Elmhurst CRC

Sunday Message - The Letter

September 19, 2021 Elmhurst CRC
Elmhurst CRC
Sunday Message - The Letter
Show Notes Transcript

- with Gregg DeMey, Lead Pastor

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

church, barnabas, people, jewish believers, god, paul, silas, believers, psalm, coach, antioch, brother, holy spirit, early, rules, letter, mark, strengthen, bible, hear

SPEAKERS

Rev. Gregg DeMey, Lead Pastor

Gregg DeMey  00:01

I love it when there are moments where things actually get quiet and slow down in God's presence. It's one thing to be quiet. When you're by yourself, it's a lovely thing. It's especially beautiful when we're together as God's people, for the privilege of being either coached, or conducted musically at different junctures in my life, by people who had a knack for accomplishing this, of taking like a team, or an orchestra, and bringing them to a very focused and quiet place all together. And that's one of the things that good coach or music director can do, can bring a team to quiet the noise, push away the chaos, and bring what matters most focus to togetherness, and a common goal, a common direction. There's a show, not going to advertise it too hard on a streaming platform right now about kind of a typical coach who is able to do this in some amazing ways. A guy named Ted lasso. I'm not recommending the show for anyone under the age of 50. Say, so don't show this to your 10 year olds, please. In fact, there's quite a few parts that like, makes me a little embarrassed and in blush a little bit. 

The reason why I mentioned this show is because there's some non-Christians who are making this show who are able to depict some incredibly noble virtues that come out through this man's imperfect and kind of a typical coaching skills, you'll notice that behind him in the seats is spelled out the word believe. And this is one of his big things that unites his team. By the way, Ted Lasso is an American football coach who gets hired to coach football in Great Britain. He doesn't know the rules of soccer, for example, but he goes there to coach anyway. 

The other amazing thing that happens on the show that routinely brings people together is like an every other episode, one of the characters is forgiving one of the other characters in some kind of unexpected and tender and often beautiful sort of way. I mean, it's apart from Jesus as apart from the Bible in the Gospel, for the most part. But it really does my heart glad to see when the world is able to depict some of the things that we talked about so regularly with the power of faith, and belief, and mutual forgiveness can do to bring a team or a group of people to unity. 

The reason that I'm bringing this up, is because both of we as a church are facing similar challenges, how are we going to come all together? And it's wonderful that the Holy Spirit led us to Acts chapter 15. Just as we were coming back indoors together last week was the first part of diving into that chapter. And in Acts, chapter 15, the early church faced their first huge challenge, were they going to split in half between Jewish and Gentile believers? Or was there going to be a way forward to believe in the vision that Jesus put out there to occasionally be flexible and forgive one another, so that they could all move in the same direction. I mean, here's what happened. Some Jewish believers, came to the churches and said, Unless you are circumcised by which they meant unless you follow the entire Law of Moses, in what we would call the Old Testament, you can't be saved. Like that was their contention. And if you ever want to have like a deal breaker in a church, just like start a sentence that way, unless you fill in the blank, you can't be saved. We've probably heard a few of these things through the course of our lives. Unless you sing with your hands in the air, you can't be saved. Right? Unless you sit reverently for 10 minutes before church starts. Like we make up all kinds of additional rules. The church's way of handling this, this potential massive split, and the question of, could the gospel of Jesus be enough? Or is there going to have to be 600 and some laws that everybody has to follow? Or do we need to break into two groups? their way was to get all together in Jerusalem. 

And early next 15 we hear that Paul and Barnabas spoke and they spoke to what the Holy Spirit had been doing. And then Peter himself one of Jesus's original disciples spoke and he spoke to his experience of what he had seen in Gentiles coming to believe in Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit and being baptized. And then Jesus half brother James spoke, and he spoke from the Old Testament. He quoted the Book of Amos, in a prophecy that made it clear that God's intention all along was to bring as many people as possible from as many nations as possible from as many corners as possible into the church. That was God's plan. After they listened to James, like, James, that was pretty good. You sound like your brother even a little bit. I'm suspecting a few of them said because they wrote a letter. And their letter is pretty much word for word, what had just come out of James mouth. So in handling this possible division, the early church writes a letter to send to all the congregations to tell them what's what here is the letter, the apostles and elders, your brothers, were writing to the Gentile believers in Antioch and Syria and solicit the Gentile regions. Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization. And they disturbed you troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose the men and send them to you, our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore we are sending with them Judas and Silas, to confirm by word of mouth, what we are now writing to you. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit. And to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements. Number one, abstain from food, sacrifice to idols, number two, from blood. Number three, from the meat of strangled animals. And finally, from sexual immorality, you will do well, to avoid these things. Does that seem like a strange list to you? Of how to keep the church together? 

By the way, is everyone avoiding blood? Is everyone eating their steaks well done?. That's what I'm trying to ask. So there's some things in this list that we would say like, absolutely, this seems like a good way to keep people together 2000 years from now, to guard. The holiness and sanctity of marriage and sexual behavior, like most Christians, like we are on the same page 2000 years later, the first three things may seem a little odd to us, I would put it positively this way. 2000 years ago, it would have been a deal breaker if some people came to church and they had just been hanging out in a pagan temple with idols, like that would have been a big problem, especially for Jewish believers. 

And the other thing that would have been a big problem for Jewish believers is if the church came around the table to eat together, to fellowship together. And if there was the presence of either animals that had been sacrificed in pagan temples, or too much blood of the Old Testament laws, one of the deepest ones to the early Jewish believers, was that we were supposed to guard and treat with maximum dignity and respect the lifeblood of every creature in every animal. It seems especially odd. 

Did people strangle animals in the old days? Is that how they prepare dinner? Like why is that one of the rules, the rule, the rule against that is that if you had strangle an animal, its lifeblood would stay in it, rather than killing the animal and draining it. So if you kill them cook the animal that way, it would be full of its own lifeblood, and therefore again, super offensive to the Jewish believers. I don't think that some of these rules in this very crucial letter are like eternal rules for all of the church. Right? A couple of them tap into the 10 Commandments. And like the deeper the law that God asks us to all be grateful and felt, but some of them do not. The thing that the church was striving for, was to keep every believer no matter where you grew up, no matter whether you're a Jew or Gentile, no matter what race you were, no matter what your history was in synagogue inside or outside, that you could get together. And if we avoided these four simple things that would knock down most of the hurdles and allow everybody to be together. 

That's the vision and the value in this first church fight in the first church Council. I think 2000 years later, the vision that our elders have put in front of us for Elmhurst CRC, to be all together is not very dissimilar from this. I mean, we did not publish a list of four things of like, hey, avoid X, Y, and Z to make this happen. When it comes to Sunday morning worship, I would suggest a couple couple things that would really be helpful. To keep us all together, like, if you see somebody that, you know, they're don't know here, like don't bother asking them Did you go to the first service or the second service? Like, it doesn't matter. Because like we're all here together, and like start somewhere else, like something that you could share in common or something that would unify you, rather than something that would maybe immediately put up a big wall, I would suggest, maybe not leaving the sanctuary and having the first thing come out of your mouth be something like, had the band was kind of loud today, it really bothered me, a couple of those contemporary songs, I didn't know them, or vice versa, like, I don't know what to make of it when we have a choir of people and why were so many up at one point. And then it was a smaller group, like, what's going on. And that one song was kind of it was beautiful, but it was that classroom. Like all the stuff about music, here's the thing about music, it's all supposed to impact us, bring us together, and turn us toward God. Now, if you want to talk about that more power to you, my word for us in here all together is just this participation. Like that's what matters. A

ll of us who are leading music up here, our goal and our number one job is to help you participate. It's not to be really good at our instruments, although we practice and we're going to rehearse just to help us lead you well. But the main goal of all the music here is to help all of us come to the table together, and sing and praise and experience something in God's presence. That is what it's all about. Now, if you believe a sanctuary, like today, and you're like, Pastor Gregg, I really struggled to participate in a couple of those songs. And here's why. I would love to hear that from you. Right? Because then what I'm hearing is like, I really want to experience God. And there maybe was something that a little bit got in my way, if you frame it that way, I will talk to you all day long. Because I want you, you and you to come to this place, and feel free to participate. And if we do that all together, like amazing things will not only happen in this hour of worship, but we will carry out so much energy and hope and vision and joy that God will do even more amazing things through our life and a community as a result of our participation here all together. Awesome. 

So 2000 years ago. How do you think that people reacted when they read this letter? Did they clap? Were they happy? x 15 actually tells us here's what the Bible says. Now the people spread out over churches over hundreds of miles. They read the letter, and we're glad for the encouraging message, the message that we are all in this together following Jesus, Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, whoa, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord. Notice that when the early church sends out this letter, it is not just the verbatim of the letter, because that is not how the best messages get communicated. You just read the email boom and done. T

hey were wise enough to send out Paul and Barnabas who were well respected and loved all over the church. And they send out to other guys Judas and Silas, to confirm the message, and to speak face to face with all of the early believers. If you're like me, more of the message comes through the face the body language than it does just the black and white, in the words on the page. And these early Christians are wise enough to do this. This is why we have had elders five weeks in a row stand up in front and not just like publish a document to throw at you all that says hey, here's what we're going to do next. Amazingly, sometimes when we hear the word Prophet, we think it just means like people who have visions, people who know the future, and then maybe tell the church what the future is to prophets are mentioned in this little passage, Judas and Silas. And the way their prophetic spiritual gift works itself out is that they strengthen and encourage the church. Now that is prophetic behavior. 

What is the opposite of strengthening in encouraging, the opposite is discouraging and making people like shaky and wobbly after a year and a half of a pandemic, many of us are shaky and wobbly and somewhat discouraged. Right one of the prophetic things that the church Hopefully can do for us, as we come back together is strengthen and encourage us. Like, I am not immune from this. I had this picture of myself just a few a few weeks ago, I think it was as kids were going back to school. You know, everybody takes the happy first day of school pictures. And the kids are just like bright eyed and hopeful. And they got their cute backpack and all their clothes are totally clean. I found a website where parents were bold enough to publish second day of school pictures. And the kids are just a mess. I mean, some of them are like lying face down. Other ones just like look like they get beat up. Here's a brother and sister their picture on the first day. They're like all happy, smiling, brotherly and sisterly love. And there they are. The second day, their parents took them out for hamburgers, and the little boy just has his face cut in his hands. I don't know how I'm going to go on. And the poor little girl is just exhausted. And what I felt like the Holy Spirit was telling me was like, dude, that's you. Like, that's me. Like right now. I thought I had like, adult wife, not like figure it out. 

But like two years ago, I was in a pretty good groove. Kids are leaving a home. Like, wow, like this actually seems to be working pretty well. And I stand before you today exactly like this brother and sister like, what is going to happen next? How is this going to work? Like we're bringing everybody together? What if we all just hate each other? What I do not have this figured out. But God the Holy Spirit is so good today by day, strengthen and take my weak and wobbly knees and encouraged me. And our deep prayer is that as we come back together, the same will happen for us both collectively and person by person. So the seem to be working well in the early church. Here's how Acts 15 ends sometime later. After all the strength and encouragement were going out. Paul said to Barnabas, let's go back and visit the believers in all the towns when we preach the Word of God and see how they are doing what a lovely idea. Barnabas wanted to take john also called Mark with them. 

Don't those seem like two great ideas, these two like church planters. God use the mightily and Paul's like I have this vision, we should go back and check on the health and the energy of all these congregations that have been birthed. And Barnabas is like yes, awesome idea. Let's take my cousin, john mark. And then here's what happened next. But Paul did not think it wise to take Mark because he had deserted them and Pam filia and had not continued with them earlier in the work. Now these brothers had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cypress, but Paul chose Silas the prophet and left commanded by the believers to the grace of the Lord. And they went through Syria and cilicia strengthening the churches. Now if I were writing the Bible, and writing a whole chapter about the beauty of the unity of the early church, I would not end that section by talking about this amazing breakup story between two of the heroes of New Testament faith Paul and Barnabas. But that is exactly how the Holy Spirit wrote the book of Acts through Luke. Isn't that amazing? Some people think like the Bible is whitewashed or just puts like the positive shiny spin on things like this is real life here. You have two people who have been through the trenches together have traveled the world together have seen God do awesome things, through their collaboration and co work together. And now they have such a sharp disagreement about do we get bring this young protege? Long? I don't think we should because he ditched us last time. I really see the potential of this guy, we have to bring him along. He's totally up for it now that they go separate ways. This seems possibly profoundly discouraging to me. However, the Bible is full of instances when people come to a threshold like this. And people lift up their eyes and pray something like this in the Psalms again and again. Like, God, how is this gonna work out? And if that's you today, you are in great company. How is this gonna work out? Here's one thing we know right off the bat, where there was one team of two amazing church planters. overnight. It becomes two teams of four amazing church planters. Like this seems possibly like the beginning of a win for God's bigger Kingdom project. What else we know from the book of Acts a short while later, john mark, this guy who had formerly been a deserter, he's going to work with Barnabas for a while, and then he is going to partner up with Peter himself. He is going to be the writer for Peter. He's going to walk side by side with Peter. He's gonna be mentored by Peter. And this former deserter john mark, he is going to end up writing probably the gospel according to Peter, which we have in our Bibles, which is called the Gospel according to Mark.

I mean, this guy that pulled in what ends up with a book in the Bible, like Not bad, not a bad transformation, right. Paul and Silas. In the next chapter of the book of Acts, they are going to be visiting these churches together, they are going to be the first ones to cross from the continent of Asia, or modern day Turkey, into the continent of Europe, and they are going to witness the first sort of European believers come to Christ, it's going to come with a cost though, they get thrown in jail. And on one night, they're going to be sitting in jail, and miracle of miracles, they're going to be singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs at midnight. And in the middle of that jail as a result of their praise, like their praise is going to be so like lively, it is going to manifest itself with echoes that cause their chains to break and the walls to fall down. And there are going to be more and more people who come into the first European church, because these two brothers went to prison. Like, that's pretty good fruit from a little disagreement. Back in Antioch.

So in Psalm 121, there are these words, I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? It's not hard for me to imagine Paul and Barnabas and Silas and john mark, saying to themselves, like, I'm lifting up my eyes to God, like, how are you going to make this workout? Psalm 121 ends with confidence, and security. And praise to God who always answers these prayers, and in the big picture works things out. Do you know how Psalm 122 begins? It's not an accident that Psalm 121 starts with this prayer in Psalm 122 begins in a totally different spiritual posture. Psalm 121 is this, oh, god, I'm lifting up my eyes and just like scanning the horizon, who is going to help me? Psalm 122 begins with these words, I rejoiced when they said to me, let's go together to the house of the Lord. And it's like an explosion of praise. This is the thing that happens time and time again, in the Scriptures, that our questions are stuck places, our problems are difficulty, our sins that make us scan the horizon, and wonder if God is ever going to show up. That God indeed will come through and translate our doubts and our difficulties and our challenges into prays into better days ahead. Do you believe that that is possible? I believe that that is possible. I'm still on the place on a whole number of fronts in life, or I'm looking at the horizon wondering like, God, how are you going to do this? And I am counting on that, whether I'm 50, or 60, or 70, that God is going to do some things right here in the land of the living, that are going to call forth a higher and deeper and more profound hallelujah than I've been able to muster thus far in my life, just because I haven't experienced what is still yet to come.

And if God takes me home first, I think that will be the ultimate answer to all the things that I've been scanning the horizon for my entire life. So whether I get to hang around and see it with my own eyes, I'm going to offer a more profound hallelujah. And whether I don't get to see it in this land. I think the first thing, Lord willing that God's put enough faith in me to do this. The first thing that's going to come out of my mouth on the other side is going to be a thank you and hallelujah. 

This is how we're going to end the service, the choir is going to teach a little musical version of Psalm 121. Lord, I lift up my eyes to the hills, and then the Hallelujah is they're going to start. I invite you to stand up. If you know this musical version, just sing along whenever you're ready. Otherwise, we'll teach it to you once and invite you to join in.