
The prophet Nahum gives us insight into the spiritual condition of Nineveh. Nahum says that Nineveh was guilty of evil plots against God. (Nahum 1:9), exploitation of the helpless (Nahum 2:12), cruelty in war (Nahum 2:12,13), idolatry, prostitution and witchcraft (Nahum 3:4). The residents were idolaters who worshipped Asur and Ishtar, the chief male and female Assyrian deities. The Assyrian Empire was the considered the first ⌠World Empire║Ж. In their quest for world domination, they subjugated many smaller kingdoms. But since the Assyrians did not have a large enough army to adequately control their acquired territories, they reigned with terror. They performed innumerable acts of extreme violence on their conquered people to keep them under control. The Assyrians themselves left monuments to their cruelty ║л long, boastful inscriptions describing their torture and slaughter of the people who opposed them. Assyria was Israel╗┬s enemy and Israel was conquered by them in 722 B.C., forty years after Jonah stopped being a prophet. In 722 B.C., they carried the Jewish population, that lived in Samaria and took them into exile. They transplanted conquered peoples╗┬ from other nations into Samaria, nations who worshipped other gods. They mixed up with the Jews who remained, creating a mixed people, both racially and in regards to their religions. That is how the Samaritans came to be. Let╗┬s think about this for a while. It would be like a foreign army invading the USA and then sending troops to DeKalb and telling us to leave our house and go and move to Mexico. If we did not go we would be tortured and killed. And then, after we left, Mexican families would be forced to moved into our house. You had no choice. As God╗┬s prophet, Jonah could foresee what was to come for the people of Israel. The Israelites had many reasons to hate and to fear the Ninevites and so Jonah╗┬s hesitation in offering God's grace to Nineveh is understandable.
The book of Jonah tells the story of this prophet╗┬s flight and how God stopped him and turned him around. But it is much more than a story if a man and a great fish. Jonah╗┬s story is a profound illustration of God╗┬s mercy and grace. No one deserved God╗┬s favor less than the people of Nineveh. Jonah knew this. But he knew that God would forgive and bless them if they would turn from their sin and worship God alone. Jonah also knew the power of God╗┬s word, that even through his own weak preaching, they would respond and be spared God╗┬s judgment. But Jonah hated the Assyrians, and he wanted vengeance and not mercy. So he ran. Eventually, Jonah obeyed and preached in the streets of Nineveh and the people repented and were delivered from judgment. Then Jonah sulked, not appreciating what God had accomplished through him. God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity, confronted Jonah about his self-centered values and lack of compassion, saying, ⌠But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?║Ж (4:11)
In the book of Jonah, there are many words of God╗┬s judgment. But we know that though the messages of God are sometimes filled with words of doom, they are always spoken with the hope that the warning would lead to repentance. The contents of this book is not just meant as a revelation to the Ninevites impending judgment, to humble themselves and repent, but it was a revelation that should have moved the hearts of the Israelites to respond as the Assyrians did, with repentance and humility. May the study of this book move our hearts to humility and repentance also.
What did the Israelites need to repent about? They needed to repent of not caring for the things that God cares about. In other words that needed to repent of not attempting to participate in God╗┬s divine nature in trying to reach out to the whole world. For you see, God wanted to use his people as his ambassadors who shared in his concern for the lost people of every nation. Jonah needed to develop the same attitude that God has towards his enemies. Jesus once preached, ⌠Love your enemies.║Ж (Matt 5:44) and so God led Jonah carefully, step by step. We will see God╗┬s guiding hand through the four chapters of this book.
Indeed, when God first called Israel to be a nation, God had given them a clear identity and a clear vision. God spoke to them through Moses. In Exodus 19:3-6, he says, ⌠ 3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you [a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." But Jonah had forgotten that God had called Israel to be a kingdom of priests, to reveal God glory and God╗┬s salvation to the whole earth, and that God wanted to use his people to bring all nations to repentance. God has a great world mission concern for all people. There are many like Jonah who do not participate in God╗┬s heart for world mission, though they may hear his call. In that sense, Jonah is like all of God's people who are ready to enjoy God's grace, but reluctant to share it with others.
This book is all about a man whom God instructed to love his enemies in Neneveh. As so often happens in life, the prophet Jonah did the exact opposite of what God commanded him to do. He refused to go these people. Jesus told his followers, ⌠Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.║Ж (Matt 5:44) While most people have so many good things to say about this command, loving your enemies is not an easy thing to do. Many think that it may be the right thing to do, but not practical. Should we have compassion on terrorists or pirates? Instead we tend to run away from the Lord.
Sometime we are not so eager to preach to the people because we can not forgive. Sin runs rampant in our society. We see it daily in our headlines. The world seems to be filled with overflowing with violence, hatred, and corruption. Reading, hearing and perhaps even experiencing these tragedies, we begin to understand the necessity of God╗┬s judgment. We may be tempted to say, ⌠Oh well╘╪they brought it on themselves. They made their bed let them lie in it.║Ж We may even find ourselves wishing for vengeance on others! Even Christians fall into the trap of seeking revenge and vengeance. But suppose that in the midst of such thoughts, God told you to take the gospel to the worst of the offenders. How would you respond? Like Jonah, we may have to do things in life that we don╗┬t like to do. Sometimes we find ourselves wanting to turn and run, or at least ignore.
Our mission field that God calls us to serve is NIU. The students are clearly not our enemies. They are our friends and our classmates and our neighbors and club members, the precious flock of our pasture. To preach to them is our privileged calling from God and a blessing. But though they may be our friends, many are living as enemies of God because of their sins. (James 4:4) God cares fro them and wants them to come to saving faith. But there are still things in our lives that make us turn and go the other way when we are called to preach the message of salvation. We may be indifferent and ignore them, not really believing that they need to hear the Gospel. We go the opposite direction, too concerned with our own affairs than the students╗┬ salvation. Sometimes the students make us fearful, appearing like the fearsome Assyrians and we don╗┬t have the nerve to reach out to them. Whatever the case, we all have something to learn from our study of the book of Jonah.
As you read Jonah, see the full picture of God╗┬s love and compassion and realize no one is beyond redemption. The gospel is for all who will repent and believe. Realize that God╗┬s people should not be narrow and introverted but outreaching and missionary minded in their love and concern for those outside the church, who are facing God╗┬s judgment. Learn from the story of this reluctant prophet and determine to obey God, doing whatever he asks and going wherever he leads, even if that means to go and preach the Gospel and invite students to Bible study right here on our Nineveh, the campus of NIU. Begin to pray for those who seem to be furthest from the kingdom of God, and look for ways to tell them about Jesus.
The book may be divided as follows: l. The disobedience and flight of Jonah. (1:1-11) ll. Jonah and the great fish, (1:12-2:10.) lll. The greatest revival in history (Chpt 3) and lV. The wideness of God╗┬s mercy. (Chpt. 4)
There are several mega themes in the Book of Jonah. First, God╗┬s sovereignty. Although the prophet Jonah tried to run away from God, God was in control. Second, God╗┬s message to the world. God had given Jonah a purpose ║л to preach to the Assyrian city, Nineveh. Third, repentance. When the reluctant preacher went to the people of Nineveh, there was a great response. The people repented and turned to God. Indeed, God will forgive all those who turn from their sin. Forth, God╗┬s compassion. God╗┬s message of love and forgiveness was not for the Jews alone. God loves all the people of the world. God has great love, patience, and forgiveness, especially for those who don╗┬t deserve it.
May God perk the ears of your heart to hear the words of God from this wonderful book. May God fill you with repentance and faith and hope and clear life direction to share in God╗┬s heart for the lost of NIU and your grade school. As homework, may you read the entire book on your own this week and through it may God help you to understand what God means when he says, ⌠Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?║Ж (Jonah 4:11)
.
1. What style of writing is the book of Jonah? What other books in the Old Testament are this
style of book?
2. Are there any references to the Book of Jonah in the New Testament? (refer to Matthew
12:38-42 and Luke 11:29-32) What was Jesus║╞ attitude towards the book of Jonah?
3. The Book Of Jonah is one of the Minor Prophets. What are the other Minor Prophets? Hint
they include all the books from Hosea to Malachi. Can you close your Bible and find the
book of Jonah without using your table of contents?
4. Who was Jonah? Where did he live? (1:1; 2 Kings 14:25) Who were some of his
contemporaries? Do you think that Jonah could have been one of the company of prophets in
Elisha║╞s time? (2 Kings 2:3)
5. Read the four chapters of the Book of Jonah. It is said the book can be divided into four
sections. Give titles to the following sections: 1. (1:1-1) 2. (1:12-2:10) 3. (chapter 3) 4.
(Chapter 4)
6. What was God concerned about? (4:11) Where did God want Jonah to preach? (1:1b) What
do you know about the city of Nineveh? (refer to Nahum 1:9; 2:12-13; 3:4)
INTRODUCTION TO JONAH NIU UBF 4/25/09
Jonah 4:11, ⌠Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?║Ж
I thank God for blessing our study of the book of Acts. For over a year and for 31 lessons, we studied about the wonderful works of the Holy Spirit. It was very edifying to study the life of faith of the great Apostle Paul. Someone may ask, ⌠Why study the Book of Jonah?║Ж There are two reasons. The first, and least important reason, is that we want a change. We want to study some of the more obscure and unknown books in the Bible. Jonah fits that description. The other reason is that this is the end of the semester and we are headed into the summer ministry. For us the work of God does not end. It continues throughout the summer. We need direction for the summer months as a ministry. Jonah is a perfect book to mediate on in order to prepare our hearts for the months ahead. We can change our introduction key verse to read as such, ⌠NIU has more than twenty five thousand students who are walking in the darkness. Should I not be concerned about that great university?║Ж Indeed God is concerned about the salvation of 25,000 NIU students and so should we. May God bless the next four weeks as we study the short, but power and inspiring book of Jonah.
The book of Jonah seems like some obscure book that we could easily overlook. One is tempted to just sit through this book and read it quickly in one sitting. But don╗┬t do this. Let╗┬s take the time to discover all the treasures nestled deeply within it╗┬s pages over the next four weeks. When we do we will discover that this book is a revelation to God╗┬s people of his sovereign power and loving care for all his creatures, even cattle. (4:11) Jesus thought that this book was very important. It is mentioned by Jesus as a picture of his death and resurrection, and a call to repentance. Matthew 12:38-41 reads, ⌠ 38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." 39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one[a] greater than Jonah is here.║Ж Jesus also says something very similar in Luke 11:29-32, The point is, in the New Testament, Jesus compared Jonah's three days and three nights in the belly of the fish to his own death and resurrection. Jonah finally obeyed God and went to Nineveh with resurrection faith. Jesus praised the people of Nineveh for repenting when Jonah preached to them (Mt 12:39- 41). Jesus obviously thought that book of Jonah was very important. It is therefore a ⌠no brainer║Ж that we should also and study it deeply.
What is this book? Jonah is the fifth book of the Minor Prophets. The Minor Prophets are from Hosea to Malachi. It is very hard to find the book of Jonah, even for seasoned Bible students. So let╗┬s practice finding it. The four books preceding it are, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, and then Jonah. The four books following it are; Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Now, close your Bibles and then try to find the Book of Jonah, with out using the table of contents. It is still difficult I bet. This book is thought to be written in and around 780 B.C. and is different from the other prophetic books because it is a historical narrative. It tells the story of the prophet and does not center on his prophecies. (In fact, only one verse summarizes his message to the people of Nineveh (3:4)). There are other books that are short narratives. They are the books of Esther and Ruth. Though it is a narrative there are many spiritual truths that are powerful and obvious. This book is full of the supernatural acts of God, aside from Jonah surviving in the belly of the great fish, there is the vine that sprout and grew quickly, the worm that ate it, and, greatest of all, the repentance of entire city of Nineveh.
Who was the prophet Jonah? He was the son of Amittia. His home was Gath Hepher of Zebulun, north of Nazareth in Galilee, where he lived before the Assyrian invasion and destruction of Samaria. (2 Kings 14:25) His hometown sounds funny. In English, Hepher sounds like a female cow. He wrote this book to Israel and to God╗┬s people everywhere, approximately 780 B.C. Jonah preceded Amos and ministered in the northern kingdom under Jeroboam ll, Israel╗┬s most powerful king. (793 ║л 753 B.C.) A couple of his contemporaries were the prophets Joel (853 ║л 796 B.C.) and Amos (760-750 B.C). He might have been a member of the company of prophets mentioned in connection with Elisha╗┬s ministry. (2 Kings 2:3) His name means ⌠dove║Ж and he occupies a unique place as the first Jewish foreign missionary.
At time of the setting of this book, Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and the most important city in Assyria. Jonah probably preached before the Assyrians╗┬ rise to power. Nineveh was situated on the banks of the Tigris River and it had walls 100 feet high and 50 feet wide. It had 15 gates with one main entrance. The walls were over 7 ╗o miles in circumference. The city proper contained 125,000 people with a total population of about 600,000, which included all the people in the surrounding suburbs. (4:11) Though it was the main city in a relatively weak kingdom, within 50 years it would become the capital of the huge and wicked Assyrian Empire. The city was a grave threat to the security of Israel.
The prophet Nahum gives us insight into the spiritual condition of Nineveh. Nahum says that Nineveh was guilty of evil plots against God. (Nahum 1:9), exploitation of the helpless (Nahum 2:12), cruelty in war (Nahum 2:12,13), idolatry, prostitution and witchcraft (Nahum 3:4). The residents were idolaters who worshipped Asur and Ishtar, the chief male and female Assyrian deities. The Assyrian Empire was the considered the first ⌠World Empire║Ж. In their quest for world domination, they subjugated many smaller kingdoms. But since the Assyrians did not have a large enough army to adequately control their acquired territories, they reigned with terror. They performed innumerable acts of extreme violence on their conquered people to keep them under control. The Assyrians themselves left monuments to their cruelty ║л long, boastful inscriptions describing their torture and slaughter of the people who opposed them. Assyria was Israel╗┬s enemy and Israel was conquered by them in 722 B.C., forty years after Jonah stopped being a prophet. In 722 B.C., they carried the Jewish population, that lived in Samaria and took them into exile. They transplanted conquered peoples╗┬ from other nations into Samaria, nations who worshipped other gods. They mixed up with the Jews who remained, creating a mixed people, both racially and in regards to their religions. That is how the Samaritans came to be. Let╗┬s think about this for a while. It would be like a foreign army invading the USA and then sending troops to DeKalb and telling us to leave our house and go and move to Mexico. If we did not go we would be tortured and killed. And then, after we left, Mexican families would be forced to moved into our house. You had no choice. As God╗┬s prophet, Jonah could foresee what was to come for the people of Israel. The Israelites had many reasons to hate and to fear the Ninevites and so Jonah╗┬s hesitation in offering God's grace to Nineveh is understandable.
The book of Jonah tells the story of this prophet╗┬s flight and how God stopped him and turned him around. But it is much more than a story if a man and a great fish. Jonah╗┬s story is a profound illustration of God╗┬s mercy and grace. No one deserved God╗┬s favor less than the people of Nineveh. Jonah knew this. But he knew that God would forgive and bless them if they would turn from their sin and worship God alone. Jonah also knew the power of God╗┬s word, that even through his own weak preaching, they would respond and be spared God╗┬s judgment. But Jonah hated the Assyrians, and he wanted vengeance and not mercy. So he ran. Eventually, Jonah obeyed and preached in the streets of Nineveh and the people repented and were delivered from judgment. Then Jonah sulked, not appreciating what God had accomplished through him. God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity, confronted Jonah about his self-centered values and lack of compassion, saying, ⌠But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?║Ж (4:11)
In the book of Jonah, there are many words of God╗┬s judgment. But we know that though the messages of God are sometimes filled with words of doom, they are always spoken with the hope that the warning would lead to repentance. The contents of this book is not just meant as a revelation to the Ninevites impending judgment, to humble themselves and repent, but it was a revelation that should have moved the hearts of the Israelites to respond as the Assyrians did, with repentance and humility. May the study of this book move our hearts to humility and repentance also.
What did the Israelites need to repent about? They needed to repent of not caring for the things that God cares about. In other words that needed to repent of not attempting to participate in God╗┬s divine nature in trying to reach out to the whole world. For you see, God wanted to use his people as his ambassadors who shared in his concern for the lost people of every nation. Jonah needed to develop the same attitude that God has towards his enemies. Jesus once preached, ⌠Love your enemies.║Ж (Matt 5:44) and so God led Jonah carefully, step by step. We will see God╗┬s guiding hand through the four chapters of this book.
Indeed, when God first called Israel to be a nation, God had given them a clear identity and a clear vision. God spoke to them through Moses. In Exodus 19:3-6, he says, ⌠ 3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you [a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." But Jonah had forgotten that God had called Israel to be a kingdom of priests, to reveal God glory and God╗┬s salvation to the whole earth, and that God wanted to use his people to bring all nations to repentance. God has a great world mission concern for all people. There are many like Jonah who do not participate in God╗┬s heart for world mission, though they may hear his call. In that sense, Jonah is like all of God's people who are ready to enjoy God's grace, but reluctant to share it with others.
This book is all about a man whom God instructed to love his enemies in Neneveh. As so often happens in life, the prophet Jonah did the exact opposite of what God commanded him to do. He refused to go these people. Jesus told his followers, ⌠Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.║Ж (Matt 5:44) While most people have so many good things to say about this command, loving your enemies is not an easy thing to do. Many think that it may be the right thing to do, but not practical. Should we have compassion on terrorists or pirates? Instead we tend to run away from the Lord.
Sometime we are not so eager to preach to the people because we can not forgive. Sin runs rampant in our society. We see it daily in our headlines. The world seems to be filled with overflowing with violence, hatred, and corruption. Reading, hearing and perhaps even experiencing these tragedies, we begin to understand the necessity of God╗┬s judgment. We may be tempted to say, ⌠Oh well╘╪they brought it on themselves. They made their bed let them lie in it.║Ж We may even find ourselves wishing for vengeance on others! Even Christians fall into the trap of seeking revenge and vengeance. But suppose that in the midst of such thoughts, God told you to take the gospel to the worst of the offenders. How would you respond? Like Jonah, we may have to do things in life that we don╗┬t like to do. Sometimes we find ourselves wanting to turn and run, or at least ignore.
Our mission field that God calls us to serve is NIU. The students are clearly not our enemies. They are our friends and our classmates and our neighbors and club members, the precious flock of our pasture. To preach to them is our privileged calling from God and a blessing. But though they may be our friends, many are living as enemies of God because of their sins. (James 4:4) God cares fro them and wants them to come to saving faith. But there are still things in our lives that make us turn and go the other way when we are called to preach the message of salvation. We may be indifferent and ignore them, not really believing that they need to hear the Gospel. We go the opposite direction, too concerned with our own affairs than the students╗┬ salvation. Sometimes the students make us fearful, appearing like the fearsome Assyrians and we don╗┬t have the nerve to reach out to them. Whatever the case, we all have something to learn from our study of the book of Jonah.
As you read Jonah, see the full picture of God╗┬s love and compassion and realize no one is beyond redemption. The gospel is for all who will repent and believe. Realize that God╗┬s people should not be narrow and introverted but outreaching and missionary minded in their love and concern for those outside the church, who are facing God╗┬s judgment. Learn from the story of this reluctant prophet and determine to obey God, doing whatever he asks and going wherever he leads, even if that means to go and preach the Gospel and invite students to Bible study right here on our Nineveh, the campus of NIU. Begin to pray for those who seem to be furthest from the kingdom of God, and look for ways to tell them about Jesus.
The book may be divided as follows: l. The disobedience and flight of Jonah. (1:1-11) ll. Jonah and the great fish, (1:12-2:10.) lll. The greatest revival in history (Chpt 3) and lV. The wideness of God╗┬s mercy. (Chpt. 4)
There are several mega themes in the Book of Jonah. First, God╗┬s sovereignty. Although the prophet Jonah tried to run away from God, God was in control. Second, God╗┬s message to the world. God had given Jonah a purpose ║л to preach to the Assyrian city, Nineveh. Third, repentance. When the reluctant preacher went to the people of Nineveh, there was a great response. The people repented and turned to God. Indeed, God will forgive all those who turn from their sin. Forth, God╗┬s compassion. God╗┬s message of love and forgiveness was not for the Jews alone. God loves all the people of the world. God has great love, patience, and forgiveness, especially for those who don╗┬t deserve it.
May God perk the ears of your heart to hear the words of God from this wonderful book. May God fill you with repentance and faith and hope and clear life direction to share in God╗┬s heart for the lost of NIU and your grade school. As homework, may you read the entire book on your own this week and through it may God help you to understand what God means when he says, ⌠Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?║Ж (Jonah 4:11)
.
1. What style of writing is the book of Jonah? What other books in the Old Testament are this
style of book?
2. Are there any references to the Book of Jonah in the New Testament? (refer to Matthew
12:38-42 and Luke 11:29-32) What was Jesus║╞ attitude towards the book of Jonah?
3. The Book Of Jonah is one of the Minor Prophets. What are the other Minor Prophets? Hint
they include all the books from Hosea to Malachi. Can you close your Bible and find the
book of Jonah without using your table of contents?
4. Who was Jonah? Where did he live? (1:1; 2 Kings 14:25) Who were some of his
contemporaries? Do you think that Jonah could have been one of the company of prophets in
Elisha║╞s time? (2 Kings 2:3)
5. Read the four chapters of the Book of Jonah. It is said the book can be divided into four
sections. Give titles to the following sections: 1. (1:1-1) 2. (1:12-2:10) 3. (chapter 3) 4.
(Chapter 4)
6. What was God concerned about? (4:11) Where did God want Jonah to preach? (1:1b) What
do you know about the city of Nineveh? (refer to Nahum 1:9; 2:12-13; 3:4)
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Peter’s Vision Of World Mission
Acts 10:9-33 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
Key verse 10:15 4/5/09
“The voice spoke to him a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’”
In this passage Peter was visiting Simon the tanner. One day while waiting for lunch, he was praying on the roof and he fell into a kind of trance, and dreamed about a large sheet full of unclean animals, the kind he had been trained from his youth never to eat. When a voice from heaven said, "Get up Peter. Kill and eat," he objected. God wanted his Christian church to expand beyond confines of the Jewish community to the entire world. In order to do this God wanted to prepare Peter. In this passage God rebuked him for his fixed ideas and wanted to rid his heart of all prejudices in order to use him greatly in his world salvation plan. Through this passage may we learn to obey the word of God, and not just our own ideas and feelings. May God help us to obey his spirit so that we can be used in his world wide redemptive plan.
Part l: Peter’s Vision From God
Where was Peter at this time? Look at verse 9, “About noon the following day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went on the roof to pray.”
And also look at 5 & 6, “5Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea." At this time the church enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened and encouraged in the Holy Spirit. It grew in the numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. During this time of peace, the believers did not become complacent. They went on mission journeys. Peter was on such a journey, going around to the different churches in order to encourage the believers. It is like Dr John Jun who is making such a journey now. He is currently in Germany and will visit Paris France to encourage co-workers there. After Easter he is off to Quatar to encourage our Middle East Missionaries. Peter must have been like this. One this one journey Peter came to Joppa. There he raised a disciple there, whose name was Tabitha. It was a miracle…an amazing work of God. A great work of God happened in Joppa. Many became believers. Peter stayed in Joppa for a while, in the home of a tanner, named Simon. He must have carried out many Bible studies and Bible conferences with the new believers. One day while waiting for lunch, he was praying on the roof. He must have been exhausted and so he fell into a kind of trance, and slipped off into REM sleep. What did he see in his trance? Look at verses He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of unclean animals, like pigs, horses, vultures, lizards, the kind he had been trained from his youth never to eat. To this Jewish man, it was revolting, like a nightmare. It was like us having a dream of a sheet of opposums and spiders and eels being shown before us.
What is significant about these unclean animals? In the Old Testament the Jews were commanded by God to consider certain foods “clean” and other foods “unclean” . These laws can be found in Leviticus 11. Mostly the animals with unsplit hooves were unclean, like the rabbit. Animals that did not chew the cud were unclean. Like the pig. Fish that did not have scales, like the cat fish. Birds that eat only dead things and are scavengers. These food laws were give to the Israelites by God for mostly health reasons. Many of the animals that were unclean were prone to parasites. Many of the small animals that crawled on the ground were required to maintain the food chain. A pious Jew was not allowed to eat these animals or even touch them. The unclean animals also had a spiritual meaning. The Apostolic Fathers, the disciples raises up by the apostles, wrote about this. Animals without a split hoof were like people were not completely separate from the world. Animals that did not chew their cud, were like people who didn’t meditate on the word of God and accept it deeply in their hearts. Animals needed both a split hoof and chew their cud. Only having one trait was not enough. That is like saying a person who was separate from the world but does not meditate deeply on God’s word, and a person who mediated on God’s word and was not separate from the world, both were like the unclean animals. Fish that are bottom feeders may be like a person that is ingesting all kinds of worldly things into their hearts and souls. What can a person who is a vulture be like? A lawsuit lawyer? So you can see that there were lots of health benefits, environmental benefits and spiritual lessons to be learned from these Levitical Laws. For over 1400 years, the Jews had tried to obey these laws. For generations, the Jews obeyed God’s word not to eat “unclean” foods, even at the cost of their lives.
Over the course of time, the Jews began to apply the principles of these laws to others areas of life. These laws became part of their religious practice, many are found in the found in the Jewish books of the Law, the Midrish and the Talmud. After a while they applied these laws to even their relationships with the non-Jewish world. They felt that the Gentiles, anyone who was not a Jew, was unclean. This principle was practiced by not entering into a Gentiles’ house. The Gentiles were not allowed into the inner courts of the temple or they would be stoned to death. Some pious Jews may not have even wanted to talk to Gentiles or even touched a Gentile. Today we might see something like this in India, in the class structure of the Hindu religion, where the “untouchable” class may may not even get water or drink from some water sources. Peter was bound by 1300 years of Jewish custom and tradition. It was deeply rooted in his psyche.
But God was about to root it out of him, so that a new tree, the tree of world mission can grow in his heart. Look at verse 13. Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” At first glance, God’s command to Peter, a sincere Jew, sounded strange. After considering the history of Israel we know that God’s command to Peter was unreasonable and impossible to obey. Therefore, what God commanded Peter to do, that is to eat “unclean” foods, was a shock to this Christian-Jew. Peter resisted in verse 14. 14"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." We can understand him. What if God told you to eat roast dog or roast cat or a tarantulla? How would you respond?
God challenged Peter’s fixed ideas. Let’s read verse 15, ““The voice spoke to him a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’” And verse 16, “This happened three times and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.” Peter had some reluctance. He had a hard time letting go of his fixed ideas. This is shown by God’s revealing of the vision three times. But eventual Peter’s reluctance broke down and he submitted to God’s command with full obedience. (16)
What was God getting at? Of course, God’s objective was far more than simply challenging Peter’s eating habits and trying to expand his menu choices. At the heart of God’s command, to “kill and eat”, was God’s challenge to Peter to go beyond his narrow mind and comfortable Jewish environment and engage in the greatest challenge of his life. God wanted him to serve God’s world mission plan, to go beyond the scope of evangelizing just the Jews and to embrace all the people of the world, even the Gentiles, under the banner of the gospel. It was a challenge to Peter to abandon his old ways, his fixed ideas, is traditions, his cultural norms and his very nature as a Jew and then to begin a new way of life. The challenge was to tear down all the barriers of culture Peter was accustomed to and to become a brother and father to all people of the world, especially to Gentiles whom the Jews considered “unclean” and were thus shunned thus far. Of course, as a Christian, Peter didn’t despise the unclean Gentiles. But surprisingly Peter never deeply cared for their spiritual welfare or for their salvation either. Nor did Peter deeply accept Jesus’ world mission command from the heart. For example, when Paul was visiting and eating with church leaders, Peter and other Jewish/Christian leaders sat at separate tables, not wanting to eat with Gentile believers.
“Get up, Peter. Kill and eat!” was God’s voice to change, a challenge to be rid of all remnants of pride and self-righteousness lingering from his Jewish heritage. Without such necessary change, Peter could never embrace God’s world salvation plan, fully from his heart. Of course, Peter was useful in as far as the conversion of the Jews was concerned. But God loves the world. He loves all sinners, Jews and none Jews. For this reason he sent his One and Only Son Jesus to shed his blood for the forgiveness of all people, not only certain people, but all people of all nations.. Peter thought that the Christian-Jews were a little better than the godless Gentiles. But God’s voice challenged him to accept the truth that all men are equal before God, and the blood of Jesus is the common ground for salvation for all. Peter had to believe, then, that the Savior who shed his blood to save Peter in grace and mercy is the Savior who shed his blood to save Cornelius in grace and mercy. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23) and therefore, all are welcome to participate in the redeeming grace of the Risen Savior. No doubt, God challenged Peter to change his way of thinking, his plans for church and ministry, his future life direction, and all, to include Gentiles. No doubt also, Peter needed to change. He was already a believer, and a very strong and influential one at that. But even the great Peter needed conversion to world mission. It wasn’t easy! But Peter decided to put aside his own ideas and to obey Jesus’ world mission command to “…go and make disciples of all nations…” (Mt 28:19)
God wanted Peter to be practically changed. Like I said, he was born again to world mission. But would all that he learned in his heart, translate to his practical life? That is the question. God was giving Peter a chance to put what he learned into practice.. Look at verses 17-22, “ 17While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. 18They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. 19While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three[a] men are looking for you. 20So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them." 21Peter went down and said to the men, "I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come?" 22The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say." While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius, found Simon's house. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit told him to go downstairs to meet them and go with them without hesitation. There were great changes going on in Peter’s heart. How could he go anywhere with Gentiles? How could he let Gentiles into his home? But we can see that all that God revealed to him in his heart was translated to his practical life. Look at verse 23, “Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.” He proved his repentance by his deeds.
His repentance went deeper than that. Peter agreed to go to Cornelius home. There was a large gathering of people, mostly all Gentiles. Peter entered into that house. Peter revealed the the truth that God had revealed to him personally. He said to them, "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean" (28). Again Peter said in verses 34-35, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right." At this point Peter realized that God is not only the God of the Jews but also the God of the Gentiles. A great change had taken place in his heart. He could now be used greatly by God to be his instrument of world mission.
The reality is that sinful human beings seem to be a bundle of prejudices. These prejudices keep us from accepting people whom God wants to save with the gospel. We have lots of cultural spiritual prejudices that hinder us from being used by God. We may hold onto our prejudices and reject others. Sure, we may concede that those people can be Christians, but I don't want to talk to them. Or I don’t want to co-work with that church. But the truth of the matter is that God wants us to reach out to all people of all nations. The university community is full of people of diverse cultures and races and religious backgrounds. But can we welcome them in our hearts? Or do we see them as unclean? May God help us open our hearts to accept them as fellow human beings whom God loves. May God help us to share the gospel with them with respect and love. May God help us root out racial prejudice, national prejudice, even religious prejudices. May God help us accept others as human beings for whom Christ died so that we can preach the gospel effectively.
In this passage we learn that God accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. God wants to give them the good news of forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, no matter who they are. God’s servants must know God’s heart. God’s servants must accept people of every nation as their brothers and share the gospel with genuine respect and the love of God. This is possible only by the help of God who can change our hearts and make us instruments of world mission.
Acts 10:9-33 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
Key verse 10:15 4/5/09
“The voice spoke to him a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’”
In this passage Peter was visiting Simon the tanner. One day while waiting for lunch, he was praying on the roof and he fell into a kind of trance, and dreamed about a large sheet full of unclean animals, the kind he had been trained from his youth never to eat. When a voice from heaven said, "Get up Peter. Kill and eat," he objected. God wanted his Christian church to expand beyond confines of the Jewish community to the entire world. In order to do this God wanted to prepare Peter. In this passage God rebuked him for his fixed ideas and wanted to rid his heart of all prejudices in order to use him greatly in his world salvation plan. Through this passage may we learn to obey the word of God, and not just our own ideas and feelings. May God help us to obey his spirit so that we can be used in his world wide redemptive plan.
Part l: Peter’s Vision From God
Where was Peter at this time? Look at verse 9, “About noon the following day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went on the roof to pray.”
And also look at 5 & 6, “5Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea." At this time the church enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened and encouraged in the Holy Spirit. It grew in the numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. During this time of peace, the believers did not become complacent. They went on mission journeys. Peter was on such a journey, going around to the different churches in order to encourage the believers. It is like Dr John Jun who is making such a journey now. He is currently in Germany and will visit Paris France to encourage co-workers there. After Easter he is off to Quatar to encourage our Middle East Missionaries. Peter must have been like this. One this one journey Peter came to Joppa. There he raised a disciple there, whose name was Tabitha. It was a miracle…an amazing work of God. A great work of God happened in Joppa. Many became believers. Peter stayed in Joppa for a while, in the home of a tanner, named Simon. He must have carried out many Bible studies and Bible conferences with the new believers. One day while waiting for lunch, he was praying on the roof. He must have been exhausted and so he fell into a kind of trance, and slipped off into REM sleep. What did he see in his trance? Look at verses He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of unclean animals, like pigs, horses, vultures, lizards, the kind he had been trained from his youth never to eat. To this Jewish man, it was revolting, like a nightmare. It was like us having a dream of a sheet of opposums and spiders and eels being shown before us.
What is significant about these unclean animals? In the Old Testament the Jews were commanded by God to consider certain foods “clean” and other foods “unclean” . These laws can be found in Leviticus 11. Mostly the animals with unsplit hooves were unclean, like the rabbit. Animals that did not chew the cud were unclean. Like the pig. Fish that did not have scales, like the cat fish. Birds that eat only dead things and are scavengers. These food laws were give to the Israelites by God for mostly health reasons. Many of the animals that were unclean were prone to parasites. Many of the small animals that crawled on the ground were required to maintain the food chain. A pious Jew was not allowed to eat these animals or even touch them. The unclean animals also had a spiritual meaning. The Apostolic Fathers, the disciples raises up by the apostles, wrote about this. Animals without a split hoof were like people were not completely separate from the world. Animals that did not chew their cud, were like people who didn’t meditate on the word of God and accept it deeply in their hearts. Animals needed both a split hoof and chew their cud. Only having one trait was not enough. That is like saying a person who was separate from the world but does not meditate deeply on God’s word, and a person who mediated on God’s word and was not separate from the world, both were like the unclean animals. Fish that are bottom feeders may be like a person that is ingesting all kinds of worldly things into their hearts and souls. What can a person who is a vulture be like? A lawsuit lawyer? So you can see that there were lots of health benefits, environmental benefits and spiritual lessons to be learned from these Levitical Laws. For over 1400 years, the Jews had tried to obey these laws. For generations, the Jews obeyed God’s word not to eat “unclean” foods, even at the cost of their lives.
Over the course of time, the Jews began to apply the principles of these laws to others areas of life. These laws became part of their religious practice, many are found in the found in the Jewish books of the Law, the Midrish and the Talmud. After a while they applied these laws to even their relationships with the non-Jewish world. They felt that the Gentiles, anyone who was not a Jew, was unclean. This principle was practiced by not entering into a Gentiles’ house. The Gentiles were not allowed into the inner courts of the temple or they would be stoned to death. Some pious Jews may not have even wanted to talk to Gentiles or even touched a Gentile. Today we might see something like this in India, in the class structure of the Hindu religion, where the “untouchable” class may may not even get water or drink from some water sources. Peter was bound by 1300 years of Jewish custom and tradition. It was deeply rooted in his psyche.
But God was about to root it out of him, so that a new tree, the tree of world mission can grow in his heart. Look at verse 13. Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” At first glance, God’s command to Peter, a sincere Jew, sounded strange. After considering the history of Israel we know that God’s command to Peter was unreasonable and impossible to obey. Therefore, what God commanded Peter to do, that is to eat “unclean” foods, was a shock to this Christian-Jew. Peter resisted in verse 14. 14"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." We can understand him. What if God told you to eat roast dog or roast cat or a tarantulla? How would you respond?
God challenged Peter’s fixed ideas. Let’s read verse 15, ““The voice spoke to him a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’” And verse 16, “This happened three times and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.” Peter had some reluctance. He had a hard time letting go of his fixed ideas. This is shown by God’s revealing of the vision three times. But eventual Peter’s reluctance broke down and he submitted to God’s command with full obedience. (16)
What was God getting at? Of course, God’s objective was far more than simply challenging Peter’s eating habits and trying to expand his menu choices. At the heart of God’s command, to “kill and eat”, was God’s challenge to Peter to go beyond his narrow mind and comfortable Jewish environment and engage in the greatest challenge of his life. God wanted him to serve God’s world mission plan, to go beyond the scope of evangelizing just the Jews and to embrace all the people of the world, even the Gentiles, under the banner of the gospel. It was a challenge to Peter to abandon his old ways, his fixed ideas, is traditions, his cultural norms and his very nature as a Jew and then to begin a new way of life. The challenge was to tear down all the barriers of culture Peter was accustomed to and to become a brother and father to all people of the world, especially to Gentiles whom the Jews considered “unclean” and were thus shunned thus far. Of course, as a Christian, Peter didn’t despise the unclean Gentiles. But surprisingly Peter never deeply cared for their spiritual welfare or for their salvation either. Nor did Peter deeply accept Jesus’ world mission command from the heart. For example, when Paul was visiting and eating with church leaders, Peter and other Jewish/Christian leaders sat at separate tables, not wanting to eat with Gentile believers.
“Get up, Peter. Kill and eat!” was God’s voice to change, a challenge to be rid of all remnants of pride and self-righteousness lingering from his Jewish heritage. Without such necessary change, Peter could never embrace God’s world salvation plan, fully from his heart. Of course, Peter was useful in as far as the conversion of the Jews was concerned. But God loves the world. He loves all sinners, Jews and none Jews. For this reason he sent his One and Only Son Jesus to shed his blood for the forgiveness of all people, not only certain people, but all people of all nations.. Peter thought that the Christian-Jews were a little better than the godless Gentiles. But God’s voice challenged him to accept the truth that all men are equal before God, and the blood of Jesus is the common ground for salvation for all. Peter had to believe, then, that the Savior who shed his blood to save Peter in grace and mercy is the Savior who shed his blood to save Cornelius in grace and mercy. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23) and therefore, all are welcome to participate in the redeeming grace of the Risen Savior. No doubt, God challenged Peter to change his way of thinking, his plans for church and ministry, his future life direction, and all, to include Gentiles. No doubt also, Peter needed to change. He was already a believer, and a very strong and influential one at that. But even the great Peter needed conversion to world mission. It wasn’t easy! But Peter decided to put aside his own ideas and to obey Jesus’ world mission command to “…go and make disciples of all nations…” (Mt 28:19)
God wanted Peter to be practically changed. Like I said, he was born again to world mission. But would all that he learned in his heart, translate to his practical life? That is the question. God was giving Peter a chance to put what he learned into practice.. Look at verses 17-22, “ 17While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. 18They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. 19While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three[a] men are looking for you. 20So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them." 21Peter went down and said to the men, "I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come?" 22The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say." While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius, found Simon's house. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit told him to go downstairs to meet them and go with them without hesitation. There were great changes going on in Peter’s heart. How could he go anywhere with Gentiles? How could he let Gentiles into his home? But we can see that all that God revealed to him in his heart was translated to his practical life. Look at verse 23, “Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.” He proved his repentance by his deeds.
His repentance went deeper than that. Peter agreed to go to Cornelius home. There was a large gathering of people, mostly all Gentiles. Peter entered into that house. Peter revealed the the truth that God had revealed to him personally. He said to them, "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean" (28). Again Peter said in verses 34-35, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right." At this point Peter realized that God is not only the God of the Jews but also the God of the Gentiles. A great change had taken place in his heart. He could now be used greatly by God to be his instrument of world mission.
The reality is that sinful human beings seem to be a bundle of prejudices. These prejudices keep us from accepting people whom God wants to save with the gospel. We have lots of cultural spiritual prejudices that hinder us from being used by God. We may hold onto our prejudices and reject others. Sure, we may concede that those people can be Christians, but I don't want to talk to them. Or I don’t want to co-work with that church. But the truth of the matter is that God wants us to reach out to all people of all nations. The university community is full of people of diverse cultures and races and religious backgrounds. But can we welcome them in our hearts? Or do we see them as unclean? May God help us open our hearts to accept them as fellow human beings whom God loves. May God help us to share the gospel with them with respect and love. May God help us root out racial prejudice, national prejudice, even religious prejudices. May God help us accept others as human beings for whom Christ died so that we can preach the gospel effectively.
In this passage we learn that God accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. God wants to give them the good news of forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, no matter who they are. God’s servants must know God’s heart. God’s servants must accept people of every nation as their brothers and share the gospel with genuine respect and the love of God. This is possible only by the help of God who can change our hearts and make us instruments of world mission.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Acts 28:1-31
Paul Preaches The Kingdom Of God In Rome
Acts 28:1-31 Lesson 31
Key verse 31 3-22-09
“Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the
Lord Jesus Christ.”
Today we come to the final chapter in the book of Acts. It is a beautiful chapter that displays the grace and kindness of God, the glorious image of Christ in Paul, and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive purpose through Paul. At last, Paul arrives in Rome and begins to preach the gospel as a prisoner in a rented house. We can learn many things. Especially we can learn how God works through events and through small house churches like Paul’s rented apartment. May the Holy Spirit guide our study today.
First, God Is Kind (1-2).
God was guiding them according to his perfect will. Look at verse 1. “Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.” Malta was just south of Sicily, near Italy. During the storm, they seemed to be driven at random. But when it was over, they were very near Rome, right where God wanted them to be. God is always good. Even through the storm, everything turned out for good. We can trust God in the midst of storms of life.
God revealed his kindness to Paul and his companions. Look at verse 2. “The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.” Paul and his fellow travelers had been wet, cold, tired, hungry, constantly in suspense and suffering from despair for two weeks. There were 276 of them. Some were prisoners. However, the islanders treated them with unusual kindness. It was expressed by a big, warm fire. It was not a small matter to care for the needs of these unexpected guests. They served them for three months. Let’s to do the math. Three months equals 2,700 meal times. Multiply that by 276 people. That equals 745,200 meals served. Plus providing for their linens, doing laundry and providing toiletries and entertaining the men would put a huge burden on these islanders. That would have taken the concerted effort of dozens of people and the equivalent of thousands of dollars in groceries. They remind us of Abraham and his family serving the three strangers in Genesis 18:1-15. We can learn generosity from these idol worshiping islanders. Christians should even be more generous. 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 reads, “10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Let’s think about the words “unusual kindness,” Luke suggests it was inspired by the kindness of God. God disciplines, but God also shows kindness. Many times this is expressed through people in our lives, sometimes through providential events. The struggle with the storm lasted two weeks. But God’s kindness through the islanders on Malta lasted for three months. Some people think that God only gives hard training. But God is far more kind than he is strict. In fact, kindness is part of the character of God (Ge 39:21; Ps 18:50; Jer 31:3). We should realize that God is kind and thank him for all his kindness in our lives, even on the midst of our hard trials. We should also be kind, for God is kind and kindness is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22).
Second, The Image Of Christ In Paul (3-10).
In verses 3-10 we see the glorious image of our Lord Jesus Christ in Paul. First, Paul had Jesus’ servant image. Verse 3 says that Paul was gathering a pile of brushwood to put on the fire. Paul was a great man of God. He was one of the leaders of the early church. He had been the source of God’s salvation for all those who were on the ship. He should have been respected and honored and served. But he did not sit down, expecting to be served. He got up to gather wood for the fire. He was ready to perform a menial tasks for those around him. Paul had learned how to serve like Jesus did. Jesus did menial tasks like foot washing. Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45).
Second, Paul had victorious, resurrection faith like Jesus. As Paul was putting the wood on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. One bite from such a viper is fatal to a human being, causing their airway to swell up, stopping their breathing and causing their heart to stop. Paul could have died on Malta, so close to Rome. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from Paul’s hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live” (4). Here we see that the islanders had a vague knowledge of God, for they believed in divine justice. But their thought world was very fatalistic. They felt that God was like their pantheon of gods who are ready to mead out punishment on people and who must always be appeased. They didn’t know our gracious and compassionate God.. They lived by cause and effect. As a result they were under the power of sin and death. Their influence could have caused Paul to think fatalistically, thinking, “I am a murderer. God is punishing me for killing Stephen years ago.”
What did Paul do? Look at verse 5. “But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.” Paul did not have any element of fatalistic thinking. He shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. Paul had gospel faith. He believed the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the kingdom of God. He believed God’s promise of protection. He trusted that God would protect him from the snake’s toxins. In this way he was victorious over all the forces of darkness. Jesus promised his disciples in Mark 16:18a says, “...they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all....” This promise is given to all who believe in Jesus and preach the gospel. This does not mean that we purposely go and look for dangerous situations to put ourselves into. But in the course of serving Jesus, God will protect his servants. In this way we can even invite strangers to Bible study and we can be missionaries to far off countries.
In the course of serving God, we sometimes experience unexpected spiritual viper attacks. We can feel the poison of fatalism and despair enter into our bloodstream. Sometimes others misunderstand our struggles and are ready to pronounce that we are defeated because of our sins and shortcomings. But we learn from Paul to shake off the snake into the fire, trusting absolutely in God’s forgiving grace and love that protects, continuing to move forward. We must claim victory over the darkness by faith in Christ. For example, the devil tries to accuse God’s people, night and day. He usually tries to hold our sins over our heads whispering, “God doesn’t love you anymore. You’re too sinful and far gone to be a child of God.” But we must hold onto Gospel faith and know that the power of the devil, afforded by our own sinful nature, has been defeated by Christ. Romans 6:11 says, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” We are no longer under the power of sin. By the grace of Christ we now live a new life. We must shake off the vipers and overcome its venom with absolute faith in God’s love.
Third, Paul had the image of Jesus who heals the sick. The islanders expected Paul to swell up or suddenly fall dead. So they watched him carefully for a long time. But nothing unusual happened to him. Then they thought of him as a god. Through this, their hearts were opened to Paul’s message and ministry. Look at verses 7-10. The chief official of the island, called Publius, had an estate nearby. He welcomed Paul and his companions to his home and showed them hospitality. Publius’ father was sick in bed with a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him. After prayer, Paul placed his hands on him and healed him. It was a miracle. This fulfilled Jesus’ promise in Mark 16:18b where he said, concerning his disciples: “...they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well.” Then the rest of the sick on the island came to Paul. One by one he healed them all.
Paul was a blessing to the islanders. As a result, the islanders were happy to care for the needs of Paul and his companions. The islanders honored them and furnished supplies when they left. Through the beautiful scene on Malta, we are inspired by the glorious image of Christ in Paul. Like Paul, we must grow to maturity in our faith in Christ until we can be a source of blessing to those around us.
Third, Paul Arrives In Rome And Thanks God (11-16).
Paul and his companions were fully refreshed through God’s grace poured out on them at Malta. When the weather became suitable for sailing, they put out to sea in an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux, the patron gods of sailors. Their appearance on the ship reminds us that the world was heavily under the influence of idols and false gods. It was a world that desperately needed the gospel of Jesus.
From Malta, they sailed to Syracuse on the island of Sicily. Then they sailed to Rhegium on the Italian peninsula. Two days later they arrived at Puteoli, known as the port of Rome. Look at verse 14. “There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome.” At last, Paul arrived in Rome. Paul first mentioned Rome after seeing God’s great work in Ephesus. Acts 19:21 says, “After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. ‘After I have been there,’ he said, ‘I must visit Rome also.’” Paul was delayed by imprisonment and trials. But in Acts 23:11, the Risen Christ stood beside him and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” Later, in the terrible storm, the Lord’s angel said to him, “Do not be afraid Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar...” (Ac 27:24). At last, Paul was standing on Roman soil.
God encouraged Paul through other Christians. Look at verse 15. “The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged.” The distance the brothers traveled to meet Paul was considerable. Many of them did not know Paul personally. But they recognized him as God’s servant and honored his arrival. It was the work of God. God had gone ahead of Paul to begin world mission work in Rome. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.
We must learn from these Christians. They went out of their way to encourage a servant of God. We need to make time to serve them with delicious meal, some spiritual conversation, campus visits and the sharing of prayer topics. Over the years we have had many servants of God visit us at NIU UBF. I remember how blessed it was to serve the Oral Roberts University Praise band and the missionaries from New Zealand. We could serve 30 UBF shepherds last December in preparation for the Christmas service. I am thankful for our co-workers who greeted our UBF publishing team, last Thursday. We must always be determined to go out of our way to host and serve and encourage servants of God.
Fourth, Paul Preaches The Gospel In Rome (17-31).
Paul did not waste time. Three days after his arrival, he called together the leaders of the Jews and talked with them (17-20). Paul’s ministry in Jerusalem was not random. He followed the principle of Jesus’ ministry, “First for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” He began with the Jews. Paul wanted them to know that he was innocent. He was in prison because of Jewish political pressure. But he had not retaliated with a counter suit. He understood his imprisonment spiritually. It was because of the hope of Israel that he was in chains. Here the hope of Israel refers to the hope that the long awaited Messiah would come and save his people and establish the kingdom of God. This long awaited Messiah is Jesus Christ.
The Jews in Rome were already predisposed against Christianity. But they agreed to listen to Paul and came in large numbers to meet him (21-22). Paul took the opportunity to preach the Gospel boldly. Look at verse 23b. “From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.” Paul’s message was the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is where God is King. God’s kingdom is in the heart of his people. Without the kingdom of God, men are ruled by sin and death. They constantly live in fear and anxiety. They become slaves of the devil. But whoever willingly accepts Jesus as the King sent by God, can receive the kingdom of God in his or her heart. All the power of sin and death is driven out. God rules them with peace and love. At that time, the world was a Roman world. Nero was the Emperor. The Roman Empire was like a brute beast that crushed and devoured its victims and, at the same time, utterly corrupted its members. But Paul declared the kingdom of God in Rome, the heart of the Roman Empire. That is like proclaiming the Gospel in Mecca. Paul hoped that the Jews in Rome would be Bible teachers and that God would use them to evangelize the Roman Empire as missionaries.
Paul also tried to convince the Jews that Jesus is the Christ, sent by God. But Jesus was not the kind of Christ they wanted. Jesus came to save men from their sins through his death and resurrection. But the Jews wanted an economic or political messiah. A few of them believed, but most of them did not. In the end the Jews left, arguing vigorously among themselves. (29) What a terrible result it seemed to be. They did not become the emissaries of Christ as Paul had hoped.
How did Paul handle this? Paul understood the rejection of the Jews on the basis of God’s word (25-28). It was the fulfillment of prophecy. Paul saw where God’s work and history were going. God’s salvation was being sent to the Gentiles. As Simeon prophesied, Jesus is the Light to the Gentiles (Lk 2:32). There are no surprises to God. There is only the fulfillment of prophecy. In the time of rejection we must have eyes to see what God is doing based on his word.
Look at verses 30-31. “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” Humanly speaking, Paul was a prisoner. He was confined under house arrest. He could not go out to meet potential Bible students in the market places freely. But God sent him many interested Roman Bible students, one after another, who came to see him. And Paul welcomed them. Paul preached the kingdom of God to them and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. No doubt he taught them that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. And God raised Christ from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. One by one, Roman citizens and soldiers received the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the kingdom of God. They brought their faith home to their families. In this way the Christian church in Rome grew.
To human eyes, Paul’s preaching the kingdom of God under Roman confinement seemed insignificant. He was not the pastor a huge megachurch. He was a prisoner in a small apartment. But in God’s eyes, Paul’s house church ministry was a new beginning of world history, that would see the Roman Empire defeated by the Gospel of Jesus. In the next three hundred years, through the seeds planted by Paul small housechurch ministry, and through innumerable unnamed Christians, God turned the Roman Empire into a Christian Empire. In 313 A.D. the Emperor Constantine declared Christianity to be the national religion. God’s kingdom was not contained by the Roman Empire. God’s kingdom has been steadily advancing steadily through house churches like Paul’s conquering empire after empire over the last 2,000 years. Two years ago some people tried to start a mega church style ministry in Kazakhstan. On the first Sunday 2,000 people showed up to worship. This caught the government’s attention and they outlawed all churches except the Russian Orthodox Church and Islam. But they can not stop the house church ministries proliferating through the countries of the former Soviet Union. Today there are over 90 million house churches in China. One day the communist system will bow its knee to Jesus. North Korea will be changed. The Muslim world will be changed through small house church ministries like Paul’s.
A recent survey on religion in America is shows that the membership of centuries old mainline churches are declining. Many have let go of Gospel faith in blend in with the surrounding culture, even supporting alternative life style marriages. We must know that God’s church is not confined in these mainline institutions. God’s church was found in the manger of the baby Jesus. It was found in the prison where Paul and Silas was held. God’s church is found through Paul’s gospel preaching in the rented house in Rome. God’s church is in the individual Christian homes throughout America in which men and women fear God, live a holy life, and preach the kingdom of God. In this way we can see in Paul’s house church the whole church of God. May each of us live as a house church like Paul. May Jesus centered house church ministries me established on every campus in the USA and Canada.
UBF USA and Canada has grown like a spreading vine. It now covers many cities and states. But in essence we are a house church ministry. We are a manger ministry. We must value quiet devotion to Christ in the house church more than a glamorous mass movement. We must highly value personal faith in Jesus and personal piety. We must keep up one-to-one Bible study. We must keep our message focused on the kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. As we do so, God will make North America a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
The book of Acts ends here. In fact, it ends with a new beginning. Human history is always changing. But the work of God is flowing steadily from one generation to the next through the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ. The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. As a conclusion to Acts study, let’s renew our gospel faith and world mission vision. Let’s renew our commitment to house church ministry.
Acts 28:1-31 Lesson 31
Key verse 31 3-22-09
“Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the
Lord Jesus Christ.”
Today we come to the final chapter in the book of Acts. It is a beautiful chapter that displays the grace and kindness of God, the glorious image of Christ in Paul, and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive purpose through Paul. At last, Paul arrives in Rome and begins to preach the gospel as a prisoner in a rented house. We can learn many things. Especially we can learn how God works through events and through small house churches like Paul’s rented apartment. May the Holy Spirit guide our study today.
First, God Is Kind (1-2).
God was guiding them according to his perfect will. Look at verse 1. “Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.” Malta was just south of Sicily, near Italy. During the storm, they seemed to be driven at random. But when it was over, they were very near Rome, right where God wanted them to be. God is always good. Even through the storm, everything turned out for good. We can trust God in the midst of storms of life.
God revealed his kindness to Paul and his companions. Look at verse 2. “The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.” Paul and his fellow travelers had been wet, cold, tired, hungry, constantly in suspense and suffering from despair for two weeks. There were 276 of them. Some were prisoners. However, the islanders treated them with unusual kindness. It was expressed by a big, warm fire. It was not a small matter to care for the needs of these unexpected guests. They served them for three months. Let’s to do the math. Three months equals 2,700 meal times. Multiply that by 276 people. That equals 745,200 meals served. Plus providing for their linens, doing laundry and providing toiletries and entertaining the men would put a huge burden on these islanders. That would have taken the concerted effort of dozens of people and the equivalent of thousands of dollars in groceries. They remind us of Abraham and his family serving the three strangers in Genesis 18:1-15. We can learn generosity from these idol worshiping islanders. Christians should even be more generous. 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 reads, “10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Let’s think about the words “unusual kindness,” Luke suggests it was inspired by the kindness of God. God disciplines, but God also shows kindness. Many times this is expressed through people in our lives, sometimes through providential events. The struggle with the storm lasted two weeks. But God’s kindness through the islanders on Malta lasted for three months. Some people think that God only gives hard training. But God is far more kind than he is strict. In fact, kindness is part of the character of God (Ge 39:21; Ps 18:50; Jer 31:3). We should realize that God is kind and thank him for all his kindness in our lives, even on the midst of our hard trials. We should also be kind, for God is kind and kindness is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22).
Second, The Image Of Christ In Paul (3-10).
In verses 3-10 we see the glorious image of our Lord Jesus Christ in Paul. First, Paul had Jesus’ servant image. Verse 3 says that Paul was gathering a pile of brushwood to put on the fire. Paul was a great man of God. He was one of the leaders of the early church. He had been the source of God’s salvation for all those who were on the ship. He should have been respected and honored and served. But he did not sit down, expecting to be served. He got up to gather wood for the fire. He was ready to perform a menial tasks for those around him. Paul had learned how to serve like Jesus did. Jesus did menial tasks like foot washing. Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45).
Second, Paul had victorious, resurrection faith like Jesus. As Paul was putting the wood on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. One bite from such a viper is fatal to a human being, causing their airway to swell up, stopping their breathing and causing their heart to stop. Paul could have died on Malta, so close to Rome. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from Paul’s hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live” (4). Here we see that the islanders had a vague knowledge of God, for they believed in divine justice. But their thought world was very fatalistic. They felt that God was like their pantheon of gods who are ready to mead out punishment on people and who must always be appeased. They didn’t know our gracious and compassionate God.. They lived by cause and effect. As a result they were under the power of sin and death. Their influence could have caused Paul to think fatalistically, thinking, “I am a murderer. God is punishing me for killing Stephen years ago.”
What did Paul do? Look at verse 5. “But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.” Paul did not have any element of fatalistic thinking. He shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. Paul had gospel faith. He believed the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the kingdom of God. He believed God’s promise of protection. He trusted that God would protect him from the snake’s toxins. In this way he was victorious over all the forces of darkness. Jesus promised his disciples in Mark 16:18a says, “...they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all....” This promise is given to all who believe in Jesus and preach the gospel. This does not mean that we purposely go and look for dangerous situations to put ourselves into. But in the course of serving Jesus, God will protect his servants. In this way we can even invite strangers to Bible study and we can be missionaries to far off countries.
In the course of serving God, we sometimes experience unexpected spiritual viper attacks. We can feel the poison of fatalism and despair enter into our bloodstream. Sometimes others misunderstand our struggles and are ready to pronounce that we are defeated because of our sins and shortcomings. But we learn from Paul to shake off the snake into the fire, trusting absolutely in God’s forgiving grace and love that protects, continuing to move forward. We must claim victory over the darkness by faith in Christ. For example, the devil tries to accuse God’s people, night and day. He usually tries to hold our sins over our heads whispering, “God doesn’t love you anymore. You’re too sinful and far gone to be a child of God.” But we must hold onto Gospel faith and know that the power of the devil, afforded by our own sinful nature, has been defeated by Christ. Romans 6:11 says, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” We are no longer under the power of sin. By the grace of Christ we now live a new life. We must shake off the vipers and overcome its venom with absolute faith in God’s love.
Third, Paul had the image of Jesus who heals the sick. The islanders expected Paul to swell up or suddenly fall dead. So they watched him carefully for a long time. But nothing unusual happened to him. Then they thought of him as a god. Through this, their hearts were opened to Paul’s message and ministry. Look at verses 7-10. The chief official of the island, called Publius, had an estate nearby. He welcomed Paul and his companions to his home and showed them hospitality. Publius’ father was sick in bed with a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him. After prayer, Paul placed his hands on him and healed him. It was a miracle. This fulfilled Jesus’ promise in Mark 16:18b where he said, concerning his disciples: “...they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well.” Then the rest of the sick on the island came to Paul. One by one he healed them all.
Paul was a blessing to the islanders. As a result, the islanders were happy to care for the needs of Paul and his companions. The islanders honored them and furnished supplies when they left. Through the beautiful scene on Malta, we are inspired by the glorious image of Christ in Paul. Like Paul, we must grow to maturity in our faith in Christ until we can be a source of blessing to those around us.
Third, Paul Arrives In Rome And Thanks God (11-16).
Paul and his companions were fully refreshed through God’s grace poured out on them at Malta. When the weather became suitable for sailing, they put out to sea in an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux, the patron gods of sailors. Their appearance on the ship reminds us that the world was heavily under the influence of idols and false gods. It was a world that desperately needed the gospel of Jesus.
From Malta, they sailed to Syracuse on the island of Sicily. Then they sailed to Rhegium on the Italian peninsula. Two days later they arrived at Puteoli, known as the port of Rome. Look at verse 14. “There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome.” At last, Paul arrived in Rome. Paul first mentioned Rome after seeing God’s great work in Ephesus. Acts 19:21 says, “After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. ‘After I have been there,’ he said, ‘I must visit Rome also.’” Paul was delayed by imprisonment and trials. But in Acts 23:11, the Risen Christ stood beside him and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” Later, in the terrible storm, the Lord’s angel said to him, “Do not be afraid Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar...” (Ac 27:24). At last, Paul was standing on Roman soil.
God encouraged Paul through other Christians. Look at verse 15. “The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged.” The distance the brothers traveled to meet Paul was considerable. Many of them did not know Paul personally. But they recognized him as God’s servant and honored his arrival. It was the work of God. God had gone ahead of Paul to begin world mission work in Rome. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.
We must learn from these Christians. They went out of their way to encourage a servant of God. We need to make time to serve them with delicious meal, some spiritual conversation, campus visits and the sharing of prayer topics. Over the years we have had many servants of God visit us at NIU UBF. I remember how blessed it was to serve the Oral Roberts University Praise band and the missionaries from New Zealand. We could serve 30 UBF shepherds last December in preparation for the Christmas service. I am thankful for our co-workers who greeted our UBF publishing team, last Thursday. We must always be determined to go out of our way to host and serve and encourage servants of God.
Fourth, Paul Preaches The Gospel In Rome (17-31).
Paul did not waste time. Three days after his arrival, he called together the leaders of the Jews and talked with them (17-20). Paul’s ministry in Jerusalem was not random. He followed the principle of Jesus’ ministry, “First for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” He began with the Jews. Paul wanted them to know that he was innocent. He was in prison because of Jewish political pressure. But he had not retaliated with a counter suit. He understood his imprisonment spiritually. It was because of the hope of Israel that he was in chains. Here the hope of Israel refers to the hope that the long awaited Messiah would come and save his people and establish the kingdom of God. This long awaited Messiah is Jesus Christ.
The Jews in Rome were already predisposed against Christianity. But they agreed to listen to Paul and came in large numbers to meet him (21-22). Paul took the opportunity to preach the Gospel boldly. Look at verse 23b. “From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.” Paul’s message was the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is where God is King. God’s kingdom is in the heart of his people. Without the kingdom of God, men are ruled by sin and death. They constantly live in fear and anxiety. They become slaves of the devil. But whoever willingly accepts Jesus as the King sent by God, can receive the kingdom of God in his or her heart. All the power of sin and death is driven out. God rules them with peace and love. At that time, the world was a Roman world. Nero was the Emperor. The Roman Empire was like a brute beast that crushed and devoured its victims and, at the same time, utterly corrupted its members. But Paul declared the kingdom of God in Rome, the heart of the Roman Empire. That is like proclaiming the Gospel in Mecca. Paul hoped that the Jews in Rome would be Bible teachers and that God would use them to evangelize the Roman Empire as missionaries.
Paul also tried to convince the Jews that Jesus is the Christ, sent by God. But Jesus was not the kind of Christ they wanted. Jesus came to save men from their sins through his death and resurrection. But the Jews wanted an economic or political messiah. A few of them believed, but most of them did not. In the end the Jews left, arguing vigorously among themselves. (29) What a terrible result it seemed to be. They did not become the emissaries of Christ as Paul had hoped.
How did Paul handle this? Paul understood the rejection of the Jews on the basis of God’s word (25-28). It was the fulfillment of prophecy. Paul saw where God’s work and history were going. God’s salvation was being sent to the Gentiles. As Simeon prophesied, Jesus is the Light to the Gentiles (Lk 2:32). There are no surprises to God. There is only the fulfillment of prophecy. In the time of rejection we must have eyes to see what God is doing based on his word.
Look at verses 30-31. “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” Humanly speaking, Paul was a prisoner. He was confined under house arrest. He could not go out to meet potential Bible students in the market places freely. But God sent him many interested Roman Bible students, one after another, who came to see him. And Paul welcomed them. Paul preached the kingdom of God to them and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. No doubt he taught them that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. And God raised Christ from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. One by one, Roman citizens and soldiers received the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the kingdom of God. They brought their faith home to their families. In this way the Christian church in Rome grew.
To human eyes, Paul’s preaching the kingdom of God under Roman confinement seemed insignificant. He was not the pastor a huge megachurch. He was a prisoner in a small apartment. But in God’s eyes, Paul’s house church ministry was a new beginning of world history, that would see the Roman Empire defeated by the Gospel of Jesus. In the next three hundred years, through the seeds planted by Paul small housechurch ministry, and through innumerable unnamed Christians, God turned the Roman Empire into a Christian Empire. In 313 A.D. the Emperor Constantine declared Christianity to be the national religion. God’s kingdom was not contained by the Roman Empire. God’s kingdom has been steadily advancing steadily through house churches like Paul’s conquering empire after empire over the last 2,000 years. Two years ago some people tried to start a mega church style ministry in Kazakhstan. On the first Sunday 2,000 people showed up to worship. This caught the government’s attention and they outlawed all churches except the Russian Orthodox Church and Islam. But they can not stop the house church ministries proliferating through the countries of the former Soviet Union. Today there are over 90 million house churches in China. One day the communist system will bow its knee to Jesus. North Korea will be changed. The Muslim world will be changed through small house church ministries like Paul’s.
A recent survey on religion in America is shows that the membership of centuries old mainline churches are declining. Many have let go of Gospel faith in blend in with the surrounding culture, even supporting alternative life style marriages. We must know that God’s church is not confined in these mainline institutions. God’s church was found in the manger of the baby Jesus. It was found in the prison where Paul and Silas was held. God’s church is found through Paul’s gospel preaching in the rented house in Rome. God’s church is in the individual Christian homes throughout America in which men and women fear God, live a holy life, and preach the kingdom of God. In this way we can see in Paul’s house church the whole church of God. May each of us live as a house church like Paul. May Jesus centered house church ministries me established on every campus in the USA and Canada.
UBF USA and Canada has grown like a spreading vine. It now covers many cities and states. But in essence we are a house church ministry. We are a manger ministry. We must value quiet devotion to Christ in the house church more than a glamorous mass movement. We must highly value personal faith in Jesus and personal piety. We must keep up one-to-one Bible study. We must keep our message focused on the kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. As we do so, God will make North America a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
The book of Acts ends here. In fact, it ends with a new beginning. Human history is always changing. But the work of God is flowing steadily from one generation to the next through the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ. The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. As a conclusion to Acts study, let’s renew our gospel faith and world mission vision. Let’s renew our commitment to house church ministry.
Acts 27:1-44
God’s Grace In The Storm
Acts 27:1-44 Lesson 30
Key verse 27:24 3/15/09
“...and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has
graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’”
We all like action flicks. Block busters are movies that are filled with action, where the hero faces many dangers and overcomes all odds with superhuman strength in order to save the day and countless lives. Good conquers evil. Our hearts beat faster. We are excited. We wish that we could do what the hero does. Today’s passage is a kind of action flick where God works through Apostle Paul to save the lives of 276 men. Paul begins his final journey from Caesarea to Rome. Along the way he experiences a storm and a shipwreck. During these trying events, God is with him. God visits him through his angel and speaks to him. God uses the storm to prepare Paul for what awaits him in Rome. It was God’s grace to Paul. God’s grace overflowed to his fellow travelers. Today let’s accept God’s grace in any storm we may find ourselves in.
First, “...instead of listening to what Paul said...” (1-12).
Finally, it was decided to send Paul to Rome. Look at verse 1. Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment, and elite fighting force, and they put out to sea, bound for Italy. The personal pronoun “we” begins to appear here again in the book of Acts. This indicates that Luke was with Paul. The author of Acts is Luke. Therefore this account is Luke’s eyewitness testimony of the journey. It is precise and very detailed. To the historian Luke, all the tiny details were significant. May God help us understand why.
Another important person was with Paul. Verse 2 mentions Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. Do you remember him? He was a member of Paul’s world mission journey to Jerusalem (Ac 20:4). He had been persecuted in the riot in Ephesus (Ac 19:29). Paul recognized him as a fellow prisoner (Col 4:10), and a fellow worker (Phil 1:24). Paul did not look down on his young coworker. Rather he respected him and was grateful for his partnership in the remaining sufferings of Christ.
The next day the ship landed at Sidon. The Centurion, Julius, allowed Paul to go to his friends, a local house church, who could provide for his needs. From Sidon, they put out to sea again. The winds were against them. Eventually, they landed at Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy and they set sail in it. The journey was slowed by the elements. It was only after much difficulty that they arrived off Cnidus. From there, they wanted to sail due west to the Greek peninsula, but the wind would not allow them to. They were forced almost due south and ended up on Crete in a place called Fair Havens.
The journey had not gone well. It was getting late in the year, and it was too dangerous to sail. At this point, Paul gave them a warning. Look at verse 10. “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” Humanly, Paul was a prisoner. Nevertheless, Paul was God’s servant. Paul was also a seasoned traveler. But the centurion, instead of listening to Paul, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. Since the harbor at Fair Havens was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and harbor there.
Here Luke stresses the fact that the advice of a man of God was ignored and the advice of worldly people was followed. The decision was popular with most people. But it was a wrong decision. The pilot represents the professional opinion. However, his judgment was clouded by his desire, and that of his men. Maybe they had a financially greedy motive to carry on. Maybe they wanted to enjoy the night life of Phoenix. Maybe they couldn’t stand the Cretans and didn’t want to get stuck there. Titus 1:12 reveals a popular prejudice. It reads, “Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes and lazy gluttons.” Whatever the reason, Luke, the historian, notes that this was a majority decision. The outcome reveals that it was a wrong decision. The majority is not always right. This is an important lesson for the democratically minded. It is much better to listen to one man who stands on God’s word than to many counselors who are slaves to their sinful desires and making decision according to them.
Second, “We Finally Gave Up All Hope Of Being Saved” (13-20).
The people followed a favorable situation. Verse 13 says, “When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.” A gentle south wind represents a favorable situation. In life most people follow a favorable situation. Whatever seems beneficial to them at the time, they seek after with no regard to whether or not it is the will of God. Many Christians even spiritualize their self seeking desires to justify their living for these things. They lack the spiritual insight and moral courage to follow the truth. They trust their senses rather than the word of God. However, their situation can change suddenly.
Despite of their decisions based on human wisdom, these men could not escape their destiny. Look at verses 14-15. “Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.” The men in the ship were caught by the storm. They could not sail from Fair Havens to Phoenix though it was only 34 miles. Instead, they were driven south. As the storm gained intensity, they had to haul in their lifeboat and secure it. They passed ropes under the ship to hold it together. Fear came into their hearts. They envisioned running aground on the sandbars of Syrtis. So they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. The ship took a violent battering. They began to throw the cargo overboard, fulfilling what Paul had warned them of. Then they began to throw the ship’s tackle overboard. This probably refers to the main sail and other rigging, like ropes and large block pulleys. Look at verse 20. “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.” The pilot and owner and overconfident sailors reached their human limits. After doing everything they could, they gave up all hope and totally despaired of even life itself.
People want to live in the illusion that they rule their own destiny and can do what they want to do. But this is not true. So often they fall victim the storms of life that are sure to come. This is the destiny of man without God. Many young people follow the American dream without much thought. During college they only want to study well to get a good job. So they have no time to think deeply about their life direction. They avoid seeking Jesus and trying to determine God will in their lives. After graduation, they are busy to establish their careers and their families. Then one day, they wake up and find they are not young any more. Whatever money they made is not enough. Their family relationships are temporal and generally shallow. The world that appeared so big and promising in their youth has turned out to be a place of broken dreams and empty illusions. Especially, with the faltering economy, many are left only with the thought that they worked hard for nothing. So they fall into what is referred to as a mid-life crisis. Such people are spiritually dead, even though they are biologically alive. Let’s repent of just following, what seem to favorable circumstances, or our own destiny will be filled with despair.
Third, God’s Angel Visits Paul (21-26).
The men on the ship went a long time without food. It was not because they decided to have fasting and praying. It was because despair and the constant suspense robbed them of their appetites. Then Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed” (21-22). Paul had godly concern for these men. He rebuked them as their shepherd. Then Paul promised that not one of them would be lost. How could he do this? It was because God was with him.
Even Paul was struggling with fear in the midst of the storm. But the Lord helped Paul overcome the fear in his heart. Look at verses 23-24. “Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’” The angel’s first words were, “Do not be afraid, Paul.” To any person, overcoming fear is crucial. Fear is planted by the devil’s lies. Fear paralyzes people from doing what they need to do. Fear makes people sleep a lot in order to forget about their fears. Paralyzed people become useless. Without overcoming fear, human beings cannot function normally. Living in a state of fear also displeases God, for the cowardly, without Christ, are first on the list of those who go to hell (Rev 21:8). How then can we overcome fear? Let’s learn from this passage. Look at verse 24 again. When Paul heard God’s word, “Do not be afraid, Paul,” the Holy Spirit came to dwell in Paul’s soul. The Holy Spirit drove out fear and renewed the love of God in Paul’s heart. Romans 8:15 says, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba,’ Father.” 1 John 4:18a says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear....” God’s love, expressed through the Holy Spirit, is the antidote to all of our fears. Let us pray that God’s Holy Spirit may dwell in our hearts.
Then the angel said to Paul, “...and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” This was a kind of bonus. Why should God save them? These men did not deserve to be saved from the storm. They had ignored the word of God’s servant. They were bent on pursuing their own sinful pleasure. They were proud. They should have died in the storm, as Paul had foretold. But God wanted to spare Paul. And in his grace, God also decided to spare the men sailing with him. Because of Paul’s life of mission, the grace of God came to these undeserving men.
I also want to mention a practical application of verse 24, “and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” This can be a promise and a prayer topic that we can hold onto. God has put each of us on a type of ship. We have students in our class. Andrew has students in his tennis club. I have nurses on my shift at work. We have our Bible students and our family members. Why not pray, “Lord, graciously take hold of the lives of all the people you have put me with and grant them eternal life!”
Next, the angel reminded Paul of God’s plan for him to stand trial before Caesar. God had given Paul the vision to go to Rome. God had promised him that he must testify in Rome (Ac 23:11). God had not changed his plan. God reminded Paul of his unchanging purpose for him. In the midst of storms, God reminds us of our purpose of life. Yes, God does have a purpose of life for all of us. But alas, many young people struggle with their physical desires rather than following the will of God. Everywhere we turn we see invitations to follow this course of life. Even Yahoo email is being filled with invites to see singles in our area, accompanied by video clips. Almost every TV drama and every movie introduces our young people to a life led by flesh desires. How can our hearts remain pure in such an environment? Sometimes these desires are so strong that they seem to be the driving force of their lives. But this does not need to be the case. God’s calling and God’s purpose are the driving force of one’s life and can supersede worldly desires in the hearts of those who have surrendered to Christ. We must listen to God’s word. We did not choose God, but God chose us as members of a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Even when the struggle seems to be futile, we must remember God’s purpose for choosing us. God who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Php 1:6).
Fourth, Paul’s Good Influence And Spiritual Leadership (27-44).
Paul’s words of faith and courage brought hope to all on board. Shortly, they sensed that land was near. Then the sailors construed a plot. They pretended to be lowering an anchor, but they really lowered the lifeboat. They planned to jump into it, abandoning the ship. It was a selfish and irresponsible plan. All me were needed on board to survive. Maybe they were all needed to hold the ropes that we keeping the hull intact long enough to get close to land. Men whose only desire is to save their lives in this world cannot be trusted in a crisis. Paul was alert to the problem. So he warned the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” This time, the centurion listened to Paul. The soldiers cut the ropes and let the lifeboat fall into the sea. Though a prisoner in chains, Paul was the true leader in the time of crisis. It was because of his faith. God raised Paul up for such a moment as this. There are times in our lives where it becomes obvious that God has raised us up for us certain purpose. When the purpose comes we need faith and strength to stand up and serve that purpose well and allow ourselves to plant faith in the hearts of despairing people and not abandon ship to save ourselves.
Paul saw what needed to be done. Paul had enough room in their minds to think about their physical condition. They had not eaten for a long time. They needed strength to swim ashore. So Paul encouraged them to eat and promised, “Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” This was an absolute promise. It was the expression of Paul’s faith in God. It was an incredible promise. Actually, Paul, whom historians think was bald, had lost a lot of hair. We all loose hair every day. Look at your hair brush. Look at your drain in the shower. No! Don’t do that! But he promised that not one hair would be lost. His faith in God’s promise was absolute.
Paul’s act of thanksgiving to God was another expression of his faith. Look at verse 35. “After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.” Paul gave thanks to God in front of all the other travelers. He was thankful for God’s word. He was thankful for God’s world salvation work. He was thankful because he loved God. He made it very clear to everyone that it was God who would deliver them from the storm. He was not afraid of atheists who may have been yelling out, “How can your loving God allow this to happen?” Paul boldly and confidently thanked God publically. And there was a favorable reaction. Verse 36 says, “They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.” After being encouraged, they could eat well for the first time in many days. We need to boldly lead others in thanksgiving to Jesus…not just other Christians. Under stress some people over eat, but some under eat, thinking too much about their life problems to even take care of their bodies. But we see here that eating well in a stressful situation is possible for those who have faith in God’s promise.
When daylight came, they saw a bay with a sandy beach. They cut loose the anchors and made a run for it. But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. It was broken to pieces, just as Paul had foretold. The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent their escape. Otherwise they had to forfeit their own lives. But the centurion stopped them in order to spare Paul. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard and get to land. The rest used planks and pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety. As Paul promised, they were all saved. God was in control.
In this passage we learn that God was with Paul. God made Paul’s words come true, both words of warning and words of salvation. Finally, even a Roman centurion was obedient to him. This encouraged Paul as he approached Rome. Whatever might happen, Paul knew that God is the sovereign Ruler of the world. Paul knew that God was fulfilling his world mission purpose. This event also encouraged the Christian church. Persecution was about to come upon them. But God would be with them as he had been with Paul. The storms of life are times of God’s mysterious good work. God uses them for world salvation. God is gracious in the storms of life. May God help each one of us to listen to his word, put our faith in his promise, and experience his grace.
Acts 27:1-44 Lesson 30
Key verse 27:24 3/15/09
“...and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has
graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’”
We all like action flicks. Block busters are movies that are filled with action, where the hero faces many dangers and overcomes all odds with superhuman strength in order to save the day and countless lives. Good conquers evil. Our hearts beat faster. We are excited. We wish that we could do what the hero does. Today’s passage is a kind of action flick where God works through Apostle Paul to save the lives of 276 men. Paul begins his final journey from Caesarea to Rome. Along the way he experiences a storm and a shipwreck. During these trying events, God is with him. God visits him through his angel and speaks to him. God uses the storm to prepare Paul for what awaits him in Rome. It was God’s grace to Paul. God’s grace overflowed to his fellow travelers. Today let’s accept God’s grace in any storm we may find ourselves in.
First, “...instead of listening to what Paul said...” (1-12).
Finally, it was decided to send Paul to Rome. Look at verse 1. Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment, and elite fighting force, and they put out to sea, bound for Italy. The personal pronoun “we” begins to appear here again in the book of Acts. This indicates that Luke was with Paul. The author of Acts is Luke. Therefore this account is Luke’s eyewitness testimony of the journey. It is precise and very detailed. To the historian Luke, all the tiny details were significant. May God help us understand why.
Another important person was with Paul. Verse 2 mentions Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. Do you remember him? He was a member of Paul’s world mission journey to Jerusalem (Ac 20:4). He had been persecuted in the riot in Ephesus (Ac 19:29). Paul recognized him as a fellow prisoner (Col 4:10), and a fellow worker (Phil 1:24). Paul did not look down on his young coworker. Rather he respected him and was grateful for his partnership in the remaining sufferings of Christ.
The next day the ship landed at Sidon. The Centurion, Julius, allowed Paul to go to his friends, a local house church, who could provide for his needs. From Sidon, they put out to sea again. The winds were against them. Eventually, they landed at Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy and they set sail in it. The journey was slowed by the elements. It was only after much difficulty that they arrived off Cnidus. From there, they wanted to sail due west to the Greek peninsula, but the wind would not allow them to. They were forced almost due south and ended up on Crete in a place called Fair Havens.
The journey had not gone well. It was getting late in the year, and it was too dangerous to sail. At this point, Paul gave them a warning. Look at verse 10. “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” Humanly, Paul was a prisoner. Nevertheless, Paul was God’s servant. Paul was also a seasoned traveler. But the centurion, instead of listening to Paul, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. Since the harbor at Fair Havens was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and harbor there.
Here Luke stresses the fact that the advice of a man of God was ignored and the advice of worldly people was followed. The decision was popular with most people. But it was a wrong decision. The pilot represents the professional opinion. However, his judgment was clouded by his desire, and that of his men. Maybe they had a financially greedy motive to carry on. Maybe they wanted to enjoy the night life of Phoenix. Maybe they couldn’t stand the Cretans and didn’t want to get stuck there. Titus 1:12 reveals a popular prejudice. It reads, “Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes and lazy gluttons.” Whatever the reason, Luke, the historian, notes that this was a majority decision. The outcome reveals that it was a wrong decision. The majority is not always right. This is an important lesson for the democratically minded. It is much better to listen to one man who stands on God’s word than to many counselors who are slaves to their sinful desires and making decision according to them.
Second, “We Finally Gave Up All Hope Of Being Saved” (13-20).
The people followed a favorable situation. Verse 13 says, “When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.” A gentle south wind represents a favorable situation. In life most people follow a favorable situation. Whatever seems beneficial to them at the time, they seek after with no regard to whether or not it is the will of God. Many Christians even spiritualize their self seeking desires to justify their living for these things. They lack the spiritual insight and moral courage to follow the truth. They trust their senses rather than the word of God. However, their situation can change suddenly.
Despite of their decisions based on human wisdom, these men could not escape their destiny. Look at verses 14-15. “Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.” The men in the ship were caught by the storm. They could not sail from Fair Havens to Phoenix though it was only 34 miles. Instead, they were driven south. As the storm gained intensity, they had to haul in their lifeboat and secure it. They passed ropes under the ship to hold it together. Fear came into their hearts. They envisioned running aground on the sandbars of Syrtis. So they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. The ship took a violent battering. They began to throw the cargo overboard, fulfilling what Paul had warned them of. Then they began to throw the ship’s tackle overboard. This probably refers to the main sail and other rigging, like ropes and large block pulleys. Look at verse 20. “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.” The pilot and owner and overconfident sailors reached their human limits. After doing everything they could, they gave up all hope and totally despaired of even life itself.
People want to live in the illusion that they rule their own destiny and can do what they want to do. But this is not true. So often they fall victim the storms of life that are sure to come. This is the destiny of man without God. Many young people follow the American dream without much thought. During college they only want to study well to get a good job. So they have no time to think deeply about their life direction. They avoid seeking Jesus and trying to determine God will in their lives. After graduation, they are busy to establish their careers and their families. Then one day, they wake up and find they are not young any more. Whatever money they made is not enough. Their family relationships are temporal and generally shallow. The world that appeared so big and promising in their youth has turned out to be a place of broken dreams and empty illusions. Especially, with the faltering economy, many are left only with the thought that they worked hard for nothing. So they fall into what is referred to as a mid-life crisis. Such people are spiritually dead, even though they are biologically alive. Let’s repent of just following, what seem to favorable circumstances, or our own destiny will be filled with despair.
Third, God’s Angel Visits Paul (21-26).
The men on the ship went a long time without food. It was not because they decided to have fasting and praying. It was because despair and the constant suspense robbed them of their appetites. Then Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed” (21-22). Paul had godly concern for these men. He rebuked them as their shepherd. Then Paul promised that not one of them would be lost. How could he do this? It was because God was with him.
Even Paul was struggling with fear in the midst of the storm. But the Lord helped Paul overcome the fear in his heart. Look at verses 23-24. “Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’” The angel’s first words were, “Do not be afraid, Paul.” To any person, overcoming fear is crucial. Fear is planted by the devil’s lies. Fear paralyzes people from doing what they need to do. Fear makes people sleep a lot in order to forget about their fears. Paralyzed people become useless. Without overcoming fear, human beings cannot function normally. Living in a state of fear also displeases God, for the cowardly, without Christ, are first on the list of those who go to hell (Rev 21:8). How then can we overcome fear? Let’s learn from this passage. Look at verse 24 again. When Paul heard God’s word, “Do not be afraid, Paul,” the Holy Spirit came to dwell in Paul’s soul. The Holy Spirit drove out fear and renewed the love of God in Paul’s heart. Romans 8:15 says, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba,’ Father.” 1 John 4:18a says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear....” God’s love, expressed through the Holy Spirit, is the antidote to all of our fears. Let us pray that God’s Holy Spirit may dwell in our hearts.
Then the angel said to Paul, “...and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” This was a kind of bonus. Why should God save them? These men did not deserve to be saved from the storm. They had ignored the word of God’s servant. They were bent on pursuing their own sinful pleasure. They were proud. They should have died in the storm, as Paul had foretold. But God wanted to spare Paul. And in his grace, God also decided to spare the men sailing with him. Because of Paul’s life of mission, the grace of God came to these undeserving men.
I also want to mention a practical application of verse 24, “and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” This can be a promise and a prayer topic that we can hold onto. God has put each of us on a type of ship. We have students in our class. Andrew has students in his tennis club. I have nurses on my shift at work. We have our Bible students and our family members. Why not pray, “Lord, graciously take hold of the lives of all the people you have put me with and grant them eternal life!”
Next, the angel reminded Paul of God’s plan for him to stand trial before Caesar. God had given Paul the vision to go to Rome. God had promised him that he must testify in Rome (Ac 23:11). God had not changed his plan. God reminded Paul of his unchanging purpose for him. In the midst of storms, God reminds us of our purpose of life. Yes, God does have a purpose of life for all of us. But alas, many young people struggle with their physical desires rather than following the will of God. Everywhere we turn we see invitations to follow this course of life. Even Yahoo email is being filled with invites to see singles in our area, accompanied by video clips. Almost every TV drama and every movie introduces our young people to a life led by flesh desires. How can our hearts remain pure in such an environment? Sometimes these desires are so strong that they seem to be the driving force of their lives. But this does not need to be the case. God’s calling and God’s purpose are the driving force of one’s life and can supersede worldly desires in the hearts of those who have surrendered to Christ. We must listen to God’s word. We did not choose God, but God chose us as members of a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Even when the struggle seems to be futile, we must remember God’s purpose for choosing us. God who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Php 1:6).
Fourth, Paul’s Good Influence And Spiritual Leadership (27-44).
Paul’s words of faith and courage brought hope to all on board. Shortly, they sensed that land was near. Then the sailors construed a plot. They pretended to be lowering an anchor, but they really lowered the lifeboat. They planned to jump into it, abandoning the ship. It was a selfish and irresponsible plan. All me were needed on board to survive. Maybe they were all needed to hold the ropes that we keeping the hull intact long enough to get close to land. Men whose only desire is to save their lives in this world cannot be trusted in a crisis. Paul was alert to the problem. So he warned the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” This time, the centurion listened to Paul. The soldiers cut the ropes and let the lifeboat fall into the sea. Though a prisoner in chains, Paul was the true leader in the time of crisis. It was because of his faith. God raised Paul up for such a moment as this. There are times in our lives where it becomes obvious that God has raised us up for us certain purpose. When the purpose comes we need faith and strength to stand up and serve that purpose well and allow ourselves to plant faith in the hearts of despairing people and not abandon ship to save ourselves.
Paul saw what needed to be done. Paul had enough room in their minds to think about their physical condition. They had not eaten for a long time. They needed strength to swim ashore. So Paul encouraged them to eat and promised, “Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” This was an absolute promise. It was the expression of Paul’s faith in God. It was an incredible promise. Actually, Paul, whom historians think was bald, had lost a lot of hair. We all loose hair every day. Look at your hair brush. Look at your drain in the shower. No! Don’t do that! But he promised that not one hair would be lost. His faith in God’s promise was absolute.
Paul’s act of thanksgiving to God was another expression of his faith. Look at verse 35. “After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.” Paul gave thanks to God in front of all the other travelers. He was thankful for God’s word. He was thankful for God’s world salvation work. He was thankful because he loved God. He made it very clear to everyone that it was God who would deliver them from the storm. He was not afraid of atheists who may have been yelling out, “How can your loving God allow this to happen?” Paul boldly and confidently thanked God publically. And there was a favorable reaction. Verse 36 says, “They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.” After being encouraged, they could eat well for the first time in many days. We need to boldly lead others in thanksgiving to Jesus…not just other Christians. Under stress some people over eat, but some under eat, thinking too much about their life problems to even take care of their bodies. But we see here that eating well in a stressful situation is possible for those who have faith in God’s promise.
When daylight came, they saw a bay with a sandy beach. They cut loose the anchors and made a run for it. But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. It was broken to pieces, just as Paul had foretold. The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent their escape. Otherwise they had to forfeit their own lives. But the centurion stopped them in order to spare Paul. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard and get to land. The rest used planks and pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety. As Paul promised, they were all saved. God was in control.
In this passage we learn that God was with Paul. God made Paul’s words come true, both words of warning and words of salvation. Finally, even a Roman centurion was obedient to him. This encouraged Paul as he approached Rome. Whatever might happen, Paul knew that God is the sovereign Ruler of the world. Paul knew that God was fulfilling his world mission purpose. This event also encouraged the Christian church. Persecution was about to come upon them. But God would be with them as he had been with Paul. The storms of life are times of God’s mysterious good work. God uses them for world salvation. God is gracious in the storms of life. May God help each one of us to listen to his word, put our faith in his promise, and experience his grace.
Friday, March 13, 2009
John 13:1-17 Message
Wash One Another’s Feet
John 13:1-17; 34-35 NIU UBF 3/8/09
Key verse 13:14
“Now, that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
you also should wash one another’s feet.”
Last week we attended the USA/Canada UBF staff conference. There, over 200 people, UBF pastors and their wives and other UBF leaders, studied God’s word and prayed. We studied two passages; Revelation 2 and John 13. Through these passages we were all encouraged to return to our first love, Jesus and to love one another. In today’s passage Jesus washes his disciples’ feet to show them his love. Then Jesus tells them to wash one another’s feet, following his example. These two passages were studied by UBF leaders on six continents. It is good for us to be on the same page as other UBF chapters world wide. It is good to be on the same page as Jesus himself. May God help us to understand God’s love and follow Jesus’ example washing each others’ feet…in a spiritual sense. (Maybe in a literal sense also)
First, Jesus Showed Them The Full Extent Of His Love (1).
The time of Jesus’ passion was approaching. Look at verse 1. “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” From chapter one, John the Baptist cried out about Jesus, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” His statement pointed to Jesus’ divine destiny at the cross. It was declared at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Now, 3 ½ years later, the time had finally come. It was just hours before Jesus would be arrested and tried and sent to Calvary. What did Jesus do? What would you do? Jesus could have made a desperate attempt at self preservation. But he decided to showed his disciples the full extent of his love.
Actually, Jesus had loved them deeply from the very beginning of his ministry. Jesus had called them from ordinary lives to be his servants. Jesus planted hope in them to be great men of God in his world salvation work. Jesus had also loved them by being with them, every day, for 3 ½ years. For people to live together with others is not easy. Ask anyone who has lived in Christian common life. It is hard enough for blood relatives to live together. Many who seem to be saints at church are much different at home where all of their quirks are exposed. But look at Jesus. Jesus is the holy God. Yet he lived with his disciples day in and day out, enduring their sins and weaknesses with gentle forbearance. Jesus loved them most by praying for them and teaching them the word of God faithfully. The word of God cleansed their hearts and their minds. The image of God, God’s own noble character, began to grow in them. Moreover, Jesus taught them a sense of responsibility as leaders, giving them discipleship training. Jesus taught them faith that overcomes storms. Jesus taught them resurrection faith. Their three years of divine discipline under Jesus was intense, but through it all, they were growing as leaders who would later change the world. It was a miracle, like Jesus changing ordinary wash water into delicious wine.
We could say that Jesus had already done enough for his disciples. Now it was time to think about himself, don’t you think? He could have been thinking about escaping his upcoming trials. He could have been consumed by thoughts of anger towards the religious leaders and towards Judas who was about to betray him. But amazingly Jesus was only thinking about showing his disciples the full extent of his love. The fact is, when we get stressed out with pressure from school or from financial pressures all we think about is how to solve our immediate problems and save ourselves. There is very little room in our hearts for others, or for revealing the love of God to a world that so desperately needs to know his love. How different we are from Jesus. May God help us to grow in his image.
What was Jesus’ motive in this selfless act? The disciples did not yet know the full measure of Jesus’ love. And they had not learned how to love one another. So Jesus wanted to show them the full extent of his love. Jesus’ love is God’s love. God’s love is different from human love. Human love is conditional. So many vow on their wedding day, “till death do us part.” A few years later most say, “I just don’t love you anymore” or “our lives are going in different directions” and they separate. It is hard to stay in love when we depend on human emotions. Thank God that Jesus doesn’t do this to us. God’s love is unconditional. God’s love does not depend on our condition. God loves us when we are doing well, and God loves us just the same when we are not doing well. God’s love is steady and unchanging because it comes from God, who is in very nature love. God’s love is also everlasting. Psalm 136 repeats 26 times, “His love endures forever.” God never gets tired in loving people. Many parents are too tired after work to love their children. Some walk away from their children and their spouse to start a new life. Some drop their children off at fire stations or hospitals. Many Bible teachers feel “burned out” from trying to love God’s flock. But our God never burns out. God’s love endures forever.
Jesus did not just talk about love. Jesus showed his disciples the full extent of his love. His love is very practical. Jesus performed a dramatic act that planted in their minds and hearts a vivid image of his love. Let’s think more deeply about what Jesus did.
Second, Almighty Jesus Humbly Serves His Disciples (2-5).
The devil tried to crash this sacred dinner party. Look at verse 2. “The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.” This was the Passover, and it was the last meal Jesus would eat with his disciples. They were in a private upper room all by themselves. The disciples were happy as the plates of hot flat bread and roasted lamb were served. They were happy to be with Jesus. It should have been a feast filled with love. However, there was an uninvited guest present…the devil. The devil had invaded this sacred gathering through Judas Iscariot. The devil and Judas had formed a relationship through long, silent conversations together, in Judas’ mind. When following Jesus became difficult, the devil persuaded Judas to find an easier way. (John 6:60-64) When following Jesus required suffering loss, the devil persuaded Judas to find a more profitable way. (John 12:6) As the devil’s thoughts danced in his mind, Judas began to rehearse how he might betray Jesus. Finally, he was captured by the devil, and ready to do his bidding. Judas’ problem was that he did not respect Jesus’ word absolutely. Judas did not accept Jesus’ love. He remained in his own self centered world even though God was moving him to repent. This event is not separated from each of us. We must know that the devil is real. The devil roams around to capture all those who are relativistic toward Jesus’ word. (1 Peter 5:8) We could be captured at any moment.
Jesus was well aware of the devil’s presence. But Jesus was not worried. Look at verse 3. “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God....” Jesus’ mind was occupied with thoughts of God. Jesus knew that Almighty God had entrusted his world salvation work completely into his hand. With this awesome power of God, Jesus was free to do what he wanted. It was not to call down a legion of angels and destroy his enemies. What did Jesus want to do with his almighty power?
Jesus used his almighty power to serve his disciples by washing their feet. Look at verses 4-5. “...so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” This job was usually given to lowest servant in the house. In order to serve his disciples, Jesus humbled himself to the lowest place. Here we learn Jesus’ serving character and divine humbleness. Paul describes Jesus in Philippians 2:6-8 as follows: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!” We learn that the one thing Jesus really wanted his disciples to know is that he loves them. He loves them so much that he humbled himself from the highest place to the very lowest to serve them in the way that they needed….very practically. And apparently their immediate need was to have their feet washed. It could not wait.
God’s love to us is like this. Jesus is God Almighty. Yet he came to serve us in our need. Jesus humbly and continually serves me. He faithfully forgives me of my sins. He gives me faithful Bible study, even Bible study with mature servants of God. He constantly counsels me and guides my heart through his word and his Spirit. He helps my Bible students and my kids and my wife. He gives me strength to work as a nurse. He provides a place for me to work out and to a beautiful park to walk my dog and enjoy nature. He inspires me to prepare the word of God. He helps us to navigate the difficult economic times. He helps me to lead my housechurch. He battles the despair that creeps into my heart by infusing it with hope. Most of all he serves me daily so that I can know him and live in the confidence of his forgiveness and eternal life. We could never experience the love of God on our own. We could never ascend to him. But he came to us, humbling himself. John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” We must simply accept Jesus’ love and humble service.
Third, The Spiritual Meaning Of Foot Washing (6-11).
As Jesus went around washing the feet of the disciples, he came to Simon Peter. Peter said, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” When his Lord Jesus took the position of the lowest servant to wash his feet, Peter was utterly shocked. It turned Peter’s world view upside down. Peter had a strong idea of how human power hierarchy should be played out. In this hierarchy, the one on top orders his subordinates to do this and do that. The subordinates order their subordinates until the person on the bottom ends up doing the dirty work. It is like me giving the orders and the kids order each other until Mark has to do the dirty work, like feeding Ohma. Peter might have thought that some obscure disciple, like Bartholomew should have washed everybody’s feet.
Jesus knew it was hard for Peter to accept all this. So Jesus said, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Jesus wanted Peter to trust him and accept his washing. We can do this when we have a right attitude toward Jesus. We are not God. There are things that we do not understand. But we will understand if we simply trust and obey Jesus. But Peter did not have this attitude. He said, “No, you shall never wash my feet” (8a). Peter flatly and unconditionally refused. Peter might have thought he was humble. But, actually he was very proud. He thought his own idea was superior to Jesus’ teaching. He ended up trying to teach Jesus something. When Peter realized he had to choose between Jesus’ word and his own idea, he changed his mind and said, “Then Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” In a way, he accepted Jesus’ word, but not really. Now he was adding to Jesus’ word with an extreme statement that went far beyond what Jesus required. Jesus had to correct him once again. Jesus wanted Peter to simply accept his word without arguing or making extreme statements. In Matthew 5:37 Jesus said, “Simply let your ‘Yes' be ‘Yes,' and your ’No,' ‘No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Because Peter was proud, the devil was toying with him also.
We must take Jesus at his word. Jesus tries his absolute best to come to us a humble servant, but we must overcome our proud minds to accept him as he is and accept the things that he wants to show us. We cannot follow Jesus and our own idea at the same time. The only way to follow Jesus is to honor Jesus’ word a little more than our own thoughts. In other words our minds must be captured by Jesus’ word.
Jesus helped Peter in verse 8b, “…Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Relationships need to be maintained. Jesus was doing his part to maintain his relationship with Peter. Now it was Peter’s turn. Peter was free to refuse or accept Jesus’ humble service. But it would be the end of their relationship. Let us listen to Jesus’ word, accept his love and grace and humble serving, and maintain our love relationship with Jesus every day. To receive Jesus’ grace, we must simply accept what Jesus gives. We cannot add anything to it and we cannot omit anything from it. This is the right attitude toward Jesus as Lord.
Complete rewashing was not necessary. Look at verse 10. “Jesus answered, ‘A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’” It was not necessary for Peter to wash his hands and head, that is, to take a bath. Jesus just wanted to wash Peter’s feet, no more and no less. In John 15:3 Jesus said to his disciples, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” In the Bible Jesus compares taking a bath and having a clean body to receiving the word of God and having a clean mind and heart. When we accept one word of Jesus, it cleanses our minds and hearts from all our dirty sins. The word justifies us as being right with God and God gives us eternal life. We have assurance that we belong to Jesus and no one can snatch us out of his hand. However we are still in the world. We see and hear things that contaminate our minds. We fall into our sins, mistakes and shortcomings, daily. This does not mean that we loose our salvation. It only means that we need Jesus’ cleansing everyday. Jesus taught us to come to him, confessing our sins, repenting and accepting his forgiveness daily. Then Jesus washes us clean once again, newly. Daily bread is a good time to do this.
However, there was one among the disciples who was not clean. He was Judas Iscariot. He was not clean because he had not accepted Jesus’ word. Jesus knew the evil that was in his heart, but Jesus still washed his feet. Jesus still offered to serve him and to cleanse him. In spite of Judas’ devilish intention, Jesus never stopped loving him. Jesus’ love for Judas never failed.
Fourth, Wash One Another’s Feet (12-17).
When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. He explained the meaning of his action so they could understand. Look at verses 14-15. “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” Jesus taught them that spiritual leadership is not like having worldly authority. Spiritual leaders must be like Jesus. Spiritual leaders must be humble and they must serve. They must be willing to do the most menial and even dirty jobs to establish the bond of love with their coworkers. They must be willing to do the things that no one else wants to do without complaining. They must be willing to serve without receiving any kind of human honor or position. When spiritual leaders have this kind of attitude they can form a vessel of love that God can use for world mission. Jesus would soon be taken from them. It would be up to the disciples to carry out the world mission purpose of Jesus. When they remembered Jesus’ example and followed him they could overcome the schemes of the devil and obey God’s will, bearing the fruit of love.
Practically, what does it mean to us to wash one another’s feet? First of all it requires us to take a servant’s role. This is so hard for us to do. The Bible teaches us to truly consider others better than ourselves. (Php 2:3) We are called to concern about the interests of others. (Php 2:3) We are called to take on the very nature of a servant (Php 2:7) Listen to what Jesus tells in Mark 10:43-45, “43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." The sinful tendencies of all people are that we want to exalt ourselves over others and seek to be served by others. But when we remember how Jesus humbled himself to serve us, we can begin to learn the attitude of a servant.
There is another aspect of washing others feet. The disciples’ feet were probably very smelly. It was the hot in the Middle East. There was dry animal dung dust in the street dust. Their feet were sweaty. While reclining at the dinner table, others feet came closer to their noses. The upper room probably had poor circulation. It was hard to bear. To wash such feet meant that Jesus had to bear the smells, the germs, and even the abrasions and other anomalies and touch these feet and wash them, even in between their toes. How gross? These unpleasantries associated with feet are akin to our own personal shortcomings and sins. Listen to what Paul says in Colossians 3:13, “13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” We are easily upset by others around us. We poke at others in a subconscious attempt to make them conform to our standard. It is easier for us to isolate ourselves where no one else bothers us. But Jesus wants us to overcome, bearing each others’ “smelly feet” and washing them very practically, helping other. Then a vessel of love can be formed among God’s people. This requires true humility, the attitude of Christ. Yet, this is exactly what our Lord Jesus did for each of us. Jesus told us to follow his example in fact he commands us to do so in John 13:34-35. Let’s read these verses together, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Why should we do this? First, Jesus commanded it. Second, we will be blessed if we do it. “Blessed” has the connotation of happy. Third, the people of the world will know that we are disciples of Jesus and they will come to us to hear to the Gospel. It is imperative.
In today’s passage we learned that Jesus loves us. So he humbled himself to the lowest place to serve us. Ultimately, he bore our sins in his body on the cross. He wants us to love and serve and bear with others, following his example. May God help us to do so.
John 13:1-17; 34-35 NIU UBF 3/8/09
Key verse 13:14
“Now, that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
you also should wash one another’s feet.”
Last week we attended the USA/Canada UBF staff conference. There, over 200 people, UBF pastors and their wives and other UBF leaders, studied God’s word and prayed. We studied two passages; Revelation 2 and John 13. Through these passages we were all encouraged to return to our first love, Jesus and to love one another. In today’s passage Jesus washes his disciples’ feet to show them his love. Then Jesus tells them to wash one another’s feet, following his example. These two passages were studied by UBF leaders on six continents. It is good for us to be on the same page as other UBF chapters world wide. It is good to be on the same page as Jesus himself. May God help us to understand God’s love and follow Jesus’ example washing each others’ feet…in a spiritual sense. (Maybe in a literal sense also)
First, Jesus Showed Them The Full Extent Of His Love (1).
The time of Jesus’ passion was approaching. Look at verse 1. “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” From chapter one, John the Baptist cried out about Jesus, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” His statement pointed to Jesus’ divine destiny at the cross. It was declared at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Now, 3 ½ years later, the time had finally come. It was just hours before Jesus would be arrested and tried and sent to Calvary. What did Jesus do? What would you do? Jesus could have made a desperate attempt at self preservation. But he decided to showed his disciples the full extent of his love.
Actually, Jesus had loved them deeply from the very beginning of his ministry. Jesus had called them from ordinary lives to be his servants. Jesus planted hope in them to be great men of God in his world salvation work. Jesus had also loved them by being with them, every day, for 3 ½ years. For people to live together with others is not easy. Ask anyone who has lived in Christian common life. It is hard enough for blood relatives to live together. Many who seem to be saints at church are much different at home where all of their quirks are exposed. But look at Jesus. Jesus is the holy God. Yet he lived with his disciples day in and day out, enduring their sins and weaknesses with gentle forbearance. Jesus loved them most by praying for them and teaching them the word of God faithfully. The word of God cleansed their hearts and their minds. The image of God, God’s own noble character, began to grow in them. Moreover, Jesus taught them a sense of responsibility as leaders, giving them discipleship training. Jesus taught them faith that overcomes storms. Jesus taught them resurrection faith. Their three years of divine discipline under Jesus was intense, but through it all, they were growing as leaders who would later change the world. It was a miracle, like Jesus changing ordinary wash water into delicious wine.
We could say that Jesus had already done enough for his disciples. Now it was time to think about himself, don’t you think? He could have been thinking about escaping his upcoming trials. He could have been consumed by thoughts of anger towards the religious leaders and towards Judas who was about to betray him. But amazingly Jesus was only thinking about showing his disciples the full extent of his love. The fact is, when we get stressed out with pressure from school or from financial pressures all we think about is how to solve our immediate problems and save ourselves. There is very little room in our hearts for others, or for revealing the love of God to a world that so desperately needs to know his love. How different we are from Jesus. May God help us to grow in his image.
What was Jesus’ motive in this selfless act? The disciples did not yet know the full measure of Jesus’ love. And they had not learned how to love one another. So Jesus wanted to show them the full extent of his love. Jesus’ love is God’s love. God’s love is different from human love. Human love is conditional. So many vow on their wedding day, “till death do us part.” A few years later most say, “I just don’t love you anymore” or “our lives are going in different directions” and they separate. It is hard to stay in love when we depend on human emotions. Thank God that Jesus doesn’t do this to us. God’s love is unconditional. God’s love does not depend on our condition. God loves us when we are doing well, and God loves us just the same when we are not doing well. God’s love is steady and unchanging because it comes from God, who is in very nature love. God’s love is also everlasting. Psalm 136 repeats 26 times, “His love endures forever.” God never gets tired in loving people. Many parents are too tired after work to love their children. Some walk away from their children and their spouse to start a new life. Some drop their children off at fire stations or hospitals. Many Bible teachers feel “burned out” from trying to love God’s flock. But our God never burns out. God’s love endures forever.
Jesus did not just talk about love. Jesus showed his disciples the full extent of his love. His love is very practical. Jesus performed a dramatic act that planted in their minds and hearts a vivid image of his love. Let’s think more deeply about what Jesus did.
Second, Almighty Jesus Humbly Serves His Disciples (2-5).
The devil tried to crash this sacred dinner party. Look at verse 2. “The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.” This was the Passover, and it was the last meal Jesus would eat with his disciples. They were in a private upper room all by themselves. The disciples were happy as the plates of hot flat bread and roasted lamb were served. They were happy to be with Jesus. It should have been a feast filled with love. However, there was an uninvited guest present…the devil. The devil had invaded this sacred gathering through Judas Iscariot. The devil and Judas had formed a relationship through long, silent conversations together, in Judas’ mind. When following Jesus became difficult, the devil persuaded Judas to find an easier way. (John 6:60-64) When following Jesus required suffering loss, the devil persuaded Judas to find a more profitable way. (John 12:6) As the devil’s thoughts danced in his mind, Judas began to rehearse how he might betray Jesus. Finally, he was captured by the devil, and ready to do his bidding. Judas’ problem was that he did not respect Jesus’ word absolutely. Judas did not accept Jesus’ love. He remained in his own self centered world even though God was moving him to repent. This event is not separated from each of us. We must know that the devil is real. The devil roams around to capture all those who are relativistic toward Jesus’ word. (1 Peter 5:8) We could be captured at any moment.
Jesus was well aware of the devil’s presence. But Jesus was not worried. Look at verse 3. “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God....” Jesus’ mind was occupied with thoughts of God. Jesus knew that Almighty God had entrusted his world salvation work completely into his hand. With this awesome power of God, Jesus was free to do what he wanted. It was not to call down a legion of angels and destroy his enemies. What did Jesus want to do with his almighty power?
Jesus used his almighty power to serve his disciples by washing their feet. Look at verses 4-5. “...so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” This job was usually given to lowest servant in the house. In order to serve his disciples, Jesus humbled himself to the lowest place. Here we learn Jesus’ serving character and divine humbleness. Paul describes Jesus in Philippians 2:6-8 as follows: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!” We learn that the one thing Jesus really wanted his disciples to know is that he loves them. He loves them so much that he humbled himself from the highest place to the very lowest to serve them in the way that they needed….very practically. And apparently their immediate need was to have their feet washed. It could not wait.
God’s love to us is like this. Jesus is God Almighty. Yet he came to serve us in our need. Jesus humbly and continually serves me. He faithfully forgives me of my sins. He gives me faithful Bible study, even Bible study with mature servants of God. He constantly counsels me and guides my heart through his word and his Spirit. He helps my Bible students and my kids and my wife. He gives me strength to work as a nurse. He provides a place for me to work out and to a beautiful park to walk my dog and enjoy nature. He inspires me to prepare the word of God. He helps us to navigate the difficult economic times. He helps me to lead my housechurch. He battles the despair that creeps into my heart by infusing it with hope. Most of all he serves me daily so that I can know him and live in the confidence of his forgiveness and eternal life. We could never experience the love of God on our own. We could never ascend to him. But he came to us, humbling himself. John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” We must simply accept Jesus’ love and humble service.
Third, The Spiritual Meaning Of Foot Washing (6-11).
As Jesus went around washing the feet of the disciples, he came to Simon Peter. Peter said, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” When his Lord Jesus took the position of the lowest servant to wash his feet, Peter was utterly shocked. It turned Peter’s world view upside down. Peter had a strong idea of how human power hierarchy should be played out. In this hierarchy, the one on top orders his subordinates to do this and do that. The subordinates order their subordinates until the person on the bottom ends up doing the dirty work. It is like me giving the orders and the kids order each other until Mark has to do the dirty work, like feeding Ohma. Peter might have thought that some obscure disciple, like Bartholomew should have washed everybody’s feet.
Jesus knew it was hard for Peter to accept all this. So Jesus said, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Jesus wanted Peter to trust him and accept his washing. We can do this when we have a right attitude toward Jesus. We are not God. There are things that we do not understand. But we will understand if we simply trust and obey Jesus. But Peter did not have this attitude. He said, “No, you shall never wash my feet” (8a). Peter flatly and unconditionally refused. Peter might have thought he was humble. But, actually he was very proud. He thought his own idea was superior to Jesus’ teaching. He ended up trying to teach Jesus something. When Peter realized he had to choose between Jesus’ word and his own idea, he changed his mind and said, “Then Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” In a way, he accepted Jesus’ word, but not really. Now he was adding to Jesus’ word with an extreme statement that went far beyond what Jesus required. Jesus had to correct him once again. Jesus wanted Peter to simply accept his word without arguing or making extreme statements. In Matthew 5:37 Jesus said, “Simply let your ‘Yes' be ‘Yes,' and your ’No,' ‘No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Because Peter was proud, the devil was toying with him also.
We must take Jesus at his word. Jesus tries his absolute best to come to us a humble servant, but we must overcome our proud minds to accept him as he is and accept the things that he wants to show us. We cannot follow Jesus and our own idea at the same time. The only way to follow Jesus is to honor Jesus’ word a little more than our own thoughts. In other words our minds must be captured by Jesus’ word.
Jesus helped Peter in verse 8b, “…Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Relationships need to be maintained. Jesus was doing his part to maintain his relationship with Peter. Now it was Peter’s turn. Peter was free to refuse or accept Jesus’ humble service. But it would be the end of their relationship. Let us listen to Jesus’ word, accept his love and grace and humble serving, and maintain our love relationship with Jesus every day. To receive Jesus’ grace, we must simply accept what Jesus gives. We cannot add anything to it and we cannot omit anything from it. This is the right attitude toward Jesus as Lord.
Complete rewashing was not necessary. Look at verse 10. “Jesus answered, ‘A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’” It was not necessary for Peter to wash his hands and head, that is, to take a bath. Jesus just wanted to wash Peter’s feet, no more and no less. In John 15:3 Jesus said to his disciples, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” In the Bible Jesus compares taking a bath and having a clean body to receiving the word of God and having a clean mind and heart. When we accept one word of Jesus, it cleanses our minds and hearts from all our dirty sins. The word justifies us as being right with God and God gives us eternal life. We have assurance that we belong to Jesus and no one can snatch us out of his hand. However we are still in the world. We see and hear things that contaminate our minds. We fall into our sins, mistakes and shortcomings, daily. This does not mean that we loose our salvation. It only means that we need Jesus’ cleansing everyday. Jesus taught us to come to him, confessing our sins, repenting and accepting his forgiveness daily. Then Jesus washes us clean once again, newly. Daily bread is a good time to do this.
However, there was one among the disciples who was not clean. He was Judas Iscariot. He was not clean because he had not accepted Jesus’ word. Jesus knew the evil that was in his heart, but Jesus still washed his feet. Jesus still offered to serve him and to cleanse him. In spite of Judas’ devilish intention, Jesus never stopped loving him. Jesus’ love for Judas never failed.
Fourth, Wash One Another’s Feet (12-17).
When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. He explained the meaning of his action so they could understand. Look at verses 14-15. “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” Jesus taught them that spiritual leadership is not like having worldly authority. Spiritual leaders must be like Jesus. Spiritual leaders must be humble and they must serve. They must be willing to do the most menial and even dirty jobs to establish the bond of love with their coworkers. They must be willing to do the things that no one else wants to do without complaining. They must be willing to serve without receiving any kind of human honor or position. When spiritual leaders have this kind of attitude they can form a vessel of love that God can use for world mission. Jesus would soon be taken from them. It would be up to the disciples to carry out the world mission purpose of Jesus. When they remembered Jesus’ example and followed him they could overcome the schemes of the devil and obey God’s will, bearing the fruit of love.
Practically, what does it mean to us to wash one another’s feet? First of all it requires us to take a servant’s role. This is so hard for us to do. The Bible teaches us to truly consider others better than ourselves. (Php 2:3) We are called to concern about the interests of others. (Php 2:3) We are called to take on the very nature of a servant (Php 2:7) Listen to what Jesus tells in Mark 10:43-45, “43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." The sinful tendencies of all people are that we want to exalt ourselves over others and seek to be served by others. But when we remember how Jesus humbled himself to serve us, we can begin to learn the attitude of a servant.
There is another aspect of washing others feet. The disciples’ feet were probably very smelly. It was the hot in the Middle East. There was dry animal dung dust in the street dust. Their feet were sweaty. While reclining at the dinner table, others feet came closer to their noses. The upper room probably had poor circulation. It was hard to bear. To wash such feet meant that Jesus had to bear the smells, the germs, and even the abrasions and other anomalies and touch these feet and wash them, even in between their toes. How gross? These unpleasantries associated with feet are akin to our own personal shortcomings and sins. Listen to what Paul says in Colossians 3:13, “13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” We are easily upset by others around us. We poke at others in a subconscious attempt to make them conform to our standard. It is easier for us to isolate ourselves where no one else bothers us. But Jesus wants us to overcome, bearing each others’ “smelly feet” and washing them very practically, helping other. Then a vessel of love can be formed among God’s people. This requires true humility, the attitude of Christ. Yet, this is exactly what our Lord Jesus did for each of us. Jesus told us to follow his example in fact he commands us to do so in John 13:34-35. Let’s read these verses together, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Why should we do this? First, Jesus commanded it. Second, we will be blessed if we do it. “Blessed” has the connotation of happy. Third, the people of the world will know that we are disciples of Jesus and they will come to us to hear to the Gospel. It is imperative.
In today’s passage we learned that Jesus loves us. So he humbled himself to the lowest place to serve us. Ultimately, he bore our sins in his body on the cross. He wants us to love and serve and bear with others, following his example. May God help us to do so.
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