“ And Saul was consenting unto his death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria.”
“That day” referred to here is the stoning of Stephen. After Stephen’s death, the persecution of Christians really picked up. But something good came out of this persecution. People, who had been converted on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2-3, and after, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Until that point all of the action of the church had taken place in Jerusalem, but now the witness was spreading. This fulfilled what Jesus told His disciples in Acts 1:8: “But you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth.” I’m sure that when Jesus gave them tha charge that they did not know how it would be carried out. Here is what I really want us to see in this text: Persecution did not kill the church, rather it scattered it and began a movement that would be worldwide in a few short years. Let’s go back and look at something that happened as Stephen was stoned. They laid their robes at the feet of a man named Saul. Then we are told that he was “consenting unto (Stephen’s) death.” Who would have thought that in a short time this persecutor of the church would be a part of it and be one on the main characters in carrying out Acts 1:8? God does, indeed, work in mysterious ways. If we planned it out, it would not be like this. We would appoint committees and discuss being “witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth” to death. We would ask, “Exactly what did Jesus mean and how can we plan this thing out to everybody’s satisfaction?” This is not how God did it. He used the stoning of Stephen as the catalyst for scattering his church beyond Jerusalem, then, on the Damascus Road, converted Saul and turned him into “the Apostle Paul.” In order for the gospel to reach“the uttermost part of the earth” Gentiles would have to be converted. Again, if we had planned it out, we would have appointed committees, asked for resumes of good Gentile Christians, discussed it to death and come up with someone to witness to the Gentiles. This is not what God did. He found the meanest Jew that He could find, converted him on the Damascus Road, and sent him to witness to the Gentiles. Paul’s witness and the witness of Peter and other apostles enabled the gospel message to reach all the way to Rome and beyond, thus carrying out Jesus’ command. What lessons can we derive from this? First, we can understand that bad things that happen to us can turn out to be used of God for great purposes. Who knows but what some suffering that you have encountered has blessed someone else’s life in ways that you could not have planned out. Second, we can understand that when the Lord gives a command He means it, and He will see that it is carried out. If we didn’t send missionaries into the world, God would see that some were sent anyway. Perhaps, until the stoning of Stephen and the ensuing persecution, converted Jews were reluctant to leave Jerusalem. God had different plans and scattered them to other places. Third, God might want you to “scatter” from where you are in your life today and go and do what He wants you to do. (I’m not necessarily referring to location as much as I am referring to lifestyle.) At least give it some consideration. Bro. Joe
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“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. 10. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all (people), especially unto them that are of the household of faith.”
If we aren’t careful, we will give up in the struggles of life. It is definitely a possibility for Christians today. There are so many objections to our faith and we are experiencing hostility as we have never experienced it. But we need to remember who wrote our text – the apostle Paul. He experienced negativity the likes of which we will probably never experience. I do not mean that our challenges are not real because they are not as fierce as Paul’s, but I am referring to how Paul faced the challenges that he faced. He did not give up, sit down and stop serving the Lord. What would Paul tell us to do? He would tell us not to be “weary in well doing.” Another translation of this text is that we not be “weary in doing good.” Doing good is part of our Christian calling. We just have to remember how Jesus lived. He never stopped doing good, though He was confronted time after time by those who opposed Him. Jesus was even accused of using the power of Satan when He healed people. He was given a false trial, given a beating across His back, and nailed to a cross, yet Jesus went on to the cross and did the good thing that would result in our salvation. We should be extremely thankful that Jesus did not grow weary in doing good. Throughout the New Testament we see those who trusted Jesus as their savior doing good and not returning evil for evil. We do good because it is the will of God for us to do good as a witness to the world, and as decent human beings. We can grow weary of good works when it seems that we are getting no credit for it and because people do not seem to appreciate what we do. The cliché, that “it is not about us, but it is about Jesus," comes to mind. We cannot lose heart to the point that we cease doing what God has called us to do in ministering and witnessing to a lost world. He would tell us that we will “reap if we faint not (do not lose heart).” Paul reminds us to not grow weary in well doing, because if we do we will not reap the fruit that Jesus intends for us. What does “reap” mean in this context. I think that it means that we should not stop witnessing to people about Jesus, even though we are rebuffed time and time again. I think that it means that we should not cease doing works of ministry to people who are in need. We can be sure that some people will take advantage of our good nature. Some people are downright professional about it. But we can’t stop doing good in that respect. We cannot lose heart because people to whom we witness and minister do not seem to be thankful. We keep on doing because it is what Jesus would have us do. He would tell us to do good to all people. That would mean that we should do good to people who do not agree with us and might even be hostile to our faith. He also told us to do good,“especially to those that are of the household of faith.” This means that we should also do good to fellow Christians. Putting the two together, this means that we would do good at work, for example, at play, at clubs, and at the church. It would be great if all Christians lived like this. Can you imagine the difference that it would make in our communities and in our churches? Do not lose heart, because this is what Satan would have you do. Don’t grow weary of good works, because if you do you cannot reap a harvest for Jesus. Do be good to all people at work and at church. Bro. Joe “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to His power that works in us. 21. Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end, amen.”
We need to understand that when we serve the Lord, whatever that service is, we are not in it by ourselves. In our flesh we are limited as to what we can do. In His infinite wisdom, God has shown me what I can do in my flesh, and that is mainly to make a mess. Whatever your task is as a Christian, you cannot do it by yourself. You need the power of God. I think that this is the crux of the problem in a lot of church work today. We go about church business as though it is simply our business, not realizing that it is not simply “our” business. Before Jesus was crucified and ascended, He promised His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to work within them. That promise was not just for the disciples, it is also for us. If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit living within you, and He is not in you just to give you some holy thrills. He is in you to enable you to do whatever it is that God wants you to do. He is in you to help you live the Christian life. We depend every day on that “power that works in us.” If we are not depending on Him, then we are not getting done for the Lord what He wants done. You might say, “Wait a minute, do you mean that when I keep the nursery at church that I need the power of the Holy Spirit to help me do it?” I will assure you that if my job at church was keeping the nursery, I would need every bit of the Holy Spirit to help me do it. Don’t you think that tending babies is a gift from God? Not everyone who tends babies is serving God, but if you are doing it in His kingdom work, it is a gift from God. That’s why we don’t need to take any task that we do in the church or the community lightly. God does not take anything that we do for Him lightly. Read this very carefully: What the church needs today is for all of her people, whatever their tasks, to depend on the Holy Spirit, who can give them the power to serve. Of course, that doesn’t just apply to the things that we do at church. It also applies to the things that we do seven days a week. We need to depend on the Holy Spirit when we are at work. Don’t you think that God wants to use you on a daily basis? The problem is that you might feel surrounded and intimidated by those who work with you. We need to always be reminded about what is recorded in 1 John 4:4: “You are of God. Little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world.” There is no need to feel intimidated, because we are not in it by ourselves. Remember that you belong to God and that He has empowered you with His Spirit. If God has something that He wants us to do, no matter how menial it may seem to us, it is important because God wants us to do it. Do not belittle your service to Him. Sometimes our service might be to just be quiet Christians, quietly living out our faith before the world. Just remember as you face life’s daily challenges, that God is working in you “according to His power that works in us.” God’s power is never menial, and it is never unimportant. Let’s just go out into the world, into the church, or wherever, with the understanding that God’s power is at work in us. Bro. Joe “Do all things without murmuring and disputing. 15. That you might be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in a dark world.”
The point of Paul’s reminder to the Philippians was that they conduct themselves in a way that they would “shine as lights in a dark world.” This was one of the first commands that Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount: “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16) Just as Jesus saw the world in darkness, so did Paul, and so will we if we will just look around. This darkness did not start in the last few years. According to the Bible, the world has always been a place of darkness in need of God’s light. As Jesus ordered and as Paul admonished, we are to be the means of showing God’s light to the world. How do we do this? We do not do it by being religious, judgmental or acting like Pharisees. We let our lights shine through the lives that we live. Paul gave two examples of things that we shouldn’t do if we are to “shine as lights in a dark world.” He wrote for them to “do all things without murmuring….” The modern translation of this word is complaining. Before I come down hard on complaining, let me remind you that we all complain at some time or other. Let’s just go ahead and confess it at the outset. The problem is that for a lot of people, even Christians, complaining is a chronic condition. What is wrong with complaining? One thing is that its source is anger, and when complaining is chronic it means that the anger has found root in the person’s heart. When anger becomes engrained in the heart it tends to make one dissatisfied with everything. This is one of the devil’s tools. He loves to maket us angry and get us to complain about everything. Another thing wrong with complaining is that it is not grounded in love. If we constantly complain about people it means that we do not love them as we should. Yes, I know that some people constantly get on our nerves, but we should not let them determine how we talk or act. Evidently, complaining had become a problem in the Philippian church and was dimming the church’s light; therefore, Paul reminded them that they needed to stop complaining. If complaining was making their lights dim, it will make our lights dim as well. He wrote for them to do “all things without disputing….” The modern translation of this word is “arguing.” A more colloquial translation is “fussing.” (In Southwest Georgia, it would be translated “fussin’.”) I have to admit that it is difficult not to argue or fuss sometimes. If a person says or does something that is so obviously wrong, we want to straighten him or her out. What I have discovered, however, is that when we argue with someone we don’t get them straightened out. The main result is usually that our blood pressure is raised. I have to admit that there was a time in my life when I was more argumentative than I am now, but after multiple fusses, I began to realize that fussing and arguing didn't solve anything. It really doesn’t solve anything in Christ’s church. There was a problem with fussing and arguing in the church at Philippi. In 3:2, Paul asked the church to “beseech Euodia and Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.” Evidently, Euodia and Syntyche were two powerful women in the church who were having an ongoing argument and it was causing trouble in the church. We do not realize how our fussing can affect other people. If we want to shine as lights in this dark world, we need to remember that if our behavior does not reflect the love of Christ, we will not shine for Him. We need to be careful that we refrain from constantly complaining and arguing. Bro. Joe “But as touching brotherly love you need not that I write unto you: for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another. 10. And indeed you do it toward all the brothers which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you brothers that you increase more and more. 11. And that you study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you. 12. That you may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that you have lack of nothing.”
Our text reminds us that our lives are witnesses for Christ. I know that we need a verbal witness, but if our lives do not measure up our verbal witness will be muted. Paul was encouraging the Thessalonians to live up to their faith, and to be good witnesses. The things that Paul dealt with in this passage can help us live witnessing lives. In verse 9, Paul encouraged the Thessalonians, and us, to remember that they/we are to love each other, and to love all people. It is interesting that he used the Greek for brotherly love at the first of the verse, but the last word for love is agape (ahgahpay) – God’s kind of love. We are to love as brothers and sisters, but we are also to love as God loves. It is certain that we will not love perfectly as God does, but we are to love people at both levels – brotherly love and God’s kind of love. If we don’t love people we cannot possibly live a witnessing life. Jesus told us that people would know that we are His disciples by the love that we have for each other. (John 13:35). Paul wrote to them that they already loved people, but that they needed to “increase more and more.” We can never love too much. In verse 11, Paul wrote that they should live a “quiet life and mind their own business.” This might seem to work against becoming involved in people’s lives and witnessing to them. He did not mean that they were to become loners, and stay away from people. He was reminding them of the kind of lives they should live if they were going to witness to the world. One problem in most churches is people that we call “busybodies.” These people are not quiet and they certainly do not mind their own business. If we want to live a witnessing life, we need to be careful what we say (“study to be quiet”), and about what we say about people (“mind your own business”). It is one thing to become involved in people’s lives and ministering to them in the name of Jesus, it is quite another thing for us to be nosy and gossip about other people. Evidently, there was a problem with this in Thessalonica, and it must have been hurting the church’s witness. In verses 11b and 12, Paul reminded them that they needed to be industrious in their living (“work with your own hands”). There was a problem in Thessalonica with people who had quit working because they were looking for Jesus to return at any time. Paul reminded them in both letters to Thessalonica that this is not the right way to do it. We are to live productive lives until Jesus comes again. This is part of our witness. Here is how it is translated in the NIV: “…work with your own hands, just as we told you, 12. So that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” The pertinent words for them were: “so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders.” I think that if we want to be good witnesses to the world, we need to be good human beings. Good human beings look out for themselves and for their own families. We should not hesitate to help others, but we should not depend on others to give us the support that we can provide for ourselves. There are exceptions for such things as ill health, but for the most part we need to live good, productive lives in order for us to “win the respect of outsiders.” I think that you will agree that Paul has given good advice about living a witnessing life. Bro. Joe “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”
Paul and Silas were wrongfully imprisoned in the jail at Philippi. They were under what we would call maximum security. They could hardly move because they were in stocks. Why, then, were they praying and singing at midnight? The first reason for their singing at midnight was they knew that God loved them. The people who had them jailed did not love them or care one way or the other. But these two great Christians knew that God loved them. It is amazing what this realization can do to our reactions to the negative things of life. If we know that God loves us, we can pray and sing at midnight. The second reason was they knew that their sins were forgiven. They had not been forgiven by the authorities, but they had been forgiven by Jesus. It is amazing what knowing that we are forgiven can do for our attitudes towards life. There are many Christians who do not pray and sing because they are still carrying guilt for sins that have been forgiven. If we know for sure that we are forgiven by an almighty and loving God, we too, can “pray and sing at midnight.” The third reason was they knew that Jesus was with them. They knew the promise that Jesus made: “Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the ages.” Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, was in the cell and the stocks with them. He knew of their predicament, but He was there loving and watching over them. We need to realize that no matter what is going on in our lives at any given time, Jesus is with us. The fourth reason was they knew that the other prisoners were listening. We should not miss the statement that “the prisoners heard them.” Paul was always aware that wherever he was and whatever was happening in his life, he was a witness for Jesus Christ. If Paul and Silas could pray and sing at midnight under those circumstances, the prisoners would know that they had something, or someone, special in their lives. People do not notice our witness as much when we are in church, or when we are going through good times, as they do when we are going through difficult times. We need to remember that when we “pray and sing at midnight,” other people hear us and it serves as a witness to them. We need to ask ourselves if we are “midnight singers” or chronic complainers? If we know that God loves us, that our sins are forgiven, that Jesus is with us and that we are always witnesses for Jesus, we will remember to “pray and sing at midnight.” Bro. Joe “Do all things without murmurings/complaining and disputings/arguing.”
Let’s begin with “do all things.” This covers a lot territory and, frankly, it is a tall order. It means that no matter what is going on in our lives, we need to face it all without murmuring/complaining and disputing/arguing, (We are probably more at home with using “complaining and arguing.”) Frankly, some of the people we have to deal with make it difficult for us to stop complaining and arguing. But those people do not give us the permission to complain and argue. Dealing as Christians with difficult people is part of our spiritual growth. We might also think about the times that we might have been one of those difficult people. (just saying) “Do all things without murmurings/complaining…” Some things come to mind when I read this prohibition to stop complaining. One is that we stop complaining about what is going on in our churche. There are some things that happen to us about which we really feel a need to complain. ( As you might guess, I am writing about this from experience.) I used to complain about traffic, etc. My late wife, Mary, would tell me that the complaining was not doing any good. I would tell her that it makes me feel better to complain to get it off of my mind. She told me, “You might be getting rid of it, but you are giving it to me.” Another thing that comes to mind is self-pity. It can cause us to crawl inside of ourselves and complain instead of dealing with life’s frustrations by asking the Lord to help us deal with them. I must confess that it is awfully difficult not to complain at times, but the Bible tells us to “do all things without complaining.” I think that you get the point that I am making, i.e., instead of complaining we need to pray. “Do all things without…disputing/arguing…” There are some people who make it difficult not to argue. (I am confident that I have been one of those people at times.) This is a difficult order to follow. There are just some things that make us want to argue. What I try to do now is to stop and think whether or not an argument would solve the issue. You know as well as I, that an argument will only make the issue more difficult. I have never solved anything by arguing. This does not mean that we should never disagree, but that we should disagree like Christians without complaining and arguing. I have made a resolution not to argue about anything unless arguing might serve some good purpose. I have discovered that most of the time, arguing will not serve any good purpose. In verse 15 Paul gives us the reason not to complain and argue: “That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” This brings to mind what Jesus said about us being the lights of the world: “Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” This is not an easy order, but we do need to give serious thought to it. Bro. Joe "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into to the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.”
The question that our title asks came to me the other day and I thought about what the Bible reveals to us to answer the question. There are three things that stand out in scripture that answers what God wants for you. First, He wants to save you from sin. Sin is the big problem in the world that began with Adam and Eve. Romans 3:23 tells us that “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Our text tells us that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” Christ Jesus has either saved you from sin, or He desires to save you from sin. The big decision that people need to make is what have they done about Jesus? What is their answer to God’s act of love of sending His Son into the world, to die on the cross and rise from the grave to save them from sin? What is your answer? The main thing that the Lord wants for you is that you accept His Son, Jesus Christ, into your life to save you for all eternity. Second, the Lord wants to sustain you. This means that He wants to send the Holy Spirit into your life to sustain you daily. Jesus did not just come into your life to take you to heaven; He comes into your life to make your life better. He wants to give you His love and His leadership that will give you what Jesus called “abundant life.” The Lord doesn’t want to take anything from you; rather, He wants to give all of the blessings that He has in store for you through His Holy Spirit. He gave you His church to give you the joy of sharing the abundant life with others who have received, or need to receive, the “abundant life.” He inspired His word, the Bible, to offer leadership and guidance in your life. The Lord wants to give you the quality of life that only He can give. Third, the Lord wants you to serve Him. In John 20:21 Jesus said to His disciples, “Peace be unto you: as My Father has sent Me, even so send I you.” The Lord saves and sustains you in order for you share what He has given you through His love. Someone wrote: “The fruit of a Christian is another Christian.” This means that you take the “abundant life” that the Lord has given you into your daily. If Jesus has saved you, you are His servant and He wants to use you in His church and in the world to be His witness to the world. There are many other things that the Lord wants of you, but these are three of the most important things that He wants for you. Has He saved you? Is He sustaining you? Are you serving Him? The answer to these questions has eternal significance in your life. Bro. Joe “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be
enough evidence to convict you?” Author unknown "Let your light so shine among men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." I saw the above quotation on a church bulletin board a few years ago, and it has stuck with me. I don’t know who wrote it, but it gets to the core of the problem of Christian witness and behavior. It reminds me of the advertisements on medicines these days on television. Truth in advertising laws demands that they tell the side effects of the medicine they are advertising. By the time they list all of the side effects, I usually end up asking myself why in the world would I take that medicine if it could all of that to me? But it is best that we know the truth about it, and would I not want them to tell me the truth? We need truth in advertising in our lives as well. It is easy for one to say that he or she is a Christian. The words come so easily: “I am a Christian.” What do we mean by that? Do we realize that when we say that, people will certainly expect us to be different? I know that it is difficult to be different in today’s society. This has always been true. Peter wrote about this issue in 1 Peter 4:4: “Where in they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.” People don’t like it when we are different. Sometimes it is because they do not realize what the Christian life is all about. Sometimes it is because our being different makes them feel guilty. But the demand is to be different. We need to pay attention to kingdom righteousness. Kingdom righteousness has to do with how live our lives in private or in front of people. It also has to do with how we relate to other people, and how we treat other people. Some of the poorest advertising that we do is how we sometimes treat each other in churches. After all, Jesus told us that the world would know we are Christians by our love for each other. There are certainly times when we should rise up in righteous indignation when our faith is belittled and smeared. But we should remember at the same time to let people know what we are for as much as what we are against. We are against sin but we are for loving the sinner. We are against what the Bible calls “riotous living,” but we are for helping people come out of those lifestyles. We want to stay away from sin, but, like Jesus, we need to witness and minister to people who are lost in sin. I ask again: “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Bro. Joe “Let all that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee, and let such as love thy salvation say continually, let the Lord be magnified.”
When I read this verse this morning, it caught my imagination. It says: “Let the Lord be magnified (exalted).” How can we magnify, or exalt, the Lord? The verse suggested two ways that we can magnify and exalt the Lord. First, David wrote: “Let all that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee.” If we want to exalt and magnify the Lord, we should first of all seek Him. We should have the confidence and faith in Him that we know that we need to seek His presence and fellowship with us on a daily basis. This also suggests that we can let the world see our joy and gladness in Him. Second, passing into the New Testament, because of our gratefulness for the Salvation that Jesus procured for us on the cross, we can magnify Him by praising Him, and by telling others about this great salvation. These are two great ways that we can magnify and exalt the Lord. Another thought that I had beyond the text was that we can magnify the Lord by how we live. The world is always watching us and they see when we fail to live for the Lord as we should. Believe me; the world is well aware when our lives are not magnifying the Lord. None of us will do this perfectly, of course, but we can certainly do better than we are doing. I know that I should, and I would also suggest to you that you should. We need to do better as individual Christians in our daily lives. We also need to do better corporately through our churches. Again, the world has its eyes on our churches and we need to set a better example of cooperation and a sense of unity in the Lord. Another thought was that we can magnify the Lord by how we love. (I know that this is a very familiar theme in CouchPotatoRedux articles.) Jesus pointed out the need for love in John 13:34-35: “A new commandment give unto you, That you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.” Indeed, Jesus put a high premium on the witness of our love for each other to the world. We need to ask ourselves if we love each other as we should. We also need to ask ourselves if we are showing the love of Jesus to the world in our daily lives. Does the waitress, or waiter, who serves your food sense that you love them? Does your attitude show the love of Jesus to the cashier at the store where you shop. These are not inconsequential questions. Hey, it’s not “rocket science.” Just love people. I’m sure that there are many more ways to magnify the Lord than I have written about here, but the four ideas that I gave will be a good start. Let’s magnify and exalt the Lord. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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