Gospels: May 2009

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Peter preaches to the crowd - 3:11-26

Acts 3:11-26

11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Peter began by ascribing all credit to Jesus, “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this...?” Presumably making a gesture which pointed to themselves, "...why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?” Rather he redirected their assumption to Jesus, by whose powerful name the miracle had been done. So, as Peter specifically and intentionally points to and honors Jesus, he goes straight into aggressively describing the four ways they have dishonored Jesus:

...you delivered over...In other words, you had him killed...
...denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him...in other words, even a sinful pagan saw him as innocent, but you were so blind by your own deception that you had your own savior murdered...
...you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you...this ignorance is pretty easy to see...
...you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead...Peter shows them how powerful they really are - not at all!

The most amazing feature of Peter’s second sermon is its Christological center. He directed the crowd’s attention away from the healed cripple and the apostles to the Christ whom men disowned by killing him but was vindicated by raising him, and whose name, having been appropriated by faith, was strong enough to heal the man completely.

Peter ends his sermon by challenging his hearers with the necessity and the blessings of repentance, “I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.” Here Peter is making more than a true statement, but he is speaking their Old Covenant language to them. Although they did not know what they were doing, God was not ignorant, for in his predestined plan he had it all under control, "what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled". However, just because God had planned this, and Jesus gave his life freely, it did not relieve them from their fault. So, what does Peter call them to do, "repent...and turn again" Then there would follow three successive blessings:

...that your sins may be blotted out...Exaleipho means to wash off, erase, obliterate. It is used in the book of Revelation both of God who wipes away our tears and of Christ who refuses to erase our name from the book of life.
...that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord...The Greek word anapsyxis can mean rest, relief, respite or refreshment. God does not wipe away our sins without adding his rest for our spirits. Sin, idolatry, and religion are so weighty, they wear us out, they hold us down, but when Christ saves us and erases our sins, he also pours his rest into us....
...and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus...During the present interim period he continuously gives us his forgiveness and his refreshment, yet he himself must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. The word, apokatastasis is more naturally understood of the eschatological ‘restoration’, which Jesus called a ‘regeneration (Matthew 19:28),’ when nature will be liberated from its bondage to pain and decay and God will make a new heaven and earth, the final perfection awaits the return of Christ.

Now Peter goes into three major prophetic elements which are associated with Moses, Samuel, and Abraham:

...Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’
…all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days.’ Although this is a very general statement, the main reference is to God’s promise which began with Samuel, to establish the kingdom of David. Then Peter assures his hearers ‘you are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers.’
...God, saying to Abraham, ‘...in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed....’ This was a foundation promise of the OT. Consider both the beneficiaries and the nature of the promised blessings. As for the beneficiaries, ‘God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness’ the physical descendants of Abraham, as is several times emphasized by Paul. However, later Paul argues, especially in his letters to the Romans and the Galatians that the promised blessing is for all believers, including Gentiles who by faith who have become Abraham’s spiritual children—the blessing is not forgiveness only, but also righteousness.

So here are the links between the Old Testament prophecies and Jesus as seen by the Apostles: Jesus is descended from David; suffered and died for us as God’s servant; the stone the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone; raised up from the dead by God; death could not hold him down and God would not abandon him to decay; God exalted him to his right hand to wait for his final triumph; through him the spirit has been poured out; the gospel is to be preached world-wide, even to those far away; opposition to him has been foretold; people must listen to him or pay the penalty of their disobedience; and that those who do listen and respond will inherit the blessing promised to Abraham. All of this stirred up the Sanhedrin to being the persecution of the apostles

Due to the length of this blog, I am not going to define a 'let's make it personal section', however due to the fact that this passage is a sermon, maybe it would do you some good to meditate on this passage knowing more of the historical, prophetic, and Christological elements .

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The Cripple are Healed - 3:1-10

Acts 3:1-10

1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

What triggered the opposition of the Jewish authorities was the healing of the cripple, coupled with Peter's sermon which followed it. So the time and setting is that this took place shortly after the evening sacrifice and was observed by all pious Jews like Daniel and 'God-fearers' like Cornelius. The apostles arrival at the temple coincided with the arrival of a man lame from birth, who was being carried there, more than likely by friends/family, so that he could beg from those who came to worship and give alms.

The text tells us that, probably in the normal fashion, this man saw Peter and John heading into the temple, and he did the equivalnt of holding up his cardboard sign that said, "injured/crippled, need money, food, and beer". Here's what John and Peter didn't do: They didn't reason out that, "well, we litterally don't have any change, but we could heal him, however if we heal him he may just walk to the nearest tavern and have a few beers..." They weren't concerned with what he would do with the gift, they simply gave what they had, which happened to be better than any amount of mone they said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" The result was the man followed them into the temple.

So practiacally how does this confront us?

Daily: Mission seems to be a thing we prepare for, an event we do, something we schedule, however we see no trace of this here. We don't see a previous planning meeting in which John and Peter are setting down with their 'Jesus is my Homeboy' t-shirts on planning their 'mission trip.' Not that mission trips are bad, but there is a difference between living on mission and going on a mission. When you live on mission, it happens all the time, everywhere, and anywhere: at a poker game, on your way to a movie, while your out to dinner with your spouse, or at the local bar drinking a frosty cold Guinness, wait, I mean coke. Mission is part of who we are. John and Peter had a different agenda. The problem isn't having a different agenda than God does, the problem comes in when we are unwilling to embrace his agenda when he interrupts ours. This is what it means to DAILY live on mission, to live every day ready to respond to God's interruptions. So here is the question for you: How do you begin to look at the homeless, the cripples, the marginalized, the lost that you pass daily as people who may need what you have. Maybe it is time to stop justifying our inaction with our 'lack of planning' and be ready to give open-handedly when Jesus interupts our lives with those who are broken!
Intentionally: Though this probably wasn't part of John and Peter's plan, they had passed this man many times as they followed Jesus, but more than passing this man many times, they had watched Jesus many times go out of his way to meet the needs of those who are broken. It's as if Jesus lived with more than an 'end-result' vision, but also a daily intentional vision as well, Jesus lived with his eyes wide open. This is what we see here, the disciples were living with their eyes wide open, with eyes that saw the world as Jesus did, with hearts that mourned for those who mourned, wept with those who wept, and broke for the broken. When we are saved by Jesus we no longer get the option to live our lives for ourselves, which we intentionally do before we are saved. We are called to love our neighbors with action and intentionality. So here is the question for you: How different would your day go, if you began to intentionally begin to look at those around your through the lens of the cross, through the lens of compassion, through the eyes of one who can relate, because you too were once lost, broken, and ashamed?
No Strings Attached: I love this part. I was at the first Saddleback HIV/AIDS conference. Kay Warren was speaking and she said, "one of the ways you can tell that you don't have the mind nor heart of Christ when serving someone with HIV/AIDS, is when the first question that pops in your mind is, 'I wonder how they got it' as a filter on how you will serve them." I would dare say, that another way to prove we don't have the heart/mind of Christ is when we attach strings to needs of others. If I give you this $5, you can't...you must...I will if you... Go ahead, fill in the blanks. First take that in context and stride I do believe in discretion, but here is the problem with that (1) We've never walked a mile in their shoes, how can we make requests different from what Christ made as he was handing out free healings. (2) We are given so that we can be a blessing to others, not so we can figure out some religiou way to justify being selfish with our stuff. Here is my point, and I'm gonna wrap this up, but when we are around others who are in need, our posture should be one of humility and generosity as we mimic our savior and the 1st apostles with a hear that says, "what I do have I give to you!"

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The Outbreak of Persecution - 3:1-4:31

Acts 3:1-26
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

4:1-22

1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

I know, you're thinking, "Dang-it dude, why so much text in one setting?" That's a great question, when studying scripture it is said, and I agree that one of the most effective ways to learn it and grow from it, is to read complete sections all the way through so that you can get the common thought or story. Then after you have read it, then go back and break it down, which is what we will do in the coming days...just soak in what you have read...until later...

Friday, May 22, 2009

The effect of Pentecost - 2:42-47

The Effect of Pentecost 2:42-47

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.

What we read in Acts 2:42-47 is a glimpse of the effect of Pentecost, the church; or maybe we could say, the type of church the Holy Spirit produced.

1) A Church Committed to Scripture - The very first evidence Luke mentions of the Spirit's presence in the church is that, "...they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching..." The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. The early followers of Christ did not believe that because they had received the Spirit they were in no need of authority, or someone teaching them. We live in an anti-authority age; even in the church many act and think that they have the same Bible and the same Holy Spirit that chosen leaders have, which the DO, but based off of that, they make a wrong assumption, "so we do not need to be under their teaching!" they use mantras like, "let's return to the ancient church". However, this was NOT the thought of the ancient church, in fact the most ancient of churches defined themselves, according to Acts 2:42-47, as a people devoted themselves to teaching, which implies that applying oneself to someone else's teaching; you under their authority through the means of given submission. On a corporate level a 'Spirit-filled' church is one that is dedicated to teaching, studying, and submitting itself to the scriptures.

2) A Church Committed to Community - The next element that defined them as a church was the statement, "...they devoted themselves to...fellowship..." The word for fellowship here is koinonia. Koinonia comes from word koinos wich means common, and bears witness to the common life of the church on two levels: (1) It expresses what we share in together. The first being our relationship together with the triune God. This means that koinonia is a Trinitarian experience; it is our common life in the Trinity. (2) It, koinonia, also expresses what we share together, what we give, and what we receive. Paul uses this same word to describe the collection he was facilitating through the Greek Churches. The extended version of koinonia is koinonikos which means generous. We knows this is the definition that Luke was leaning towards, as he goes on to say, "all who believed were together and had all things in common (koina). And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need." In a nutshell, GENEROSITY was how they were defined in the way they related to each other in community! One person's need became every person's need. One person's illness became everyone's illness. One person's hard times, became everyone's hard times. I had a business leader tell me, "when you have a problem it is only your problem, but when you share that problem it is our problem." This is why they could all be 'in common' because their idea of community was not showing up to talk once a week in someone's home, but it was truly living life with them as responsible family members...CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE! No wonder the world took notice of the way they lived out community! One more point, it DOESN'T say they were a RICH church, in fact we know they probably were not...let us dwell on the fact that rich-ness and generosity are not related...

3) A Church Committed to Worship - The third element that made this churh a church was, "they devoted themselves to the breaking of bread and the prayers..." They were not only marked as a scripture based community, and a generous community caring for each other, but they were also a community committed to corporate worship as well. The definite article in both expressions would translate this line to be literally, "the breaking of 'the' bread and 'the' prayers" and this suggests a reference to the taking Communion/Lord's supper, sometimes as part of a larger meal; and prayer/worship services or meetings all together. There are two aspects of the early church's worship which show it's balance: (1) It was both formal and casual as Luke tells us that it [the church] was "attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes" (2) It was both authentic and God honoring. Luke describes the reaction of the church as, "awe came upon every soul." God had visited them and continued to do so, and this produced a holy reverence, an 'awe' which postured thems in humility and wonder.

4) A Church Committed to Mission - The fourth element that described this church, was that it was a church on mission, or in the words of Luke, "...praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved..." Here is the way it worked, God is a missionary God who SENT his Son who then SENT his Holy Spirit, who then SENDS us. There are three elements we should reflect on that we gather from this text on 'what it means to be a church/person who is committed to mission.' First, it was God himself who added to their number. This does not give us the right to be passive bystanders, because we know that God added to their numbers through the preaching of the apostles, the witness of church, the counter-cultural community of love and generosity they lived in, their incarnational life (...having favor with all people...) and their example as they were praising God. I believe that there is a couple reasons Luke makes sure we understand that it was God who added to their number. It is so easy to fall into the 'look at what my new program can do' and be full of pride, or the other extreme, 'no matter how hard I try nothing works' and be full of despair leading to a life of passive sulking. So let us remember and rest in the truth that if we are truly a church/community/people committed to: (1) Scripture (2) Community (3) Worship and (4) Mission then we must remember that it is God who is doing the saving not us, although we get to be the tools that he uses in the lives of others!

SIDE NOTE: To God this is not a numbers game in that he is impressed with how many attend the church, Luke was not talking about attendance. So, who was God adding to their number? God, not programs, not shows, not specials, not lights, cameras, action, but God is adding to their/our number, those who are being saved. Salvation and church membership belonged together. The DAILY evangelism from of the church was not occasional or sporadic, but something that was the outflow of lives committed to scripture, community, worship, and mission - this is what a Spirit Filled Church Looks Like!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Peter's Testimony to Jesus - 2:22-41

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.’
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.”

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.

Peter tells the Gospel through six-elements:

1) His Life and Ministry - 2:22 - Jesus was truly a man yet he was 'attested' to them 'by God' through 'works and wonders and signs.' The word 'works' here is literally, dynameis, which lends to mean that the 'works' were a demonstration of the power of God. The word, 'wonders' is the word terata, meaning their effect was to arouse astonishment. The word, 'signs' is semeia, which makes the purpose of those signs that which embodied or signified spiritual truth. So, God did these through him, and publicly among men, to point to the reality of himself.

2) His Death - 2:23 - Peter describes Jesus as having been 'crucified and killed', partly because he was not only by the 'hands of lawless men' but also because of the 'definite plan and foreknowledge of God.' So what conclusion do we have? The death of Jesus is attributed simultaneously both to the purpose of God and to the wickedness of men. There is already an understanding that through Jesus' death God's saving purpose was being worked out. For a GREAT in-depth study on this, please read, The Cross of Christ.

3) His Resurrection - 2:24-32 - Peter confirms the truth of Jesus' resurrection by appealing to Psalm 16:8-11 in which he claims it was foretold. Let's look at three things about Peter's use of OT Scripture: (1) All scripture bears witness to Christ, especially to his death, resurrection, and his global mission. That IS its character and purpose of scripture. (2) Because of Jesus' post-resurrection teaching, his disciples came naturally to see Old Testament references to God's anointed or king, David and his royal seed, as finding their fulfillment in Jesus (3) Once this foundation is set, a Christian's reading the scriptures, Old and New Testaments, should be like that of Peter's as we look for Christ in the text. From here Peter adds, "this Jesus God raised up," to bring together the witness of the living apostles and the prediction of the Old Covenant prophets.

4) His Exaltation - 2:33-36 - Peter continues his argument by quoting the Old Testament, by applying Psalm 110 to Jesus' ascension. Jesus had already applied this verse to himself, as did Paul and the writer of Hebrews. Peter's conclusion is that all of Israel should now be assured that this Jesus has been made both Lord and Christ.

5) His Salvation - 2:37-39 - When Peter says, "cut to the heart" he is essentially saying they were convicted of sin! So, in response to that, the crowd asked, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied to them by saying, "repent", which means to completely change your mind about Jesus and your attitude about him. Then he said, "and be baptized..." which was a sign of submitting to the very Lord they lived in opposition to most of their life. They were going to kill the old self, and rise a servant to their new Lord. When we are baptized in Christ's name, showing by way of symbolism and public proclamation that we completely acknowledging his claims, subscribe to his doctrines, engage in his mission, and rely on his work of justification, regeneration, and sanctification. HOWEVER, That's not all that was to happen. IF they repented and were baptized, then Peter told them they would receive two gifts: (1) The forgiveness of their sins (2) The Gift of the Holy Spirit. The command and promises are the same for all generations and nationalities: Everyone God calls to himself through his son Jesus are also called to repentance, and the only appropriate response from us is true repentance and baptism. For that God responds with the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit! There is one more call he puts on ALL of us who have been saved by Him, and that is the call to His Community!

6) His New Community - 2:40-41 - Luke adds that this was not the end of Peter's sermon, "...with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them...", What did he exhort them about, to save yourselves from this crooked generation. What in the flip was Peter talking about? I thought only Christ could save us? Peter was not asking them nor telling them to convert themselves as individuals, rather he was calling them to what ALL followers of Christ are called to, a public identification with other believers. Being saved into Jesus meant being saved into his Body, the community of Jesus, the church! Peter was calling them to change communities, to transfer their membership from the world to the church, from the one that was crooked to the one that being saved!

Outside of being historical, what does this have to do with me: Peter really gives the first Gospel Call after the death of Jesus, so we may be wise to make sure we are daily dwelling on these six aspects so that when our time comes to herald the gospel, we don't short change the Jesus that Peter called sinners to...let's summarize:

There is no gospel call without the declaration of the death, burrial, resurrection of Jesus himself: If there is not the cross or resurrection in our gospel, then Jesus is an olden day Oprah, asking us to make ourselves better - may the cross haunt you! However, may we take the cross way beyond a 'verbal presentation,' rather may everyday we ask God, how is my life showing that it is what it is, because of your death and resurrection? Are my worldly/selfish ambitions, attitudes, thoughts, dying every day, and are the new ambitions, attitudes, and thought being resurrected to the glory of God?
There is not gospel call outside o the context of scripture:If we are proclaiming a calling TO Jesus, then we need to know the scriptures that point to him. Our responsibility is to preach Christ from his scriptures and to point people to them, which means, you and I need a steady diet of scripture as well.
There is no gospel without gospel conditions: The gospel demands a radical turn from sin to Christ, which takes the form inwardly of repentance and faith and outward baptism, which leads to joining the 'new' community which we are saved to, in order to be on mission with God in this world.
There is no gospel without the gospel promises: The gospel is not only good news because of what Jesus did (died for our sins and raised from the dead), but also of what he offers as a result (forgivness and the Spirit). Together these two make up the freedom for which we ALL are searching.

It is not enough to claim the 'Good Moral Teacher, Jesus.' According to the text we have read, the gospel is HISTORICAL (he really lived, died, rose, and ascended in history), THEOLOGICAL (his life, death, resurrection and ascension are all God's saving power), and CONTEMPORARY (He lives outside of time and space, thus transcending time and space as he lives and reigns to grant salvation to those who repent). This is our responsibility!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Peter's Plagiarism - 2:14-21

Okay, so Peter didn't really plagiarize but, half of his sermon had been preached by an OT prophet as something that was to come, and now Peter preaches it as something that has been fulfilled. Here Peter explains the phenomenon of Spirit-filled believers declaring God's glory in foreign languages as the fulfillment of Joel's prediction that God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh:

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. 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.’

One of the first things we notice Peter does is change Joel's 'and it shall come to pass' or his prediction of something still to come to 'in the last days it shall be' in order to emphasize that with the Spirit's coming the last days have begun. Peter also applies the passage to Jesus, so that they understand that this Lord who brings salvation is no longer a distant 'Yahweh' but Jesus Christ who saves men from sin and judgment.

So what we have going on here is the proof of Jesus ushering in the last days through the outpouring of the Spirit. So, what does this mean today? Simple: We must NOT re-quote Joel's prophecy as if we are still awaiting its fulfillment or we are waiting for some future and complete fulfillment. The way Peter saw it was that the whole Messianic era, which spans between the two comings of Christ is the age in which the Spirit would be poured out with abundance.

So, let's break it down a bit:

...sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your young men shall see visions; your old men shall dream dreams... Is Luke talking about a mass of people who can tell the future? No, any sort of gift related to this is talked about else where. Is Luke talking about the position of pastors and elders? No, that too is addressed else where. So what is Luke/Peter/Joel talking about? Let's start with the words of Martin Luther, "prophesying, visions and dreams are all one thing." That is, the universal gift (the Holy Spirit) will lead to a universal ministry (prophecy). In other words, prophecy as talked about here as God speaking, God making himself known by his Word. So, if the Old Covenant Prophets declared that the knowledge of God would be universal, and the New Covenant writers declare that this has begun or has been fulfilled through Christ. In this sense all God's people are now prophets, just as all are also priests and kings. So Luther understood prophecy here as the 'knowledge of God through Christ which the Holy Spirit kindles and makes to burn through the word of the gospel.'

...I will show wonders in the heavens...signs on the earth...blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke...the sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day... This is talking metaphorically about dangerous, dreadful, socially distraught, convulsions of history, since this is traditional apocalyptic imagery for times of social and political revolution. Between the Day of Pentecost and the day of the Lord there spans a long time of opportunity during which the gospel of salvation will be preached throughout all the nations, "And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!"

I believe the greatest application here is simply that throughout history and our lifetime there will be many things that could easily take our eyes off of the 'preaching/living of the gospel' so that we will be distracted from through living and proclaiming the gospel so that, "everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." There are many views on the statements, "I will show wonders in the heavens...signs on the earth...blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke...the sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood" And though I do have a personal belief on it, I don't believe the book of Acts was written so we will get all caught up to the point we are busy looking upward and not outward...it was written to let us know, "persecution, hard times, national upheavals, restlessness, etc, is gonna happen, don't let that throw you off, so while that stuff is happening use it as a tool to point people to Jesus." When it comes to eschatology, let's not allow it to get our eyes off of the mission, but maybe enjoy conversation and debate on it over a nice tall Guinness...oops, I mean fresh iced tea!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The Event of Pentecost: 2:1-13

The Event of Pentecost: Acts 2:1-13

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. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

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?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

First, let it be noted that the first time we see the Spirit work in such power is when the 120 are gathered together in one place. Are we to have our own individual quite times and relationships with God, absolutely, but the Spirit's first appearance was in that of a community who was, "all together in one place."

Second, let us notice that when the Spirit came upon them it came upon them and was accompanied by three supernatural signs. (1) First there was a, "...sound like a mighty rushing wind..." It doesn't say it was a mighty rushing wind, it says it sounded like it. (2) There came "...divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them..." (3) Then after the Holy Spirit appealed to their hearing (sound), their sight (appeared), and touch (rested on) "...they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance..." So what was this about?

What was the setting of this event? We know they are in an upper room, but we also know that the timing was, "When the day of Pentecost arrived..." To the Jews Pentecost represented something much like our independence day, but even more significant. We know that Jesus redefined the Passover meal at his last passover meal. So, let's walk through this. This feast had two meanings: agricultural and historical. Originally, it was the middle of the three annual Jewish harvest festivals, and was called the feast of Harvest or the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, because it took place 50 days (pentekostos means fiftieth) after the passover, which is the exact time of this harvest (Jesus had 40 days of post-resurrection appearances + the disciples waited for 10 days). Then toward the end of the inter-testamental period this feast began also to be observed as the anniversary of the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai to Moses, because this was believed to have happened fifty days after the Exodus from Egypt. Here are further implications: there was a huge harvest as over 3,000 were saved; fulfillment of Old prophets who spoke of two New Covenant Promises, we know that Jewish tradition associated wind, fire, and voices with Mount Sinai which happens to be the phenomena which is described here. Just as Jesus brought new meaning to the Passover meal, so now he is bringing new meaning to the Pentecost...

Third: We see the international implications of this movement, "...there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven..." God was saving those who would, out of necessity, have to GO back to their homes and live among their people after the feast. It's no wonder that the crowd was lost in awe. They said, "...each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?..." Why is this significant? The speakers were called, "Galileans" who had a reputation for being uncultured. According to Longenecker in his book 'Acts' "the Galileans had difficulty pronouncing guttrals and had the habit of swallowing syllables when speaking; so they were looked down upon by the people of Jerusalem as being provincial" we also know this through the hints of scripture. On top of that, Luke gives us sort of a 'table of Nations' comparable with Genesis 10. The blessing of Pentecost was the great reversal of the curse of of Babel. At Babel human languages were confused and the nations were scattered, however in Jerusalem the language barrier was defeated as a sign that the nations would now be gathered together in Christ.

So what is the application for us?

First, there is obvious importance to continually be together in community. I absolutely believe the Spirit can and will come on us, be with us and inspire us on individual levels, but it is obvious from the first showing of the Spirit, that the he works on us as we are 'together' so that we are filled as we 'go out on his missionary work.' So, what does it mean to 'be together.' This is not talking about mindlessly showing up to 'get fed.' Before this chapter we have described how they ALL came together - with tenacity, aggression, expectation, in 'one-accord.' This must be our attitude as well, we are not called to be passive observers but rather expectant participants.

Second, Christ is redefining scripture to them, he is showing how that all of scripture is a picture of, prototype for, or a message that points to HIM! We need to be in the scriptures looking for Jesus! The scriptures are not about us - primarily. The story of David and Goliath is not a parable about how we can fight our giants with our pebble like faith. Rather the story of David is how an unexpectant hero, like Jesus, can defeat what seems to be an overpowering enemy like Goliath setting his bound and scared people free...Let us be consumed with looking for the Gospel of Jesus in the text.

Third, Though we live in a city that speaks our same language, we also mentally put up 'language barriers' - whether it is socio-economic status, ethnicity, hobbies, educational level, etc...Within those language barriers we usually pre-decide 'why' we can't be the advocate Christ calls us to be in their lives, but what we learn from this passage is that there is no language barrier that cannot be broken down by the Holy Spirit, if we are willing to be his vessel.

So the call is this: Let us not forsake together the corporate gathering as humble hungry lovers of God; Let's not be passive about the scriptures nor leave our education of them up to your pastors, but let us know them outside of Sunday so that Jesus can show us more of him through them; and through this diet and lifestyle of corporate worship and individual learning of Scripture let us be filled with the Holy Spirit and look beyond the normal 'language barriers' that we have imagined in our head!

Monday, May 18, 2009

The Day of Pentecost - Acts 2:1-47

Acts 2:1-47

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. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

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. 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.’

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.

Without the Holy Spirit Christian discipleship is impossible:

There is no life without the Spirit who gives life.
There is no understanding without the Spirit of truth.
There is no transformed character because there would be no fruit from a Spirit that didn't exist.
There is no effective witness without a Spirit that is to fill us with power.

So often the Holy Spirit is left out of our conversation. If you grew up as a charismatic, then the holy spirit has been reduced to a roller-coaster experience. If you grew up other than charismatic, you probably kept him at a nice safe distance, because quite frankly he just scared the hell out of you and you didn't know what to do with him. But here is the deal, the Holy spirit is not an experience, nor is he a historical happening that we can keep at bay, but He is the third person of the Triune God! What we must understand, is that just as the body without breath is a corpse, so the church without the Holy Spirit is DEAD! I am thankful that my breathing is not just occasional experiences, nor something that freaks me out so much I have to keep it as a nice historical story, but rather something that moves me daily!

So, what can we understand about the sending of the Holy Spirit: (1) It was the final act of the saving ministry of Jesus before his second return. (2) The Holy Spirit was sent from Jesus to Jesus' people to form them as his body and to work out in them what he had won for them. (3) Pentecost brought to the apostles the equipment they needed for their special roles. Christ appointed them to be his primary and authoritative witnesses, and had promised them the reminding and teaching of the Holy Spirit. (4) Pentecost was the inauguration of the new era of the Spirit. Now all the people of God can always and everywhere live the life of the new covenant as he equips us to be his secondary witnesses. (5) Pentecost has been called the first revival because of the initial and unusual visitations of God, in which an entire community becomes vividly aware of his immediate empowering presence!

So, there is the overarching theme of Acts 2, now for the remaining week, lets break this chapter down into three sections:

Luke's description of the Pentecost event itself: 2:1-13
Peter's Come to Jesus Sermon: 2:14-41
The effects in the life of the Jerusalem Church: 2:42-47

Friday, May 15, 2009

They replace Judas with Matthias as an Apostle - 1:15-26

Acts 1:15-26
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.” 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. 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.’ 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.

Let's look at Three elements of what is going on here: (1) The death of Judas (2) The fulfillment of Scripture (3) The choice of Matthias.

1) The Death of Judas (1:18-19) - Luke is outspoken in calling Judas' betrayal of Jesus an act of wickedness, adikia, which means infamy or or crime - betraying Jesus is a crime! Calvin said, "Judas may not be excused on the ground that what befell him was prophesied, since he fell away not through the compulsion of the prophecy but through the wickedness of his own heart." For the sake of consistency lets marry two passages that seem to tell one story two very different ways: Only Matthew records what happened to Judas, in that he committed suicide. However Luke writes, "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." These two incidents do not contradict each other, but more than likely what we have in these two different stories is that Judas hanged himself, and his dead body either fell headlong because the rope or the branch broke. Second there is a question as to who bought the field. Matthew says that Judas gave the money back and that the priests bought the potters field. However Luke says in most translations that Judas 'bought it' but the ESV, which is what I'm using, says, "this man acquired a field." So how do we reconcile this? The priest bought the field with money that belonged to Judas. Edersheim said, "by a fiction of law the money was still considered to be Judas', and to have been applied by him in the purchase of the well-known 'potter's field'."

2) The Fulfillment of Scripture (1:15-17, 20) - The warrant for replacing Judas was Old Testament Scripture. What we read, if we glance back up through Acts 1:15-17, 20 is that this was Peter's conviction. We need to recall that, according to Luke, the risen Lord had both opened the Scriptures to his disciples and opened their minds to understand the scriptures. Since the resurrection they had begun to have a new grasp of how the OT foretold the sufferings and glory, rejection and reign of the Messiah. Peter goes on to quote from two Psalms, the first explaining what had happened (Judas' betrayal and death) and secondly what they should do about it-replace him. Psalm 69 is applied to Jesus several times in the New Testament. Here Peter individualizes this text and applies it to Judas on whom indeed God's judgment had fallen. So, that's great, but why can't we just go with 11 disciples instead of 12. Jesus drew a parallel between the twelve apostles and the twelve tribes of Israel. If the ealry church was to be accepted as being a direct continuity with, indeed as begging the fulfillment of, Old Testament Israel, the number of its 'leaders/tribes' must not be less, even by one.

3) The Choice of Matthias (1:21-26): I don't so much want to go into a history of Matthias, and for that matter, I'm not sure I can. But would rather focus on the factors that contributed to the discovery of God's will in this matter. First came the general leading of Scripture that a replacement should be made. Then they ALL participated in the decision making. Next, they used their common sense that if Judas' substitute was to have the same apostolic ministry he must also have the same qualifications, including an eyewitness experience of Jesus and a personal appointment by him. Third, they submersed the decision in prayer. And finally they cast lots, trusting the Spirit of God would guide the lots. After this we do not see this mode of decision used again after the coming of the Holy Spirit. This was an OT method, and was replaced with the belief that the Holy Spirit could move us as we are now guided by scripture, counsel, prayer, and the common sense he has given us!

HOW DOES THIS APPLY:

Betraying Christ: In the first point I said, "Judas' betrayal of Jesus an act of wickedness, adikia, which means infamy or or crime - betraying Jesus is a crime!" How often do you, how often do I, how often do we seperate what Judas did from what we do? I mean after all, we would never deny Christ, or would we? Well, let me ask, how many times have we gone against his will for the sake of our own? Have you ever sought your own glory when His glory could have been shouted? Have you ever acted in a way that seeks your own safety or security rather than the being selfless and seeking the good of those who are broken at your expense? Here is the thing, we are saved by Christ's NAME (revealed nature of God)! David said, in the 23rd Psalm that God leads us into righteousness for his name's sake! God always acts "according to his name." And as God's people if we claim to reflect God then our conduct is seen as a slander/betrayal against his name or a promotion of it. So when we act inconsistent with his NAME, are not betraying him to those who are watching. Do not those who see an inconsistency in our lives, look the other way, because they would not want to serve a God like ours. Why do they not want to worship a God like ours? Because they watch how we act and assume if that is how Jesus' followers act, then that must be how Jesus is. When we ignore injustice, are we not betraying the name of Jesus. When we lie are we not betraying the God of all truth. When we fail to show grace and mercy, are we not acting iconsistantly with the God of all grace and mercy. So, ask God to search your heart and reveal to you, how you betray his name whether it is by ommission or commission.

Being a Self-Feeder: Back up in point 2, we read that Peter wanted to replace Judas with another disciple based off of Acts 1:15-17,20 because it was Peter's conviction based on scripture. Why did Peter do this? Because We according to Luke, Jesus had both opened the Scriptures to his disciples and opened their minds to understand the scriptures. What we need to realize and live like we truly believe is that this same Jesus who did this for Peter and the other apostles is the same Jesus who desires to do this for us. The truth is, we will continually live lives that betray the NAME of Jesus if we are not loves of Jesus' word. Peter made a decision based on his conviction of scripture. In todays world, and no less, today's church world, we make decsions based on pop-psychology, our feelings, our personalities, and then we look for scriptures to back up what we already want to do. But this was not Peter's method! In fact, the word of God was the foundation and filter of the the decisions he made, as it should be ours. Let us not, be babies and seek to 'go' to church to get fed, but let us be self-feeders so that we can 'be' the church and feed the broken of our culture, trusting that Jesus will meet us in the scriptures and do as he did to his disciples and open our minds up to those same scriptures.

Figuring out God's will: In my third point of the text we see a method that the disciples used to figure out the will of God. In that method the one thing that is lacking that usually tops our list of "how to figure out God's will" is "my selfish ambition." So, how can apply this same method for our own lives? (1) we need to be self-feeders through scripture, and because I went into that in the above application, I won't go into that one again. (2) We need to surround ourselves with Godly counsel. It is easy for us to sorround ourselves with people who are going to tell us what we want to hear. This is not Godly counsel! Godly counsel is when we are willing to take the advice of those who are willing to disagree with us, who put scripture over feelings and ambition, and who themselves seek to live by the Scriptures and the Spirit's leading. (3) We need to use the common sense God has given us, within the context of Godly Counsel and scripture. It is easy to get caught up in thinking we don't need all of that, God will guide me not matter what. It is easy to get caught up in the trap that we know what is best for us, but the truth is we all have regrets in our lives that come from making decsions based on us 'knowing what is best for us.' So, use your common sense, but use it in light of being a self-feeder and other Godly counsel who won't just tell you what you are wanting to hear. (4) Prayer: verse 24 says they submersed all they did in prayer. Even though I put prayer as the last on the list, let me say, that I do NOT believe this is last, but rather the bookends of the other three steps. When we are seeking the will of God, let us bathe everything in prayer.

So, how do these three fit together. The Bible says, to pray, "Our father who is in heaven, glory to your name, your kingdom come, your will be done..." So, how does that work? When God's will is being done, his kingdom is coming, and when his kingdom is coming, his name is being glorified... When our life is postured toward seeking and living the will of God then God's name is not betrayed...have a great weekend!