Orchard Ridge Church

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Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. – Hebrews 13:8

I am often asked, “Why is the God of the Old Testament different from the God of the New Testament?” The answer to that can be found in Hebrews 13:8 - He’s not! We sing a song called, “Same God.” There’s good theology in that song. Our God is Holy, slow to anger, full of mercy, abounding in love and compassion. He is also righteous and just. He rejects sin and rebellion and will hold all to account for their actions in a manner pleasing to Him. He extends grace through Christ to all who believe that and receive it. All of His decisions are correct. When He acts, He is within His rights as Creator to do so.

In Acts 5:1-11, we see what some might call the “O.T. God” showing up in the early church. The scripture says that a married couple gave a financial gift to the early church with impure motive and deceitfulness and as a result God chose to take their lives. WHAT? Isn’t that lacking in N.T. grace and love?

That’s a fair question. And when you decide to teach and preach ALL of Acts – without skipping anything as we are doing – you’re bound to run into the tough stuff! Game on! Let’s go!

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. – Acts 4:31

Wouldn’t it be amazing to travel back in time and sit in on an early 1st Century Prayer Meeting? Unfortunately, the Time Machine hasn’t been invented yet. But we can get a glimpse by reading Acts 4:22-31. Peter and John have just returned to the Church (not a building, but a body of believers) after a whirlwind of activity that followed their healing a man crippled from birth. He’d been unable to walk for 40+ years and was well known as a beggar by all who had frequented the Temple Mount area. The result of the healing – done in Jesus’ Name – was 2,000 people coming to belief and salvation in Jesus of Nazareth! Infuriated, the Jewish religious leaders felt this warranted an overnighter in jail for Peter and John and an appearance before the Sanhedrin (the ruling council in Jerusalem) the next day. Answering question after question, accusation after accusation, Peter and John (filled with the Holy Spirit), confounded the wisdom of these supposed “wise men” who were trying to find basis for charges against these two. But they had no way to respond to the Truth. They were angry that the Jesus they had just crucified simply wouldn’t go away!

Peter and John had been BOLD. And as they told their story to their Christian brothers and sisters, a prayer meeting broke out! The Church wanted the same BOLDNESS that God had given Peter and John! What they asked for – they received!

What can we learn from this early 1st Century Prayer Meeting that can help us in ours?

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. - Acts 4:12

In Acts chapter 3, Peter and John heal a crippled man who begs for money on the Temple Mount at the Gate called Beautiful. By the power of the name of Jesus the man walks (and jumps) for the first time in his life. The man was over 40!

Not so much for this act of kindness, but by the means of the healing, Peter and John are arrested by the religious leaders and brought before the Sanhedrin in Acts chapter 4. What follows is an exchange between Peter (filled with the Holy Spirit) and these same men who were responsible for killing Jesus. At issue? THE NAME. Throughout the chapter, it’s the NAME that is the problem. That Name remains a problem for many to this very day. For those who call on the Name there is salvation in this life and the next. That name is the Cornerstone of the Kingdom and our very lives if we submit to it. But to those who reject it, it becomes a stumbling block (1 Peter 2:6-8).

Tired of falling and stubbing your toes walking in the dark? Call on The Name – JESUS – the Light of the World. Build your life on the Rock. Lives built on JESUS withstand life’s storms and trials.

When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. – Acts 3:3-5

The place this man knew best was a place called Beautiful. But his situation was far from beautiful; it was ugly! Beautiful was the name of the Gate on the Temple Mount where this beggar was placed daily by friends who carried him there so he could beg for money. He was born with a physical problem that prevented him from walking. The money he received from passersby could sustain him (it bought food and perhaps paid the rent on the place where he lived). But he had a problem that money could NOT fix. He couldn’t walk. I’ll call this a “Priceless Problem.” If money could fix every problem, then money (or the god Mammon in the Bible), would be a god worth worshiping. But it can’t! What problems do you have that money is powerless to fix? Call them your “Priceless Problems.” Because where money is powerless, GOD can show up and be powerful! Peter and John didn’t have what the beggar requested – silver and gold. They had something better: JESUS.

As an act of love, God will always give us circumstances or problems that cause us to keep our focus on Him. Never look to people, money or possessions to substitute for God. You’ll be disappointed. In this same chapter (Acts 3), Jesus is called The Author of Life. He alone, can supply EVERY need we will have!

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. – Acts 2:42

What is church, really? Say that word today and depending on the past experiences of those who hear you say it, you’ll get a wide range of reactions. Churches differ on methods, doctrines and practices. But are there “essentials” that all churches must embrace if they are truly Christian churches? After all, it’s not OUR church. It’s His church! (Jesus said, “…I will build my church…” in Matthew 16:18). If it’s His, we should do it as outlined in His Word. It’s not complicated. It’s simple. But it’s MESSY if it’s real and authentic! Beware of a clean, sanitized and tidy church (I’m talking about those attending, not the custodial cleaning services the church uses). The church done His way is a Transformation Station. In Acts 2:42 we are given for non-negotiables: Study of the Word (Apostle’s teaching), fellowship, Breaking bread together and prayer. Everything outside of these core essentials is negotiable. If it’s done His way, it’ll create a healthy community. Healthy things cannot help but grow!

You may not know these Greek words – Ekklesia or Koinonia. But if you attend tomorrow, you will! I’m excited to explain them.

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?" – Acts 2:37

For those of us who call ourselves “Christians” and use the term “saved” to describe our experience of receiving Jesus as LORD, we can relate to Acts 2:37. Maybe it was a sermon or a situation. Maybe it was a trial or a testimony of another. But whatever “it” was, the Holy Spirit used “it” to make us aware that there was a God and we were far from Him. We became aware of a glaring need – a hole in the soul – if you will. We woke up to the truth that NOTHING but Jesus could fill that space and “complete us.” (WE had tried to fill the void with people, things, substances, experiences, etc.) Lastly, we became aware that we weren’t as “good” as we thought we were. In fact, in comparison to Jesus, we were bad! We use the word “saved” because we realized life without our Creator was a path leading us death (emotional, spiritual and physical). This is where these Jews on the Day of Pentecost found themselves as Peter preached on Pentecost day. His mouth and their ears were opened that morning at 9:00 am. The Bible says that over 3,000 were “cut to the heart.” The loving conviction of the Holy Spirit had arrived and a Church – meaning: the called out ones – was born!

That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. – Genesis 11:9

We say things like, “What is he babbling on about?” to describe someone rambling on and on. But the origin of the word Babel goes back to Genesis 11. Most of us are familiar with the story from the Bible when the inhabitants of the ancient world came together to accomplish many great and extraordinary public works. The problem was this: A fallen sinful nature full of greed and lust for power + knowledge and long life = Trouble and destruction! We see it now, don’t we? Nuclear science has the power to change lives for the better if used by peace loving people. But unfortunately, the world is not full of peace loving, selfless people. Therefore, the likelihood of nuclear science being used for weapons of mass destruction is probable. This is sad but true. So God, in love, confused their language and shortened their years – TEMPORARILY.

Enter Pentecost Sunday, roughly 2,000 years ago. The opposite happens. God removes the barrier of languages on this day and the God-fearing people of the nations who were in Jerusalem understood Galileans speaking the wonders of God – but in their own language! No confusion, only understanding! God has been bringing a people together in His name (Church) that can handle His blessings because they are being re-made in His likeness and image. The fallen nature is being re-made into a risen nature – one that cares about those around us. Join us tomorrow as we celebrate the birth of the Church! Pentecost – ACTS 2:1-15.

What does it mean to live a life led by the Holy Spirit? One way to approach this question is to illustrate what a life looks like when it is NOT directed by the Holy Spirit. We know that just before Jesus left the Apostles (now numbering only 11) He instructed them to go to Jerusalem and “WAIT” for the promised “power from above” or the promised Holy Spirit. The Spirit would guide them in all truth (John 16:13). So for 10 days they went back to the Upper Room in Jerusalem as He instructed and waited and prayed. What happens next is recorded in Acts 1:12-26. During this 10 day waiting period, Peter gets a good idea! (Keep in mind this isn’t Peter filled with the Holy Spirit. This is still the well-intentioned but impulsive Peter that we’ve come to know in our Gospels). Good ideas can be good, but they come from our thoughts. God ideas are better! Even though they don’t always make sense to us initially. God ideas come from above and are given to us through the Holy Spirit. Peter’s good idea is to replace Judas with another disciple from the pool of believers who had been with the group since the very earliest days in Galilee three years prior. Sounds reasonable. Matthias and Justus were nominated. A prayer was prayed and lots were cast (a flipping of a coin / the rolling of the dice). The lot fell to Matthias – he's now Apostle #12. Congratulations Matthias! No doubt Matthias was a Godly man who brought value to the team, but we never hear about him again. One has to wonder… Was this God’s plan? Because Jesus Himself went on a short time later to personally call another Apostle: Saul turned Paul! Paul was far more than a good idea. In fact, no Apostle or Christian would’ve picked him – they were terrified of him! He was a zealous Pharisee who hunted and killed Christians. But He was God’s idea!! And 2/3 of our New Testament came through Him! The Gospel went to the non-Jewish world through him! One God idea is worth 1,000 good ideas.

There’s a lot here for us to explore. Such as “How do we know if the choices we are about to make are Spirit led or Self led?” Self spelled backwards is Fles(h).