Scripture: Acts 3:1-16,
Listen Link: https://www.lcepc.org/sermons
How many of you can testify to a real miracle? (We heard several good testimonies!)
But nothing compares to the amazing miracles that were happening in the early church! It's easy to focus on the miracles and think, “Wow! Wouldn’t that be awesome if we could do that today? Why doesn’t that kind of thing still happen in God’s Church, just the way it did right after Pentecost? I mean, we still serve the same God, right? Still the same power, still the same Lord Jesus, still the same authority in that name. So why is ministry so different for us?
The short answer is, we live in a different culture. I often wrestle with trying to understand the right reasons why we don’t see more miracles in our day. It seems that if I had faith like Peter, I could visit the hospital and lay my hands on every patient in there and send them home well! Wouldn’t that glorify God, as long as I kept telling everyone that it is by the power of the name of Jesus, wouldn’t that be great?
So why doesn’t it work that way? Is it that I don’t have enough faith to believe God would do that? Or too scared to try? This is a good place to tell you about an early experience I had within six months of being born again, way back in 1978. I was walking home alone in the city of New Rochelle, NY, where I grew up. I was on an empty city block, just me and God, and some trash blowing around in one of those little whirl winds that some people call dust devils.
I knew God wasn’t pleased to see all that garbage swirling around. I knew that I couldn’t pick it all up without his help because it was just blowing all around. So I prayed, “Lord, if you’ll use that dust devil to bring the trash over to that garbage can up ahead, I’ll be able to catch it all and put it where it belongs, ok?” Well, I thought I really meant it, but I guess I didn’t really expect God to actually do it! I wish I could say that God and I worked together and cleaned up that mess. But in realty I was so shocked by what I saw God doing that that I just kept going. Sad to say, I nearly high tailed it out of there! I still wonder what my ministry would really be like today if I had not run from God’s power then. And, I hope I have learned my lesson.
From experience, in my own walk with God, in the beginning, he blessed me miraculously so that I knew for sure that he is real. But as I grow, I learn that God wants me to love the giver, more than the giving, love the healer, more than the healing, so he gives me less obvious miracles nowadays and fewer too, and I find that I can still trust him anyway. Many others have written similarly about growing up in Christ.
So, does that mean my faith is now so mature or my theology so developed that I believe God doesn’t do miracles that way anymore? Is it that such amazing miraculous power was for the early church, and now we live by more faith that believes God is good even if he doesn’t do such great miracles the way he used to in the beginning? Could it be that as the Church matures, the faith community as a whole, does not need so many miracles to go on believing? True for the Church maybe. But what about for the unbelievers around me?
Is it me? Or is it them? Even Jesus admitted that he couldn’t do many miracles in his home town where people didn’t believe he had power from God because they grew up with him and therefore, “knew” that he was just a guy like them. People today are the same, they have heard about Jesus, so they think they know about him. But in their minds, he’s just a good moral teacher who spoke mostly about loving one another. So, does that mean that the potential recipients around us are too lacking in faith, not seeking God, and would not thank God for any healing? No matter how miraculous, they would just be glad it happened, without even knowing who to thank! Is that the situation we’re in? Maybe.
On the other hand, miracles are still much more frequent where missionaries are working hard to spread the gospel, in places where the recipients are led to faith by such signs. Miracles still happen for new believers who are just starting to learn how much God loves them. Miracles do occasionally happen even for older saints, when that is the only kind of provision that will meet their need.
So, let’s draw this conclusion about miracles and signs of God’s power. If we want to see more miracles, we must be actively involved in ministry, doing the work of evangelism. For a miracle to be truly useful to God, it ought to be public, and witnessed by unbelievers who demand an explanation. Then we may see God provide many miracles, but for THEM, the ones we are leading to faith, not for us, except in answer to our prayers for them. And it is very important that we bring out Jesus’ name. Jesus’ name is God’s calling card. We definitely want people to know who sent us and not let them think we’re working on or own.
Therefore, the next time you are carefully and caringly listening to someone talking to you about something they’re struggling with, no matter what it is, from financial lack to employment needs, to health or relationship issues, first, James 2:15-16 says this: “Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?” The meaning is, if it is within your power to help, God wants you to help. Seize the moment. If you’re thinking, “Should I, or shouldn’t I,” ask yourself, “Why would God tell me not to?”
However, if you are in a situation dealing with a need you really have no power to change, as Peter did with the lame man at the temple, then say, “I have no power of my own to do anything about your problem, but the name of Jesus is powerful in deed. Let’s talk with God about it.” Then watch what happens!
But for now, let’s shift over to look at some additional principles of ministry that we can learn here. We should have an interest in godly and God powered ministry that gives an opportunity to leave God’s calling card. So, let’s first, notice, that Peter and John were together. “Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service.” They were a ministry team. Ministry in teams is seen all over the New Testament. Jesus sent them out two by two. When Peter rose to preach the first sermon on Pentecost, the eleven stood with him. When he talked of his witness, he said, “We are his witnesses.” Peter was not a lone voice. He had a ministry team backing him when he spoke. Later when the Holy Spirit called for a new ministry from Antioch, he said set Paul and Barnabas. And even after they broke up, each one of them took another partner along in the next phase of ministry.
The Old Testament speaks to the value of team ministry too. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 gives four benefits of team ministry. Verse 9 says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.” That means greater fruitfulness for teams. Verse 10 says, “If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” Team members can help each other through times of trouble, better than a loner could get through by himself, or herself. Verse 11 says, “Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone?” That can refer to the warmth of affirmation in times of need.
You can run into a time of discouragement and just want to give up. But your partner might say, “yeah, that was hard. But come on, lest keep going.” And so, you carry on, whereas if you had been by yourself you might have just gone home. Maybe if I had been walking with a Christian friend that night he wouldn’t have been as shocked as me and would have stopped me from being scared, and together we would have cleaned up that street.
Verse 12 says, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” Attacks will come! Teams have greater strength to withstand attacks.
A book about ministry leadership called, “Canoeing the Mountains” has an insight about the importance of ministry in teams. Over all, the book is about how modern culture around us and outside the church has changed, from what it used to be, to what it is today. They point out that ministry must also change from what it used to be, to what it needs to be today, in order to be more effective and fruitful these days. The insight I want to share with you today is that the days of the Pastor or even church leadership doing everything for the ministry are gone. Now, if regular Christians, church members, don't grab the vision and work together as a team, we cannot succeed. Each member of the body must be fully functioning in its special role in the body. Each of us of us has a part to play.
Those of us who are reading the Chronological Bible would have also seen this principle at work in Acts 6, that we read on Friday. There they solved a problem by creating a new team to facilitate a new area of ministry concern. “Brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility.” The body of Christ is made up of many members, and each member has his or her own spiritual gifts to employ in ministry. The first miracle that we could see is the miracle of a diverse group of people working together harmoniously, all devoted to the same cause of Christ.
Another minor miracle could be the way we will start giving glory to God for all the positive things that begin to happen among us as we learn new ways of working together in Jesus’ name and leave God’s calling card everywhere we go. The natural mind wants to argue about who is the greatest among us. We saw that in Jesus’ disciples during the three years that he was training them before his death and resurrection. It would not be wise for any of us to think we are immune from that temptation.
But when these same Apostles were filled with the Spirit, Peter and his companions no longer argued about who is the greatest, or any greatness at all. Instead Peter said, “Why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this.” When we minister by faith in the name of Jesus, we can all see God’s power on display. Anyone can serve in the name of Jesus.
Besides team ministry and everyone working together ministry, another principle of good gospel ministry is that of getting the message right and well balanced. Our message has to be complete enough for people to understand where sin comes from, why they are guilty by default and captives that need to be set free by God’s power. We have to know who we are talking to, know what they think about, and what might keep them from believing our message so that we can lead them through their objections and into the truth. The gospel is always good news. But for that good news to be relevant we must often present the bad news of sin that needs the good news of forgiveness.
All this will make for a well-rounded or wholistic ministry that includes compassionate concern for the poor and needy, coupled with the truth about God that they need to hear in order to receive God’s provision for their deepest need of forgiveness and new life in Christ.
When we do ministry, we want to connect with actual people. In the power of the name of Jesus, care about somebody who needs a hand. It’s good if God makes it public, so we can do it in a big way, but we’re not publicity seekers. By “big way” I really mean a big sacrifice that we make to bless them! If we do this with humility and love, if we work together well, and if we tell the full gospel message in the power of Jesus’ name, leaving God’s calling card, we will see miracles of new birth happening right before our eyes, and then we’ll all be leaping for joy! Amen.
Listen Link: https://www.lcepc.org/sermons
How many of you can testify to a real miracle? (We heard several good testimonies!)
But nothing compares to the amazing miracles that were happening in the early church! It's easy to focus on the miracles and think, “Wow! Wouldn’t that be awesome if we could do that today? Why doesn’t that kind of thing still happen in God’s Church, just the way it did right after Pentecost? I mean, we still serve the same God, right? Still the same power, still the same Lord Jesus, still the same authority in that name. So why is ministry so different for us?
The short answer is, we live in a different culture. I often wrestle with trying to understand the right reasons why we don’t see more miracles in our day. It seems that if I had faith like Peter, I could visit the hospital and lay my hands on every patient in there and send them home well! Wouldn’t that glorify God, as long as I kept telling everyone that it is by the power of the name of Jesus, wouldn’t that be great?
So why doesn’t it work that way? Is it that I don’t have enough faith to believe God would do that? Or too scared to try? This is a good place to tell you about an early experience I had within six months of being born again, way back in 1978. I was walking home alone in the city of New Rochelle, NY, where I grew up. I was on an empty city block, just me and God, and some trash blowing around in one of those little whirl winds that some people call dust devils.
I knew God wasn’t pleased to see all that garbage swirling around. I knew that I couldn’t pick it all up without his help because it was just blowing all around. So I prayed, “Lord, if you’ll use that dust devil to bring the trash over to that garbage can up ahead, I’ll be able to catch it all and put it where it belongs, ok?” Well, I thought I really meant it, but I guess I didn’t really expect God to actually do it! I wish I could say that God and I worked together and cleaned up that mess. But in realty I was so shocked by what I saw God doing that that I just kept going. Sad to say, I nearly high tailed it out of there! I still wonder what my ministry would really be like today if I had not run from God’s power then. And, I hope I have learned my lesson.
From experience, in my own walk with God, in the beginning, he blessed me miraculously so that I knew for sure that he is real. But as I grow, I learn that God wants me to love the giver, more than the giving, love the healer, more than the healing, so he gives me less obvious miracles nowadays and fewer too, and I find that I can still trust him anyway. Many others have written similarly about growing up in Christ.
So, does that mean my faith is now so mature or my theology so developed that I believe God doesn’t do miracles that way anymore? Is it that such amazing miraculous power was for the early church, and now we live by more faith that believes God is good even if he doesn’t do such great miracles the way he used to in the beginning? Could it be that as the Church matures, the faith community as a whole, does not need so many miracles to go on believing? True for the Church maybe. But what about for the unbelievers around me?
Is it me? Or is it them? Even Jesus admitted that he couldn’t do many miracles in his home town where people didn’t believe he had power from God because they grew up with him and therefore, “knew” that he was just a guy like them. People today are the same, they have heard about Jesus, so they think they know about him. But in their minds, he’s just a good moral teacher who spoke mostly about loving one another. So, does that mean that the potential recipients around us are too lacking in faith, not seeking God, and would not thank God for any healing? No matter how miraculous, they would just be glad it happened, without even knowing who to thank! Is that the situation we’re in? Maybe.
On the other hand, miracles are still much more frequent where missionaries are working hard to spread the gospel, in places where the recipients are led to faith by such signs. Miracles still happen for new believers who are just starting to learn how much God loves them. Miracles do occasionally happen even for older saints, when that is the only kind of provision that will meet their need.
So, let’s draw this conclusion about miracles and signs of God’s power. If we want to see more miracles, we must be actively involved in ministry, doing the work of evangelism. For a miracle to be truly useful to God, it ought to be public, and witnessed by unbelievers who demand an explanation. Then we may see God provide many miracles, but for THEM, the ones we are leading to faith, not for us, except in answer to our prayers for them. And it is very important that we bring out Jesus’ name. Jesus’ name is God’s calling card. We definitely want people to know who sent us and not let them think we’re working on or own.
Therefore, the next time you are carefully and caringly listening to someone talking to you about something they’re struggling with, no matter what it is, from financial lack to employment needs, to health or relationship issues, first, James 2:15-16 says this: “Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?” The meaning is, if it is within your power to help, God wants you to help. Seize the moment. If you’re thinking, “Should I, or shouldn’t I,” ask yourself, “Why would God tell me not to?”
However, if you are in a situation dealing with a need you really have no power to change, as Peter did with the lame man at the temple, then say, “I have no power of my own to do anything about your problem, but the name of Jesus is powerful in deed. Let’s talk with God about it.” Then watch what happens!
But for now, let’s shift over to look at some additional principles of ministry that we can learn here. We should have an interest in godly and God powered ministry that gives an opportunity to leave God’s calling card. So, let’s first, notice, that Peter and John were together. “Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service.” They were a ministry team. Ministry in teams is seen all over the New Testament. Jesus sent them out two by two. When Peter rose to preach the first sermon on Pentecost, the eleven stood with him. When he talked of his witness, he said, “We are his witnesses.” Peter was not a lone voice. He had a ministry team backing him when he spoke. Later when the Holy Spirit called for a new ministry from Antioch, he said set Paul and Barnabas. And even after they broke up, each one of them took another partner along in the next phase of ministry.
The Old Testament speaks to the value of team ministry too. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 gives four benefits of team ministry. Verse 9 says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.” That means greater fruitfulness for teams. Verse 10 says, “If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” Team members can help each other through times of trouble, better than a loner could get through by himself, or herself. Verse 11 says, “Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone?” That can refer to the warmth of affirmation in times of need.
You can run into a time of discouragement and just want to give up. But your partner might say, “yeah, that was hard. But come on, lest keep going.” And so, you carry on, whereas if you had been by yourself you might have just gone home. Maybe if I had been walking with a Christian friend that night he wouldn’t have been as shocked as me and would have stopped me from being scared, and together we would have cleaned up that street.
Verse 12 says, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” Attacks will come! Teams have greater strength to withstand attacks.
A book about ministry leadership called, “Canoeing the Mountains” has an insight about the importance of ministry in teams. Over all, the book is about how modern culture around us and outside the church has changed, from what it used to be, to what it is today. They point out that ministry must also change from what it used to be, to what it needs to be today, in order to be more effective and fruitful these days. The insight I want to share with you today is that the days of the Pastor or even church leadership doing everything for the ministry are gone. Now, if regular Christians, church members, don't grab the vision and work together as a team, we cannot succeed. Each member of the body must be fully functioning in its special role in the body. Each of us of us has a part to play.
Those of us who are reading the Chronological Bible would have also seen this principle at work in Acts 6, that we read on Friday. There they solved a problem by creating a new team to facilitate a new area of ministry concern. “Brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility.” The body of Christ is made up of many members, and each member has his or her own spiritual gifts to employ in ministry. The first miracle that we could see is the miracle of a diverse group of people working together harmoniously, all devoted to the same cause of Christ.
Another minor miracle could be the way we will start giving glory to God for all the positive things that begin to happen among us as we learn new ways of working together in Jesus’ name and leave God’s calling card everywhere we go. The natural mind wants to argue about who is the greatest among us. We saw that in Jesus’ disciples during the three years that he was training them before his death and resurrection. It would not be wise for any of us to think we are immune from that temptation.
But when these same Apostles were filled with the Spirit, Peter and his companions no longer argued about who is the greatest, or any greatness at all. Instead Peter said, “Why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this.” When we minister by faith in the name of Jesus, we can all see God’s power on display. Anyone can serve in the name of Jesus.
Besides team ministry and everyone working together ministry, another principle of good gospel ministry is that of getting the message right and well balanced. Our message has to be complete enough for people to understand where sin comes from, why they are guilty by default and captives that need to be set free by God’s power. We have to know who we are talking to, know what they think about, and what might keep them from believing our message so that we can lead them through their objections and into the truth. The gospel is always good news. But for that good news to be relevant we must often present the bad news of sin that needs the good news of forgiveness.
All this will make for a well-rounded or wholistic ministry that includes compassionate concern for the poor and needy, coupled with the truth about God that they need to hear in order to receive God’s provision for their deepest need of forgiveness and new life in Christ.
When we do ministry, we want to connect with actual people. In the power of the name of Jesus, care about somebody who needs a hand. It’s good if God makes it public, so we can do it in a big way, but we’re not publicity seekers. By “big way” I really mean a big sacrifice that we make to bless them! If we do this with humility and love, if we work together well, and if we tell the full gospel message in the power of Jesus’ name, leaving God’s calling card, we will see miracles of new birth happening right before our eyes, and then we’ll all be leaping for joy! Amen.
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