AND THE CHURCH GREW

Acts 12

It was persecution that spread the church out from Jerusalem.  After Stephen was stoned to death the persecution increased to such a degree that “all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1).  Some time passed and Saul was converted on his way to Damascus and “the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace” (Acts 9:31).  The church continued to grow in numbers and faith and strength.

The beginning of Acts 12 tells us that King Herod decided to initiate an action against the church.  He arrested some of the believers and was planning to persecute them.  He executed James, the son of Zebedee.  We’re not told why he made such a decision in the first place but we find out in verse 3 that his actions met with the approval of the Jews.  Herod, the consummate politician, saw an opportunity to gain support among the religious leaders of the people and proceeded to arrest Peter.  He was planning a public trial for Peter and then most likely a very public execution as well.  His plan was foiled by the miraculous deliverance of Peter from the prison by an angel. 

In spite of Peter’s escape, Herod was riding a wave of popularity in Jerusalem.  He traveled north to Caesarea where he had to handle some more political problems.  The people of Tyre and Sidon had been in conflict with Herod and that had to be settled.  It seems the people had a change of heart because they were dependent on Herod’s government dole (Acts 12:20).  They decided they needed to curry Herod’s favor.  This is what we read…

“On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people.  They shouted, ‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man’ (Acts 12 21, 22).

Oh how that must have been music in Herod’s ears!  He was really on a roll!  Things were going very well back home in Jerusalem and now he’d won a great triumph in the northern cities.  He was really something else!  His future looked bright.  He would crush the church and be recognized as a god!  But then things changed drastically…

“Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died” (Acts 12:23).

That’s usually where teachers stop and teach a lesson.  It’s a good point and one we should take to heart.  God will not tolerate men who think they are gods.  Pride kills.  But I want to move on to the next verse…

“But the word of God continued to increase and spread” (Acts 12:24).

A mighty king sought power by persecuting the Church of Christ.  He met with some success and decided to press his advantage against the Church.  He had all the power.  He had all the authority of Rome behind him.  The Christians may have thought things couldn’t get much worse.  Perhaps they were fearfully expecting to hear the heavy footfalls of Herod’s soldiers at any time.  A man on top of the world was eaten by little worms and died.

The Church has faced persecution and trials throughout history.  Much of the Church is still persecuted today.  And our own “Christian nation” is moving away from Christian principles so fast that things might begin to look pretty dark to some of us.  But here is the message of the passage as I read it today:  In this election year and in this campaign season we might hear a number of fearful voices raised against one candidate or another.  We might hear a number of popular voices worrying about the future of Christianity in America.  The lesson of Herod is that  no man, no government, no false god can ever stop the increase of God’s word, God’s Church, or God’s kingdom.  Rise up, O Church of God! 

A COMPLETELY NEW LIFE!

1 Kings 19:19-21

So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat.  He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair.  Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him.  Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah.  “Let me kiss my father and mother good-by,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied.  “What have I done to you?”
So Elisha left him and went back.  He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them.  He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate.  Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.

When Elijah was still up in the cave on the mountain the Lord commanded him to find Elisha and anoint him as his successor as prophet.  Elijah’s time of ministry was complete.  So Elijah did as the Lord commanded him and found Elisha.  We have no idea what God had been doing in Elisha’s heart in preparation for this event.  From what we read it seems like Elijah simply appeared, threw his cloak around Elisha’s shoulders and began to move on.  But God may have been speaking to Elisha before this so it may not have been completely unexpected.

Whatever may have gone before, God called Elisha to ministry.  This is no small thing.  When God calls someone to do something he cannot be ignored without serious consequences.  Elisha was ready.  He did not want Elijah to leave.  He wanted to go with him so he ran after Elijah and begged him to wait a moment while he put an end to his old life.  He went back and said good-bye to his parents.  Then he proceeded to destroy his old way of life by burning his plow, slaughtering his oxen, and giving a feast for his workers.  There would be no going back.

Doesn’t this remind you of another event that took place hundreds of years later beside the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus walked along the shore and found fishermen, Peter, Andrew, James, and John.  They were fishing and working on their nets.  Jesus said to them, “Follow me.  I will make you fishers of men.”  And the Bible says the men left their nets and followed Jesus.

The first thing that jumps out at me is the finality of the commitment to obey God.  Elisha and the disciples left everything in their old lives to follow the Lord.  It’s almost as if Elisha wanted to make sure there would be nothing to go back to.  Many of us struggle with the draw of our old lives.  I wonder if we really understand the kind of life of commitment to which God calls us.  Doesn’t it seem like the gospel is offered to people as something they can merely add to their old lives?  Like they don’t really have to leave their old lives to follow Christ?  The gospel, the good news, is not that we can add Jesus and have happier lives.  It is a call to new life!  A completely different life!  The apostle Paul puts it very strongly when he says our old man was crucified with Christ.  There should be nothing to go back to.  Is that how we understood the gospel when we began to follow Jesus?  If not, then that is what we need to stop and think about.

The second thought that comes to me is the nature of God’s call to service.  We know he has given each one of us gifts and abilities that are to be used to serve him and the church.  I’ve known so many people who are hesitant to step out in faith and serve.  There are so many reasons given.  “I’ve never done anything like this before.  I don’t know if I can do it.  What if I fail?  I’m so busy with other things right now.”  I’m sure Elisha must have struggled with some of these thoughts too.  But the call of God is not just an invitation.  It is God’s calling and we have to put everything behind us in order to answer that call to service.

THE WHISPER OF GOD

1 Kings 19

 After God sent fire on Elijah’s sacrifice on Mount Carmel the people fell on their faces and worshiped God.  Elijah called on the people to destroy the prophets of Baal and the people obeyed him and put them all to death.  Then Elijah turned to Ahab and warned him that the drought was about to end so he should hurry home before the storm broke. 

Then in chapter 19 we find him back at home whining to Jezebel that Elijah had killed all their prophets.  Infuriated, Jezebel sent a message to Elijah; “may the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them” (1 Kings 19:2).  And here is where we find that Elijah was not superhuman.  He was a person just like us.  “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life” (19:3).

I am sitting comfortably at my desk in front of my picture window reflecting on Elijah’s behavior.  It’s just so easy to judge him!  It’s so easy to forget the humanity of one of the greatest of God’s prophets.  He felt just like any of us would feel if we were threatened by a person who had the power to take our lives!  So he ran. 

He ran a long way.  He ended up in the wilderness outside of Beersheba.  He sat down under a tree and said, “I have had enough, LORD.  Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors” (19:4).  Have you ever felt that way?  Have you ever felt like you were at the end of your rope and couldn’t go on anymore?  Have you ever felt like nobody else could possibly understand what you’ve been through?  I have.  I’ve never asked God to take my life but I’ve told him that I just couldn’t go on anymore.  I felt so alone and so tired.  I didn’t think I could take anymore and I just complained to God.

Well, the angel of the LORD provided a couple of meals for Elijah and told him he had a long journey ahead of him.  God gave Elijah new strength and he traveled forty days and nights until he arrived at Mount Horeb.  He entered a cave and slept.  But God was there in that cave too!  “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (19:9). Again Elijah complains to God.  “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty.  The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword.  I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (19:10).

So God sent Elijah out onto the mountain “for the LORD is about to pass by.”  A great wind blew parts of the mountain to pieces but God was not in the wind.  Then there was an earthquake but God was not in the earthquake.  After that, a fire, but God was not in the fire either.  “And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave” (19:12, 13).

So I am rightly amazed.  Elijah fears even though he had just seen God’s power on Mount Carmel.  Elijah flees from Jezebel even though God had crushed the prophets of Baal.  Instead of being strengthened by the power encounter he had become exhausted and terrified.  And how does God treat Elijah?  Does he rebuke him?  No, God strengthens his servant and enables him to complete his ministry.

Sometimes we think, “If only God would do the same kinds of miracles he did in the Bible!  If only God would demonstrate his great power and convince the world that he alone is God!  We could use a biblical storm or earthquake or fire.  If God would do this, I would be so encouraged!”  But where is God?  In the gentle whisper!  I have to stop and listen for the gentle whisper of the Lord!  I have to be still and quiet.  God does not want to exhaust me.  He doesn’t want to push me beyond my endurance.  Rather, he wants me to be still and know that he is God!  Listen for the gentle whisper of the Lord and feel the comfort and strength of our God!

WAVERING

1 Kings 18:16-40

This passage gives the well-known account of the power encounter between Elijah and the 450 priests of Baal on Mount Carmel.  I think many of us know the story.  Elijah challenged Ahab and the prophets of Baal to a power demonstration.  Baal’s prophets would prepare a bull for sacrifice and Elijah would do the same.  Then they would call upon their gods and the one who answered their prayers with fire consuming the sacrifice would prove he is god. 

Baal’s prophets went first but nothing they did resulted in any fire.  They shouted.  They danced.  They cut themselves.  Nothing happened.  Elijah built his altar and laid his bull on it and then had men pour jars of water on the whole thing three times.  Then he prayed, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. ³⁷ Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”  God sent fire and his fire consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones of the altar, and the water that had been poured on it.

The people of Israel saw this and fell on their faces crying out, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!”  God revealed himself in the power encounter and the people of Israel saw and believed.

But the thing that caught my attention this morning is found earlier, in verse 21, Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”  The people of Israel were not committed to God.  They allowed for the possibility that Baal was god.  They wavered.  As long as they entertained the possibility that God was not who he claimed to be they could never be his people.  And Elijah confronted them saying, “How long will you waver?”

Does it seem to you that our society is full of people who waver?  It seems like I meet them all the time.  Our conversations go something like this…

“Do you believe in God?”

“Yes!”

“Is your God the God of the Bible?”

“Yes, I guess so.”

“What do you know about him?  What does he want from you?”

“Um, well, I’m not sure…”

“Do you go to church to try to find out about him?” 

“No.  Not really.”

“Why not?”  (There is often an increasing level of discomfort by this point.)

(The answers vary widely here.)  “I don’t know…I’m not sure he’s the only god…I don’t know if he is really god…”

Wavering.  People don’t seem to know what they want so they waver back and forth. 

We’re in the middle of Holy Week.  Jesus of Nazareth entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and revealed himself to vast crowds of people in the Holy City.  He revealed himself to the religious leaders and even to Pontius Pilate.  He was crucified and died.  This upcoming Sunday, Easter, we Christians celebrate his resurrection from the dead. 

Are these things true?  If so, then the events in Jerusalem two thousand years ago were the greatest power encounter in history!  Those events were a far greater demonstration of the sovereignty of the God of the Bible than what happened with Elijah on Mount Carmel.  What more could people ask for?  How can we continue to waver?

Jesus, he is God!  Jesus, he is God!