Get Up and Go! | Acts 8-11
This message was preached at Sherwood Community Friends Church on Sunday, October 22, 2023. You can watch the video in full by clicking below.
“I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry-even though I was formerly a blashphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’-and I am the worst of them. But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
This video is called “Me at the zoo” and its star is YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim. This was the first video on YouTube and has “gone viral” with 290,593,540 views since April 23, 2005.
A few weeks ago, Bob brought to mind that playlist that you just can’t help but share with your friends when you hit the road.
Or how about that lit vacation you took this summer and how you just can’t help but spill the tea about your favorite restaurants, travel hacks, and post-worthy photo spots?
When we are excited about something, we are eager to share about it. We want it to go viral!
Across the country today, hundreds of other churches watched that same video and are having the same conversation around church planting as we are here in the Northwest. We talk about church planting because we know the impact Jesus has had on our lives and we want Jesus to go viral throughout our neighborhoods.
When I was first introduced to the idea of church planting, I had a mix of thoughts, not all of them exactly positive.
Why do we need more churches? Aren’t there enough? Can’t we just focus on the churches that already exist?
Shouldn’t we be focused on sending missionaries to places that haven’t heard of Jesus yet?
Church planting might be fine for some people, but that’s just not for me. That’s not my gifting or calling.
But the more I've delved into church planting, especially in recent years, I've come to see its significance today. It's not just about popping up new churches for the sake of it. It is a powerful tool to spread the good news.
If we believe that God can and will bring revival to our land, then the churches we have currently will not hold them. In Sherwood alone, our population is about 20,000, but the churches we have currently could not even hold 50% if God swept through our town.
When we send missionaries across the world, like David and Tricia Howell, we send them expecting for them to build faith communities, centered around the study of Scripture. The hope is that, when we send support internationally, there would be some form of local church planting there. Why would we not expect the same here?
And as far as church planting not being for me? What if that’s me simply being overwhelmed at the risk of starting something new? What if my fear and insecurity creeps in and tells me that I’m not the right person for that? It’s the same lie we believe when we don’t think we can share the good news of Jesus with those in our lives. “I’m not called to that.”
But Jesus movements have not been driven by those who we would consider equipped. This is a quote from Global Church Planting:
“...Although the apostles and evangelists had a role to play, the outward expansion of the church came primarily through the witness of lay believers as they moved to other regions. Historically, church multiplication has almost always been primarily from “Jesus movements” (lay driven and evangelistic).” (Ott & Wilson, p67)
What this means is that the most powerful expansions of Jesus the world has seen, Acts included, was not driven by a handful of what we would call “qualified” people - people with degrees or vocational ministers. Jesus went viral because of the ordinary believers who followed the command to preach the gospel.
If we are going to experience a disciple-making movement, it will take all kinds of people making all kinds of disciples. And one of the most impactful ways to do this is through all kinds of churches.
Let’s turn to the Bible. We are going to pick up where Bob left off last week, in Acts 8. If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn there. In fact, I would encourage it today. We are going to cover a lot of ground - 4 chapters.
A brief recap, the first Christian martyr Stephen was killed under the advisment and encouragement of Saul. Saul’s rampage continued throughout the land as he tore families apart and imprisoned followers of the Way.
“So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the word.”
Persecution didn’t lead to hiding or self-preservation. Even more than that playlist or vacation hotspot or favorite video, these followers of the Way were focused on two things: staying alive and preaching the word.
Go Where God Leads You
Our first point for today is to Go Where God Leads You.
“Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them.”
While Philip was in Samaria, the people both listened to Philip proclaim the Messiah AND observed him perform miracles, like casting out demons or healing the paralyzed. It says that because of Philip’s presence, there was “great joy in that city.” (8:8)
After Philip’s time was up in Samaria, he went back to Jerusalem. But then…
“An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.) So he got up and went.”
Sometimes we don’t know why the Spirit leads the way that it does. Wouldn’t it be so nice if an angel spoke to us so clearly? And this didn’t just happen one time. It happened again.
“The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”
We might not experience an audible voice like Philip. But God still directs your path in the same way. Pulling you here or there because it means that you will intersect with someone who he is trying to draw near to himself. And he’s inviting you to be a part of that person’s life!
Philip intersected an Ethiopian eunuch who was in that chariot. The eunuch was reading from Isaiah 53. Because of Philip’s obedience, he showed up in the life of that man at just this right moment.
“The eunuch said to Philip, ‘I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about - himself or someone else? Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture.”
Now, this was taking place as they were continuing to travel along the road. They came across some water, and the eunuch asked Philip to baptize him, which Philip did. And then…
“When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer but went on his way rejoicing.”
Whether we are seeking to multiply a church or to make disciples, we must first look to see where the Spirit is leading us. Who does he put around us? Who are we able to impact?
Confront Our Wrong Ideas
Our next point to consider for multiplication is that we need to confront our wrong ideas.
Saul
Do you remember where we began today? Saul was persecuting followers of Jesus, breaking up churches and imprisoning the people..
“Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”
Let’s make no mistake. Saul was a murderous man. But despite his actions, I get Saul. I get why he was so passionate about protecting what he thought was God’s law. He thought he was protecing the ways of God that he studied, lived, and enforced. It took a personal revelation from Jesus to Paul to course correct him.
“As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ Who are you, Lord?’ Saul said. ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,’ he replied. ‘But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’”
Get up and go…
But God doesn’t stop with Paul’s experience and conversion. How many of you think that would be enough to set Paul straight? Luke, the author of Acts, could have skipped the next 6 verses and just kept the focus on Saul. After all, it was Saul, or as you might know him, Paul that wrote over 23% of the New Testament. If you combined all of his letters into one book, this is more than even any of the 4 Gospels. But in enters Ananias.
“There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ ‘Here I am Lord,’ he replied. ‘Get up and go…to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there.’”
Now, Ananias was hesitant to say the least.
‘Lord…I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.’
Ananias had legitimate fear. The Lord was sending him to encounter the very man who was imprisoning his fellow Christians, who had killed Stephen. But God was clear with Ananias:
“But the Lord said to him, ‘Go for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’”
So what did Ananias do? He went. Not only did he go to meet Paul, but he placed his hands on him, and told him that God sent him so he might be filled with the Holy Spirit. Scales fell from Paul’s eyes and he regained his sight, since he had been blinded during his encounter on the road.
He was then baptized and remained with the disciples in Damascus for some time. We then see the effects of Paul’s ministry, the scattered followers’ preaching of the Gospel, and Peter’s healings throughout the next verses.
“Immediately he [Saul] began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: ‘He is the Son of God.‘
“So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.”
“So all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him [Aeneas be healed] and turned to the Lord.”
“This [Tabitha’s resurrection] became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”
Peter
Now to our second case study: Peter
If you are new to reading the Bible, you might be unclear about a Jew versus a Gentile and why this even matters. A Jew is someone from the lineage of Abraham. A Gentile is anyone who wasn’t a Jew. The lines were thick between the two. There were laws in the Old Testament that restricted certain interactions, but as you can imagine, humans twisted these laws and increased the distance between the two groups. So when Luke sets up the story for us in Luke 10, we should pay attention.
“There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment. He was a devout man and feared God along with his whole household. He did many charitable deeds for the Jewish people and always prayed to God.”
God was already doing something here in Cornelius. He prepared the way for what was going to happen next. God spoke to him in a dream and told him to send for Peter.
Now, the next day, Peter had a vision of “unclean” food - that is, food forbidden by the Jewish law. God told Peter to eat, but Peter refused at first, because it was unclean. God replied.
“Again, a second time, the voice said to him, ‘What God has made clean, do not call impure.”
God gave him this same vision three times and then the men from Cornelius showed up.
Do you see it? Do you see how God was working in both parties for something great that is coming?
“While Peter was thinking about the vision, the Spirit told him, ‘Three men are here looking for you. Get up and go downstairs, and go with them with no doubts at all, because I have sent them.”
Again, get up and go.
So Peter went. He went and explained his personal beliefs, that he shouldn’t even be at Cornelius’s house. But he recognized that God’s commands were greater than his personal convictions. It leads to the first Gentiles to be converted to become followers of the Way.
“Peter began to speak: “Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism, but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
Peter then goes on to tell the full story of Jesus of Nazareth, his death, his resurrection, and the proof of his resurrection through hundreds of witnesses. He then affirms the command to preach and testify, so that “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.” 10:43
“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.”
Peter then goes on in the first part of Acts 11 reporting back to the others in Jerusalem. They are resistant to the message, that Gentiles can experience salvation and the Holy Spirit. Peter continues with them -
“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as on us at the beginning. I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘ John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If, then, God gave them the same gift that he also gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?’
How could I possibly hinder God?
How can I get in the way of what God is doing? Who am I that I think that my way, that my experience, that my witness is the only way that God can work or move in the lives of others?
Again, we discover where the Holy Spirit is moving and we go with him. Call it whatever you would like - discipleship, multiplication, evangelism.
As Peter put it, “He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead.” (10:42)
Exponential Equation
We are open to the Holy Spirit’s leading. We have confronted our wrong ideas. Now we get ready for the exponential equation.
As we wrap up our journey through these 4 meaty chapters in Acts, we will circle back to where we started. Acts 8:4
“So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the word.”
The scattering that took place pushed the disciples, along with the word they preached, far into the world as they knew it. And then there was this convergence onto Antioch.
“But there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.”
These that were scattered, yet preached the Gospel near and far, had the Lord’s hand on them. This led to a large multiplying of disciples. And it happened again when Barnabas traveled to the church in Antioch because word had traveled all the way to Jerusalem about what was happening.
And we see from Barnabas’s encouragement “large numbers of people were added to the Lord.” 11:24
Barnabas got up and went to see what was happening in Antioch. Then he got up and went to find Paul to bring him back to this new church in Antioch. The people were hungry for God. Paul and Barnabas stayed for a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching large numbers.
And it was here at Antioch that the followers were first called “Christians,” which means “little Christs.”
Jamie read 1 Timothy 1:12-17 at the beginning of this message. This is known as Paul’s Testimony. I’ll read again the second half.
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’-and I am the worst of them. But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the most lost of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate HIS extraordinary strength, glory, love power, joy, victory, goodness - as an example to those who would believe in HIM for eternal life.
The first few times I read Acts, I wrestled with this tension of amazement of the disciples and their bravery and feeling so absolutely inadequate to be in any way a part of this type of movement now.
But instead of listening to the voice of the enemy, which feeds me fear and insecurity, I chose to say yes today to getting up and going for his kingdom. The church in Acts went viral. I believe the same power and Holy Spirit from that day can do the same today.
Like Peter or Paul - Do you have a wrong idea that needs to be uprooted?
Like Philip, Paul, Ananias, Peter, and Barnabas - How will you “get up and go” this week?
What is the Spirit inviting me into with church planting - praying, giving, or going?
We covered a lot of ground today. I encourage you to, if you haven’t been following with the suggested Bible reading schedule in the weekly newsletter, to spend some time this week studying Acts 8-11, asking the Holy Spirit to keep your heart open for what he’s saying to you.
As we close our service today, we will be singing two songs that will leave you empowered as you get up and go from this building to be the church in a world that needs Jesus.
