Bread of His Presence

Lechem Panim #127 "Sacred Interruptions" (Acts 3:1) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. Thank’s for tuning in to us today as we continue our study of the book of Acts together. Today we will be beginning chapter 3, which opens with Peter and John’s healing of a lame beggar outside of the Temple gate called “Beautiful”. But before we get into the meat of our study, I would like to give you a bird’s-eye view of one of the central themes in Acts 3 and 4; and that is the name of Jesus.

Fruit Stand— You know, it’s interesting. [When the 1960s ended, San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district reverted to high rent, and many hippies moved down the coast to Santa Cruz. They had children and got married, too, though in no particular sequence. But they didn't name their children {common names like} Melissa or Brett. {No,} People in the mountains around Santa Cruz grew accustomed to their children playing Frisbee with little Time Warp or Spring Fever. And eventually Moonbeam, Earth, Love and Precious Promise all ended up in public school. That's when the kindergarten teachers first met Fruit Stand. Every fall, according to tradition, parents bravely apply name tags to their children, kiss them good-bye and send them off to school on the bus. So it was for Fruit Stand. The teachers thought the boy's name was odd, but they tried to make the best of it.
"Would you like to play with the blocks, Fruit Stand?" they offered. And later, "Fruit Stand, how about a snack?" He accepted hesitantly. By the end of the day, his name didn't seem much odder than …{Moonbeam’s}… or Sun Ray's. 
At dismissal time, the teachers led the children out to the buses. "Fruit Stand, do you know which one is your bus?"
He didn't answer. That wasn't strange. He hadn't answered them all day. Lots of children are shy on the first day of school. It didn't matter. The teachers had instructed the parents to write the names of their children's bus stops on the reverse side of their name tags. The teacher simply turned over the tag. There, neatly printed, was the word “Anthony.”] It is amazing what can happen when we miss somebody’s name. Names are significant; names are important. And that is why we find so much emphasis in the book of Acts on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Name of Jesus Christ— [The {overarching theme and} emphasis in Acts 3 and 4 is on the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 3:6, 16; 4:7, 10, 12, 17–18, 30). {Now} A name, of course, implies much more than identification; it carries with it authority, reputation, and power….If an order is given in the name of the President of the United States…, those who receive the order know that they are obligated to obey. If I were to issue orders at the White House…(even if I could get in), nobody would pay much attention because my name has no official authority behind it. But the name of the Lord Jesus has all authority behind it, for He is the Son of God (Matt. 28:18). {And} Because His name is “above every name” (Phil. 2:9–11), He deserves our worship and obedience. {Now this is important for us to understand because} The great concern of the first Christians was that the name of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, be glorified, and {we as} believers today should have that same concern {that (in everything we do) we are bringing glory to the name of Jesus}.]

Dust of The Rabbi— But how do we bring glory to the name of Jesus? Sometime I would like to talk about that in greater detail. But, to keep it simple and relevant to our passage today, just remember this. When a rabbi called a disciple in the 1st century world of Jesus, it was not so that the disciple would follow him around and simply learn what the Rabbi knew. All of us here have at one time been students. And being students we all had teachers in whose classes we (either willingly or unwillingly) sat because they or somebody else thought we should be there to learn what they know. And we had a whole string of teachers from whom we wanted to learn so that we could get the facts we needed to pass the tests and hopefully get into a good college and eventually go on to get a good job; and so on and so forth. But in Jewish culture, the Talmudim (the disciples of a Rabbi); their concern stretched far beyond that. It was about so much more than simply knowing what the Rabbi knew. No, it was about becoming what the Rabbi is. Now that has enormous significance for how we understand the call of Jesus. And I just don’t have the time to get too into it now. But for now, just remember that the call of a rabbi was a call to be like him in his practice, in his nature, in his character, and even in his authority. And disciples of a Rabbi would dedicate every moment of their lives to following and observing their Rabbi. It didn’t matter where he went; they would be right behind him. And because the ground was always dry and you would naturally kick up dust everywhere you went, there developed this concept that Talmudim would be so close to their Rabbi that the very dust he kicked up would cover them. And that is right where you wanted to be; covered in the dust of your Rabbi. That is the heart of what it meant to be disciple; to be covered in his dust because of your desire (and his promise to make you) to be like him. Now I say this because in the 1st century world, how would someone learn what a rabbi was like without ever meeting him? Well, they would look at the Talmudim; the disciples. And they could see in those disciples the very image of their rabbi. So let me ask you this, how is the world going to know what Jesus is like? By looking at us. 

"Christian": Little Christs— In the coming weeks we will find that it is in Antioch that those of what was then known as “The Way” would first be called Christians, a title of mockery; but one which the early believers gladly accepted; because the word “Christian” means “little Christ”. And that’s exactly what the believers wanted to be. Why? Because they were Talmudim. They wanted the world to experience in them the very image of the Savior. So, let me ask you again, “How do we bring glory to the name of Jesus?” By being a miniature copy of Him. That is the whole idea behind this word “Christian”. It is a title in which the holder is claiming to be like Jesus. And so the question is “Are our lives characterized by what it means to truly be a Christian?” One excellent gauge of this is this: Do we care about who Christ cared about? Is the drive of His heart the drive of our hearts? If so, this mission statement of Jesus will be your soul-cry as well…

Luke 19:10 (ESV)— 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Diamond Chandelier— Just the other day I watched a mystery show in which the criminal was searching for his victim’s stolen diamonds. And during the whole show everybody was looking for these diamonds. But then at the end of the show, the detective, leading the criminal into one of the victim’s rooms (which the criminal had been in many times) pointed up at the chandelier. And there (interwoven into that chandelier) was ten million dollars worth of diamonds; hidden right there in plain sight.

Divine Interruptions— You know, I discovered something a number of years ago that absolutely blew me away about the ministry of Jesus. It is something so obvious I overlooked it (like those diamonds hidden in plain sight). And that is this. Jesus embraced interruptions. In fact I read a quote several years ago by G.H. Morling that completely affected the way I saw much of Christ’s earthly ministry. It was a little pebble that started an avalanche of thinking in my own mind. He said…

G. H. Morling: Jesus Interrupted— [“A valuable study of the Gospels could be made, noticing how many times Jesus gave some of His greatest teachings in circumstances where he had simply been interrupted. How different this is from us; we hate to be interrupted. To Jesus, the importance seemed to lie in the person whose path had crossed His own. Things don’t just “happen” in the providence of God. The interruption may well be our highest task at that very moment.”] “The interruption may well be our highest task at that very moment.”

Jesus’ Interruptions— Now that was a life-changing quote for me. What would have happened if Jesus had not stopped for those who interrupted Him; what would have happened if He hadn’t taken time? Most of his miracles would have never taken place! Just think of [Jesus’ visit to Zacchaeus' house, the widow at Nain whose son was healed, and the man let down through the ceiling by his four friends who was both forgiven and healed?] Think of the healing of the bleeding woman. Jesus had interrupted His schedule to heal Jairus’ daughter. And then {(in the midst of that interruption)} he’s interrupted again by this woman who suffered from bleeding. He even allowed His interruptions to be interrupted!!! All these miracles were interruptions. But Jesus never saw them that way; He saw them as divine appointments! [The same went for His teaching. Yes, He did lay out systematic discourse in the Sermon on the Mount, the Kingdom parables, and the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 5–7, 13, 24, 25). {But} Look at a sampling, however, of what He taught as a result of responding to interruptions. An expert in the Law tested Him on “Who is my neighbor?” and we gained the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law muttered against Him welcoming sinners, and He responded with the stories of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son (Luke 15). We would have missed the discipleship of Matthew and Zacchaeus if Jesus had not interrupted His schedule. We would not have the teaching on the new birth had Jesus not taken time with Nicodemus (John 3), or the teaching on worship had Jesus ignored the Samaritan woman (John 4).] The fact is, if Jesus had never allowed His schedule to be interrupted, our Bibles would be pretty thin. Now what does that mean for us? Exactly what G.H. Morling said: “Things don’t just “happen” in the providence of God. The interruption may well be our highest task at that very moment.”
Now I say all of this because of the context of this story that is given to us. It says in…

Acts 3:1 (ESV)— 1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 

Our Flexibility— You see, they were on their way to do the spiritual stuff. But (as we’ll see next week) they were willing to put that on hold in order to enter into the world of a crippled beggar and to bring him both physical and spiritual healing. And you know, one of the things I’ve learned in ministry (but you know, I think it applies to all of us) is that we have to allow our schedules to be interrupted; because those interruptions may be God’s divine appointments. And like with Abraham, Moses, and Paul, those divine appointments may even result in their (or someone else’s) commission. And so let us allow God to interrupt our schedules so that He can use us to meet the physical and spiritual needs of those who need Jesus. Let’s do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #126 "Healing At The Table" (Acts 2:43-47) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. We’re glad you are here today. In our study of the second chapter of the book of Acts, we have been taking a look at some of the fundamental practices of the early Church that began to take place in the wake of the Holy Spirit’s coming. Devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship were the first two. And the temple was still very much the central place they would go together to to receive that teaching. But then we come to the next one: the breaking of bread together.

Breaking Bread— And this third fundament practice of the early Church continues to show the depth of their unity. And there is actually a lot of debate about whether this was a common meal they shared together or actually the Lord’s Supper. In Luke’s Gospel, [The {Greek} word…κλαω is used of breaking bread at the ordinary meal (Lu 24:30 ) or the Lord's Supper (Lu 22:19 ). {But} It is generally supposed that the early disciples attached so much significance to the breaking of bread at the ordinary meals, more than our saying grace, that they followed the meal with the Lord's Supper at first, a combination called αγαπα or love-feasts.] And I just think what a great concept, by the way; love-feasts. The fellowship of Jesus Christ is characterized by feasting together on a shared receiving of the love of Christ pictured by the body and blood of Christ! I LOVE THAT!!!! But it’s more than just the Lord’s Supper. To say it is just about taking communion together [is to…mar the picture of family life, which the text places before us as the ideal of the early believers”.] These early believers really saw themselves as family. They were regularly eating and fellowshipping together.

Forgiveness— Now there is something else I would like to add to this. In Jewish culture, to break bread with somebody was a very intimate thing. Keep in mind that you always laid down at table, with your head at the chest of whoever was sitting next to you. So you are very close, intimate and personal. And so you would only eat with people that you were one good terms with. Now keep in mind that Jesus intentionally ate with tax collectors and sinners; something that no self-respecting Jew (and especially a Rabbi) would do. Because to do that was a way of saying that they are part of your crowd; they are your friends; there is a special relationship you have with them, which is why the Jewish leaders reacted so strongly to Jesus’ eating and associating with people like that. But they were the very people that Jesus most wanted to reach; and so He breaks bread and eats with them. Now there is something else you need to know about Jewish custom in that time. If you had a fallout with someone and the relationship was broken and needed to be mended, you could verbally try to fix the situation. But in Jewish culture the forgiveness process was never considered complete until you actually shared a meal with that person. That was the outward sign that forgiveness had taken place.

Zacchaeus’ Reconciliation— This is part of what makes the story of Zacchaeus such a radical thing. Because remember that Zacchaeus was a wicked, cheating tax collector; and yet Jesus invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ home, which meant that he was going to break bread with Zacchaeus? Do you begin to see now what Jesus was visually communicating to everybody and why Zacchaeus was probably bawling his eyes out in joy. Because Jesus was saying (with a picture) that forgiveness had taken place. Now how did the people react? They went crazy! ARE YOU KIDDING US JESUS?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? And yet Jesus says in…

Luke 19:9-10 (NIV)— 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house {which by the way implied that God had forgiven Zacchaeus his sin}, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Zacchaeus Excited— Can you begin to understand why Zacchaeus reacted to this meal the way that he did? He knew what it meant for him personally and spiritually. Now I say all of this because here (and throughout the book of Acts) you have people from all over the empire (from different walks of life; different social statuses; different races; different political alignments; democrats; republicans; men, women, boys, and girls; barbarians, scythians, slaves, and free) who are all breaking bread together. What does that tell you? Forgiveness and healing has been made between them all at the deepest possible level. And where does this take place? AT THE VERY TABLE OF CHRIST JESUS.

Coming To The Table— Now I don’t know how much that impacts you. But let me tell you, THAT is the key to healing culture. Social reform? We need it. Fighting for a good government? That is our responsibility (especially in the United States where we have a say in who comes into office). But let me tell you, our differences are never going to be reconciled and true healing is never going to happen until we are willing to come together to the very table of Jesus Christ. Christ and Christ alone is the starting point of true forgiveness and healing; because He offers reconciliation with God Himself out of which comes the overflow of healing in all our earthly relationships as well. 

Prayer— Now the fourth practice is one of the biggest things that brings us into unity with one another. And sadly it is something that we often neglect. And that is [Prayer. Prayer was a constant practice in the early church (1:14; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 10:4, 31; 12:5; 16:13,16). The apostles prayed for those they ministered to.… But prayer was not only in response to crises and needs. Because of the references to worship, we can assume that prayers of praise were a significant part of the community life of the early church.] The air of prayer was the lifeblood of the Church. And these [prayers {were made both} in house meetings and likely also in the temple (vv. 42, 46).] So all these Christians are eating together, worshiping together, and praying together. And it’s interesting; anywhere in life you find lack of prayer, you will always find tension.

From Hate to Love through Prayer— A number of years ago my wife and I went to Dublin, GA for our former denomination’s annual conference. And after one of the evening services we headed for the fellowship hall. And there we had the privilege of talking with a couple (the Pastor and his wife of a local Church there in Dublin). And they were obviously deeply in love with one another. And during our conversation with them they told us that they were celebrating their anniversary. They had been married for over 30 years. And I asked them what their secret was; because it seemed to me that they had the perfect relationship. But then his face grew very serious. And he confessed that during their first years of marriage; there was actually a lot of tension. And it actually led them to hate one another. That’s the word he used. But then he said everything changed when his wife was led by God to begin praying for him more. And she said that as she did, not only did God bring about change in his life, but God began revealing her own faults as well. And then he began praying fervently for her. And their marriage grew to becoming totally and completely healed. And now they experience true unity and true love in their marriage.

The Secret To Unity— What is the secret to unity in the Body of Christ? Prayer with one another and for one another. And that ought to lead us to ask ourselves, “Are we lifting one another up before the throne of grace on a regular basis? Are we interceding before God on behalf of one another?” If we want to be a Spirit-filled Church, we have to pray. Prayer always precedes healing and transformation. Just look at what it produced in…

Acts 2:43-45 (ESV)— 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

“I Have A Dollar— Once there was a Junior Sunday School Teacher who was teaching her kids. And [The Junior Sunday School Teacher asked her eight eager 10 year-olds if they would give a $1,000,000 to the missionaries. “Yes!” they all screamed! “Would you give $1,000?” Again, they shouted “YES!” How about $100?” “Oh, yes we would!” they all agreed! “Would you just give a dollar to the missionaries?” she asked. The boys exclaimed, “Yes!” just as before, except for Johnny. “Johnny,” the teacher said as she noticed the boy clutching his pocket, “Why didn’t you say ‘yes’ this time?” “Well,” the boy stammered, “I have a dollar!”] How great is our attachment to those things we have?

Generosity and Service— The fifth practice of the Early Church that we see here is: [Generosity and Service. The sharing of personal belongings and financial resources among members of the early church was impressive. {And} This generosity was not dictated. There was no obligation to pool their resources, as in modern Communism, or to unselfishly serve each other or reach out to strangers. Rather, it was voluntarily done for the sake of those in need (see the example of Barnabas in 4:36, 37, and later the Macedonians in 2 Cor. 8:1-4).] By the way, you can tell a lot about the level of someone’s salvation by observing their relationship with their stuff. What comes first? People and the fulfilling of the ministry and mission of Jesus? Or their stuff?

A Release of Possessions— You know, some ancient groups (like the Pythagoreans) rejected having private property altogether. But Christianity (interestingly) never went there. It was okay to have your personal property and possessions. Rather [the early Christians {(when it was necessary)} sold property whenever anyone had need (4:34–35 ); they valued people more than property without rejecting private property altogether.] This was incredibly rare during that time; and what made it even more rare was that it wasn’t something done just by a small group of radicals, but was something that was characteristic of all the followers of Christ. And what this shows us is that when we walk in the Spirit, we cease to see our possessions and our money as our own; it’s God’s. And when we see our possessions like that, we allow God access to them in order to do with them what He wills. The question is, “Is all that we have accessible to God to meet the needs of another person?” If not, they need to be.

Joy Overflowing as Evangelism— Now the sixth practice we see is [Joy Overflowing as Evangelism. Whether corporately in the temple or within each other’s homes, the believers lived “with one accord” and “with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (2:46, 47). {And what I want you to note here is that} Evangelism wasn’t a program in the Jerusalem church; it was a way of life. The believers’ lives and behaviors created such favor with the population of Jerusalem that people were drawn to the Lord.] And that is why [In our churches today, we should examine our mission {and practice in order} to ensure these basic tenets are being fully lived out before {anything else}. Whenever a group of believers return to their foundation {(as lived out in these foundational, life-giving practices)}, they find the strongest connection to the heart of Christ. And seeing His heart on display will draw others to Him.]

“Day By Day”— Now I want you to notice three final words given to us here that ought to re-shape how you and I think about Church. It says in verse 46 that they were doing these things together day by day. Not once a week, but daily.

The Secret Service— Once there was a church service that took place; and [At the end of the service the minister was standing at the door of the church shaking hands. He grabbed a man by the hand and pulled him aside and asked him, “Are you a soldier in the Army of the Lord?” The man replied, “Why, yes I am.” The minister then asked, “Then why do we only see you at Christmas and Easter?” The man quickly whispered, “I’m in the Secret Service.”] Now we laugh at that, but what we need to ask ourselves is “Are we true Koinonia Christians or are we Secret Service Christians?” Are we fighting to make our faith, our Church, and our abiding in fellowship with one another a DAILY reality? Because what we see here in this [daily sharing…is {so} unusual in antiquity and most resembles how people treated members of their own family.] But you know that is exactly how we are supposed to think of the Body of Christ; we ARE TRULY the FAMILY OF GOD! And so Christ’s challenge to us today is for us to live our faith together in community in a real and powerful way. Let us be a Church made of people who have allowed themselves to be filled with the presence of God; a Church that shares together; a Church that prays for one another; a Church that seeks to be united towards that single purpose of embracing the God who loves us; and let us be a Church that is reaching out to the lost so that they might also experience His presence. Let’s do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #125 "Doctrine & Fellowship" (Acts 2:40-42) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. It is so good to have you with us today as we continue our study of the book of Acts.

“It wasn’t THAT good!”— I’d like to open by sharing with you a story of a small church that met not too long ago. One particular Sunday, [The pastor was greeting folks at the door after the service. And a woman said, “Pastor, that was a very good sermon.” The pastor says, “Oh, I have to give the credit to the Holy Spirit.” “Oh,” she immediately responded, “It wasn’t THAT good!”] Now Peter’s sermon here in Acts chapter 2 (thankfully) WAS that good because he was filled with the Holy Spirit of God. And verses 40-41 reveal what can happen when we speak with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It says in…

Acts 2:40-41 (ESV)— 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Early Christian Practice— Now immediately after these early Christians were baptized and received the Holy Spirit, they entered into community with one another; a community that was marked by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of God. And in that community we begin to see expressed the fundamental practices of the Church. We see Doctrine, Fellowship, The Lord’s Supper, Prayer, Generosity and Service, and Joy Overflowing as Evangelism. 

The Most Important Things— And all these practices may seem basic without any higher hierarchical Church structure, but that doesn’t mean they are somehow less important. Picture them [like eating, breathing, and sleeping are to an infant]. Basic? Yes, but absolutely necessary to the growth of the Body of Christ. And they remain the most important things for mature Christians as well, which is why it doesn’t say that these disciples just made them a part of their lives (like some kind of tacked-on thing). No, it says they devoted themselves to these things. They became the absolute new foundation for their lives. And today we’ll be beginning to explore these practices one by one. Now the first thing it says they devoted themselves to was Doctrine. It says in…

Acts 2:42 (ESV)— 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching…

Doctrine— Now I find it interesting that the first practice listed was not fellowship, prayer, or evangelism. No, the practice that is mentioned first is Doctrine (what the Apostles were teaching). And that is because all those other things are meaningless without right doctrine. Many religions (including the cults) practice fellowship, prayer, and evangelism. And those things are important to the Christian faith as well, but the content of our belief is just as important as the practice. What we believe (doctrine) was and is of utmost importance. In fact, unity actually needs to come second to truth.

Spurgeon: Truth before unity— Charles Spurgeon points out that you’ll hear a lot of preachers say, ["To remain divided is sinful! Did not our Lord pray {to the Father}, that they may be one, even as we are one"? (John 17:22). A chorus of ecumenical voices keep harping the unity tune. What they are saying is, "Christians of all doctrinal shades and beliefs must come together in one visible organization, regardless... Unite, unite!"  Such teaching is false, reckless and dangerous. Truth alone must determine our alignments. Truth comes before unity. Unity without truth is hazardous. Our Lord's prayer in John 17 must be read in its full context. Look at verse 17: "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." Only those sanctified through the Word can be one in Christ. To teach otherwise is to betray the Gospel.]

Not always agree— And you know, he’s absolutely correct. We cannot compromise on the essentials, or we will betray the Gospel. Now does this mean we have to agree on every theological point? Of course not. Even the early Church was comprised of people who occasionally had different opinions on things; but they had agreement on the essential points of the Gospel. They knew that their fellowship must be anchored in the truth of the Word of God and in sound theology and doctrine. And this was why the teaching of the Apostles was so vitally important because remember that [In the time of Acts, there was no written NT. The earliest letter from the apostles (probably either James or Galatians) did not appear until two decades after the birth of the Church at Pentecost. {Imagine being a Christian without having a New Testament! What would you do? You’d devote yourself to listening to eyewitnesses who could verbally convey the accounts and teachings of Jesus to you, as well as explain how Jesus was the hope and “consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25) promised in the OT. And so that is what we see;} …the church in Jerusalem took in the apostles’ teaching on Jesus of Nazareth as…the promised Jewish Messiah. {And} Their Bible was the OT, supplemented by what Christ had taught them. {Now} As the various epistles of the apostles were written and delivered to churches established beyond Jerusalem, their authority came to be recognized alongside the OT (“they were} “the rest of the Scriptures”; 2 Pet. 3:16).] But at this point the verbal teachings of the apostles were absolutely essential as the means by which they could be established doctrinally.

Fellowship— Now the second fundamental thing the believers in the early Church devoted themselves to was the fellowship. 

“Fellowship” in Context— Now some have taken this concept of fellowship to mean that all the early Christians drove Hondas. And I understand where they’re coming from. The text does say (elsewhere in numerous places in and throughout the book of Acts) they were all in one Accord. However (like good Biblical scholars) I think we need to put that word against the backdrop of it’s historical context. Because when we do, we see that the word here actually means has to do with the kind of “fellowship” they shared with one another.

One Accord: OT— [In the Old Testament, the phrase in one accord is always used to describe unanimous participation in a particular action. In Joshua 9:2, the pagan kings “gathered themselves together to fight with one accord against Joshua and Israel” (LEB). Speaking of the conversion of heathen nations, Zephaniah 3:9 says, “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord” (ESV){, which in the Hebrew is}…translated…literally…“with one shoulder.” It likely comes from the practice of yoking oxen together for plowing. The NIV translates the idea with a similar English expression, “shoulder to shoulder.”] So we are to be one of shoulder with one another.

One Accord: NT— Now [In the New Testament, in one accord is used to emphasize the internal unanimity{/unity} of a community. In Acts 12:20, that community is “the people of Tyre and Sidon” who are angry with Herod. In Acts 8:6, it describes the crowd of people who are listening to Philip’s teachings: “And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did” (ESV). It illustrates how the community of Christian believers worshiped, prayed, and fellowshipped together (Acts 1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; Romans 15:6).] 

Koinonia— Now we use the word fellowship often merely to describe social activities in the context of congregational life.] If it happens in our Fellowship Halls at Church, then it must be fellowship, right? Well, often that is the case. But the word here that we translate “fellowship” is the Greek [word koinonia {and it} signifies oneness or commonality—true community. (The adjective form of the word is found in 2:44: the believers “had all things in common [koina].”] And this type of community takes things to a whole new level because fellowship was more than just their talking together, joking together, or even just about discussing the latest sermon. No, it was about being united in mind, body, and spirit with one another as they were united with Christ. You will remember how [Jesus prayed that his followers would be one with Him and the Father, just as He and the Father are one (John 17:11, 21-23; 1 John 1:3, 6, 7).] Now we could spend weeks just beginning to unpack what that means. But suffice it to say, this kind of koinonia fellowship goes so much deeper; so much higher than what we typically mean by fellowship and is in fact the key to moving not only individuals, but the whole body of Christ on into maturity and fruitfulness. It is not just a group of people having a good time together; no, it is a common bond that drives that group to complete a desired task. This is why the NIV sometimes translates koinonia as “partnership” (which we see in Philippians). It is kind of like a sports-team; it is task-driven; it is goal-oriented. It is a kind of fellowship that exists when all who partake in that fellowship are driven to fulfill the same task; to accomplish the same goal. Now there may be some disagreements at times (and we will read of some of them here in Acts) but these early Christians were able to work through those growing pains because they were focused on the prize. They shared this like-minded desire to attain the prize. And so they learned to work together and utilize each other’s gifts because (to put it bluntly) THERE’S A GAME TO WIN!!!! THERE’S A MISSION TO ACCOMPLISH!!!! Souls (people’s eternities) were depending on their unity and strength.

Our Unity— And you know, the same is true today, which is why I think Satan is working overtime to try to divide and even fracture the Church by sowing division. And some of those issues are displayed in how we are reacting to Covid-19. Do we wear masks or do we not wear masks? Do we open our Church doors again or do we stay closed? Do we challenge a government that in so many ways has set itself against Christianity? Or do we practice submission to authority? Or do we do both? And so many people have different opinions on this; and I find myself amongst a group of Church leaders and pastors who honestly are trying to please people on both sides of the spectrum. But what concerns me the most (and I thing what concerns God the most) is whether or not we are keeping centered on His Word; and on maintaining the kind of unity with one another that Christ Himself prayed for; where instead of looking out for our own wants and desires, we are compassionately looking to meet the needs of those around us. What the world sees of Christ during these tumultuous days is greatly dependent how we choose to deal with these crises we are currently facing. Will we allow them to divide us; or will we stand together as the single body of Christ?

Remaining Devoted— This passage’s challenge for us today is to remain devoted to sound teaching and to the preservation of the fellowship. If we can do that, then not just us (but the whole world) will come out of this more blessed and much stronger for having experienced Christ in us. Let’s remain devoted to sound teaching and to the fellowship. Amen.

Lechem Panim #124 "The Meaning of Life" (Acts 2:14-47) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. It’s so good to have you with us as we continue to embark on our journey together through the book of Acts.

The Meaning of Life— Today’s topic is on the meaning of life. Now that may seem a little too ambitious of a topic to cover in such a short radio segment. But actually for the Christian, the question of the meaning of life is not all that complicated. In fact, you can sum up the meaning of life in three very simple statements. 1) To know and receive God’s love for you made available through Christ Jesus, 2) to allow that love to enable you to love Him with all of who you are through the Holy Spirit, and 3) to join with God in His work (which on earth is focused primarily on making disciples of all nations). Those three elements constitute the meaning of life. And note that God is foundational to all three of those. He’s not just one of many categories. No, all the things we consider dear to us (friends, family, personal fulfillment, our sexuality, our future) all fit under and are rooted in one or more of those categories: Receiving God’s love for us through Christ, loving Him wholeheartedly in return in the Holy Spirit, and joining His work (which on earth involves making disciples of all nations).

Building On Each Other— But notice how each of these builds upon the other. You cannot have a heart broken for the world until you have a heart like Christ’s. And you cannot have a heart like Christ’s until you love Him with all of who you are. And you cannot love Him with all of who you are without first recognizing and receiving His own love for you. And so knowing God’s love for you; that’s the starting point. And that is where Peter begins here in his first sermon here in Acts chapter 2; he begins with the death of Jesus at the hands of the very people that he’s preaching to. Christ died for them and (even though they killed Him) Peter promises a path of forgiveness which must have sounded unthinkable; that God would ever forgive us for killing His Son. But Peter promises that not only will God forgive, but will also pour out His Spirit on those who receive Christ. It says in…

Acts 2:38-39 (ESV)— 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 

Is Our Love Enfleshed?— And so the first step of salvation is receiving the love and forgiveness of God made available to us in Christ Jesus. That is the starting point of salvation. Because once we receive His love for us and the Holy Spirit enters into our lives, then the Holy Spirit can enable us to love God with all of who we are. And if we then love God with all of who we are, then out of that relationship with God will also come a love for others that will drive us to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them, so that they too might experience the love of God and the transformation He can bring to their lives. But if there is no evangelistic drive in our hearts, then there is something wrong in one of those three areas, even if you might feel that deep down you really do care about the lost. Because a true love for God will always work itself out in loving and ministering to others. There cannot be an inward work without producing external fruit. That is why when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, He met with such resistance from Peter. Was Peter too humble to have Jesus wash his feet? Is that why he said, “Lord, you will never wash my feet.”? Maybe. But what is more likely is that Peter recognized the power and the implications of what was happening to him. And Jesus points this out. He says…

John 13:14-15 (ESV)— 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

Does Love Move Us Into Mission?— And so we see that our service, our love, and our mission of evangelism is the outflow of what Christ first did for us. It says in…

1 John 4:19 (ESV)— 19 We love because he first loved us. 

Compassion Enfleshed— We are called to make disciples of all nations because Christ first loved us enough to make us disciples of Him. We are to be shepherds of other peoples’ souls because He first shepherd our souls. So the question is “have we (in our own lives) experienced God’s transforming love in such a way so as to move us into joining with Him in making disciples of all nations? Are we moved? Is our love and compassion an active love and compassion?” Just as Jesus had to become enfleshed in order to become God’s instrument of love in our lives, so also our love and compassion need to become enfleshed by what we actually say and do. Because it is in-so-far as our love is enfleshed and lived out that it really becomes real.

Screwtape’s Concentric Circles—  Now Satan doesn’t want our love to become real; He wants to keep it in the realm of our feelings; in our minds. C.S. Lewis stresses this so strongly in his book The Screwtape Letters. In it he describes a Christian as being a set of three circles; each inside the other. The innermost circle is our will (our actions), the next circle out being the intellect/mind, and then the outer circle as our imagination (or fantasy). Now what Satan’s strategy is is not to eliminate our love and compassion, but merely to paralyze them. Lewis says that while there is always going to be kindness in a Christian’s soul no matter what he does, he says that what Satan does is he tries to get us to move that kindness from our immediate neighbors whom we meet every day and to push our kindness out to groups of people in general (in a non-personal sense), and then eventually into the realm of fantasy. And Lewis is right on point here; and he masterfully points out that it is only in so far as the virtues in our life reach the will and are there embodied in habits that they actually become a threat to Satan.

Loving Mankind But Not Liking Men— You know, someone once pointed out how [a philanthropist {(a person who seeks the welfare of others)} may give money and/or time to help humanity but then treat individual men and women like dirt, loving mankind but not liking {individual} men {or women}. Charles Dickens paints a picture of such a person in Mrs. Jellyby, one of his memorable characters in Bleak House. Mrs. Jellyby is working on starting a philanthropic project at "Borrioboola-Gha, on the left bank of the Niger {River}.” And this engages her attention to the extent that, in her first scene in the book, one of her children gets his head caught in a railing and another tumbles down the stairs — yet she never notices. Dickens says her eyes seem "to look a long way off. As if . . . they could see nothing nearer than Africa!" {Now there’s nothing wrong with missions to Africa. That’s not his point. His point was that} She loves the idea of serving mankind corporately, but she fails to serve even her own children individually.]

Fantasy Love— Now I say all of this because many Christians (myself included); we love the idea of ministry and missions generally or corporately, but not individually; with our hands and our feet (which is what we see here in this early fellowship (koinonia) of the early Church. For many Christians today, it’s all in the mind. But it needs to get to the hands and the feet. But it can’t do that without first going through the heart. Until your heart is united with Christ, it will never be broken for the lost as His heart was broken for you. It is having the heart of Christ that moves us to reach a dying world.

God Loved Us With His Will— God doesn’t love you corporately or in a general sense. No, He loved (and still loves you) individually. Seeing you redeemed was more than a nice idea in His head. No, His love became enfleshed. He entered into our sickness; into our death; He washed our feet; He touched our wounds; and He even allowed Himself to be executed on our behalf in order to pay for our sins. God’s love for us was enfleshed in the provision of Jesus for our sins!

Isaiah 53:5 (ESV)— 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

Are We Desperate— And so the question is, what about our love. Is our love enfleshed in the lives of those around us? If it is Godly love, then it has to be. Are we desperate enough to see those around us find Christ? Are we willing enough to change our environment; to change our profession; to leave our worldly dreams behind in order to become instruments of salvation in another person’s life?

John 1:14 (ESV)— 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Not Ritual, But Heart Change— It is so interesting how often, when I am talking with a person about their faith, when I ask about their relationship with Christ, how they will tell me how often they go to Church; or how they grew up in the Church; or when or where they were baptized. And you know, that bothers me because that is Pharisee talk; that is “Hey, I’ve got the temple; I’ve done the rituals; I am impervious to the judgment of God.”

When It Becomes Real— Let me tell you, while all those things are important, they will not do you one whit of good if you have not allowed God to touch you in the realm of your heart. It is when He touches your heart that everything becomes real; when you come to realize His love for you. Because then that love moves you to love Him with all of who you are (with a united; whole; complete heart); and then finally that love for Him moves you to seek to join with Him in His work. It all starts with the heart. The question is, has the Gospel truly reached our hearts? Because when it does, living out the Great Commission becomes as natural as breathing; because we will not be able to contain the love we have found in Christ Jesus. The question is "Are we there yet? What circle does our love fall into? Has your inner circle been touched by the Holy Spirit? 

Change Me— I want to encourage you today, if you have not yet experienced the kind of transformation we’ve been talking about, ask for the Holy Spirit to apply (or to apply anew) the death and resurrection of Christ to your life. Tell the Holy Spirit that you (now, in this moment) want to give full control of your life to Him. Ask Him to make you altogether new. If you receive that work of grace in your life today, every corner of your life will be forever changed and there will be no telling the lives that will be touched for the Kingdom of God. Please do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #123 "A Pentecost For Us" (Acts 2:37-47) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. In our study of the book of Acts we have been talking about the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, where the disciples of Christ were anointed with the Holy Spirit and given the gift to speak in other known tongues so that ALL might understand the Gospel and have it speak through their own mother-tongues (their heart languages) so that it might touch and resonate with them at the deepest possible level. And a crowd gathers because of this mighty outpouring and they want to know what all of this means. So Peter has been explaining  how this coming of the Holy Spirit proves that Jesus (whom they crucified) was indeed the Messiah because Jesus had foretold that all this would happen following His ascension. And Peter goes on to show from the Old Testament how Jesus is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of the Messiah they had been waiting for. And it says…

Acts 2:37-41 (ESV)— 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Church on Fire— [When trying to motivate Christians, Billy Sunday used to speak graphically of the well-known village atheist, who was seen running vigorously to a burning church building, intent on joining with others in subduing the flames. A neighbor, observing him, exclaimed facetiously, “This is something new for you! I never saw you going to church before.” “Well,” the atheist replied, “this is the first time I have ever seen a church on fire.”] OUCH!!!!

The Source of Spiritual Power— Some time ago I was asked a very difficult and troubling question by someone. And that was: Why is it that the Church (at least in America) seems to be losing its ability to affect culture; at least to the degree it has in times past? And you know that is an excellent question, especially as we talk about Pentecost; when the Holy Spirit came and birthed the Christian Church. And you saw so much change; this upheaval of culture. We look and see the explosion of growth that took place in the early church; how people were changed; how communities were changed; how cities were won; then nations; and eventually much of the world. Christianity spread like an uncontrollable wildfire. But now often we find ourselves struggling to maintain the ground we already have, much less gaining new ground. And the ground we have seems to be slipping away day by day. What is the source of spiritual power and how can we have a fresh outpouring of that power so that we can start gaining more ground?

Relationship With The Spirit— First of all, the key to having spiritual power lies in our relationship to the One from whom spiritual power comes; the Spirit of God. When the Holy Spirit came, He consecrated the Christian Church, setting it apart as holy unto God. It was no longer conformed to the pattern of the world, but became conformed to the image of Christ. It was in and through the Church’s being set apart to Christ and conforming to His image that it found its spiritual power. So the question comes down to this: “Are we truly consecrated to Christ?” Do our minds, our hearts, our patterns of behavior, our use of finances, and especially our use of time reflect a life consecrated unto God? Does what I fill my mind with build me as a Christian or steal the opportunity for God to give me something truly good.

Time— As a pastor, I have found that one of the chief causes of relational discord between couples is caused by a breakdown in communication. When we cease to communicate and give of our time, we lose closeness and intimacy with our spouses. And this is true in our relationship with God as well. I am finding more and more that the most sacred and important thing we can give God is our time; time in the Word; time in prayer; time in communal worship and fellowship. In and through these means of grace we are brought into the very presence of God; and it is in His presence that we discover His power made available to us in Christ Jesus. That is what these early Christians were discovering as it says in…

Acts 2:42-47 (ESV) The Fellowship of the Believers— 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Being Consecrated— Now we will explore these practices more in the coming weeks. But the bird’s-eye message I want you to catch today is that these disciples lived life in such an incredible way as a result of a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit. And these verses give us a window into the hearts of what was driving these early believers; an energy and excitement that flowed out of their being consecrated to Jesus Christ.

The Individual— Let’s go back to the question we asked earlier. How does change (lasting change that can truly transform culture) take place? Well, it comes through Christians who have consecrated themselves (who have set themselves apart) from the world to Christ Jesus. And that begins on a personal level; with the individual. A man who has had an incredible impact on my life in and through his preaching and his writing is Dr. Dennis Kinlaw. Of all devotionals I have used over the years, his devotional This Day With The Master is the one I come back to time and time again; because it is both profound and yet simple enough for people like me to understand it. And in it he says this…

People, Not Institutions— “We live in a day when most people believe that institutions are the determining factors. They declare that if we could just change institutions, then we could change society. This is the appeal of the politician. Scripture tantalizes us with the amount of space it devotes to individual people rather than institutions. People seem to be the tools that God uses to bring change. The implication is clear. Ultimately, persons determine institutions; institutions do not determine persons. The decisions that are made deep in the heart of an individual in the intimacy of aloneness with God are the decisions that will be historically significant for deciding the future.” 

Personal Consecration— The key to bringing spiritual power back into our churches and lasting change to our culture lies in our first becoming consecrated to God in our own personal lives; making the decision to conform to His image and to receive a new mind, a new heart, and a new nature. And that is something only the Holy Spirit can do. 

Awaiting The Spirit— Now I really want to clarify this because Jesus was very adamant that the disciples wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. And that was (partially) because they did not yet have the spiritual equipment needed to accomplish all that He intended for them to accomplish. Because keep in mind the message of the Gospel is more than just information; about knowing what Christ did on the cross; more than about knowing that He rose from the dead. It’s not just about embracing these doctrinal statements as being true; no, it has to go further than that; to where we experience those realities in our own lives. Yes Jesus died on the cross, but then he tells His disciples (and us) to take up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24-25). Yes, He rose from the dead, but (as Colossians 3:1 says) we also have been raised with Christ. Our old self has died with Christ and we are given a new resurrected self. Christ’s death and resurrection are realities that you and I participate in. And the same is true of Pentecost. Pentecost is more than just an important event to remember. It is a present reality.

Not Then, But Now— And that why it is always so dangerous to preach a message on Pentecost, because we always talk about it in the past tense and never allow it to gain access to our present. But Christ wants Pentecost to be every bit as real and present in our lives today as it was then. Christ wants you to have a Pentecost in your home that changes your relationship with your spouse for the better; that enables you to be a better parent; that empowers you to be a spiritual leader in your home; that gives you victory over temptation and keeps you holy in Christ Jesus. Pentecost can happen to any of us right now; if we but remain open for the Holy Spirit to actually apply Christ’s death and resurrection to our own hearts.

An Attractive Love— I’m telling you, it was more than doctrine that drew all these people to become followers of Christ; it was doctrine enfleshed in these disciples; a transformation that was unexplainable except by the mighty work of God that drew all these people to early Christianity. And whether it was through their fellowshipping together, their praying together, their eating together, their compassionate acts of ministry, their selling what they had to meet one another’s needs, the thing that marked these early Christians the most was their absolute love and willingness to serve one another. Now this was a fulfillment of what Jesus had said all the way back in…

John 13:35 (ESV)— 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Love Caused Growth— Well here the world is beginning to witness that love in the lives of the disciples. And that love is making them hungry to know just what all this Jesus business is about. And in discovering the secret, it says (verse 47) And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

A Pentecost for Us— All this because of a personal Pentecost in the lives of each of these disciples. And I want to tell you today that the power of Pentecost is available to you as well. You can have done in your heart and life exactly what happened to these first disciples. All it takes is a willingness to surrender your life to Christ. So let us surrender to Him today. Amen.

Lechem Panim #122 "Peter Preaches Christ" (Acts 2:22-41) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. I am so glad you could join us today as we continue our study of the book of Acts. You will remember that last week we talked about the Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost and Peter’s explanation to the crowds of what they were witnessing. And it is that explanation that Peter continues in our passage today. He says in…

Acts 2:22-35 (ESV)— 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

How It Happened— Now the first part of Peter’s focus here was on what was happening. The Holy Spirit had come. And next [He explained how it happened: Jesus was alive]. Now Jews and proselytes to Judaism had come from all over the empire to celebrate Passover; and many of them stayed for Pentecost as well. And so everybody there was keenly aware of the events in and surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus. They had heard of His miracles, and had known (and in some cases witnessed) His arrest, His trial, and His crucifixion. Many of them had no doubt heard of the empty tomb, though the religious leaders had put out an official statement that Jesus’ disciples had stolen Jesus’ body in order to convince people that He had been raised from the dead as He said He would be. But Peter counteracts that statement with four major proofs of the resurrection: 

Proof 1: The Person of Jesus (vv. 22-44)— And the first of these regarded the person of Jesus Himself. The people knew that Jesus was a teacher from Nazareth who had performed many signs and miracles. And those signs pointed to who He is. You will remember that Nicodemus (a member of the Sanhedrin) acknowledged this all the way back in John 3:2 when he said: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 

​They Were Witnesses— And so this crowd is filled with witnesses to many of these signs as well, and to what and how Jesus had taught (with that amazing divine authority). These things were not done in a corner (as Paul states clearly to Festus and King Agrippa in Acts 26:26). Everyone could see that God’s hand was on Jesus in a special way. And yet (as Peter reminds them) Jesus died (which would ordinarily look like defeat). But Peter (interestingly) describes Jesus’ death in terms of pain/pangs (meaning “birth pangs”) thereby [suggesting that the tomb was a “womb” out of which Jesus was “born” in resurrection glory (see Acts 13:33).]

Proof 2: The Prophecy of David (vv. 25-31)— Now [Peter’s second proof was the prophecy of David (vv. 25–31). He quoted Psalm 16:8–11 {(which talks about One who was released from the power of death;)}, verses that obviously could not apply to David, who {at this time} was already dead and buried. {Rather, what Peter says is that David was a prophet; and} Being a prophet of God, David wrote about the Messiah, that His soul would not remain in hades (the realm of the dead) or His body in the grave where it would decay.] So (as always) there is a pointing back to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The Old Testament supports the resurrection of the Messiah.

Proof 3: The Witness of The Believers (v.33)— Now [The third proof {Peter offered} was the witness of the believers (v. 33) {themselves}], who (think about it) had just spent 40 days with a resurrected Jesus. Now you can say they were all hallucinating a resurrected Lord. Some modern theories suggest that there was a certain type of hallucinogenic mushroom that all of them were smoking (I’m not kidding) that caused this group hallucination. But any psychiatrist will tell you that people rarely hallucinate the same thing (and certainly not all at the same time). And here we would be talking about 120 believers all hallucinating the same thing simultaneously. And this is further complicated by the fact that the disciples were not even expecting Jesus to rise from the dead and had to themselves be convinced that it was true (Mark 16:9–14; Acts 1:3). And they had nothing to gain and really everything to lose (facing official opposition and even imprisonment and death) for embracing and teaching a resurrected Christ. So why would they do this if they knew it to be false? While there have been people throughout history who sacrificed themselves on the basis of false information, few (if any) did so knowing their belief to be false; and that’s the difference. But that is what the disciples would have been doing if they had stolen the body. Nobody does that. And so all this points to the reliability of the disciples as credible witnesses. They can be trusted! And this is further evidenced by their message being backed up (repeatedly) by miracles in and throughout the book of Acts, which we will see as we proceed.

Proof 4: The Presence of The Holy Spirit (vv. 33-35)— Now the fourth proof Peter offers is what the people are here experiencing: [the presence {and power} of the Holy Spirit (vv. 33–35). Follow his logic. {Peter is saying that} If the Holy Spirit is in the world, then God must have sent Him. The prophet Joel (whom we mentioned last week) promised that one day the Spirit would come, and Jesus Himself had promised to send the gift of the Holy Spirit to His people (Luke 24:49; John 14:26; 15:26; Acts 1:4). But if Jesus is dead, He cannot send the Spirit; therefore (because the crowds can see the Holy Spirit at work) He must be alive. Furthermore, Jesus could not send the Spirit unless He had returned to heaven to the Father (John 16:7); so, Jesus has ascended to heaven! To back up this statement, Peter quoted Psalm 110:1 {(which talks about One who would sit at the right hand of God)}, a verse that certainly could not be applied to David (note Matt. 22:41–46).] So Peter’s conclusion is clear. Jesus is the Messiah, He had risen and sits at the right hand of God, and has sent the Holy Spirit.

Seeker-Friendly or Confrontational?— Now there is a lot of discussion among many churches today about how to be more seeker-friendly; how to make your church a place new people will feel comfortable and safe. And the one thing they say you never ever want to do is sound judgmental or condemning. Why? Because you might offend someone and they won’t come back; and if they don’t come back, how will they ever find a relationship with Jesus? But I love this first sermon of the Christian Church that Peter preaches because Peter ignores all that “let’s try to be nice” kind of philosophy and preaches exactly how Jesus Himself had preached. His message directly confronted their sin. Now in verse 23 Peter says (basically) “Jesus is your Messiah, but you crucified Him!” And he says again in…

Acts 2:36 (ESV)— 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Not General, But Specific— Now he could have presented this message in a general sense. He could have said that the cross was the place where Christ (as the sinless lamb of God) died as a substitute for the sins of the whole world. But no; Peter doesn’t gloss over the painful reality of how personal all of this was. They (Israel) killed their own Messiah. That (more than the any other atrocity every committed; greater than the holocaust; greater than any mass extermination ever committed on this planet); nothing even compares to what Peter said these men and women did. They killed the Son of God! Can you imagine preaching a message like that? Peter did. Why? Because it is often only when we come to grips with the full weight of our sin that we are willing to then seek forgiveness and restoration from that sin. Niceness doesn’t save people. A Gospel watered down to not offend anyone can’t save people. It is only through Christ crucified for you and for me that we can be saved. And that is why we also need to be confronted by the fact that it was for our sins that held him there on the cross.

The Soldier’s Hand— One movie that has had a great impact on the world is The Passion of The Christ, a film directed by Mel Gibson. But one interesting behind-the-scenes fact about that movie is that while the crucifixion scene was being filmed, and the soldier was getting ready to drive the nail through the hand of Jesus, the camera moved to a closeup shot of the soldier’s hand. But it was actually Mel Gibson’s own hand that hammered the nail into Jesus. And Mel Gibson wanted to drive home the point (literally) that all of us are responsible for the death of the Son of God.

Now the people here (after hearing Peter) have happen to them exactly what always happens when the Gospel is presented as it is meant to be presented. It says in…

Acts 2:37-41 (ESV)— 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 

Their Season of Grace— Now unfortunately we don’t have the rest of Peter’s sermon. But it’s core message was one of repentance. Believe, repent, be baptized as a sign of that repentance and come and follow Christ. And we see that for these first Christians, it meant radical change; a change in their hearts; a change in their minds (through the Holy Spirit) that re-oriented the entire way they did life. And we will explore this more in the coming weeks. But God’s message to you and to me today is exactly the same. Peter said to the people “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” (v.40) You will remember that during Israel’s 40-year banishment in the wilderness, [the new generation “saved itself” from the older generation that rebelled against God.] [{And similarly here}…the nation {of Israel} would have about forty years before Rome would come and destroy the city and the temple and scatter the people. History was repeating itself.] And yet God was giving grace (another forty year period) to repent, believe, and be saved. And we see here that three thousand people did so.

​Our Season of Grace— Now you and I are in another season of grace. And from the signs of the times it looks like that time of grace is coming to an end. God’s judgment is coming. And so now is the time to examine ourselves and ask ourselves, "Have we truly repented; have we truly let go of all our sin and chosen to follow Christ with all of who we are. Have we embraced the Spirit-filled life? If not, or if you are not sure, then Peter’s message of believing, repenting, and following Jesus is for you today. Tell Christ that you are giving your sins to Him today, that you receive His forgiveness, and that you (with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength) will follow Him. If you commit to do that today; if you give yourself to Christ like that, the Holy Spirit will enter into your life and your life will be altogether changed; altogether new. If you haven’t done that, do it today. Amen.

Lechem Panim #121 "Moses’ Dream Fulfilled" (Acts 2:13-21) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. 

In our study of the book of Acts last week we talked about the outbreaking of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, where the disciples of Christ were anointed with His presence and given the gift to speak in other known languages so that ALL might understand the Gospel and have it speak through their own mother-tongues (their heart languages) so that it might touch and resonate with them at the deepest possible level. And we will continue speaking about the giving of the Holy Spirit today. Now this event naturally drew a crowd, many of which immediately recognized that something supernatural was taking place. And so naturally they wanted an explanation. And some hecklers try to write off this phenomenon as being the drunken ravings of these supposedly intoxicated disciples. It says in…

Acts 2:13 (ESV)— 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Divine Inebriation— Now it is ironic that the mockers of the crowd should accuse the believers of being drunk, because of how completely opposite being drunk is from the filling of the Holy Spirit. During ancient times people saw drunkenness as a way of connecting with the spiritual world. We remember from our study of the book of Esther how much alcohol permeated the culture and dramatically affected countless people. The king banished Vashti while in a drunken stupor. And that was because [{as} The Greek historian Herodotus explained…the Persians drank as they deliberated matters of state (cf. 3:15 ), believing that intoxication put them in closer touch with the spiritual world.] And that is likely what King Ahasuerus was doing with his leadership as they were preparing to march against Greece. They thought you could be more spiritual by being drunk. And when we look at many of the [ancient writers, especially the Jewish philosopher Philo, {we find that they in fact} depicted divine inspiration as a form of spiritual inebriation.] Now I want to stress this to you because there is a tendency (even today) to see being filled with the Holy Spirit to be kind of like getting high. Rather than a focusing of the mind on God; an engagement of your mental faculties on Him and His truth, it is sometimes seen as an emptying of the mind (like pagan meditation) in order to connect yourself with the spiritual flow of the universe, as in many of the religions of the Orient. Now I’m not saying that alcohol is always involved, but the reason it sometimes is is because it supposedly gets the mind out of the way so that your spirit can more easily connect with the flow of the universe. That is what eastern meditation is largely about. Yoga is an excellent example of this. Emptying the mind and putting your body in pagan positions of worship to allow the flow of the universe to flow through your body more easily. In China, there is the art of Feng-Shue, which is all about ordering everything (your life, your home, your country) in such a way so as to allow the Chi of the universe to flow through it most easily. Buildings are often constructed with Chi in mind. In fact (I kid you not) there are buildings in China with holes in the middle of them as part of their construction that were designed with Chi in mind, so that the Chi could more easily flow through the building. 

Star Wars Theology— George Lucas, in creating Star Wars, drew heavily from these eastern pagan religions when developing his concept of the force. In the very first Star Wars film, there is a famous conversation between the Old Jedi Knight Obi-wan Kenobi and the young Luke Skywalker. And Luke asks Obi-wan about the force. And Obi-wan says, “The force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.” Now that is eastern pagan philosophy. That’s why Darth Vader’s helmet (if you notice) is shaped exactly like the headdress of a Samurai. George Lucas admitted that this is because he is a Samurai; obviously one who has embraced the dark side of the Chi (the “yin” vs. the “yang”). 

Full-Mindedness— But all this is deeply pagan and at complete odds with what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Aside from the fact that the Holy Spirit is a person; not an impersonal force, rather than an emptying of the mind, Christians are to fill their minds with God’s Word and to meditate on what it says about God. It is an active thoughtfulness. And drunkenness (and any supposed enlightenment that drunkenness might produce) is part of a larger system that is at odds with Christianity to the core. This is why Paul places the two in contrast in…

Ephesians 5:18 (ESV)— 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

Self-Control— When a person is inebriated, he/she loses control and ends up doing things they would normally be ashamed of doing. Think of Noah; how he became uncovered in his tent after becoming drunk. Think of Lot’s daughters, who made their father drunk and committed incest with him; and they became pregnant with Moab (father of the Moabites) and Ben-ammi (father of the Ammonites). Interesting to think how two of the greatest persecutors of Israel came out of a man’s decision to allow himself to become drunk. However, a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit of God is characterized by self-control; a self-control that brings glory to God (Galatians 5:23). And though alcohol may give you a temporary exhilaration, the Holy Spirit can give you lasting joy; lasting fulfillment. Now at the suggestion of the gift of tongues being an alcohol-induced thing, Peter immediately stands up and denounces this false judgement. It says…

Acts 2:14-15 (ESV)— 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 

9:00am— Now the Jewish day starts at 6:00am, so it was only 9:00am. People don’t usually drink at that hour and [Orthodox Jews did not eat or drink before nine a.m. on the Sabbath or on a holy day, nor did they usually drink wine except with meals.] So Peter immediately shows how that explanation does not make sense. Plus drunken people babble, a word that comes from Babel, where language was initially confused. But here (as we mentioned last week) we see a reversal of Babel. There is understanding; there’s coherence (nothing like a drunken stupor). And so Peter says in…

Acts 2:16-21 (ESV)— 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Joel Not Fulfilled— Now it is important to note that Peter was not saying that Pentecost was a fulfillment of this prophecy given in Joel, at least in its entirety. The signs and wonders Joel here describes have not yet come about. We see in its original context that Joel was not writing about Pentecost but rather the nation of Israel in the end times, in connection with “the day of the Lord.” Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit has led Peter to see in this prophecy a present application for the Church. Peter said, “This is that same Holy Spirit that Joel wrote about. He is here!” Now that would have been astonishing for these Jews to hear because they had been under the impression that God’s Spirit was only for a select and privileged few. And yet here they were witnessing  [120 of their fellow Jews, men and women, enjoying the blessing of the same Holy Spirit that had empowered Moses, David, and the prophets.]

The Desire of Moses— You will remember that when Israel set out from Mount Sinai to go to the promised land, the people started to complain about the manna they were tired of eating and began hungering for the food of Egypt; and God became angry with them. And Moses also was tired of their grumbling and complained to God about his having to care for all these grumblers. And so God tells Moses what to do. It says in… 

Numbers 11:24-29 (ESV)— 24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.
26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” 

A New Age of The Spirit— You see, Moses had a dream; and that dream (which was also God’s dream), was to see a people (a community) anointed by the Spirit of God and being used by God as His instruments to reach a lost and broken world. You see Moses saw the power of what was happening. And His heart began crying out for that reality to be experienced by all of God’s people. And then later down the road comes this incredible prophecy from Joel about the Spirit of God being poured out on all flesh. Moses’ dream would be fulfilled! Now while the full prophecy of Joel is yet to be fulfilled, we see that the arrival of the Holy Spirit has come. [It was indeed the dawning of a new age, the “last days”] in which God has put His Spirit upon men and women to minister to them, to prepare them for the coming of the Kingdom of God (which means enabling them to live lives like Christ; lives of victory over sin), and also empowering them to complete Jesus’ commission of reaching the world with the Good News of the Gospel of Christ. And that presence of the Holy Spirit of God is available to all who come to faith in Jesus Christ. When we receive Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and frees us from all worldly entanglements so that we can be like Jesus. Do you want to be like Jesus today. Well that begins by our saying yes to Him and allowing the Holy Spirit into our lives. If you haven’t done that, do so today. Amen.

Lechem Panim #120 "Babel's Undoing" (Acts 2:5-12) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. 

Heart Language— You know, I remember after my wife Tanya and I first got engaged many years ago we sat down with our dear mentor, friend, and former professor Dr. Gareth Cockerill, who actually performed our wedding ceremony. And I will never forget one piece of advice he offered me. He told me, “Cameron, one of the things you are probably going to want to do is you’re going to want to learn to speak Tanya’s native language.” He understood that she could speak English fluently, but he said, “The reason you want to do this is because her original language (and this is true of anybody’s native language); her native language is the language of her heart.” He said, “If you want to speak her heart language, you need to learn her native language.” Now I had learned some phrases, but I did not really know her language. But he said there is something about hearing a message (especially an important message like a love message) in your own language that speaks to your heart in such a profound way.

More Than Understanding— And you know, he had a point. Now does the Holy Spirit transcend language? Yes. Can He overcome language barriers. Absolutely. But here in Acts chapter 2 while the Holy Spirit does transcend and overcome the language barrier, I find it interesting that the Holy Spirit doesn’t bypass our language. He didn’t just somehow impress the truth of what the people were hearing upon their hearts to where they just somehow understood what was being said. No, He pay respect to all languages in allowing all people to hear the Gospel in their own native tongues. The scripture is very clear on this point. It says…

Acts 2:5-12 (ESV)— 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

Known Languages— Now I’d like to point out that [The listing of specific countries and ethnic groups proves…that these utterances were known human languages.] This was a use of known tongues that brought clarity of understanding, not a mysterious tongue that might cause confusion and division. Some denominations teach that if you do not speak in a heavenly kind of tongue, you are not a genuine Christian and are going to Hell. Tongues is your confirmation from God that you are saved. However, nowhere in scripture does the Bible say that you need to speak in tongues to be saved. Apart from it being listed with the spiritual gifts (which were understood to be distributed differently amongst Christians), the gift of tongues is not required by any of the early church fathers; it isn’t required by any of the creeds of the early church. In fact, if you look at the text, you will find that what might be interpreted as a kind of secret tongue is not mentioned once in the entire account of Pentecost. That kind of tongue; “tongues of… angels”, as referenced only in 1 Corinthians 13:1, (if it comes on the scene at all; at least in the way some say it does) it most certainly doesn’t come on the scene until after the Church has already been established; but even then, that is debatable. More likely Paul is merely using that phrase “tongues of…angels” as a hyperbolic way of saying “eloquent speech”; not an actual heavenly tongue. Now you can disagree on that, and that’s okay. We ought to feel free to disagree with one another without letting issues like this to divide the Church. But no matter where you stand on the gift of tongues, what is not up for debate is how tongues is to be understood in this passage; because Luke is very careful to emphasize the known places (and therefore the known languages) of the people who were hearing the Gospel in their own native tongues.

After The Heart— Now why did God want this? Why not just empower people to be able to understand what the disciples were saying. Well, it’s because (as someone once put it): [one has not really heard the message of the gospel until one has heard it in one’s own language.]  God wanted people to not just understand the Gospel cognitively, but for it to be spoken to them in such a way so as to touch their hearts and resonate with them at the deepest possible level. God wanted to speak to their hearts; not just their minds.

Babel’s Undoing— Now there is another element to all of this; and it has to do with the ancient city of Babel. You will remember the story of the Tower of Babel in the Old Testament. And that is a story that very much centers around the rebellious nature of people. Nimrod, if you remember, leads the people into sin by instead of scattering and filling the whole earth (as God had commanded) choosing instead to settle in a plain and to erect for themselves a massive ziggurat that would be the center of their society and worship. It was to be their ladder to God and a symbol of their strength and power. Yet God, interestingly comes down to see the tower (which in itself is humorous; that He has to step down) and decides to frustrate their language. And so He does; He confuses the language of the people, which is why we speak so many various languages today. So you have rebellion which leads to a fracturing of our very language. But here in Acts 2, immediately after the Holy Spirit enters into the life of the Church, there is a reversal of Babel. And I think what God may be doing (at least in part) is He’s giving us a visual sign that the inner rebellion of man has now been cleansed by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of God. It was an outward sign of an inward work; and one that foreshadowed a day in which that fracturing of language which was caused by that rebellion will be altogether restored and we will all speak the same language; the language of the Spirit, which will be the cultural language of heaven. 

Healing Our Rebellion— And so the miracle we see here is more than just audible; it is a sign of an inner transformation of the lives of the disciples. The Holy Spirit isn’t just an anointing power to help make our evangelism effective. No, He is a Person of God who comes into our lives in order to mold and reshape us; to purify and refine us. Tongues happened here in Acts chapter 2 because when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, He cleanses us of that pride and self-will that was the cause of that language break to begin with. And God knew that the disciples would never be able to impact the world the way He wanted them to without their first experiencing the cleansing, holy-making power of the Holy Spirit. And the same is true of us. If we are to be true Christians, then we must allow the Holy Spirit of God to set us apart completely to Him. And that involves full surrender.

Remote Access— When we visited my wife’s mom and sister in Ukraine a number of years ago, one of the things that we brought for them was a computer; a computer that we hoped would open up their world and allow them to communicate with friends and family more easily. And it did. But teaching them how to use the computer was an interesting process because they had never used one before. And Tanya’s sister would sometimes click on something and something would pop up and she would not know what it meant or what she should do. Now when I was there, it was very easy for me to simply fix whatever issue she had as it arose. But now that I am back here in the U.S., fixing her computer is much less straightforward. But there is a tool that I use to help us overcome that problem. It is a program on my computer and hers that (when I initiate it) will cause a code to appear on her screen. And when she gives me that code over the phone and I put it into my program, that program gives me full control over her computer. My screen changes and shows what is on her screen. And I control everything her computer does. But she has to give me that code. If she doesn't then I can’t access her computer and I cannot fix her problem.

Our Access Code— You know, I find our walk in the Spirit to be very similar. We receive a new element in our hearts upon conversion; we receive the Person of the Holy Spirit. He is given to us as God's means through which He can access all the dysfunction in our hearts. But we have to give God the go-ahead; we have to give Him the code; we have to say, “Lord, you can assume full control over my life.” It is only then that we can become true disciples and also true missionaries of the Gospel.

A White Funeral—  I remember a phone call I had several years ago with my Grandmother on my dad’s side, who began talking with me about my late Grandfather’s life and ministry. And she began telling me about his early days in and around the time he was in seminary. And she told me that he would go out in evangelistic groups into the community to share the Gospel. But before their leader would send them out, he would always tell them, “Make sure that before you go out that there is nothing that you have not surrendered to Jesus. Make sure that there is nothing you are holding back.” Now that had an enormous impact on my Grandfather, who realized that sin that was not dealt with in his own life could affect both his anointing to preach the Gospel and also the ability of the people he would be ministering to to receive it. And so he began learning about and pursuing a life of holiness before God. And it was during this time that my Grandfather had his experience of entire sanctification, where he fully surrendered all of who He was to Jesus and committed to walking in the Spirit and to allowing the Holy Spirit to empower him to live a holy life. And (from the many conversations I had with him over the years) one thing I realized was that that surrender to the Holy Spirit was not about trying to muscle out sin. That would never be how he would describe it. For him it meant that the Holy Spirit created in him such a love for Jesus, there wasn’t room for anything else. And looking back, in talking about the moment he chose to fully surrender himself to Christ (it was too sacred for him to talk about often; but when he did) he described it as his “white funeral”; a death, yes; but a glorious death; the day he died to himself; when he learned to hold nothing back from Jesus; when he emptied his hands of everything so that he could embrace Christ fully.

​Embracing Surrender— Now let me tell you; that is the work that God wants most to perform in your life and in mine lives. And I’m sorry to say many people (Christians included) can go years; even decades in the Church without ever knowing the wonder of what it means to live a life fully given over to Jesus Christ; and the life and freedom that comes from that. That is why I want to encourage you today to commit yourself to Christ and to living a life of surrender to the Holy Spirit; choose to be entirely His. When we do, we give God the access code to our hearts; and He can do great things in us; and He can do great things through us. Let us embrace that surrender today. May we come to experience in our lives the fullness of God that comes from the surrender of every area of our lives to Him. And may He use our anointing (our personal Pentecosts) to draw all people unto Himself. Amen.

Lechem Panim #119 "Wind, Fire, & Tongues" (Acts 2:1-4) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. 

Background of Pentecost— Today, as we begin taking a look at Acts chapter 2, we will be talking about the Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost. Now when we as Christians think of Pentecost, we immediately think of the day the Holy Spirit was given to God’s people. But Pentecost was already a major Jewish feast that had been celebrated all the way back to the time of Moses when God was first giving the Law to His people. And the reason it’s called “Pentecost” (a word that derives from the Greek for “the fiftieth day”) is because it falls on the fiftieth day after the Feast of the Passover, when the Jews celebrate God delivering His people from death in Egypt. And remember how they were delivered; God had told them to spread lamb’s blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes of their houses. And after that the Lord went through the land to strike down the Egyptians, but he saw the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and passed over those doorways, and would not permit the destroyer to enter their houses and strike down their firstborn. And so only the first-born of Egypt fell; because the blood of a lamb covered God’s people and became the means through which they were delivered from death. Death had passed over; hence the Passover. Now in the opening of the book of Acts what had happened at the prior Feast of Passover was that Jesus had been crucified. In fact He (the Lamb of God) died at the exact hour the Passover lambs were being slaughtered. And in doing this Christ satisfied the requirement of the Law of God; which is fascinating because after the exile the feast of Pentecost became a time when Jews celebrated the giving of the Mosaic law; the very law that Jesus had satisfied by the shedding of His blood on the cross in order that you and I might be delivered from death on a much larger scale; an eternal scale.

Feast of Unleavened Bread— Now the day after Passover you have the beginning of another feast called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And that feast lasts eight days. During that feast, an offering of the firstfruits of the grain harvest was made and the priest would take a sheaf of grain and wave it before the Lord. Now Leviticus 23:15 commands that that offering to be made on the day after the sabbath. And so [the day the first fruits were offered would always be on a Sunday. Now that provides an apt picture of the Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection because remember that Jesus was raised from the dead (the scripture says) on the first day of the week and therefore “became the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Cor. 15:20).

Pentecost— Now Pentecost would happen fifty days later and would also fall on a Sunday. And what would happen during this feast was the priest (instead of waving a sheaf of grain) would present two loaves of bread. Now the reason this is significant for our study of Pentecost today is because it was a visual symbol for how the Church (after the baptism of the Holy Spirit) would be united into one body by the Holy Spirit; the body of Christ (who is the Bread of Life).

3 Manifestations— Now here in Acts 2 this outpouring of the Holy Spirit is signaled by three different manifestations. And the first of these is wind. While the disciples were gathered together, it says…

Acts 2:1-2 (ESV)— 1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 

1. Wind/Breath— Now [Spirit in both the Greek (pneuma) and the Hebrew (ruach) describes wind or “breath.” Here, the idea of “wind” captures the impact of the Holy Spirit (John 3:8). Just as man did not exist until the life-giving breath of Almighty God (Gen. 2:7), so the Church did not come alive until God breathed forth the Holy Spirit.] And just as in Ezekiel’s encounter with the wind (the breath) of God bringing dead bones to life (Eze 37:5–14), you and I are lifeless until God breathes His Spirit into us and brings us from death to life.

2. Fire— Now the second manifestation we see here is fire. It says in…

Acts 2:3 (ESV)— 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

God’s Presence— Now in scripture [Fire serves as a symbol of the presence of God (Ex. 3:2-5; 13:21; 19:18; 40:38; Isa. 4:5; Ezek. 1:4) and a representation of the Holy Spirit.] God had appeared to Moses in a flaming bush in Exodus 3:2-5; after the Israelites left Egypt it says the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light in Exodus 13:21; Exodus 19:18 says Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And there are countless other examples (God’s appearing as a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch to Abram (Gen 15:17), Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20-40), the visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel, etc.). And so fire was symbolic of the presence of God. Now fire does two things. First, it gives light, which is both physical but also spiritual in the mind of the Jew; it is associated with wisdom and understanding. But fire can also be destructive; and so it is often associated with the judgment of God. Sodom and Gomorrah experienced that judgment in a physical sense, but there is also a spiritual judgment by fire as well. John the Baptist had said in… 

Matthew 3:11-12 (ESV)— 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Purifying Fire— Now the righteous don’t need to fear the fire, because instead of destroying them, it purifies them; and so the Holy Spirit is the One who remakes us in the image of and helps us to live like Christ; in purity. And fire can also spread in a powerful way; something which we have seen (especially recently) here on the West Coast. Fire is POWERFUL; and so it is a great symbol by which to characterize the spread of the Early Church, as the apostles spoke with purity and power and multitudes came to faith in Christ.

The Gift of Tongues— Now there was a third manifestation in addition to the wind and the fire. And no, it was not earth. Earth, wind, and fire, that’s something else. But rather the third manifestation was an empowerment of the disciples to speak other known languages. It says in…

Acts 2:4 (ESV)— 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Cultural Shock— Now language is a funny thing. If you don’t have it, it can be a problem. Because nothing can be more frustrating than being unable to communicate what you are trying to communicate or to understand somebody who is not speaking your language. A few years ago my wife and I and the kids took a trip to Ukraine to visit her mom and her sister. And we flew into Detroit and then went from Detroit to Amsterdam (where there were some English speakers). But then we flew from Amsterdam to Ukraine. And boy did everything change. A lot of people were talking, but I could understand very little of what was being said; OR WRITTEN! Suddenly I found myself depending on my wife in a whole new way because without her nothing would have made sense. She became my interpreter, explaining to me what I was seeing and what I was hearing. And during our visit with her mom and sister, she would interpret between us. But even though I couldn’t understand a lot of what was being said, sometimes the emotions were what spoke louder than anything. A smile is the same in every language; tears are the same in every language; laughter doesn't need a translator. And there was plenty of all three, let me tell you. But that tells us something.

Dr. Bill Ury: Our Sameness— Some time ago I was listening to one of my Uncle Dr. Bill Ury’s radio broadcasts. And on this episode of his show The Hour of Holiness he was talking about evangelism and the role that each and every one of us has to play in the evangelism process. He talked a lot about the fear we often face; the intimidation we feel whenever we feel God nudging us in the direction of witnessing. And though he has been in ministry and Christian education for many many years and has seen countless Christians and ministers, he admitted that there were precious few who seemed to evangelize as if it was purely natural; where they we absolutely 100% in their element and absolutely confident. So often times we are so worried about what people are going to think; and wonder how we are going to present the Gospel in such a way that is relevant to their lives (and to where they can see it. But my uncle then said something that was so simple and yet so insightful. He said that when we approach evangelism, one of the things we have to understand about the people we are sharing the Gospel with is that they are exactly the same as us. He said they are the same; all people are the same as us. Now seeing a person wearing a kimono and dancing to Japanese music with white face paint; or in my case seeing the different styles of dress and different way of life of the people of Ukraine, it is easy to see the differences. But his point was that once you get past the paint; past the clothes; past the cultural differences; when you get right down to the most intimate needs of people, we are absolutely and totally the same. We have the same basic needs. The language of our souls is exactly the same. And when we know the language of the soul, then the door is opened for real change to happen through our ministry and through our witness. 

The Language of The Spirit— And that is why one author I read said… [The most important language for communicating the gospel is not the language of culture or of common experience. The true language of the soul is the language of the Spirit.] 

The Holy Spirit is Key— And that is why all ministry (if it is to be effective) must be entrenched in the saturating, abiding presence of the Holy Spirit’s anointing. Because if it isn’t, it doesn’t matter if we can speak people’s cultural language or not; our words (by themselves) will have no power to produce in them lasting change. The Holy Spirit is the One who must speak to their hearts. He is the link between our message and their hearts. And that is why you and I need to make sure that we are attuned to Him and His voice, which is always speaking into our lives. We just need to listen; to follow; to keep in step with Him. If we can do that, we will be effective witnesses for the Gospel. Let’s tune ourselves to Him today. Amen.

Lechem Panim #118 "Matthias Replaces Judas" (Acts 1:15-26) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. 

Not Just Another Business Meeting— You will remember that last week we explored the nature of how the Jews viewed history; and how deeply they loved and sought to ingrain the Word of God into their hearts and minds. And I wanted to lay that foundation for you because when we come to this point in Acts 1, we see that the eyes of the disciples have been opened to understand in a whole new way the scriptures that they had hidden in their hearts; they now understood them in the light of Jesus Christ and were beginning to see how the entirety of God’s plan fit together and what their own place was in it. And when we understand that, the first board meeting of the Church here in chapter 1 (which we might be tempted at first glance to think of as kind of a boring way to kick off the book of Acts) is really a time of wondrous excitement and purpose. Peter (whose name means “rock”), but who had recently denied Jesus, was now standing in the midst of the company of the disciples and is telling them what the Old Testament means and what their immediate plan of action needs to be. And notice nobody is saying to him, “Who are you to tell us anything, you’re not a rock; you’re a chicken!” Nobody is saying anything like that. Because they know Peter is not just speaking from his own wisdom anymore, which we know rarely worked for him. Rather they acknowledge now that he has been led by God into an understanding of the Word of God; and he is speaking out of that understanding. And that was somebody they were willing to follow. It says in…

Acts 1:15-17 (ESV)— 15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 

God’s Plan Unhindered— Now the betrayal of Jesus by Judas is a sad story. But what it shows us (and this is key) is that even a betrayal at the most intimate and personal level (the level of a disciple of the Son of God) could do nothing to thwart the plans of God. God’s plan of salvation didn’t miss a beat. And even though it says Satan entered into Judas (twice in scripture it says that), God was able to use even that betrayal to bring about the fulfillment of His plan; the provision of His Son to die on the cross in order to make atonement (to pay for) our sins. Now it says of Judas’ subsequent suicide (after he realized what he had done)…

Acts 1:18 (ESV)— 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 

Hung vs. Falling— Now the description here of Judas’ death is very graphic; and it is meant to be so. But why is it so different from Matthew’s account? In Matthew’s account we have a different description of Judas' death than what is given to us here. In Matthew it simply says that Judas went out and hung himself (Mt. 27:5). Is it a contradiction (as some people say it is)? Well, not really. Judas apparently had hung himself on a tree next to a cliff (which is very plausible when you consider the topography of the land). And either the rope broke during his initial attempt to hang himself or the body fell after decomposing for a while and then burst open upon hitting the ground. 

Why The Variance?— So Luke and Matthew merely emphasize different things. But why? And why does Luke’s emphasis have to be so graphic; so gory? Well remember that Matthew’s account was written to a Jewish audience. And the Jewish mind would have connected Judas being hung with Deuteronomy 21:23, which says “he who is hanged is accursed of God”. And so the emphasis is placed on Judas’ being hung because that is what is going to resonate most deeply with a Jewish audience. However, remember that Luke is a gentile writing to a gentile audience who wouldn’t know the text (at least to the same degree). And you'll remember that the gentiles (especially the Greeks and those influenced by Greek culture, which was pretty much any gentile in the Roman empire) placed an enormous weight of value on the human body. You don’t have to see too much of Greek artwork from that period to understand they pretty much worshiped the body. The body was the picture of perfection in the mind of the Greek. And so for a Greek person to hear of the physical mutilation and destruction of the body of Judas sent home the same emotion a Jew would've felt in hearing about the "hanging" of Judas “on a tree”. So there is no contradiction. Matthew and Luke merely emphasize different details based on who their audience is in order to generate the same gut-wrenching reaction so to speak. Now Peter continues in…

Acts 1:19-20 (ESV)— 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’

12 Witnesses— And so once again Peter, who is looking back at these Old Testament prophecies (which are Ps 69:25 and Ps 109:8), now understands what they are supposed to do in preparation for the building of God’s Church. Peter recognized that they needed another eyewitness to the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. And that’s first of all because people take eyewitness testimony more seriously than other claims. But it was also important because Jesus had chosen twelve disciples as representative of the 12 tribes of Israel. In the mind of the Jew that was a very sacred number. And so it was vital that this renewal movement within Israel be marked by this very important number. So Peter takes the initiative (no doubt with the Holy Spirit’s leading) and says they need to choose another apostle who will help them too represent the 12 tribes of Israel to the world. So he says in…

Acts 1:21-26 (ESV)— 21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

2 Characterizing Words— Now I love how Barsabbas doesn’t mention any problem in the voting system or demand a recount. He doesn’t say, “Fine, you think Matthias is better than me, I’ll find some other place to go down the street.” No, he (along with all of them) accept it as God’s choice. They are unified in this. And that really serves to drive home the point that if you were to characterize the driving force of this early Christian community in two words, those two words would be “unity” and “prayer”. It says in verse 14 that All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

“with one accord”— Now that phrase [“with one accord,” {is} a phrase that is found six times in Acts (1:14; 2:1, 46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25; and note also 2:44). There was among these believers a wonderful unity that bound them together in Christ (Ps. 133; Gal. 3:28), the kind of unity that Christians need today {(especially now in a time of such disunity in the world)}.] Notice how none of them are asking, “Who is the greatest?” or, “Who committed the greatest sin?”] No, they are simply [praying together, standing together in the Lord, and worshipping together as they wait to be prepared for the work ahead of them.

Achdut— One Jewish man I read recently said that [the one precondition G-d said for every miracle that occurred to the Jewish people, and there was only one thing that was a precondition, is unity, achdut. {He said} From when we stood at Mount Sinai as "one people with one heart," …to the time when Queen Esther told Mordecai to "gather all the Jews together" to fast for her success.… It is in every miracle, in the rescue of Ethiopian Jews, of Russian Jews, of Syrian Jews - achdut is the one thing G-d demands of us and all of us have to work to see that this is the case.] And you know, he’s right. This is why Jesus in His High Priestly prayer in John 17 prays over and over again for His disciples to be one, as He and the Father are one. Well, His prayer is finally being answered. They ARE becoming one; and God is using prayer to do it.

The Disciples Criticized— Now some criticize the disciples for this and say that they should've waited until the Holy Spirit was given rather than choosing an apostle themselves. They say that it would've been better for the Holy Spirit of God to choose an apostle than for them to trust such an important choice to blind chance. But it is important to note that the disciples did not believe that their choice (although made by casting lots) was blind choice. It's as it says in Proverbs…

Proverbs 16:33 (ESV)— 33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

Not Chance— So they understand that it's not blind chance. They're not just rolling the dice as you and I roll dice in Candyland or any other board game that my kids like to play with me. No, after a season of intense prayer (and that is key) and knowing that God is moving in and through them and would guide their decision, they cast lots.

God Will Lead Us— And similarly when we abide in prayer (both corporately but individually) we can trust that God will lead us to make the right decisions and will move in the way we need Him to. That is why we must always persist in prayer. Prayer we see in the book of Acts was the life-blood of the Early Church. In almost every chapter in Acts you find a reference to prayer, and over and over again we see throughout the book clearly demonstrated the truth that things happen when God’s people pray. This is certainly a good lesson for the church today. {It has been said that} Prayer is both the thermometer and the thermostat of the local church, for the “spiritual temperature” either goes up or down, depending on how God’s people pray. John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress, said, “Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan.” In the book of Acts, you see prayer accomplishing all of these things.]

​The Word, Unity, & Prayer— And so I want to encourage you today (and me as well) let us be a people who are characterized by prayer. And may we (in prayer) be united with one another in such a unity so as to cause us to be a force to be reckoned with as we seek to further the Kingdom of God. Amen.