Saturday, January 09, 2010

God Uses People to Tell His Story

A Sermon delivered to All Saints Anglican Church on January 10, 2010 at the Convent Chapel of St. Mary's Medical Center, Huntington, WV and based on Acts 10: 34-38 and Luke 3:15-22.

Phone Search
Last Christmas, my son-in-law, Eric, bought my daughter, Leslie, an I-Pod Touch. She really liked it and showed me some of the things it could do: Of course, it played MP3s, but it also had the capacity to get the Internet via WiFi. It had a button you could push and get your email instantly at any Hot Spot. And - it had a scheduler!

When Leslie showed me how you set the time by moving little dials on the screen, my eyes glazed over, I went into a sort of trance, and I said robotically, "I want that"...

I had been looking at the I-Phone, but just really couldn't quite justify paying an additional $30.00 for the Internet access each month. But with the I-Touch, I could get most of the functionality of the phone and not have the extra fee. I had a little phoIN that I liked pretty well, and between the two gadgets, I figured I could do everything I needed to do electronically.

So I bought an I-Touch, and was really happy with it.

Then I lost my phone.

I still couldn't justify the extra Internet expense, but I really needed a phone, so I bought a cheap phone - and hated it. The buttons were too small. It didn't sound good. The menus were hard to navigate - and it was not pleasant in general. So I went back to looking at the I-phone again.

I analyzed my family plan bill - and I realized that my daughter Leslie was using very few voice minutes, - but a huge number of texts - so it made sense to decrease the basic plan minutes, cut the bill - and voila - I could suddenly justify the I-Phone!

So this Christmas, I got one - and I told my friend Lisa about it. She was looking at upgrading hers too. Her whole family was going to get Blackberrys, but she just wasn't sure she liked the Blackberry. So when I told her I liked my I-phone, she went to the ATT store and checked it out.

Lo and behold, when she saw the Calculator - she was mesmerized! Her eyes glazed over and she went into a sort of trance, and said robotically, "I want that." ... And so she bought one.

Eric told Leslie, and Leslie told me and I told Lisa...
And all of us have been insufferable ever since. Our close friends and family members have had it up to their eyeballs with our gushing about our phones. (Have I showed you pictures of my grandchildren?)

Well, there's a parallel in this story to our reading from Acts today. And the main point to remember is that "God Uses People to tell His story." Two sub-points also under gird this main point:

"God empowers us through Baptism" and

"God leads us by the Holy Spirit."

Let's go to our text from Acts for some background.

Background

Acts Chapter 10 tells the story of Cornelius, a Roman soldier, who lead the 'Italian Cohort" in Joppa - right on the Mediterranean coast. A cohort usually consisted of 600 men, but sometimes there were as many as 1000 in a cohort. The leader of a cohort was paid about 5 times as much as an average soldier - so this was a very responsible position which was well compensated.

As a cohort leader, Cornelius commanded respect. But he was also a devout man who gave alms generously and who prayed daily with his family. He was not only personally good, but he also influenced others around him to be good and devout.

So, one day, Cornelius was praying, and an angel appeared to him and told him that his prayers had been answered and that he should send some men to go find this guy Simon, who would then come and tell Cornelius what he needed to know about God. Cornelius obeyed the angel and sent hia men off to find Peter, who was having visions of unclean animals and resisting God's directive to 'take, kill and eat."

Right after the vision, Peter heard a knock at the door. It was the men from Cornelius. They introduce themselves by saying, "Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” (Acts 10:22)

Simon goes along with the men. And when he gets to Cornelius' house, he tells him how unlawful it is for a Jewish person to hang out with Gentiles, and then asks him, in effect, 'What do you want?"

Clueless in Joppa

You gotta love Peter. He'd been with Jesus for 3 years. He had seen innumerable miracles, witnessed the death and resurrection of Christ, received the Great Commission to go make disciples of all nations - - - and he asks Cornelius "What do you want?" After all that he's seen, he's still clueless. Cornelius has to prompt him as to why he was there.

But Peter finally gets it. He realizes that there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles, and shares the bare - bones Gospel account with Cornelius. And not only with Cornelius but Scripture tells us that he had assembled his 'close friends and family' to hear Peter's message.

God told Peter the Gospel message. God also told Cornelius to send for Peter to tell him the message. And Cornelius told his close friends and family to come hear the message. ... Sounds a little like a cell phone plan: "Friends and Family"...has a sort of ring to it don't you think?

Not Angels, Angles!

Now God could have chosen to use Angels to share the message. After all, the very word means "Messenger". Angels have a lot going for them as message bearers. They look cool, they're very articulate, and they have cool super-powers that enable them to go anywhere at the speed of light, pass through walls and strike people dead if need be. If it would have been me, I'd have used Angels, for sure.

But God chooses to use People to spread the Gospel message - people like Peter - good old clueless Peter. Peter, who wasn't very smart, wasn't very well educated, didn't speak very well, and could be counted on to do the wrong thing at the wrong time. You can't get much less qualified than Peter - except for two main qualities: Peter was available - and he loved God.

God uses available, passionate people to spread the Word. With apologies to Pope Gregory the VI th, he uses ANGLES not ANGELS... Anglicans not Angels - to touch people. This is what we call The Great Commission: "Go into all the world and make disciples, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Mt. 28:18.

This is a command. It's not limited by our qualifications, education, sex or ethnicity. Jesus just tells us to go out and DO IT. And that's what Peter did - he obeyed the summons and shared the Gospel with Cornelius out of obedience.

Now to be sure, Cornelius and his family were an easy audience. They were primed and ready for the message, unlike people today. Let's consider the profile of Cornelius as a God Fearing Seeker and then contrast him with the profile of what I'll call the "De-churched spiritual Seeker."


Cornelius a God-Fearing Seeker

Acts 10 describes Cornelius as a:

-'Devout man who feared God with all his household',
-One who 'gave alms generously to the people'
-And 'prayed continually to God'

He was was what was known as a 'semi-proselyte' - someone who observed the spirituality of Judaism and may have even gone to synagogue, but who had not been circumcised or officially joined the faith. He was well-respected in the Jewish Community because of his upright character and lifestyle.

Barna on Gen Xers

Now contrast the unchurched who have never really attended much or the 'De-Churched' who have left church for some reason. According to a 2006 George Barna poll, among baby busters- or Gen Xers - people in their thirties:

-Only 3 out of 10 believe in absolute truth.
-50% say ethics and morals are based on 'what is right for the person'
-They're twice as likely as baby boomers to view a sexually explicit movie
-Two and a half times more likely to have sex outside of marriage,
-Three times more likely to have viewed pornography online.

"The morality of the under-forties set mirrors a society where divorce, crime, single-parent households, and suicide are much more prevalent than thirty years ago when the Boomers grew up." (pg. 71,72 in "Quitting Church" by Julia Duin).

This group is not nearly as interested in the traditional questions about capital-T Truth, or so called 'evidential apologetics' as their parents.

Todd Hunter, former head of the Vineyard Association of Churches, leader of the Alpha Course and newly ordained AMIA Bishop, was interviewed for the August 2009 edition of Christianity today about his approach to reaching non-churched people. He was asked about the role of evidential apologetics. Here's what he said:

"I don't hear people asking, "How do I know Jesus rose from the dead?" anymore. But I do hear young people outside the church asking, "Is the church a force for good or a force for evil?" The New Atheism is questioning the essential goodness of the church."

Remember, this is among people who likely grew up in church and then dropped out.

Why People don't go to Church

When Lifeway Christian Resources polled 469 'formerly churched adults in 2006 about why they had left church, the most common reason for not attending was:

Busy Schedules - followed by:

Disenchantment with the pastor or the church.

Unlike Peter, who had a receptive audience for the Gospel message, you and I face an increasingly hostile audience as we go out representing the church.

Peter's audience was interested in being rightly related to the one true God.
People today prefer to create their own God.

Peter's audience felt the need to be Good.
People today often prefer to feel good than do good.

Peter's audience was willing to listen and learn.
People today often resent the notion that you have something to say.

It's a tough environment out there. And yet, people are also very desperate for spiritual answers in their lives. They are looking for Truth, they just don't seek it the same way previous generations did. This is where we, as Gospel Messengers need some help - the same help that Peter had: Baptismal empowerment from God, and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus' Baptism as our Model

Today, we celebrate Jesus' baptism. John was puzzled when Jesus came to him to be baptized but Jesus said that it was necessary for him to be baptized in order to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). I think that one reason for Jesus' Baptism was that it demonstrated the type of relationship that believers would have with God, through Christ.

John was baptizing for the repentance of sins, and while Jesus had no Sin to be cleansed, yet when he came up out of the waters of Baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon him and a voice came from heaven saying, "You are my Son, with Beloved; with you I am well-pleased" (Luke.3:22).

Going down into the waters of Baptism cleanses us from sin, but it also establishes a family relationship where none existed before. Through Baptism, God accepts us into his family and confers upon us his fatherly favor. The Holy Spirit also formally takes up residence within us, sealing us in God, while empowering us for living and serving. This is why a Bishop anoints the newly baptized, 'marking them as 'Christ's forever'.

Those who have been through this process as adults know how powerful it can be. For those who were baptized as infants, the church has always sought to teach them the Faith and then ask them to 'confirm their faith' - to make it their own - usually around the age of 13.

The bishop's confirming prayer over us reiterates the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and asks for empowerment and anointing to help us fulfill our role in God's kingdom. Thus, our Baptism empowers us for ministry, just as Jesus was empowered through his own Baptism.

The Leading of the Holy Spirit

Finally, the Holy Spirit Leads us, just as he lead Peter. Most likely the leadership of the Holy Spirit in your life will be much more subtle than what Peter and Cornelius experienced. Your angel may whisper to you instead of giving you a dramatic dream or open vision. Therefore, it's important to pay attention and to listen for that 'still small voice', which often comes as a hunch or a prompting or a 'coincidence' ("Godincidence", as my friend David Green used to say).

As an example of a Godincidence, on Thursday evening, I came home early because of the snow. Instead of arriving home around 9pm , I got home about 4:30, and Cindy asked me if I wanted to go to the store with her. I felt prompted to go, even though the market was only two blocks away and Cindy was only going to get a few items. When we got back to the house and parked the car, our neighbor across the street called out to me, "Would you come up here on the porch?"


I was somewhat wary, but I went up anyway, and my elderly neighbor with a bad hip explained to me that a young man had come to his door, forced his way into the house and became more and more belligerent as he drank a bottle of nasty rot-gut Rum. The neighbor had tried to call the police, but each time, the young man prevented him.

Finally, just before we pulled up in our car, the man had passed out on the floor, and the neighbor was able to get away from him. When he called me up on the porch, it was to ask me to call the police - which I was more than happy to do with my dandy new phone! But just after we called the cops and reported the situation, the drunk guy comes stumbling out of the house in his sock feet and just a T- shirt - no coat. I think he realized that I was interfering with his terrorizing of my neighbor and he started rambling on about shooting me if I got in his way.

Fortunately he was too drunk to even put on his shoes, much less shoot anybody - and before too long, he decided he was done with us and trundled off through the snow in his sock feet off to his apartment, just behind my neighbor's house!

In a little while the police showed up and took the young man off to jail and all was well. But what might have happened if I had not listened to the urge to go the store with my wife? What a trifling decision - yet it could have been the difference between life and death!

Friends it's important to listen to your hunches - no matter how seemingly insignificant. It might be the voice of the Holy Spirit leading you to help someone get saved or be safe!

Conclusion

So - God uses people to share His Gospel Message - You and me. God empowers us for ministry through our Baptism, and He leads us by the Holy Spirit... This is how God helps us to fulfill the Great Commission.

The Divine Encounter

Also, starting tonight, we will be participating in a 21-day "Divine Encounter" along with a number of other churches from our area. The purpose of this time is to help us to grow in intimacy with our God and to help us to learn to listen to that still small voice better. There will be a kickoff service this evening beginning at 6pm at Jefferson Avenue Church of God, midweek services at Christ Temple on three successive Wednesday evenings, beginning this coming Wednesday, and Friday morning prayer services at the First Congregational Church in Ceredo, starting at 7am in the morning.

I have a prayer guide booklet for each family, and I encourage you to use this next three weeks as a sort of mini-Lent, cleansing yourself and being attentive to the leading of God's Spirit - especially in regards to what he would have you do individually to spread His message.

May God use us, His people, empower us and lead us by his powerful right hand - with or without cell phones...
Amen.




No comments: