An Australian travel writer at the beginning of a six month tour of Canada was checking out the Vancouver Hilton, and as he paid his bill said to the manager, asked, “By the way, what’s with the Indian chief sitting in the lobby? He’s been there ever since I arrived.”

“Oh that’s Big Chief Forget-me Not,” said the manager. “The hotel is built on an Indian reservation, and part of the agreement is to allow the chief free use of the premises for the rest of his life. He is known as ‘Big Chief Forget-me Not’ because of his phenomenal memory. He is 92 and can remember the slightest detail of his life.”

The travel writer took this in, and as he was waiting for his cab decided to put the chief’s memory to the test. “ello, mate!” said the Aussie, receiving only slight nod in return. “hat did you have for breakfast on your 21st birthday?”

“Eggs,” was the chief’s instant reply, without even looking up, and indeed the Aussie was impressed. He went off on his travel writing itinerary, right across to the east coast and back, telling others of Big Chief Forget-me Not’s great memory. One local noted to him that “How” was a more appropriate greeting for an Indian chief than “ello mate.”

On his return to the Vancouver Hilton six months later was surprised to see ‘Big Chief Forget-me Not’ still sitting in the lobby, fully occupied with whittling away on a stick. “How?” said the Aussie to the Chief, who again did not stop to look up.

“Scrambled,” said the Chief. (quoted in “Dream Team” by Paul Decker)

Now, that’s a great memory!

Don’t you wish you could have that kind of memory? I know I do -I wish I didn’t have to ever use the phrase, “Sorry, I forgot” or (as I’m sure some of you would agree with me for yourselves) even hear it spoken to me!!

Come to think of it, we all like to be remembered don’t we? How many of you can recall a childhood experience of team picking or group picking where there would be two assigned people given the task of picking their teams from everybody one at a time. How many of you recall wanting to be among the first picked! You wanted to be remembered. How many of you have ever sat in at a banquet or appreciation dinner where people are being lauded for their accomplishments and you hoped and wished that you get remembered for what you have done. Or maybe you hope your spouse remembers you when its your birthday or anniversary or other special occasion?

It’s interesting the lengths that some people will go to be remembered. Throughout history there are stories of incredible men and women who have their names recorded because of something they did that caused them to be remembered. I don’t know if many of you saw a documentary on Michael Jackson that was done a couple of years ago. It was a time when our family had two channels on TV because we didn’t have cable and we kind of got stuck watching it. However, I remember one thing that stood out after all the things that were said during that interview, Michael made the statement, “I want to live forever”. He clearly did not even want to think about death. Aside from the obvious reasons that might fuel that desire there is another that I believe could be seen in the way Michael behaved when surrounded by adoring fans. In one section of the documentary Michael is visiting a zoo with his two young children with what was supposed to be a small private group of people. However word got leaked of his visit and he and his entourage are quickly engulfed with swarms of paparazzi and people vying for an opportunity to see Jackson. What stuck out was the fact that Jackson thrived on the attention. He seemed to enjoy the attention so much that he even apparently forgot about his children who were dangerously close to being harmed by the mob. I believe Jackson wants to live forever because he doesn’t want to die and be forgotten!

Being remembered is something that consumes a very large part of our consciousness.

I also remember reading an issue of the Pentecostal Testimony that carried the theme of “Influences” and a big part of the publication contained stories/testimonies of people remembering those who had a big impact in their life. A common thread describing this impact in each of these stories was how certain individuals led others to Christ and/or helped them to mature and grow in their faith and they are remembered because of their selfless acts.

Being remembered in this way is of greater value than being remembered because you can break 10 eggs by bending your fingers backwards as I saw on an episode of Guinness World Records. But the truth is people are often remembered for the frivolous or bad things as much as the good things.

The Bible is full of names of people God has made sure were written down so that they would be remembered. He chose the different individuals to include in His written Word – people who were remembered for things that shouldn’t be done and people who were remembered for things that are of value – all for the purpose of telling His story and leaving an example for us to follow (or not follow!).

Today as I read Nehemiah chapter three you’ll notice that there are a lot of names. Let me set the context for why we find these names in today’s text before I read it:

In the first two chapters of Nehemiah you’ll learn that our major character (Nehemiah) had left the Persian palace of King Artaxerxes, where he was the trusted cupbearer, and with the king’s blessing, returned to his nation’s capital, Jerusalem, to repair and rebuild its walls.

When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, after a through evaluation, he successfully passed on his vision to complete the walls to the people who lived there. He was able to do this because he established a link between what God was doing through him and what God was in the midst of doing for their history. Nehemiah demonstrated to the people that God had been working behind the scenes for their benefit (recall the king’s blessing on Nehemiah’s venture). This proof of God’s thumbprint awakened the dormant faith of the people and now they were ready to be a part of something God had His hand on.

So, as we come to chapter 3, we discover that the building has begun. Here in this chapter is faithfully recorded by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the names of those that worked on the wall. They are recorded because God wants them to be remembered. They are Jerusalem’s dream team. They came together and pulled off what others thought would be impossible. God makes sure that they are remembered for their accomplishment in fulfilling His purpose.

Today I want to highlight to you in Nehemiah 3:1-32 seven approaches to re-building the wall of Jerusalem that ensured its success. In doing so I believe that you’ll discover as I did the key to being successful in the plans the Lord sets out for your life and the life of WPA. How do you want to be remembered?

First, let’s look at Nehemiah 3 (read text 3:1-32)

Now…

I. The first approach is PRIORITY.

Nehemiah 3:1 (NIV)
1 Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel.

The first verse shows us that…

Any work for God must begin in the spiritual center.

We see here that the Priests didn’t sit on the sidelines when it came to this work.
They committed themselves to the work and joined right in.

What is also significant here is that the very first place that is worked on is the Sheep Gate.
This is important to note because this gate is the closest to the temple.
It probably took its name from the animals that were brought in for sacrifice.
Since the Sheep Gate is mentioned first, the idea of “Put God first” is reinforced.
The priority is thus established.
The spiritual center for worship is to be protected.

This is true for each one of us as well today.
Just your presence here communicates your desire to protect your spiritual center.
You are here to worship and feed your soul.
You are establishing what your spiritual priorities are.

II. The second approach is UNITY.

Nehemiah 3:2,4-5 (KJV)
2 And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. …. 4 And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. 5 And next unto them the Tekoites repaired;…

We see here that…

Work for the Lord is accomplished shoulder to shoulder.

Did you notice what is repeated through the text?
Repeatedly, throughout the text, the words “next to them” appear.
These are people working together, side by side, with the same purpose.
They are building a wall together…

Note also the variety of backgrounds found amongst the people that Nehemiah draws from in building the wall.
Personally, I would have looked for the construction types. You know the guys…
They have big arms, sleeveless shirts, hard hats over a ponytail and a tattoo or two.
That’s who I would have picked.
Here, however, we find that Nehemiah brings along a great variety of people to accomplish the task: priests, goldsmiths, perfume-makers, merchants, and district rulers.

As they build next to each other, they build each other up and demonstrate how absolutely indispensable unity is.
Each person’s portion of the wall comes together with someone else’s portion and they must meet together.
They must match.
This is so much a lesson we need to learn in the church.
For note this…

We will never get beyond how well we are getting along.

If we are not united by a biblical purpose, we will nit-pick, gossip, argue and fight and we will not accomplish God’s agenda. Unity isn’t getting rid of our agenda  it’s aligning our agenda with GOD’S. Unity happens when what God wants is worth more than what we want.

III. The third approach is INDIVIDUALITY.

Nehemiah 3:11 (NIV)
11 Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens.

Nehemiah 3:14 (NIV)
14 The Dung Gate was repaired by Malkijah son of Recab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem. He rebuilt it and put its doors and bolts and bars in place.

See here that…

Work is done by distinct individuals.

I have pointed us at verses 11 and 14 because we have two different people with the same name.
The building was not done by people that were identical and could be stereotyped.
No, these were different kinds of people that worked in harmony.

Also note 3:12…

Nehemiah 3:12 (NIV)
12 Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section with the help of his daughters.

Shallum and his daughters are mentioned here. They are respected and honored. This was not exclusively men’s work. This was for all that had a stake in what was going on.

Keep in mind that I’m not talking about individualism here – in other words the idea that the individual is more important than the whole – but I’m talking about their individuality – the idea that each person brings important qualities to the whole that makes them of equal value to each other.

Let us also note at this point that since we are all different, we need organization.

Cooperation needs coordination.

This is so true in the church as well. Just as it was back then, we have contrasting personalities, complementary abilities, and distinctive abilities. Because of this, each one of us possesses a certain dignity. What each one of us has to offer has value.

IV. The fourth approach is GENEROSITY.

Nehemiah 3:13-19 (NIV)
13 The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the residents of Zanoah…14 The Dung Gate was repaired by Malkijah son of Recab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem. … 15 The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-Hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. … 16 Beyond him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of a half-district of Beth Zur, made repairs …. 17 Next to him, the repairs were made by the Levites under Rehum son of Bani. Beside him, Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district. 18 Next to him, the repairs were made by their countrymen under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of the other half-district of Keilah. 19 Next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section, from a point facing the ascent to the armory as far as the angle.

Work is done by those willing to sacrifice.

As you look at this section of people, note that they were all out-of-towners. Some of them traveled 15 – 20 miles. This means that there was little or no immediate benefit to them if Jerusalem’s walls were repaired. Yet they showed up for this sweaty, back-breaking work.

They had their own fields to cultivate. They had their own farms and places of business to be maintained. They had families to care for. Yet, they willingly left them for a period because of the greater cause. They were people of sacrifice and generosity.

Through the centuries, the church has been built on those that have sacrificed and were even willing to work behind the scenes. They were ready to do anything to further God’s agenda. They did it whether it was cleaning, catering, repairs, visiting, or literature distribution. Whatever needed to be done, they set aside other cares, and exhibited generosity. The church continues to need sacrifice and generosity today. In fact, the church is paralyzed and unable to accomplish its purpose without it.

Here’s the cool thing – I have found that whatever you sacrifice in obedience to the Will of God, He takes care of!

V. The fifth approach is NOT PRIDE but HUMILITY

Remember the Dung Gate that I referenced earlier? Notice who it was built by again…

Nehemiah 3:14 (NIV)
14 The Dung Gate was repaired by Malkijah son of Recab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem. He rebuilt it and put its doors and bolts and bars in place.

Now take note of some people mentioned in reference to the section of wall between the Fish Gate and the Old Gate…

Nehemiah 3:5 (NIV)
5 The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.

Work for God is not accomplished by those filled with self-importance.

Verse 5 is intriguing because it is the only negative in the chapter. The leading citizens of Tekoa knew the need of Jerusalem, but they refused to help. The text tells us that they did not put their shoulder to the work. Pride kept them from it. They wouldn’t stoop this low. They were too important.

But do note this…
All that are recorded in this chapter are positively reported except for these people.
They are remembered forever for their failure.

And it is a lesson to us as well…God notices the goof-offs. We must remember that pride is a cruel enemy.

Proverbs 3:34 (NIV)
34 He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.

James 4:6 (NIV)
6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:5 (NIV)
5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Pride inflates our self-importance, makes holiness impossible and, thus, we are unable to fulfill God’s plan for us.

VI. The sixth approach is RESPONSIBILITY.

Nehemiah 3:28-30 (NIV)
28 Above the Horse Gate, the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house. 29 Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. Next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard at the East Gate, made repairs. 30 Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berekiah made repairs opposite his living quarters.

Work for God is completed by those that are determined to give their best.

Nehemiah gave out assignments wisely. He encouraged many of the people who wanted to help, to work opposite of their residences. Interestingly, it was an opportunity to protect ones’ own reputation. Their work would have a direct impact on their own homes, so it had better be good. No one would want his or her present work to bring future embarrassment.

Sometimes, our search for a ministry opportunity is not so far away. It is the wall right in front of our homes. It is the people that God has already brought into our life. It is our family. It is the people we live around. It is the people that we work with or go to school with. So be careful not to be looking elsewhere when the wall in front of you is in disrepair.

Be responsible for what God has already given you to do.

VII. The seventh approach is INTENSITY.

Nehemiah 3:20 (NIV)
20 Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the angle to the entrance of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

Nehemiah 3:27 (NIV)
27 Next to them, the men of Tekoa repaired another section, from the great projecting tower to the wall of Ophel.

Now note that the…

Work for God is finished by those that are willing to go the extra mile.

Earlier In this chapter, you may recall that Meremoth, Meshullam and the Tekoans all finished one part of the wall. What they didn’t do at this point was brush off their hands and clothes and say, “We’re done.” No, they looked for more opportunity. They were eager to do God’s work and went the second mile.

In verse 20, Baruch is also mentioned as one that is zealous to accomplish the building of the wall.
He was enthusiastic. He was on fire. He had passion.

There is a tale told of that great English actor Macready. An eminent preacher once said to him: “I wish you would explain to me something.” “Well, what is it? I don’t know that I can explain anything to a preacher.”

“What is the reason for the difference between you and me? You are appearing before crowds night after night with fiction, and the crowds come wherever you go. I am preaching the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not getting any crowd at all.”

Macready’s answer was this: “This is quite simple. I can tell you the difference between us. I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction.”

(G. Campbell Morgan, Preaching, p. 36. )

Let me tell you this…
The church still needs people with passion of every age. People who believe in the truth, live in the truth and proclaim the truth with passion.

The church is looking for people that look to see what needs to be done and are willing to put feet on it.

The church needs people that will not settle for what has been, but for what needs to be done!

CONCLUSION:

All of theses approaches to rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem together demonstrate that…

1. We must have the courage to be a team.

God has not called on us to act rashly and do our own thing when doing His work.
He has called us to coordinated cooperation.
He calls us to have the courage to set aside our preferences, our desires, our hurts and our pride so that the team will succeed.
He needs people that will commit time, talent, and treasure to complete the task.

You have to admire Nehemiah here, for he takes a disorganized, unmotivated, and uninspired people and turns them into an army with a mission.
You know, Nehemiah teaches us many lessons about leadership.
One of them is that…

2. We must recognize that visions from God are bigger than us.

It has been said, “If you can do this job yourself, then your vision is too small.”
You have to appreciate Nehemiah’s “can do” attitude.
But you must realize his source.
He is confident about God’s agenda and God’s call, so he moves forward, even though it is huge.

By gathering the team together, though, he teaches us that…

3. The church is not designed for loners.

Whether you are a leader or a follower, the principle still applies.
We are not meant to do anything alone.
God has designed the church to function together.
We need each other.
Of course there may be some of you with a “longer” bent and I’m not saying to you that you aren’t welcome in the church of Christ. What I am saying is that by its very nature, those in the church are in it together. No matter how much of a “loner” you may be, you are still created (along with all of us) for community.
For…

4. We are designed to do this together.

Paul calls it being part of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4) This means you have a place! This means as a part of His body you will be remembered – that you have value that you are important.

This long list of names recorded in Nehemiah…
It shows us that God is a great believer in putting names down.
It also means that God has not forgotten our names either.
You may feel obscure and unimportant, but God does have a place for you.
He has a strategic place for you at the wall.
God has a job for you to do in the church that matches up perfectly with what He has wired you to do.
You belong on this team.

No more loners.
It’s time to have courage, be on the team, and build what God would have us build – His kingdom together.

Welcome to week two of the series I started last week. Today we’re going to look at the unseen side of a dangerous church.Before we do so, how many of you remember what a “Magic Eye” picture is? You know those images that are full of all kinds of different colors in a seemingly random pattern that on the surface look like just a mess of lines and colors. But supposedly if you look at this image in just the right way a three-dimensional image will appear as if by magic. Now, there are some people that can pick up these unseen images right away. I’m not one of them. When these images first started becoming popular I remember looking at them for what seemed like hours and not getting anywhere. I started to wonder if maybe there was a conspiracy among the have seens to pretend they had some sort of superior skill of observation even when the image really contained nothing. Supposedly, there was a trick to getting the image to appear. You’d start with the image close to your nose and stare at one particular spot on the image as you slowly move it away from your nose until you reach the “sweet spot” where the blur of unfocused eyes becomes the elusive 3-D masterpiece. I was just about to write off these things as a hoax, until one time it happened. I saw the unseen! It was amazing and I was mesmerized by this previously unseen picture manifesting seemingly miraculously out of a mess of shapes and colors. It captured my attention until something distracted me. I don’t remember exactly what the distraction was now but it was only for a microsecond. Someone called my name or tugged my arm, or bumped into me and my gaze shifted and instantly the image disappeared.

For a brief moment though, I saw something that many of you have never seen. Today, I want the people here in this place to see a side of the church that many people simply do not see. There’s an unseen side to all sorts of great things – and hopefully today I’m going to help you see the unseen side of the church and maybe you’ll see something that others do not see. Jesus said, “If you have eyes to see let them see, if you have ears to hear let them hear”.

We’ll start off today with the foundation of a fairly well known parable, “The parable of the Talents” (Matthew 25). If you don’t know the story, let me give you a brief overview:

• Jesus told the story about a master who was going away for a while and before leaving on his journey he gathered up some trusted servants and left with each of them some talents according to their abilities.
• One guy he gave five talents, another he gave two and the third he gave one.
• The master went away and he said, “Guys do what you need to do to take care of what I’ve entrusted to you”
• The first guy made a great investment and doubled his investment from five to ten.
• The second guy did so as well, he doubled his investment from two to four.
• The third guy though, he knew how important the talents were to his master, so instead of risking losing it – he played it safe. He buried the talent in the ground to guard what he knew was important to his master.

Now, if you had just walked up on the story you would have seen the two guys who had maximized their investments and may have said, “Wow, I wish I had it so good”. What you wouldn’t see is the unseen side of what went into their success. For example, and obviously I’m reading a lot into the story, but they could’ve spent a lot of time agonizing in prayer – where is the right place to invest? They could’ve spent a lot of time studied the markets – they could’ve looked at all sorts of things and spent a lot of time in discomfort wanting to make the right decision – leaning towards one investment, hesitating wondering if this is the right one, making the investment and then sweating as they think, “I hope I did the right thing!” The discomfort – the unseen side of the success story.

There could also be an unseen side to the guy who buried his talent. For example, he could have sat back and said, “Those idiots! They’re putting the master’s cash at risk! How could they be so foolish? I’m doing the right thing by playing it safe. I’m guarding what belongs to the master, I’m playing it safe.”

The master came back and did something shocking! The guys who had doubled the talents by investing them came and the master said, “Well done”. He took the guy who had played it safe and took his talent and gave it to the guy with the others. This is what he said to the guy who played it safe, “You are a wicked and lazy servant” and Jesus said that the master cast this servant into darkness. Pretty interesting isn’t it? The unseen side to the man who thought he was doing it right and yet the master said he was wicked and lazy.

That foundation brings us to where we are in today’s North American church. A lot of churches I would argue are playing it safe – guarding what we have, burying the true treasure, and not taking risks. Could you imagine if one day Jesus would say, “You wicked and lazy servant – you’re guarding what I gave you rather than serving faithfully”

Three Qualities of a Safe Church:

1. Strives to keep the members happy
Let’s hold what we’ve got. Let’s bury the talent. Let’s play it safe.

2. Avoids controversial issues.
Let’s not risk making anybody mad – especially the people with the money. Let’s stay away from dangerous issues. Let’s just play it safe.

3. Guards the status quo.
Let’s not take any risks, we better make sure we keep what he have, let’s bury the talent and play it safe.

I’m going to argue that today people aren’t rejecting God as much as they are rejecting the church. Why is it that people don’t go to church?

Some would say because they’ve already been. Right? “Been there, done that, and nothing happens” People aren’t rejecting God as much as they are rejecting the safe church where nothing ever happens. So, our dangerous mission is crystal clear as I reinforced last week – if you remember it would you say it aloud with me right now,

Our mission is to allow the light of God to shine so powerfully in our lives that people can’t help but join us in becoming fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

It’s a dangerous mission because when you submit your life to Christ, you CANNOT stay the same! Our purpose, how we live out this mission is simple.

INSPIRE – Bring IN
EQUIP – Build UP and train
INVOLVE – Build togetherness and community (discovering and using our gifts, talents and abilities to serve one another and others)
SEND – Send OUT

Today I want to talk about the UNSEEN side of a dangerous church. If you walk up on any success story our first reaction is usually, “I wish I had it so good”. You see a great marriage, you say, “Man, I wish I had a great marriage like that!” There’s an unseen side to that great marriage. There’s years and years of sacrificial decisions leading to that great marriage. There’s a couple that have learned how to grow through conflict, who have CONFLICTED and grown through it. You see somebody financially strong and unless they inherited it – there’s an unseen side to their success. Year’s of living beneath their means, years of investing, years of working very, very hard at what they did – there’s an unseen side.

The same is true in church. Some people say I wish I was part of a church like that or I wish that our church was like that. Before you do that though it’s important you understand that there are unseen qualities to a dangerous church. We’ll look at three of them today.

The first one is this. The first unseen quality of a dangerous church is…

PAIN

Get ready for it. It’s painful when you are making a difference for the Kingdom of God. John 15:18-19 – help me out with this as we read it together.

18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
John 15:18-19 (NIV)

Do you realize that if you are a fully devoted follower of Christ that the world is going to hate you? You’re going to be rejected. You’re going to be despised by men. You’re going to be persecuted. Listen, if you are being persecuted for your faith, do not worry! Worry, if you are not being persecuted! Because if you are a fully devoted follower of Christ you will experience pain!

Now here’s an odd thing. This is what bugs me. It is that many people come to God hoping to eliminate pain and there’s kind of this false teaching that if you come to God everything is going to be okay! If you come to God everything is going to be just great – just hunky dory.

And so we have a lot of so-called Christ followers who goal is to live in a very insulated environment. When we’re surrounded only by church people, we have only our little Christian circle, where we speak only our “Christianese” where the goal is this safe insulated life. If that’s your goal, safety and the absence of pain you are following a false God.

Jesus did not die on a cross so that we could be safe! He died on a cross to save us into a life of faith and risk. So that we could die to ourselves, so that our old nature is dead and we only live through Christ and Him through us. Have you forgotten that? See there’s this side of pain.

This is what Peter says,

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
1 Peter 4:1 (NIV)

Where is that message preached in the North American church today? I don’t hear it? Do you? Be ready to suffer. There is an unseen side. Understand this clearly – you will be rejected, you will be misunderstood, you will be an outcast and when you are embrace it because this is not your home anyway! If you are a Christ-follower you are not of this world, your home is somewhere else.

If you want to be part of something great in the kingdom of God get ready for some pain.

Some of these so-called “Christians” they get hurt, they take their ball and go home. “They’re mean to me, no one called me” Grow up! We’re talking about heaven and hell here. We get our feelings hurt we stay in the game!

There is a verse that reminds us that the pain is worth it and gives us a reason to push through – I want to share it with you,

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)

Behind the scenes is an unseen side. You no longer want to be a consumer but you want to be a contributer – well there’s going to be some pain involved!

The second unseen quality is this…

RISK

And lots of it. I want us to look at Acts 19. In this story there are seven sons of a man named Sceva and they saw some of the disciples casting demons out of people and so they thought, “We can throw the name of Jesus around and we can do the same thing.” And so they saw a guy and he was possessed and they went up to this guy and they say, “Come out in Jesus’ name” The evil spirit replies,

… “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
Acts 19:15 (NIV)

Now let’s look at what happens next,

Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
Acts 19:16 (NIV)

Now for some reason this is funny to me. I don’t know why – maybe it’s the picture of these guys who have gone into the house of this man all pompous like and thinking they’re all that because they’ve got the “magic” formula for casting out demons and then a few moment later running out naked and bleeding from getting beat up because of their stupidity.

These guys took a risk and they failed miserably. If you continue reading the story though, you see something amazing. So many people were overwhelmed with what the name of Jesus must mean and that it should not be taken lightly that the majority of the town repented from their sin after seeing some guys risk, fail, and then the name of Jesus was lifted up.

Interesting… a lot of so-called Christ followers want to eliminate all risk out of their lives and yet the Bible says that we learn to walk by faith and not by sight. We want to see things…figure them out from our logical perspective when God says you can’t please Him without faith.

When is it that we take a risk?
Write this down.

Your willingness to risk is based on potential return.

Are you going to take a risk – well it all depends on what is the possible return. For example: If your house or apartment catches on fire and you escape, you make it out and you realize you left your goldfish inside. Let’s all take a vote. How many of you would say, “I would run back into the flaming building and risk my life to get my goldfish.”? If you raised your hand you people need counseling…it’s okay…

Now let’s look at another scenario. You’ve successfully escaped your burning house or apartment and you realized that your child is still inside. Now let’s take a vote. How many of you would say, “I would run back into the flaming building and risk my life to get my child.”?

Why? Because the return is worth the risk.

Now I’ll ask you this. Let’s say, I’m going to take you a chance to make a bet. 50/50 bet – you put $100 on the line and there’s a 50/50 chance you can get a $10 return. You win – you get your $100 back plus your $10. You lose – you lose all your money and get nothing back. How many of you would say, “oh that sounds great! I’m in!”? A few of you need to go to gamblers anonymous – that’s a bad bet.

Now let’s say this. Same odds – 50/50 chance but this time I tell you to put up your $100 and if you win – you get a million dollars – if you lose you get nothing. How many of you would say, “I’m taking that bet. I’m taking that chance. Forget that gambling is wrong – I don’t care – it’s a million dollars!” Right? The return is worth the risk.

People may ask, Darren why are so passionate about this God thing, this Jesus thing – the church? My answer is this, I simply can’t find anything else where the return is greater! You show me something that is more eternally valuable and I will leave what I am doing at this moment and I will pursue it with every bit of passion in me.

Think about this. Depending on who you read – the most conservative Bible scholars and historians will tell you this, and they debate it, they tell you this: Based on years and years of population, people who have lived from the beginning of the world until now – somewhere between 1/3 and ½ of the people who have ever lived are alive at this moment. Think about that. Remember this is debatable – some people say it’s 1/10th. Let’s say it is 1/10th – 1/10th of the people who have ever lived are alive at this moment. Some people say it is as many as ½. We have the technology to take the gospel all over the world and we want to sit here in our little seats and play it safe?

There’s no greater return! Why is it that people in church today don’t want to risk? We want to bury our talent and play it safe. What do people do? They don’t tithe 10% of their income because its too big of a risk – I want to hold on to it rather than trust God with it! We’ve forgotten the potential return which Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) and so you rob yourself of a blessing. The potential return that when you obey God with your tithe, He blesses you in ways that you cannot contain – but still there are many who want to play it safe!

Serving. We know we should probably serve as part of the body of Christ but some people don’t serve because it might not be good enough or it might take too much time but they’ve forgotten the return. The return that you can be truly great! Jesus said,

25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
Luke 22:25-27 (NIV)

In the kingdom, greatness is not a measure of fame or fortune or title – but is a measure of one’s willingness to simply serve. Jesus said, “I don’t come to be served, but to serve.”

Witness and sharing our faith: Every single one of you have someone that you love who doesn’t know Christ. Every single one of you – unless you surround yourself with this Christian cliché. Every single one of you knows someone who doesn’t know Christ and yet many of us don’t share our faith because we’re afraid of what they are going to think of us. We’ve forgotten the potential return…

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:10 (NIV)

What opportunities has God given you to be a part of bringing this heavenly party about by talking to someone about Jesus that you’ve passed up because you’d rather play it safe?

Risk. Some will say, “Yeah that’s okay to talk about when everything goes well but what’s going to happen when something fails?” Here’s the thing – there are going to be failures! Nothing will get built, and nothing will happen unless there is failure. It works like this, Risk – failure – learning – adjusting. You can’t be a part of something great without taking faith risks!

As I prepared this message there’s something I realized that I’ve got to confess to you folks. I’ve been pastoring this church thinking about what we can do. That’s wrong. I need to pastor this church by thinking about what God can do. I got sidetracked for a while…I forgot the potential return! No more! Friends – as a church, we need to stop thinking of what we’re capable of and start focusing on what God is capable of! Friends, it’s time to start taking faith risks like you would not believe. The recent Zimbabwe 2007 project that we were a part of is a taste of what can happen when you focus on what God is capable of…

There’s an unseen side – there’s pain, there’s risk and finally, there’s…

LOSS

Don’t miss this. There’s loss. Jesus said,

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
Matthew 16:25 (NIV)

There’s so many people who go around saying, “I want to find my life…maybe if I get a new car, a new job, a new house, maybe it’s some more money, maybe it’s a different relationship…I just want to find my life.” If you want to find it – lose it!

Lose your life in Christ…so you can find His life in you. “I’m on the search for something” …in your search, lose your life!

Loss, is the unseen side of a great work of God. Here’s a really good definition of sacrifice I came across in my studies that I believe is the best way to look at it.

Sacrifice: Giving up something that you love for something that you love even more. (Craig Groeschel, Lifechurch.tv)

You can always tell how much you love something by what you will sacrifice for it. Did you hear me? Parents should understand this definition well. When Kerryanne and I had kids we gave up some alone time, we’ve lost some sanity, and we’ve even missed out some neat things that we could have done as a couple if we didn’t have children. But here’s the thing – we love our kids more and so the sacrifice is worth it. It’s painful, it hurts at times but all it takes is one hug and kiss from that Zachary, or Karissa, or Jenna or Liam saying – “Daddy I wove you” and it’s all good.

Every decision we make as leadership in the church going forward in what we believe God is asking us to step out in faith in will involve some sort of loss for a gain. It won’t be easy and will probably be painful – but we always need to remember that He is in charge and there may be a loss but in the end there will be gain.

If it means giving up some of my personal preferences for what we do in church so that the lost come to Christ then I’m willing to give that up so that His kingdom grows. Sacrifice is giving up something that you love for something that you love even more.

Luke, chapter five has a powerful story that teaches us much about this. Let’s get the context here: There’s some businessmen, that’s who they are, they own a fishing business and this business has likely been in their family for generations. One day, Jesus shows up, does some miracles and says to these businessmen, “Would you like to change the world? Here’s what you have to do…you have to lose your life to do it. I invite you to drop everything follow me and you will no longer be in the business of catching fish but I will make you fishers of men.” Here’s what they did,

So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Luke 5:11 (NIV)

Two words that grab me. They left their family business, they left financial security, they left everything they loved for something they loved even more – reaching people.

That’s what the Cooledge’s did… (share a bit about their decision to leave everything and move to Zimbabwe)

CONCLUSION

How many of you know the song “Hokey Pokey”? “Put your right arm in, put your right arm out and shake it all about. You do the hokey pokey and turn all around. That’s what it’s all about!”…

Let me say as respectfully as I can that many of you are “Hokey Pokey” Christ-followers! You’ll put your right arm in until there’s a little bit of pain and then you’ll pull your right arm out. You’ll put your right arm in until there’s risk involved and then you pull it back out and not have anything to do with that. You’ll put your right arm in until it costs you something and there’s loss and you’ll back off.

Remember the last line – “put your whole body in”…that’s the only way to follow Christ! Not a partially devoted follower of Christ – but a fully devoted follower of Christ. Where it’s no longer about me and it’s all about Him!

If there is pain I count it an honor to suffer for the Lord who died for me.

If there is risk I’ll take it willingly and believe by faith that God will empower it.

And if there is loss…who cares – because the eternal gain is worth it.

There is an unseen side to a dangerous church. He who eyes to see – let him see. A Christ follower is willing to pay the cost because the return is worth it. Our mission is clear…

To let the light of God shine so powerfully in our lives that people can’t help but join us in becoming fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

PRAY

1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV)
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

The church is not a religious institution, it is not a service provider, and it is not a retail outlet: it is a community of faith. The word for church in the Bible is “ecclesia” from which we get the word “ecclesiastical.” It comes from two other Greek words “eke” for out, and “kleisis” for a calling. When the Bible calls us the ecclesia, it is calling us “The called-out community. That is why verse 9 says “he has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. The “Ecclesia” is not an organization or an institution; it literally means a gathering of the people – a gathering of God’s people! Church is not a place – it is a people.

YOU ARE A CHOSEN PEOPLE. Think of the significance of that statement! When you become a part of the Church of Jesus Christ you are joining the ranks of a chosen people. God chose you! You belong to Him! You are the child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You are royalty! There is an incredible joy that comes from understanding the full significance of that statement. However I want to talk further today on the important responsibility that comes with this understanding and it begins with the observation that…

1. Eternity Matters Most.

Matthew 25:19-21 (NIV)
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

- We will have to settle the account.
- He is not looking for faithful attendees.
- You have a talent that needs to be used and multiplied.

Notice that Peter writes, “…you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood….that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” For every person who is a part of the family of God has an incredible God-given purpose for their life. That purpose is always an eternal minded one. What you do with your God-given purpose has implications for eternity…

Illustration:

Many years ago a man conned his way into the orchestra of the emperor of China although he could not play a note. Whenever the group practiced or performed, he would hold his flute against his lips, pretending to play but not making a sound. He received a modest salary an enjoyed a comfortable living. Then one day the emperor requested a solo from each musician. The flutist got nervous. There wasn’t enough time to learn the instrument. He pretended to be sick, but the royal physician wasn’t fooled. On the day of his solo performance, the impostor took poison and killed himself. The explanation of his suicide led to a phrase that found its way into the English language: “He refused to face the music.” (Just Like Jesus; Max Lucado)

Today you can pretend to be a part of God’s orchestra by just blending in with the crowd and going through the motions. No one may notice, because you say the right things, go to the right places, and hang out with the right people. And you can enjoy the comfort of being accepted by the crowd of your choice. But there will come a day when you must face the music, one day you will be separated from everything. On that day you will stand alone before God and give an account for your life, your decisions, and whether or not you were tapped into the living water.

Romans 14:11-12 (NIV)
11 It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

2 Corinthians 5:9-10 (NIV)
9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

- Think about the way you spend your time.
- Are you ready to give an account?
- Are you a participant or a spectator in the Body of Christ?
- Have you slipped into neutrality?

Why do we lose our eternal focus and slip into lukewarmness, apathy, and neutrality?

a.) Time passes and we lose heart.
b.) Satan.
c.) Friends.
d.) Family.

Many Christians think they need to hear more in order to grow when really they need to obey the teaching they have already received! They need to do the Word!! This brings me to the next point…

2. Christianity is about doing, not hearing and watching.

The most influential and effective times in my life have not been sitting in a pew listening to a message but in doing the message I heard. One of the reasons God has given each one of us a purpose is so that in the pursuit of the fulfillment of that purpose we grow and influence others for Christ. This was probably one of the biggest lessons that was reinforced for me with my recent trip to Zimbabwe…

How many times do you think about what you’re going to get out of a ministry in the church? I rarely think about what I am going to get out of a Sunday service, I focus on bringing what God wants me to give.

What about you?

1 Corinthians 14:26 (NIV)
26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

- These must be done or the Church will not be strengthened.

That explains the weak state of affairs in the North American Church. I believe Jesus has a strong message to the consumer church and the consumer Christian…

Matthew 25:31-40 (NIV)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

An older sister was sitting next to her younger brother in Church one Sunday morning unsuccessfully trying to keep him still and quiet. Finally she said, “I wish you would calm down.” “I can’t”, he said, “it’s just so boring.” With that his sister turned and said, “It’s supposed to be boring.”

Is this really true? Is church supposed to be boring? I want to tell you something folks – if you’re involved in church, it won’t be boring – and there are many ways of being involved… (list some ministries)

James 1: 22-25
22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.

A German soldier was wounded. He was ordered to go to the military hospital for treatment. When he arrived at the large and imposing building, he saw two doors, one marked, “For the slightly wounded,” and the other, “For the seriously wounded.”
He entered through the first door and found himself going down a long hall. At the end of it were two more doors, one marked, “For officer” and the other, “For non-officers.” He entered through the latter and found himself going down another long hall. At the end of it were two more doors, one marked, “For party members” and the other, “For non-party members.” He took the second door, and when he opened it he found himself out on the street.
When the soldier returned home, his mother asked him, “How did you get along at the hospital?”
“Well, Mother,” he replied, “to tell the truth, the people there didn’t do anything for me, but you ought to see the tremendous organization they have!”

The soldier’s comment describes many churches in our day: really organized, but accomplishing little.

It is imperative that the church be a nation of “doers”. But our actions should always be accomplished and directed by our Lord and Saviour…

3. Jesus is our “True North” guide (conclusion)

True north is a constant and refers to the geographic North Pole. Magnetic north tends to shift and refers to the pole of the Earth’s magnetic field. In mid 2002, true north and magnetic north were approximately 590 miles apart.

… Maps are aligned along true north, so hikers have to make adjustments when navigating by compass (taken from http://ask.yahoo.com/20030826.html)

There are times when we may be going along a path that seems like the right direction but it is always important to check the direction we go against the one who always guides correctly!

Recall that Peter said, remember…

1 Peter 2:10 (NIV)
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

The Apostle Paul writes about the one who enabled this mercy to his protégé Timothy…

2 Timothy 2:8 (NIV)
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,

a.) Remember Jesus.
When we get discouraged and feel like quitting as Timothy does at this time it is because we have lost sight of something. We have become focused on ourselves instead of Jesus.
Remember the incredible victory He won over sin and death and the struggle to quit.

b.) Remember His humanity.
Remember that He did not win as God but as a man like you and me.

c.) Remember His resurrection.
Remember how He made a show of the forces of the enemy openly. Like a Roman Caesar returning in victory He ascended to the thrown and announced, “I am still King!”

d.) Remember the gospel message.
If you don’t remain true for any other reason then remain true for the sake of those who are watching and judging the Gospel message based on your witness.

As you look back on your life there are probably certain things that stand out in your memory. Moments in time that were forever preserved in the memory banks of your mind because of the impact those events had on your life. Certainly the impact may have been positive or negative but the memory remains. Unforgettable.We keep pictures to remind us of some of these moments – we reminisce with family and friends and sometimes something contacts our senses that triggers a memory (a smell, a sight, a taste etc.). But not only are there individual memories that each of us have but there are also collective memories that we share with each other. Some of these memories are of events that we were actually a part of and then there are other memories that are passed on – memories that we may not actually have been a part of but share in nevertheless.

Families share memories unique to them (eg. Family vacations), communities share memories of tragedies or celebrations (Walkerton crisis), nations share memories (Victoria Day, Canada Day, Confederation), and the world shares memories (war, holocaust). Some of these memories fade in significance over time but there are a few that remain unforgettable as long as there are people who keep the memory alive.

Within the church there are unforgettable memories as well – memories of events that we may not have directly been a part of yet we share in regardless. One of the most important memories is found recorded in Acts Chapter 2. What is significant about this memory and distinguishes it from many other memories we have in our life is that the memory of what happened then is something that is still happening now! We not only remember through the pages of the scripture what happened when the Holy Spirit was poured out among the early church in the book of Acts but we also are witnesses and for some of us participants in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit today! And for those who have and are experiencing Him, it truly is unforgettable!

Today, I’d like to take a look at this “memory” of the work of the Holy Spirit in the beginning Church found in Acts and in doing so I pray the Holy Spirit will do a fresh work in our hearts this morning!

PRAY

The Book of Acts begins by drawing attention to the fact that the work of Jesus was continued by the Spirit first through the apostles. But the apostles are not really dominant in the book of Acts. The Holy Spirit is! Everything in the lives and preaching of the apostles and early believers is still centered in Jesus as their living Saviour and exalted Lord and the program to extend the gospel to the uttermost part of the earth is Christ’s program. Yet, there is running throughout this Book a new awareness of the Holy Spirit.

It came, not only from their initial Pentecostal experience, but from a daily consciousness of the presence, guidance, and fellowship of the Spirit and from many special manifestations of His power. Their baptism in the Spirit never became a mere memory of something that happened in the distant past. It was an ever-present reality. (p. 135, What the Bible Says about the Holy Spirit by Stanley M. Horton)

It is evident while reading through the book of Acts that the Holy Spirit was in charge of the church. And indeed that is still the case. From the beginning, the Holy Spirit’s prominence is seen. Not only were the final commands of Jesus given through the Spirit in Him; they had to do with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus commanded his disciples not to leave Jerusalem (Acts 1:4). The outpouring on the Day of Pentecost would never have had the effect or gained the attention it did if only five or six people had stayed. Further, the book of Acts emphasizes again and again a unity, a “being in one accord,” by which the Spirit was fulfilling the prayer of Jesus in John 17. It was important for the believers to be together in one place for this unity to be fostered and for its blessings to be realized.

As we continue this morning, I’d like take the next few minutes to look at some characteristics of what happened on this particular Day of Pentecost and see if these characteristics are still true of what happens today as we experience the Holy Spirit. While there is much that could said this morning I’d like focus on 7 characteristics.

the promise of the Father (is for the church today as well)

Jesus told his disciples prior to ascending to heaven to wait for the gift promised to them by the Father which He went on to identify as the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1:4-5 (NIV)

It is called the promise of the Father because He is the One from whom the promised outpouring comes, as Jesus had already taught them. He would ask the Father, and the Father would send the Spirit. A prophecy of John the Baptist, recorded in all four gospels declared that Jesus would baptize in the Holy Spirit – it is the Father who sends the Spirit but it is the Son who baptizes. It is through the Son that one receives the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

John’s baptism by water was only a preparation for the new age of the Spirit, while Jesus’ baptism is actually a part of it. Baptism in the Spirit is immersion into a relationship with a divine Person, not into a fluid or an influence. It is a relationship that can continue to grow and enlarge. It is like water baptism in that it involves a distinct act of obedience and faith on our part.

So this outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was a fulfillment of the promise of the Father – the promise of being baptized or “filled” with the Holy Spirit. However this is a promise that can and is also being fulfilled in the church today! God is still the Giver of the Holy Spirit and Jesus is still the Baptizer! The Church is not a reservoir that received one donation of the Spirit forever. Jesus still asks the Father as the believer comes, and the Father still sends the Spirit. Realize today that the promise of the Father was not only for the believers gathered around Jesus while He walked this earth but also for believers who gather together in the Name of Jesus today!

waiting (the Baptism is to provide power for service)

Another characteristic of the events surrounding the Day of Pentecost was Jesus’ command to the disciples prior to the event to wait for it! Why would Jesus say this?

Maybe it was for preparation. But if that is the case why would Jesus have spent 40 days with the believers teaching them, dealing with Peter, recommissioning them! The evidence shows that Jesus had already prepared them.

The key to answering this question is found in Acts 1:8,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 (NIV)

The waiting was to show the disciples that the commission Jesus gave them was not to be a mere human enterprise. They were not to use their own ingenuity to figure out ways to spread the gospel. They were to be led by the Spirit. He would be in charge. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit provides power for service because it is Him who is at work through the believer.

The commission that Jesus gave the disciples is the same commission for the church today. And in the same way it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that this commission is fulfilled.

Does this mean that the believer who has not received this Baptism cannot be used by God? Certainly not – but that same believer must not give up waiting or tarrying for the Baptism! You notice that the apostles and believers weren’t waiting around doing nothing prior to the outpouring the Spirit. They spent the time of waiting in prayer and meeting together in one accord. According to Luke 24:52-53, they spent time in the temple continually praising and blessing (thanking) God. The Spirit was already working in their lives, but they were waiting – anticipating the Baptism, the endowment with power from on high!

When we think of the word waiting, most of us immediately conjure up an image of standing in a line. A lot of life is spent waiting in lines isn’t it? However, the use of the word waiting here has more in common with the image of expectant parents waiting for their child to be born. Do the mother and father sit down and a couch and do nothing while they watch the belly of the mother grow? No! They continue to live their lives…however, their lives are lived with the expectation and the preparation for the coming of that little one. They are still waiting – but it is an expectant wait.

Believers are still used by God prior to receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit but it certainly is something to be expected as a part of the fulfilled Christian walk.

wind and fire (connection with the Old Testament)

The third characteristic of this unforgettable day is found in Acts 2:2-3,

Acts 2:2-3 (NIV)
2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

The signs preceding the Pentecostal outpouring connect it with the Old Testament experiences as well as with the Old Testament promises. The Day of Pentecost was an Old Testament harvest festival (you can read about it beginning at Leviticus 23:15). For the Church, this day marked when the long-awaited spiritual harvest would begin.

But before the outpouring of the Spirit came, two unusual signs gave further connection with Old Testament symbolism. First there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty, rushing wind. Though there was not an actual wind, the sound filled the house. In the Old Testament wind was a frequent symbol of the Spirit. What is significant is the indication that the sound was that of a violent – or more accurately translated mighty wind – a wind with carrying power, suggesting the mighty power that was being imparted upon the believers by the Holy Spirit for the witness of the gospel.

The second sign was the appearance of “tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them”. The picture being described here is that there was what appeared to be a mass of flame over the whole group which then broke up into tongues of fire resting on the head of each person.

When you look at the connection with Old Testament symbolism there is something astonishing that begins to surface.

The Old Testament records a progressive development with regard to worship. First, it was simply at an altar, as with Abraham. Then God commanded His people to build a sanctuary in the wilderness, the tabernacle. Fire from heaven came down upon a sacrifice there to indicate God’s acceptance of this new sanctuary. But it happened only once. The next change came when Solomon built a temple. Again, fire came down and consumed the sacrifice, indicating God’s acceptance of the sanctuary. But it happened only once. The temples built by Zerubbabel and by Herod were just rebuildings of the same temple, so the sign was not repeated. (p.141 What the Bible Says About the Holy Spirit by Stanley M. Horton)

Now, here on this day of Pentecost the old temple is about to be destroyed (AD 70 it was destroyed). The believers are united together as the Body and are living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) as well as priests and living stones for the Temple (1 Peter 2:5). Here we have a twofold picture of the new temple – The Body of believers united together is the temple (sanctuary) for the dwelling of God by His Spirit (Ephesians 2:21,22; 1 Corinthians 3:16).

Ephesians 2:21-22 (NIV)
21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:16 (NIV)
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

Also, the bodies of the individual believers are each a temple or sanctuary of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).

1 Corinthians 6:19 (NIV)
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Notice that the appearance of fire came over the whole group indicating God’s acceptance of the whole Body as a temple – then it broke up with the single flame on the head of each believer to show God’s acceptance of each person as a temple of the Spirit.

These signs were not repeated as part of the Pentecostal baptism or the gift of the Spirit just as the fire came only once on each new sanctuary in Old Testament times. What they show is that before the Holy Spirit was outpoured, God acknowledged the believers as the temple, the body of Christ. The Church was now in full-fledged existence with the glorified Christ as the Head of the Body. The members of the Body were now ready for the Promise to be outpoured.

And so every believer today inherits the same distinction that was given to those gathered in the room that day. As a believer you are fit as a temple of the Holy Spirit! It is on the merits of your faith in Christ that the Holy Spirit comes and takes up residence!

they were all filled (the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is available to all who seek Him)

Acts 2:4 (NIV)
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

There are some who would say that the baptism in the Spirit at Pentecost and the speaking in tongues were limited to the 12 apostles. However, more than 12 languages were spoken,

Acts 2:8-11 (NIV)
8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs–we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

Also, notice in the passage immediately preceding Acts 2 there is mention of 120 believers gathered together and choosing a new apostle (1:15) and then Acts 2:1 starts with saying, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place…” So the Baptism of the Holy Spirit was given to all the believers who were gathered and was not reserved for the apostles.

Friends, the only qualifications for being baptized in the Holy Spirit are your faith in Christ and your desire to receive the Baptism. Does that mean when those qualifications are met that you will immediately receive the Baptism? No – for it is the Father who gives and Jesus who baptizes. It was in God’s timing on the day of Pentecost that the believers received and it is in God’s timing that we receive as well. But in His time it will happen!!

Other languages (Speaking to God – blessing for the believer, sign to the unbeliever)

Another characteristic of this unforgettable event is the fact that as the believers received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit they spoke in other languages as the Spirit enabled them. What does this mean, “as the Spirit enabled them” or as other translations put it, “as the Spirit gave utterance”? It means that they used their tongues, their muscles. They spoke. But the words did not come from their minds or their thinking. No, the words came from the Holy Spirit and these words were expressed boldly, loudly, and with obvious anointing and power.

This passage is often interpreted in various ways. Some take the position that the disciples were all really speaking in their native Aramaic and that this was a miracle of hearing rather than speaking. But verse 6 and 7 are too specific for that. Each man heard them speak in his own language without any of the usual Galilean accent. The 120 believers spoke in real languages that were actually understood by a variety of people from a variety of places. This brought a witness to the universality of the Gift and to both the universality and unity of the Church.

I want to make another important observation about this characteristic this morning. On this unforgettable day, the sound of the tongues gathered the crowd, but what they heard was not preaching. What they heard was the wonderful works (v11 – mighty, magnificent, sublime deeds) of God. This may have been in the form of shouts of praise, speaking unto God. It was not preaching – it was worship!

What Luke recorded in Acts 2:12 was that the people were amazed (astounded) and in doubt (perplexed, at a loss), completely unable to understand what this was all about. They understood what was being said but not why it was being said. They were confused by what they heard.

Then others began to make fun of the believers saying that these people were full of new wine or drunk (intoxicated). What they heard was what they mocked. What they saw was similar to what some would see in some drunk drinkers. Yet we must not take from this that there was any sign of the kind of frenzy that marked heathen drunkenness. The believers were still in control of their faculties. Their chief emotion was still joy. And they all quit speaking immediately when the apostles stood up!

It seems that when the 120 were speaking in tongues, the mocking increased, for this is something Peter refers to when he begins to speak (2:15). With the crowd listening growing more and more confused it was time for the tongues to stop. They had blessed the believer, been a sign to the unbelieving crowd, but did not and could not do the Spirit’s work of convincing the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Only the believers really received anything from the experience up to this point. They were filled. The Spirit who caused them to glorify God in other languages must also have revealed the same truths to their own hearts, so that their joy and emotion rose out of new appreciation of God and Christ. (p. 144, What the Bible Says About the Holy Spirit, by Stanley M. Horton)

The Spirit’s work of convincing the world began when Peter stood up and began to speak. What he gave was not a sermon. He did not study or prepare for it or try to figure out three points. “Began to speak” is “uttered forth,” the same verb that is used in 2:4 of the Spirit giving utterance in tongues. However, this time the Holy Spirit enabled Peter as he was speaking in his own language, Aramaic, a language the whole crowd understood. In other words, instead of a sermon, it was a manifestation of the gift of prophecy.

The important observation that needs to be made here is that when the believers began to speak in other tongues it was evidence of their baptism in the Holy Spirit. When they were speaking in tongues they were speaking to God and in this way it was a blessing to the believer and a sign to the unbeliever of the wonderful majesty of God. It is the same for us today – that is why tongues – as Paul writes later to the Corinthians – while being the initial evidence of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not to be relied on for convincing the unbeliever of their sin and their need for God! That’s what Peter and the other apostles and believers understood as he stood up under the gift of prophecy – which is the next characteristic of this unforgettable event.

fulfillment of prophecy (an explanation of the miracle)

After explaining that the 120 were NOT drunk, Peter began to declare that what the crowd had seen and heard (2:33) was the fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32. Joel’s prophecy of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was taking place before their very eyes!

We can draw three primary points from what Peter says to the crowd: (points marked with an * are taken from an article by Roger Stronstad, “What is Means to be Pentecostal” in the June 2001 issue of the Pentecostal Testimony)

The pouring forth of the Spirit is the eschatological or last-days gift of the Spirit (2:17a;38) *
Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is indicating to the crowd and through the pages of scripture to us, that the entire church age is “last days.” It is the last age before the restoration of Israel and Christ’s reign on earth, the last age before He comes in flaming fire to take vengeance on those who know not God and reject the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10)

The pouring forth of the Spirit is potentially universal – crossing all age, gender and social/economic boundaries and is available from generation to generation (2:17b-18a, 39) *
Again here we have repeated through the mouth of Peter that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is available to everyone who call on the name of Jesus and are seeking it. But more than that, this gift is not limited to one generation or one “season” of time!

The pouring forth of the Spirit comes as a result of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who has received the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured Him out on His followers! (v22-36)
This gift of the Holy Spirit is a testimony to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is testimony to the truth that Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy regarding the Messiah – He is the Christ!

CONCLUSION

response of the crowd

I want you to put yourselves in the shoes of the crowd for a moment. Here you are coming to Jerusalem for what always an exciting time of celebration and revelry. Only this time things turn out to be a little more exciting than usual! All of a sudden there are people moving through the crowds shouting at the top of their lungs. One of them moves closer to you and you recognize that she is speaking English – perfectly with no accent! And she is smiling from ear to ear, turning around and around with her hands in the air shouting praises to God and to Jesus! As you wonder at what’s happening you notice that all around you people are noticing the same thing. That these Galileans are speaking in different tongues and are begin understood by the people who know that native tongue. But then things start to get noisier and noisier as the crowd starts murmuring amidst the Galileans praises to God. A few people shout out, “Look at these drunkards – what are they doing?”

All of a sudden the Galileans who were speaking in other tongues stop and you follow their gaze as the noise of the crowd diminishes. You see a man stand up on some steps ahead flanked by 11 others. And this man begins to speak. You realize as you listen to him that you aren’t the only one captivated by his words. As he speaks, he begins to explain what has happened this day. All of a sudden the realization begins to sink in – if this is what a man named Joel prophesied many, many years ago and it is coming true – then this Jesus who had been crucified over a month ago is really the Messiah – but if that is the case, – oh, oh! The murmuring begins to pick up again and people begin shouting out – the concern and sorrow in their voices echoing the feeling in your heart, “What shall we do?”

Then the man speaks again,

“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. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

It wasn’t long before you joined the throng rushing up to the apostles crying out, “I repent, I believe!”

What happened to the crowd on the Day of Pentecost isn’t really any different from what happens today in the hearts of those who are confronted with the reality of the gospel and the conviction of the Holy Spirit…

Often times there is a wide gap between what we think are possible resolutions we should make for ourselves and what others think?

There was a couple who were sitting with a marriage counselor for their first session and the good doctor asked them to identify what seemed to be the root of their problems. The wife responded, ?It all started when we thought it would be cute to think up each other?s New Year?s resolutions? (Houston Post, 12/31/91, quoted in Autoillustrator.com, NEW YEAR?S RESOLUTIONS/FAULT FINDING.)

And there is even the wider gap between the resolutions we make and the ones that we actually follow through on.

I was thinking about this whole concept of New Year?s Resolutions and it struck me that a lot of our resolutions are centered on bettering ourselves. Think about it. Most of the resolutions we make are more about the all important me ? and improving, or trying to improve, the quality of life for ourselves. And yes, these goals we set are often good goals ? goals that would be admirable and often lead to a better quality of life not only for ourselves but for those around us as well.

But then, as the year rolls around isn?t it funny how when those resolutions become empty shells we often shift the blame to someone or something else for it?s unfulfillment! And then it?s so easy to say, ?Next year will be different!?

As I pondered all this, a question kept popping up in my mind, ?What about God? What is His resolution for my life?? Indeed, as I thought about it, I realized that no matter what resolution I made for the New Year ? if it wasn?t centered in his desire and plan for my life then it would amount to nothing. Yet, if my resolutions are founded on the instruction of the Holy Spirit then I can find strength and resolve in the Lord?s completing those resolutions through me in the New Year!

Then I started to think further about what God?s resolution is for my life. I quickly found that this is a question that isn?t easily answerable. I mean, it?s not like God was spelling out a list for me that took me from A-B outlining what his specific desires were for me in the next year. Certainly a good place to begin looking would be in God?s word ? but then it?s easy to be overwhelmed with the number of commands and instructions found within. ?be holy?, ?do not lie?, ?give generously?, ?be pure?, ?be righteous? ? how can I be all these things? And then I think to myself, ?okay, if this is what God wants then I resolve that this year I will?? But then we?re right back to the cycle of making the resolution and then breaking it. In fact looking back upon previous year?s you often find this cycle repeated over and over again. Sometimes it seems better to resolve nothing in order to gain something.

Then I realized something that really caught my heart, my mind, and my attention. Sometimes what is on the surface is not always revealing of the whole picture. All these ?commands? and ?instructions? found within the Bible are not the ?resolutions? God wants us to make but the fruits of the resolution God Himself has made found in the lives of those who have discovered and embraced it. What is this resolution God has made? It is a resolution that runs all through the Bible, surfacing clearly and distinctly in only a few places ? yet it permeates every theme, every character, every story, and every truth found within.

One of the places where this resolution surfaces is found at the end of our text today from Ephesians 1:3-10 (which was read this morning). I would like to repeat verse 9 and 10 to you.

Ephesians 1:9-10 (NIV)
9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment–to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

PRAY

God?s resolution is that all things in heaven and earth will be brought together under one head, Jesus Christ. This resolution had also surfaced in a conversation between a man, named Abraham, and God in Genesis 17:7-8,

Genesis 17:7-8 (KJV)
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

God made an invitation to Abraham in Genesis that He has also extended to us today. God said that He would be Abraham?s God. Abraham did not first choose God. God first chose Abraham and offered to be his God.

Later, the descendants of Abraham, the children of Israel, multiplied and were living in Egypt. In Egypt they forgot about their God and worshipped the gods of the Egyptians. As a result the children of Israel became slaves in the land of Egypt. When they finally woke up and cried unto God, God extended to them the same invitation He had made to Abraham: to be their God.

Exodus 6:7 (NIV)
7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

The children of Israel left Egypt to worship the Lord God in the wilderness and move into the promised land of Canaan where once again they would worship the one true God. However, they had become so accustomed to worshipping other gods that they kept asking Moses to take them back into bondage. God in His great love continued to extend His invitation to be their God and remind them of the things He had done and would do for them if they would only take Him at His word and let Him be their God.

Leviticus 22:32-33 (NIV)
32 Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the LORD, who makes you holy 33 and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.”

Leviticus 25:38 (NIV)
38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

Leviticus 26:12 (NIV)
12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.

Numbers 15:41 (NIV)
41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.’”

God emphasized over and over to the children of Israel that He wanted them to be His people and that He wanted to be their God. What a wonderful invitation. But God had already determined that Israel would not be the only recipients of this invitation.

Genesis 12:3 (NIV)
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

And so the nations have been and are being blessed by the ?seed? of Abraham ? for as we follow the lineage traced in the book of Matthew we find Jesus listed as the seed of Abraham. DISCOVER this morning the invitation that God has placed not only before Abraham but also to every person on this planet through Jesus Christ ? ?I will be YOUR God?!

This, then, is God?s Resolution ? to be Your God. However we can?t stop there. For you see although His resolution ? His decision is to be your God ? His desire is for you to embrace Him as Your God. And God?s resolution will come to pass ? Ephesians 1:9-10 emphasizes that all things in heaven and on earth will be brought together under one head, Jesus Christ ? however, only those who have embraced God?s Resolution will receive the benefits of His desire being fulfilled in their lives.

There is another place in Scripture which talks about God?s Resolution that brings more understanding to this statement. The book of Revelation is a book about the last days and the ?times of fulfillment? that Paul writes about in Ephesians. Without going into any great detail in today?s message about the contents of this book let me summarize it by saying this. There is a day, a time period, a point at which this planet will go through something it has never experienced before and no one will want to be a part of. There will be many catastrophes during this time. It will be a time of great tribulation ? and great suffering and anguish. There is an event that I would like to pick up on in Revelation that has great significance:

Revelation 20:11-15 (NIV)
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

I can confidently say that in the future for every single one of us will be a day where we stand before God and He will either be Our God or not be our God. And for those who do not know Him as their God their destination is grim. But now I?d like to read a few verses found after this time of judgement:

Revelation 21:1-8 (NIV)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

This passage in Revelations is what Paul is writing about in Ephesians 1:9-10. Paul is writing about the fulfillment of God?s Resolution ? that He would be Your God. A resolution that only comes to pass in your life as you embrace it.
And this folks is where God?s Resolution is echoed forth in his calling. For He is calling out to each one of you.

Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Do you know that God has and is calling each one of you? This calling is found in the first part of the scripture read this morning:

holy and blameless (vs 4)

Ephesians 1:4 (NIV)
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

Notice the similarity between God?s call here and that found?

Genesis 17:1 (NIV)
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.

Deuteronomy 18:13 (NIV)
13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.

Leviticus 11:44-45 (NIV)
44 I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy? 45 I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

Here, in this passage we find the first inkling as to why God emphasizes the need for holiness and blameless ? it is because God is holy and blameless ? let?s read further ?

Psalm 15:1-2 (NIV)
1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? 2 He whose walk is blameless ?

Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)
14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

The truth of the matter is that it is only those who are holy and blameless who can approach a holy and blameless God. We find these two words used again in 2 Peter 3:10-14 when Peter refers to the Day of the Lord which we have already talked about.

2 Peter 3:10-14 (NIV)
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

So God?s call to those who would embrace His resolution to be their God is to be Holy and Blameless before Him. The next question is How? And this is answered in verses 5-6.

adopted as sons

Ephesians 1:5-6 (NIV)
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will– 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

You become holy and blameless by becoming sons of God plain and simple. Isn?t this awesome ? God calls us to be Holy and Blameless in his sight by adopting us as His children! With this adoption comes a wonderful promise as found in Galatians 3:26-29?

Galatians 3:26-29 (NIV)
26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Notice the last verse ? heirs according to the promise. What is the biggest promise God gave to Abraham? ?I will be Your God and you will be mine!?

But this can still leave us hanging a bit ? God?s call to those who would embrace his resolution is to be holy and blameless and this occurs when we are adopted as His sons but then the question is ?How are we adopted as His sons?? The answer is in verse 7-8.

redemption/forgiveness (vs 7)

Ephesians 1:7-8 (NIV)
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

In who? Verse 5 tells us who ? In Christ, we have redemption through his blood?

God?s resolution is that He would be Our God. It would have been impossible if He had left it at that. When He made that statement to Abraham He followed up on it by telling Abraham what to do in order to make that possible (see Genesis 17:9). God established his covenant with Abraham and the Israelites by giving them the law that they could follow to show that they embraced His resolution. Through Moses, God set up a sacrificial system which necessitated the shedding of the blood of ?clean? animals to bring the forgiveness of sins for those who offered the sacrifices. Because sin demanded death it was only through the smoke of the sacrifices that the Israelites could know God?s favor by having their sins covered by the blood of the sacrifices. This would give them the appearance of being holy and blameless before God. It was their faith in the sacrifice that made this possible.

But this system of the law was set up merely to show how impossible it is for man to measure up to God?s standards of holiness and blamelessness. Truly, it is only by God?s grace that forgiveness of sins can be obtained and thus the fulfillment of God?s Resolution realized. And it is into this arena that the well known verse John 3:16 comes to mind.

John 3:16 (NIV)
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

It was through the blood of Christ shed on the cross that the grace of God is released to all who will receive it. His sacrifice, ?once and for all? made possible not only for the forgiveness of sins, but also our adoption as sons and thus us not only appearing but being holy and blameless before God. Do you know what that means? It means that for those who embrace God?s resolution for their lives you ARE HOLY AND BLAMELESS before God. He doesn?t look at you and say, ?O look at that wretched creature?, He looks at you and says, ?Come here, my child?!

CONCLUSION
Many of us begin the new year with different resolutions that often by year end leave us feeling defeated and hopeless. But this year I invite you to discover or rediscover the Resolution God has made. The language Paul uses in this passage found in his letter to the Ephesians emphasizes that God chose us first. He called us to HIS OWN purpose and grace. It is his resolution to be our God AND our Father! BUT it is a resolution that will only be fulfilled when we embrace it.

Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.

PRAY
To those who don?t believe in God:
- whether you believe in God or not is moot ? the fact is, God believes in you and wants to be your God and wants you to know His love in your life. There will be a day that all of us will face where your unbelief will be brought up short as you realize that He exists. This moment will be the most fearful moment of all eternity as you are confronted with the realization that He is not your God and He doesn?t recognize you as one of His. To you I say right now, there is nothing to lose by believing in Him and embracing His resolution and receiving the gift of His son Jesus Christ. But you have everything to lose if you fail..

To those who aren?t sure what to believe:
- many faiths and many different positions have probably floated around your heart and your mind. But you?ve probably discovered that there seems to be no faith that is more demanding than this one. It seems there is no other faith that claims to be the ?only way to salvation?, or contains such a seemingly narrow and rigid view of God and Heaven. And then, you?re probably not even sure you?d like to believe in a loving God sending someone to hell. To you I shout the wake up call. Hell is not a creation of our loving God but a necessity for a sinful Evil. God does not choose hell for anyone ? He chooses that all would be with Him in eternal life ? that?s why He went to such GREAT lengths and sacrifice to make this possible. It is our OWN choice or LACK of choice that condemns us to hell. Why does a loving parent tell their child not to play on a busy road? Or why is their the concept of Law and Order in a Free society? The point is that with the entrance of sin into the world there needed to be a plan for the dealing and healing of sin ? and sin can only be dealt with by destroying it so that the healing of it?s effects may take place. This view may seem narrow and may appear rigid ? and it is so ? but that doesn?t mean it isn?t right. On the day of judgment the only words that will ensure you life are, ?I am one of Yours Lord, I am your son through Jesus Christ? Don?t waste another moment, study the word of God ? not books about the Bible ? not what others say about it ? but study it yourself. Everyone who enters into a serious study of the Bible in an attempt to discover God find Him and find Christ. Don?t wait ? embrace God?s resolution for your life.

To those who nervous or scared or afraid of what this next step will bring:
- Don?t be nervous, don?t be scared, don?t be afraid. Be reassured ? God loves you! No matter what problems you bring ? no matter what past you bring ? not matter what you bring ? come to God and let Him be Your God. Know that for those who embrace His resolution for their life Paul writes,

Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

To those who are Christians who feel distant from God:
- Don?t let your feelings get in the way of the truth of your status in God?s eyes. You are his child! And just as children go astray sometimes, we too are apt to do this. But the fact remains that in a loving way God will bring us back to Him and even now He is doing that. Don?t run away from the discipline of God but embrace it ? for He is your Father and He is Your God!

To those who have embraced God?s Resolution for their life and are Christians in name and belief and are serving Him wholeheartedly and with joy:
- Let this message be a challenge and a reminder to keep in your heart of the fact that God has made you his own. Let it be an encouragement that it is through His work of grace and mercy that we are His children (not by anything we can do). And let it be a motivation to express God?s resolution to all we come in contact with so that they too can come into a wonderful relationship with Jesus Christ.