Redeemer Fellowship Johnson County

Like a good movie, the book of Acts closes inviting the reader to respond. If Acts was simply a story about Paul or the Apostles the last few verses feel unfinished, but because Acts is about the work of God it closes with an invitation to join God in his mission of spreading the good news of the Kingdom and the hope we have in Jesus. In this passage we see Paul preach one more time and then offer a warning not to harden our hearts, close our ears, or shut our eyes to the message of the Gospel.

The call of Christ is to joyfully die to ourselves, being willing to lay down our pursuits, our dreams, and our status for the sake of following him. Following Jesus carries a great cost, but when he calls we can be confident that we go in his care, his presence, and in his power. The question before us every day is this: “Is the person of Jesus and his mission valuable enough to you to forsake everything in pursuit of him?” The resolve that Paul displays in this text is a resolve that is built over time. Following Jesus is less about the decisions that we make in the moments of mountaintop passion than it is about the long, slow cultivation of obedience—hearing and responding—over the long haul.

In this passage through both his example and his direct exhortation Paul preaches to pastors. He calls them to love God, love and serve the church, guard their hearts, protect the church and teach the whole council of God's Word. As you listen to Paul's message to pastors you will hear God's heart for the church, see some specific ways to pray for our pastors, and also make direct application to your life. The good news for all of us is that Jesus is the Senior Pastor of the church - he leads it, he purchased it with his blood, and he promises to protect it. The ultimate hope for the church doesn't rest on its pastors but on Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep.

The theme of these verses is the staggering way the Kingdom of God advances in the face of opposition and decisively overwhelms the kingdom of darkness. Luke highlights the issue of syncretism in Ephesus: the action of combining multiple belief systems or aspects of cultural spirituality into a personalized cocktail of religion, much like our modern society. The central conflict between Christianity and magic can be boiled down to this question: is there something we can do that will place the “gods” in our debt, and obligate them to do our will? Christianity’s answer is decisively NO. Jesus will not be used as a means to an end like a genie. He’s the one in control. Moreover, he isn't just different from the pagan gods, he is the destroyer of the gods. He stands unique, far above, and unlike all other options. We’re the same as the people of Ephesus. We constantly live with a subconscious anxiety tied to the fragility of our idols. We don’t have little statues in your house, but we do in our hearts. And we react in extreme ways when those things are threatened. The call is to repent of our idolatry and run into the arms of the living God.

The grace of Jesus invites us to experience full access with confidence to the living God. Through Jesus we have salvation, NOT just from sin but into fellowship with the living God. If that's true, why are we content with having less of God than he intends for us to have? Why are we content with having less of God than he offers us in Christ?

How do we proclaim the gospel in a pluralistic world? We may find points of contact with unbelievers on peripheral matters and when we do, we should use them. But we must always keep in mind that our goal is not to concede that we are on common ground. Contextual evangelism requires that we highlight not the common ground, but point people to the solid rock on which they can build their life. Jesus isn’t just a good idea to be added to your list of good ideas. The gospel isn’t a message to be consumed. The gospel confronts you with a transcendent reality that demands a response.

We need a sacrifice beyond anything we can provide on our own and Jesus was that sacrifice. This is Paul's message and he shows people that this is the message of the Bible. The human story we read in the pages of Scripture is one of deep brokenness and it highlights our need for a savior. Paul must have also pointed to specific Old Testament passages tell us God's plan was always to send the Messiah to suffer and that through his suffering he would make a way for forgiveness (Isaiah 53). We see that some receive this message with eagerness and some riot trying to protect the system they already know ... even though it is broken.

In this chapter we see the Spirit leading and directing his people in ways that surprise us. From denying freedoms for the sake of others, to shutting doors of opportunity, to persecution for doing good the way God leads his people is sometimes mysterious. When we remember that the high point of the human story, the death and resurrection of Jesus, is also mysterious we have some frame of reference for the fact that things can be mysterious but that doesn't mean they are random or chaotic. As we ask "God, what are you doing in my life" this passage helps us think about the reason God does what he does, explore some of the ways he works in our world, and leads us to ask how we can join him in his work.

The first ecumenical council described in Acts 15 models moral action we seem incapable of today. The root issue they convene to resolve is what Gentiles must do to belong to the church. Some think they must be circumcised, others protest, and the vehemence with which each party holds to its position is a sign of the high stakes involved. Failure to resolve the difference would destroy the early church, bringing God’s work to halt. A resolution is reached, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and for us it is as essential to notice the process matters as much as the result.

Eschewing hasty demonization of each other, two diametrically opposed groups, driven by a sense of obligation to a call beyond, submit to a process of communal discernment, a process that unfolds along the rhythms of speaking, silence, listening, in short, a process requiring patience to complete. Flawed as the early church was, they showed each other more patience during this council than we routinely show each other today. Their patience positioned them to remember the dignity of those with whom they disagreed without compromising their faith. That is why this story matters.