Putnam Church Message – 06/08/2025

Last week, we explored: Jesus’ Message to Gentiles & Jews - the Cross Core Verses: Hebrews 3:1-2 Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)

This week is Messager: 7 of 12 Title: The Book of Acts: The Spirit’s Unstoppable Journey. Core Verses: Acts 1:8 Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)

Today is Pentecost, 50 days after the Resurrection Sunday. On this day, many representatives of the Israelites who had been taken into exile in the Assyria and Babylonian empires were in Jerusalem. The countries mentioned are also very similar to the nations dispersed at the Tower of Babbel being reunited again. The dispersed nations were being reunited to begin the construction of God’s kingdom throughout the known world. As we get started this morning, let me set the stage by reading the account of Pentecost from Acts 2:1-12 On the day of Pentecost[a] all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages,[b] as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

The precursor to this passage is our core verse for today:

Core Verses: Acts 1:8 (NLT) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

We continue our journey through the New Testament, and today, we open the second volume of Luke’s masterful account: The Acts of the Apostles. If the Gospels painted a vivid portrait of Jesus—His life, His teachings, His faithfulness, His victory over spiritual forces, and His revolutionary inclusiveness—then Acts is the breathtaking saga of what happens after Jesus ascends, leaving His disciples with “all authority.”

Imagine standing on the Mount of Olives, just after Jesus’ ascension. The disciples, filled with questions and longing, are left with a staggering promise and a daunting task: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling everyone about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NLT). This single verse, our core for today, is not just a promise; it’s the blueprint for the entire book of Acts.

For the early disciples, the question was profound: If Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, now had all authority, how would this new kingdom unfold? Especially for Abraham’s family, chosen by God, how would this “one Lord over all” affect their relationship with the Gentile world, so long considered unclean and separated? This is the central tension, the driving narrative of Acts: How do you bring Gentiles into the family of Abraham, a family known for its distinctness and its covenant with the one true God? The Book of Acts is the Holy Spirit’s visible, undeniable answer.

 

Summary: The Book of Acts immediately establishes a revolutionary goal: the outpouring of God’s Spirit and the invitation to salvation for “all people,” not just Israel, fulfilling ancient prophecies and expanding Abraham’s family to include Gentiles. Genesis 18:18: ‘all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.’

Narrative & Illustration: From the very first chapters of Acts, the narrative makes it clear that God’s plan is far grander than anyone initially imagined. On the day of Pentecost, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, quotes the prophet Joel: “In the last days,” God says, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18, NLT).

Notice the phrase: “all people” (or “all flesh” in other translations). This was a seismic shift for many Jews. For generations, the Spirit was primarily associated with specific individuals within Israel—prophets, priests, and kings. Now, the promise was that God’s Spirit would be poured out on everyone—men and women, young and old, and crucially, for “But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[a]” (Acts 2:21). This “everyone” included the Gentile!

Imagine an ancient Israelite family, living in a small village, with generations of lineage traced back to Abraham. Their identity, their promises, and their very existence were tied to their unique covenant with the one true God. They deeply loved their traditions, their Sabbath, their dietary laws, and their temple worship. Now, picture them being told that the Messiah, their Messiah, is bringing into their family, people who eat pork, who don’t keep the Sabbath, who worship different gods—and what’s more, their God Himself approves of this! This was not a minor adjustment; it was a complete paradigm shift.

Consider our modern context: Imagine a highly exclusive, ancient university, such as Harvard or Yale, steeped in centuries of tradition, where admission has always been strictly by birthright within a particular lineage. Suddenly, the university’s founder declares that anyone from any background, regardless of their family line, can now be admitted if they pledge allegiance to the founder’s vision and embrace a new way of learning, powered by a new, miraculous source of knowledge. The existing students would be both astonished and perhaps deeply challenged by this radical inclusivity!

Object Lesson: Imagine a small, beautifully crafted oil lamp, its flame flickering brightly. This lamp represents the light of God’s presence and truth, traditionally kept within the house of Israel. Now, imagine that from this one lamp, not only do other lamps from the same house get lit, but flames begin to leap out, carried by the wind, igniting hundreds of other lamps in distant, darkened lands. These new lamps, though different in form, now share the same light and purpose. This illustrates the “all people” outpouring of the Spirit – the light extending far beyond its initial container.

Summary: The core tension of Acts revolves around the question of how Gentiles could truly “belong” to God’s family without abandoning their Gentile identity and fully converting to Judaism, especially given historical and theological views of Gentiles as “unclean.”

Narrative & Illustration: For an early Jew who followed Jesus, the idea of a Gentile becoming a follower of the one true God was not entirely new; there were proselytes who converted to Judaism, fully embracing the Law. But the problem in Acts was different: How could a Gentile join the family of Abraham without becoming a Jew? How could they remain “Gentile” – eating pork, not observing the Sabbath, not getting circumcised – and still be considered “clean” and accepted by the God of Israel?

From the perspective of many devout Jews, Gentiles were ritually unclean; their way of life and worship were fundamentally at odds with God’s covenant. Leviticus 20, for example, clearly delineates the distinctions between Israel and the surrounding nations. To share a meal with a Gentile, let alone welcome them fully into the family, was to risk one’s own ritual purity.

This is the very essence of Peter’s struggle before meeting Cornelius. His vision of unclean animals, and the voice commanding him to “Kill and eat!” (Acts 10:13, NLT), challenged his deeply ingrained Jewish sensibilities. The dramatic revelation was: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” (Acts 10:15, NLT). God was explicitly declaring Gentiles clean, not by their adherence to Jewish law, but by His divine pronouncement.

Consider a family with a very strict dietary code that has been passed down through generations, believing certain foods to be inherently impure. They would never consider inviting someone who regularly consumed those foods to their family table. The idea would be unthinkable, a defilement. Suddenly, the patriarch of the family declares that, due to a profound change in circumstances, all foods are now clean for guests, and everyone is welcome at the table as they are. This would cause an immense internal struggle and debate, wouldn’t it? This was the “problem” in Acts – not whether Gentiles could be saved, but how they could be integrated while remaining distinctly Gentile.

Object Lesson: Imagine a beautifully laid banquet table, set for a grand family feast. For centuries, only those who have gone through a specific ritual cleansing and worn certain traditional garments are permitted to sit at this table. Then, the Master of the House declares that now, anyone who trusts in Him, regardless of their past rituals or traditional garments, is welcome to sit and partake, as long as they come with a loyal heart. The “problem” is the mental and cultural hurdle for those who have always adhered to the old rules, seeing others approach without the traditional preparations.

Summary: The solution presented in Acts is God’s unexpected “favor” (grace) shown to Gentiles, demonstrated by the visible outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which confirms their inclusion in God’s family through loyalty to Jesus, without requiring Jewish proselytization.

Narrative & Illustration: The solution to the Gentile problem in Acts isn’t proselytization, where Gentiles become Jews. It’s God’s radical favor (charis/grace), extended to the Gentiles through their loyalty (pistis/faith) to Jesus. This “favor” is not merely an abstract concept; it’s a visible, often miraculous, manifestation of God’s approval.

Throughout Acts, whenever Gentiles believed,/the Holy Spirit “fell upon all” (Acts 10:44), often accompanied by visible signs, such as speaking in tongues, just as The Spirit had done for the Jewish believers at Pentecost. This was God’s undeniable “seal” of approval, a visible stamp of divine affirmation. The Jewish believers with Peter at Cornelius’s house were “The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.” (Acts 10:45, NLT). This confirmed that God made “He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith.” (Acts 15:9, NLT).

For an early Christian Jew, this visible manifestation was crucial. It wasn’t just Peter saying Gentiles were clean; it was God showing it through the same Spirit who had empowered them. This was God’s way of saying, “I approve. This is where I want the story to go.”

Imagine our modern political landscape today, where two deeply divided factions have been at odds for decades, each believing itself to be exclusively righteous and the other fundamentally flawed. No bridges have been built./Then, a highly respected, neutral arbiter—whose word is undeniable—publicly and visibly endorses a new path forward, a path that includes both factions equally, without requiring either to completely abandon their identity but simply to pledge loyalty to a common vision. The arbiter’s visible approval, perhaps through a public ceremony or a powerful demonstration of unity, would be the only thing strong enough to overcome the entrenched distrust. That’s what the Holy Spirit’s visible manifestations were in Acts for the early church.

Object Lesson: Imagine a seal used in ancient times, like a signet ring, pressed into wax to authenticate a document or confirm ownership. The wax may be from different sources, but the impression of the seal is uniform and undeniable. The Holy Spirit, visibly poured out on both Jews and Gentiles, is like that divine seal. It authenticates their belief, confirms their belonging to God’s family, and visibly demonstrates God’s approval, regardless of their cultural origin. The wax (Gentiles) now bears the same divine seal as the wax (Jews), proving their shared ownership by God.

Summary: The Book of Acts reminds us that the Holy Spirit’s primary purpose is to empower us to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ, extending His message to all people, regardless of our perceived limitations.

Narrative & Illustration: The disciples in Acts 1:8 were ordinary people—fishermen, tax collectors, former zealots. They weren’t highly educated or politically powerful. Yet, they were promised “power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” This power wasn’t for their own comfort or personal gain; it was for the task of being “witnesses... to the ends of the earth.” We see them, often fearfully, transformed into bold preachers and miracle workers, reaching places they never imagined they would.

Think of an ancient messenger, tasked with delivering a crucial decree from the king. The messenger might feel insignificant, but their authority comes not from their own strength, but from the king who sent them and the power of the message they carry. They are empowered by the king’s backing.

In our modern world, we may feel inadequate when sharing our faith. We might lack theological training, fear rejection, or feel our personal lives aren’t “perfect enough.” But Acts reminds us that the power comes from the Spirit, not from our own abilities. The Spirit continues to empower ordinary believers today. Whether it’s sharing a simple testimony with a neighbor,/serving in a community,/or boldly proclaiming truth in a hostile environment, the same Spirit who empowered Peter and Paul is available to us. Our witness isn’t about being perfectly articulate or persuasive; it’s about being faithful to the One who empowers us. We are simply the King’s messengers.

Summary: Acts challenges us to actively dismantle any lingering “dividing walls” in our own hearts and communities, embracing and celebrating the diverse family of God that the cross has created.

Narrative & Illustration: The struggle over Gentile inclusion in Acts wasn’t easy. It led to intense debates and even a council in Jerusalem (Acts 15). Yet, through it all, God’s clear will was revealed: there is “no distinction.” This meant overturning centuries of cultural norms and theological interpretations for many Jews.

In our world today, divisions persist—ethnic, socio-economic,...