Era Gospel Church Missions. Filled in today

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1 1 Sermon Series: From Garden to Glory Overview of Gospels The Church Era Pastor Brian Long : March 23rd, 2014 Big Idea: The Holy Spirit empowers the Church Last week in our Bible overview we stepped into the New Testament and began to look at the Gospel era. In the chart on your note section today, we covered that first column called the Gospel era. Today, we take another step into the history of the NT in order to get an understanding of the beginnings of the church in the next column called the Church era. Era Gospel Church Missions Big Idea Books Matthew Mark Luke John Key Events 1. Early Life: Birth to Baptism Jesus comes in fulfillment of After the ascension of Jesus, God uses Paul to expand the the OT prophecies of a savior and offers salvation and the true Kingdom of God. Some accept him, but many reject him. He is crucified, buried, and resurrected. God uses Peter to establish the church, God s next major plan for humankind. church into the Roman Empire during the next two decades. 2. Early Ministry: Initial acceptance 3. Later Ministry: Growing Rejection Acts 1-12 Acts 13-28, Pauline and General letters to churches Four main movements: Filled in today Filled in next week 4. Death and Resurrection: Final rejection. Major Figure Jesus Predicted Messiah Peter Leader of the Early Church Key Location Israel proper City of Jerusalem (Land of Canaan in OT, Palestine in NT) Paul First Christian Missionary Roman Empire The transition from the Gospel era to the Church era is probably most clearly displayed in the transition of Luke s Two volume history of Jesus and the Church. Volume 1 is his Gospel of Luke. Then Volume 2 is his history of what happened after Jesus was raised and ascended. If you haven t already, turn in your Bibles to the last page of Luke s Gospel. As your eyes scan over this chapter, notice that after recording the resurrection, he

2 2 tells us that Jesus went to a number of his disciples to show them that he had in fact been raised again just as he said he would be. Taken together the Gospels record about eleven different resurrection appearances that included over 500 people. After these appearances, the last few verses of the chapter tell us that Jesus went out to a small village called Bethany, which is on the Mount of Olives. This would be like walking from the hills on the east side of Bass Lake road to the hills near Serrano area just over a mile. There he ascends into heaven. When Luke opens Vol. 2 of his history he gives us a little more detail about what happened at this ascension scene. Turn to Acts 1. Read: vs Four Major movements in the Church Era. Acts 1-12 Creation: Birth of the Church (1-5) According to Jesus, they are to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes to them and immerses (Baptidzo) them in his power. Apparently this experience will be unmistakable for them because he doesn t give any specific indication regarding when this will happen or what it will actually look like or feel like. Immediately, here s a lesson for us: At Jesus own word, the Holy Spirit must empower all effective Christian ministry. We must rest in this lean on this depend on this count on this. As Zechariah says to Zerubbabel, Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty (Zech. 4:6). As we step through the movements of the beginnings of the Church today, we re going to be letting the text speak to us and give us the story. As we do that I want you to listen closely for how active the Spirit of God is in all of this, okay? Now, it s important to keep in mind that the story of Jesus crucifixion, burial, resurrection, ascension, AND the beginning of the Church movement are all divinely playing out against the backdrop of the flow and layering of Israel s holy days and sacred feasts. The religious authorities rush the trial, crucifixion, and burial of Jesus to get it all done on the eve of Passover the first feast of the Lord. Passover commemorates deliverance in Egypt when the death angel passed over the homes where inhabitants sought refuge behind their doorframes covered in the blood of the lamb. Passover speaks of redemption. Jesus, the Passover Lamb was slain for us. Tightly connected to Passover is the second feast, the feast of unleavened bread which symbolized purity and holiness. The feast of unleavened bread speaks of sanctification, as Jesus was set apart in the grave, and his sinless body did not decay.

3 3 Then, layered on this second feast is the third feast, The feast of Firstfruits it starts on the second day of the feast of unleavened bread. Firstfruits commemorates the beginning of harvest season. The first stalks of grain cut at harvest were given to God and he accepted them as a pledge for a full harvest. First fruits speaks of resurrection. On the first day of the week, Jesus rose up from the grave. The fourth feast was called The feast of weeks. It followed seven weeks and one day after first fruits, or 50 days after first fruits. The Feast of Weeks basically celebrated the conclusion of the Passover season and of the seven-week spring harvest and the beginning of the next season or harvest. In this way the Feast of Weeks speaks of inauguration or beginnings of a new season. In the no-loose strings tapestry of God s story, the ultimate new beginning starts with the internal empowering of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost the Greek term for 50th. Acts 2 describes the event. While Jesus followers were gathered in a house, celebrating the Feast of Weeks, a sound like a violent rushing wind fills the room and flames of fire rest on each disciple, and they are filled with the Holy Spirit and though they are all from Galilee, they begin to speak in different foreign languages, with the result that many of the Jews from different parts of the world who were also there celebrating the Jewish feast day and were looking on at all this commotion could actually hear the wonders of God being declared in their own languages. Some thought they were all just drunk so Peter stands up and preaches one of the most powerful sermons ever preached, explaining Jesus as the promised Messiah. Many of those listening were cut to the heart and 3000 of them had their eyes opened to Jesus as Messiah and they were baptized. And with this and with a few other miracles, the Church movement was born. From this point forward the number of converts to Christianity increases rapidly in Jerusalem. As you might imagine, the preaching of Peter and John attracts the attention of the religious leaders who killed Jesus and thought they had killed this whole Jesus movement. They arrested Peter and John, which gave them the opportunity to preach to them. After warning them not to preach any more, they released them but Peter and John were compelled to go on preaching in submission to God s calling on them. As the number of converts increase, of course policy and procedures increase, and some measures are taken to organize the church ministry. This brings us into the second movement the growth movement where the church begins to take on

4 4 some structure. Growth: Organization of the Church (Acts 6) Peter organizes a relief effort for needy Christians. Those who have possessions can sell them and give money to the apostles, who distribute it according to the needs. The deacons are chosen to look after the material/physical needs of the church while the apostles attend to the spiritual needs. Converts in the church were increasing, but of course that means resistance by the opposition was increasing too which soon led to persecution and the first Christian martyr, which is our third movement. Persecution: The first Christian Martyr (Acts 7) One of the early preachers at this time was named Stephen. Like Peter and John, he too was arrested by the Sanhedrin that religious governing body made up of Pharisees and Sadducees. And like Peter and John, he too preached to the Sanhedrin and gives his From Garden to Glory overview of Israel s story up to that point. Stephen s message is outstanding, but it seems his altar call was a little too confrontational and he paid for it with his life. Look at Acts 7: This incident kicks off a round of persecution against new Christians that is so severe that many of them have to flee Jerusalem for their very lives. As they do, they take the message of the good news of Jesus with them to the surrounding provinces of Judea and Samaria. This now moves us into the fourth main movement of the church. A missionary to the Gentiles (Acts 8-12) When Stephen is stoned to death, verse 59 of chapter 7, Luke mentions what seems like an odd and random detail. Luke writes, Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man by the name of Saul. Then in 8:1 it says, And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. Saul, we soon discover is a zealous Pharisee who is self described as the top of his class in all ways, circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. The phrase used to describe his persecution of Jesus followers is the phrase sometimes used to describe the ravages of wild animals. Paul s was not a simple arrest and slap on the wrist. One day as he was on another Christian safari to hunt down and kill Christians in Damascus, Jesus appears to him. READ Acts 9:1-16.

5 5 After three days his sight is restored and God hooks him up with some other Jesus followers and changes his name from Saul to Paul, apostle to the Gentiles. I wonder what Paul thought when Jesus told him that. Bad enough that he s radically changed his heart to become a Jesus follower, but he s also going to reach out to Gentiles? Must have blown Paul s mind. Because of his seriously bad reputation as a Christian persecutor and killer, it takes a little doing but with the help of Barnabas, the Jesus followers eventually come to trust that he s not just setting them up or feigning to be a believer to infiltrate their movement in order to get access to them. Saul now begins to convince other Jews that Jesus is the Christ and the hunter now becomes the hunted as his former Jewish supporters plot to kill him. But, his newfound Christian brothers protect him and enables him to seek sanctuary in his hometown of Tarsus. Shortly after this, Cornelius, a very spiritually devout Gentile, a Roman Centurion to be exact, who lives in the Mediterranean coastal town of Caesarea is minding his own business one afternoon when an angel comes to visit him. The angel basically tells him that God has seen his devotion and sincerity and wants him to send for a man by the name of Peter who is staying in Joppa (a town just north of modern day Tel Aviv). He doesn t tell Corny anything else. Just, go get Peter. So, Corny, being a high ranking guy, dispatches his servants straightway to go get Peter. Now, MEANWHILE, the very next day as Corney s guys are heading to Joppa, the Apostle Peter has a threefold vision in which the Lord shows him that what had previously been unlawful and defiling for a Jew to do is now permitted. Since Peter was a man, God used food to get the point across, but the intent of the vision opened Peter s eyes to God s desire for the message of the gospel is to be taken to the Gentiles also. While Peter was still trying to digest the food dream (pardon the pun), the Holy Spirit whispers to him letting him know that the Gentile men who are at his front door are acting on the Spirit s own prompting. And Peter should go with them. Keep in mind, he has no idea who these guys are, or what they want with him. He simply steps out in obedience to the Spirit s leading. The next day, Peter and the men head back to Cornelius s house in Caesarea. In anticipation of what God has in store with Peter s visit, Corney invites all his relatives and close friends. When Peter arrives the full weight of the vision God had shown him settles over him, so he enters Corney s house and stands in front of a room full of eager Gentiles still without a clue as to why they called for him or what God is up to. So, Cornelius explains that in his prayer time four days earlier an angel appeared to

6 6 him and said, Go get Peter because you need to hear what he has to says. So that s what I did and now you are here and we are all ears. What does God want you to say to us? Now listen to the word of God from Peter s own lips. Read Acts 10: After this of course, Peter got called for the We ve never done it that way committee, but he explained how the Spirit of God orchestrated the entire meeting and while he was speaking Pentecost II happened. So the whole committee praised God. This stunning movement of the Spirit marks a massive transition in the nature of the Church, because up to this time, the message of Jesus has been circulated exclusively to the Jews. But now the Spirit was showing them that anyone who repents and believes on the Lord Jesus receives forgiveness and is reconciled to God. The presence and initiative of the Holy Spirit in the launching of the movement of the Church is stunning. The church starts with the Spirit, is established by the Spirit, expanded by the Spirit, and nurtured by the Spirit. These events and those who were a part of them offer us some important reminders. The Spirit was on the move through the Church then and there is no reason to think that anything has changed. Nor, are we to allow it to change and think that it s up to our ingenuity and ability. Remember, not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord. We must learn to sense the Spirit s movements and directions. In Cornelius and Peter s case they both were in prayer and listening when the Spirit prompted them and spoke to them. Too many of us are not giving the Spirit time and space to guide us. We must trust and obey, even when we don t fully understand. I think it stunning how surrendered and obedient Cornelius and Peter were and then how willingly the other Jewish believers were to embrace what the Spirit was doing even though they had never done it that way before. From prompting to prompting, whisper to whisper, the Spirit graciously gave them confirmations along the way to help them understand what he was doing. But, the Spirit led them they walked in obedience. Church of the Foothills 2014