Treasures Jesus together

Father God, we pray that you would give us the same mind that you have on the Lord Jesus

and that we would agree with your assessment of him and that he is Lord and Christ.

I pray, Father, that you would continue to shape us as a church that pursues your glory.

And individually, Lord, we ask that you would help us to see a commitment to your church

and the impact that it makes for all of eternity, not just for our lives but the lives of others.

And so be with us now as your word is opened.

I pray that you would speak to us and challenge where we're at with you and your people.

Amen.

Edward Lorenz was a mathematician working in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology back in the 1960s

on the computer modelling a weather system.

So sorry, Rob, if I get this completely wrong.

He devised a program which, once he typed in certain data, could calculate what the subsequent weather pattern was going to be.

One day, he made a mistake.

He meant to type in a six-digit number, 0.506127, but instead, he only typed in the first three digits, 0.506.

It was a minute error, only one part in a thousand.

As it turns out, the difference in the weather patterns was enormous.

It was as if, this is how he describes it, as if a tiny atmospheric disturbance in China,

no greater than the beat of a butterfly's wings, a week or so later becoming a Force 12 hurricane in New York,

his discovery became known as the butterfly effect.

It explains why our weather forecasters, sorry, Rob, have a difficult time predicting the weather too often in advance

or even getting at the weather that we like to have it weekend by weekend.

And so instead of blaming Rob of weather zone, we should blame it on the butterflies in China.

That's much better as a Rob blame it on the butterflies in China.

His discovery is that a little thing over here can have a magnifying effect that just grows and grows and grows.

And so the term butterfly effect.

Unfortunately, there is no butterfly effects in our lives magnifying the little contribution that we make to the world.

On a whole, individual actions on our part are a bit like stones tossed into a very large lake.

We make a splash, but the ripples just die out very quickly.

We are remembered by just a few and our contribution to humanity remembered even less.

Most of us have to face the fact that we will drop the little pebble of our lives into the turbulent ocean of world events

and in no time at all, the surface will bear no trace of our passing.

It's depressing, but it's a fact of life.

I know virtually nothing about the younger lives of my grandparents and nothing about my great-grandparents.

It is this purposelessness that is one of the chief anxieties of people.

But it doesn't have to be bleak and meaningless.

Because the ripples of one life did not die away with death.

The effect of the life and ministry, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus

have increased in amplitude and expanded in diameter right across the globe

from 2,000 years ago with a bunch of blokes in Galilee.

At the beginning of Acts, we see that Jesus returns to heaven after his resurrection.

But his impact and his influence in the world is not over.

Jesus is still at work in this world and this is what the book of Acts is about

and why it is so relevant for us today.

The very first sentence in Acts says,

in my former book,

in my former book, Theophilus, this is Dr. Luke writing,

I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.

And the word began there at the beginning of Acts

is the word that helps us understand the relevance of this book.

What Luke, the author, stresses here is that what Jesus did on earth

was the beginning of his doing and his teaching.

Jesus is not done with his work and with his teaching.

He's not dead and he's not absent.

He's alive and he's present.

He's still speaking.

He is still working.

He is still building his church.

Whenever people come under the authority of his name

and receive the forgiveness of sins and trust in his power,

his influence continues to spread and increase.

And that is what we long to see happen here in Chatswood

through this church and around this city and indeed across this world.

And my prayer is that as we go through this commitment series,

our annual commitment series here in Acts,

Jesus himself will speak and act and give us a glimpse

of his purpose for the church

and the part that we play in that

and therefore the purpose of our lives.

May such a glimpse of Jesus and his purpose

cause us to make a radical commitment

to what he is doing

to make his name great in this world.

Because in the end, it's all about Jesus.

He is Lord and King and Ruler and Creator

and Sustainer and Inherit of all that is.

The ripple impact of Jesus' life and ministry

as obscure as he was in first century Palestine

has only increased

and will continue to increase for all of eternity.

And so we pick up our text today

partway through Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost.

So if you haven't got your Bibles open,

turn to Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

We're kicking off at verse 22.

The promised Holy Spirit has arrived

and a large crowd has gathered

to see what the fuss is all about.

You might expect Peter to get up

and to preach on the coming of the Spirit,

but as Jesus is the focus of Acts,

so he's the focus of this sermon.

This former coward, Peter,

who denied Jesus,

stands up in front of more than 3,000 people

and says in Acts 2.23,

you, with the help of wicked men,

put him to death, that's Jesus,

by nailing him to the cross.

And again in verse 36,

God has made this Jesus,

whom you crucified,

both Lord and Christ.

It's pretty strange here,

but Peter gets up in front of this crowd

of more than 3,000 people

and it seems that he's holding them accountable

for the death of Jesus.

On the most part,

they weren't even likely there.

So how can he say that?

It seems a little tad rude, actually.

What he's getting at

is that the essence of the crime

against Jesus

was not the ending

of his physical life per se.

It was the rejection of God

in Jesus' life.

Jesus was handed over

to be crucified

on the grounds of blasphemy.

That is,

he claimed to be the Son of God.

He claimed that God

had endorsed him

as Messiah.

And so if a person

rejects what Jesus claims,

then you vote for blasphemy.

And to vote for blasphemy

is to endorse

in the depth of your heart

the cry of the crowd

in front of Pilate,

crucify this man.

And what Peter does

with his sermon here

is he draws the clearest

possible contrast

between what the crowd

did with Jesus

and what God

did with Jesus.

And Peter shows us

four ways

in which God

endorses Jesus

and the stark contrast

between the way

God treats Jesus

and the way

the crowd treats Jesus

and by implication

the way that we

have treated Jesus.

Firstly,

God endorsed Jesus

by working miracles

and signs and wonders

through him.

Verse 22,

men of Israel,

listen to this.

Jesus of Nazareth

was a man

accredited by God

to you

by miracles,

wonders and signs

which God did

among you

through him

as you yourselves know.

The miracles

were God's

certification

of Jesus.

They were God's

vote,

God's testimony.

When Jesus

did a miracle

it was God's

endorsement

of Jesus.

and what

did the religious

leaders do

when Jesus

said,

Lazarus,

come out

of the tomb

and they're

standing over there

and they're

watching a dead

man walk

out of the tomb,

what did they do?

Okay,

guys,

huddle,

how are we

going to kill

Jesus?

God's

endorsement

of Jesus

and their

rejection

of Jesus.

Secondly,

God endorsed

Jesus by

planning his

death for

the sins

of all

people.

Verse 23,

this man

was handed

over to you

by God's

set purpose

and foreknowledge

and you

with the help

of wicked

men put him

to death

by nailing

him to

the cross.

God

plans

Jesus'

death,

the people

plan Jesus'

death and

the difference

between God's

plan to

crucify Jesus

and Pilate

and the crowd's

plan to

crucify

Jesus

was that

Pilate and

the crowd

were rejecting

Jesus as a

mere pretender

and God

was honouring

Jesus as

the saviour

of the world.

God planned

the death of

Jesus not to

disown him

or to

dishonour him

or to

reject him

but to

glorify him

as the

perfect,

flawless

lamb of

God who

takes away

the sin

of the

world.

Thirdly,

God

endorsed

Jesus by

raising him

from the

dead.

God's

powerful

response to

their rejection

and crucifixion

of Jesus is

in verse

24,

but God

raised him

from the

dead,

freeing him

from the

agony of

death because

it was

impossible for

death to

keep its

hold on

him.

So Peter

stands before

the crowd

of 3,000.

You

crucified

him.

It's your

treatment of

Jesus.

God raised

him from

the dead.

That's his

response.

Fourthly,

God endorsed

Jesus by

exalting him

to the

right hand

and putting

all his

enemies under

his feet.

Verses

34 and

35,

Peter quotes

Psalm 110

to show

the significance

of Jesus'

exaltation.

It says,

the Lord

said to

my Lord,

sit at

my right

hand until

I make

your enemies

a footstool

for your

feet.

And so

this particular

endorsement of

Jesus,

where God

takes him

and moves

into his

right hand,

exposes

the ultimate

horror of

rejecting

Jesus.

In

rejecting

Jesus,

they have

rejected

the one

whom God

declared to

be the

Lord of

the universe

by exalting

him to

his right

hand.

And so

the decisive

thrust of

Peter's sermon

is summed

up in

verse 36.

Therefore,

let all

Israel be

assured of

this.

God has

made this

Jesus,

whom you

crucified,

both Lord

and Christ.

God

endorsed

Jesus as

the worker

of miracles

on earth.

God

endorsed

Jesus as

the perfect

sacrifice

for sins.

God

endorsed

him as

Christ,

the Messiah,

by raising

him from

the dead.

God

endorsed

him as

the Lord

of everything

by exalting

him all

the way to

the highest

place in

the universe

and making

him supreme

over all

of his

enemies.

And so

the crucial

issue in

this sermon

of Peter's

is not

the rejection

or the

killing of

a man,

but the

denial of

God.

You see,

to reject

Jesus,

is Peter's

point here,

is in fact

to reject

God.

To vote

no to

Jesus is

to stand

in opposition

to God.

That's the

issue.

And that

is what

cut them

to the

heart.

Peter means

for his

audience

here to

feel the

clash

between

their

rejection

of Jesus

and God's

acceptance

and endorsement

of Jesus.

What matters

here ultimately

is not that

they killed

a man,

but that

they are

standing in

opposition to

God.

And this

is a

shocking

thing for

these people

to hear

and extremely

hard for

them to

admit.

Because

these 3,000

people have

gathered for

worship.

It is the

day of

Pentecost.

They are

religious people

that Peter

is talking

to.

They are

moral people.

They are

worshipping

people.

But he is

telling them

that their

minds are

totally at

odds with

God.

They claim

to know

God.

They claim

to love

God and

worship God

and follow

God.

But Peter

says that

they are

diametrically

opposed to

God.

And so if

we say that

we know

God,

but reject

God's

endorsement

of Jesus,

then we

don't really

know God.

And

worse,

we're

actually

against

God.

And this

is what

cuts

Peter's

hearers to

the heart.

They saw

for the

first time

that their

zeal

for God

had actually

been a

zeal

against

God.

And so

after years

of denial

and running

from God,

the question

is to

Peter,

what are

we going

to do?

And

Peter's

response is

twofold in

verse 38.

Repent

and be

baptized

every one

of you

in the

name of

Jesus

Christ

for the

forgiveness

of your

sins

and you

receive the

gift of

the Holy

Spirit.

And so

they need

two things.

They need

forgiveness

and they

need the

Holy Spirit.

And what

we desperately

need and

what God

is willing

to give

is forgiveness.

We have

violated

God.

We have

disobeyed

God.

And there

is only

one hope

that this

God,

through the

atoning

death of

his son,

might

forgive us

for our

sin against

him.

And so

I say

to us

all here

today,

worshipping

people,

as Peter

did to

verse 4

in verse

40 to

the crowd,

be saved.

Be saved

from this

crooked

generation.

On the

basis of

God's

word,

I declare

that there

is a

God who

rules the

universe.

verse.

There is

a holy

law that

he has

given us,

his word

that we

have trampled

all over

and ignored.

And in

the name

of Jesus

Christ,

there is

forgiveness

for our

sin against

God.

That is

our first

need,

our primary

need,

and God

in Jesus

Christ

stands ready

to give

it to

anyone who

comes to

him in

repentance

and faith.

Repentance

involves

turning from

any conviction.

It's a

transformation

of the

mind.

It's a

turning away

from any

conviction

about Jesus

other than

that he is

the son of

God,

crucified,

raised,

ascended,

reigns as

Lord and

king of the

universe.

And that he

is the lamb

of God who

has come to

take away

the sin of

the world.

And as

Lord and

Christ over

all that

he has

made,

he expects

our

allegiance.

And so

we see in

verse 41

that about

3,000 people

accepted

Peter's

message and

were added

to the

church in

that day.

That's

astounding.

In chapter

1,

verse 15,

it says

that the

believers

numbered

120.

and now

there's

3,120

and 11

apostles.

My goodness,

their staff

teams are

smaller than

ours.

That's

massive growth.

3,120 people

have repented

of their

rejection of

God and

now have a

common focus,

the Lord Jesus

Christ.

And this

brings us,

now left

with 3,120

people,

brings us

to their

second need

and our

deep second

need as

well.

It's here,

our need is

to have God

himself reign

in our lives

where sin

and ignorance

and rebellion

used to reign.

Those 3,120

people and

those here

gathered at

St. Paul's

Chatswood

need wisdom

and guidance

and love

and joy

and peace

and patience

and goodness

and self

control.

We need

extraordinary

power for

the task

of living

with Christ

the Lord.

We need

extraordinary

power of

the Holy

Spirit to

pursue any

discipline

that we

call to

in commitment

series.

We need

extraordinary

power for

revealing to

this world

that Jesus

is Lord

and Christ.

We need

the power

of the

Spirit for

the task

of being

a new

community

under the

Lordship

of Jesus.

Notice

that the

call from

Peter in

verse 40

and 41

is a

call to

leave one

group.

He says

be safe

from this

corrupt

generation.

He says

leave that

group

and join

this new

group

the

fellowship.

These new

converts

were brought

together

through a

common

salvation

into a

common

devotion.

There is

no

leave the

corrupt

generation

and go

and find

your own

way.

There is

no

individualism.

There is

no solo

Christianity.

There is

no consumer

Christianity.

Even the

term I think

volunteering

at church

seems really

foreign in

this picture

of the

early

church.

The picture

here is

not a

bunch of

poor

slaves who

have sort

of been

given a

job in

some

factory

somewhere

by God.

It's

more poor

slaves who

have been

made

family

members

brought

into the

family

business

as joint

owners and

heirs of

that business

to do the

work of

their new

generous

father.

God

And there

are four

things happening

in the

church where

the spirit

of God

reigns.

These

believers were

devoted,

that is,

they were

seriously,

continually,

single-mindedly

and earnestly

pursuing and

persisting in

four things

that are the

keys to

spiritual growth

and maturity.

Have a look at

it in verse

42.

The first is

teaching.

They devoted

themselves to

the apostles'

teaching.

Under the

reign of the

Holy Spirit,

these new

Christians were

hungry for

the word of

God.

Being filled

with the

spirit and

being filled

with the

word of

God go

together like

peas and

carrots.

Where the

spirit reigns,

a love for

God's word

reigns.

The

backbone of

a healthy

Christian life

is the

word of

God.

1 Peter

2.2

says,

like newborn

babes

craves pure

spiritual milk

so that by

it you may

grow up in

your salvation.

And so

friends,

I want to

encourage you

to read your

Bible,

to mark it

up,

to bring it

to church.

Each of us

must make

sure that

sometimes,

somewhere in

our week,

we are being

taught.

We have a

core value

written up

there on our

wall that

says Christ

centered Bible

saturation.

That's a

value.

A value is

something that

we say that

we hold deep

within us.

It shapes and

forms who we

are.

And the

way we

know that

we actually

value that

value is

that it

gets worked

out in

practice in

our commitment

to actually

reading and

studying the

word of

God.

In other

words,

don't tell me

you hold to

that value

and tick

that box

if you

shelved your

Bible over

here somewhere.

But let me

say that

more than

study is

needed.

Yes,

we want to

be a

Bible-believing

church and

saturation of

the scriptures,

but we want

to be a

Bible-living

church,

a Bible-obeying

church,

not just

information being

fed into us,

but transformation

of our life.

The second

is fellowship.

They devoted

themselves to

the fellowship,

verse 42.

Now,

this kind of

fellowship didn't

occur before the

day of Pentecost.

The Greek

word used

here isn't

even found

in the

Gospels,

and the

key idea

to it is

commonality.

Every time

the word is

used in the

New Testament,

it stands

or it means

some kind

of sharing.

That's what

the word

fellowship

means.

Now,

we have a

lot of

ideas that

come to

mind when

we think

of Christian

fellowship,

and I

would suggest

that most

of them are

pretty

tame,

or lame

even.

The

foundational

idea is

that of

giving,

sharing,

sacrificing.

That is,

Christian

fellowship

actually

costs.

So,

fellowship is

not a

sentimental

idea of

togetherness.

giving,

things like

it's not

tea and

biscuits,

or whatever

it is that

young people

do,

coke and

pizza or

something.

It doesn't

just happen

because two

Christians are

sitting together

and chatting.

Just because you're

a Christian,

they're a

Christian,

and we just

happen to be

talking about

football,

a great

night of

fellowship.

fellowship

comes through

giving,

and true

fellowship

costs.

Many

Christians have

never known

the joy of

Christian

fellowship

because they

have never

learnt to

actually give

themselves away.

some visit a

church or even

a community

group with

an eye only

for their

needs,

and they

walk away

saying there

was no

fellowship

there.

I've heard

it this

year a

couple of

times.

But we

only have

fellowship when

we make it a

practice to

reach out to

others and to

give something

of ourselves to

others,

regardless of

what's happening

in our lives.

thirdly,

they devote

themselves to

the breaking

of bread.

Now the

breaking of

bread here

might refer

to the

Lord's

Supper,

or it

might refer

to the

fellowship

they have

over a

meal,

or both.

I have a

tendency to

lean that

it's about

the Lord's

Supper

specifically,

but most

likely,

what happened

was that

they had

a meal

together,

a main

meal of

steak and

chips,

and then

they would

take the

bread and

the wine

and they

would

remember

Christ's

death

together.

What this

means is

that Christ

and his

atoning work

was constantly

before this

new community.

Daily,

they would

bring their

hearts up to

solemn and

joyous

contemplation.

There is a

real sense of

wanting to be

together and

to share

together,

and the

ongoing basis

of their

being together

and sharing

together was

their fellowship

in the Lord

Jesus Christ.

He was the

linchpin of

their

togetherness.

Fourthly,

they devoted

themselves to

the prayers.

When they

got together,

they ate

together,

they prayed

together,

and they

praised

together.

This

togetherness

was not

one of those

churchy kind

of togetherness

things where

you can come

together and

spend all night

talking about

church but

never mention

Jesus.

This is

Jesus at

the center.

When they

got in

touch with

each other,

they got in

touch with

God together.

Where the

spirit reigns,

the hearts of

God's people

move up

towards him

in prayer.

What a

wonderful picture

of this new

community of

transformed lives

where the

spirit reigns.

They've been

rescued from

sin through

the gospel of

the Lord

Jesus Christ.

They've been

brought together

in a new

spirit-transformed

community.

So make

no mistake

here, this

is a work

of God.

This impressive

community didn't

just happen

because a few

people decided

to turn over

a new leaf and

start some

new club.

This was a

radical

transformation

controlled by

the sovereign

hand of God

and God

enabled the

apostles to

do wonders

and it says

here that the

Lord added to

their number

daily those

who were being

saved.

This is God

at work through

the life and

witness of his

people and this

sort of community

cannot be

manufactured by

tweaking a few

programs.

The Christian

community has

its origin in

and continues

under the

proclamation of

the message

that the

crucified Jesus

is Lord and

Christ and all

true fellowship

is founded upon

and focused on

the gospel and

the result is

other person

centered love as

lives are

transformed by

that gospel.

The two are

inseparable.

Is it any

wonder people

were impressed

with this new

society growing

up in Jerusalem?

True Christian

fellowship

naturally

overflows

into mission

as the world

wants a slice

of the Christian

community and

the power that's

behind that

community.

our world

needs to see

church communities

witnessing to the

reality of gospel

shaped restored

relationships.

It is quite

clear in Luke's

mind that a

Christian is not

an individualist

who enjoys some

kind of private

communion with God

but a member of a

new society

inescapably bound

up with every

other Christian in a

mutual solidarity of

a radically deep

kind.

It is a wonderful

picture of the

church right here

where the spirit of

God reigns.

We see Christians

relating to the

word of God,

relating to each

other and the

word of God and

relating to God and

each other and the

word of God and

relating to God and

each other and the

word of God and the

world.

Let me just throw a

caution here in

against

idealising it,

this church,

in Acts 2.

It's a wonderful

picture.

But if we're not

careful, we can

paint an unrealistic

picture of it.

The kind of

blessings God has

given them in his

mercy and in their

weakness and in their

imperfection comes with

groaning.

right here in Acts

2.

They're in

honeymoon period.

Everything's

fantastic.

And they will be for

a couple of

chapters.

But here in Acts

2, we have the

beginnings of a

vintage administrative

hassle and pressure.

It's not obvious

here.

We'll see it next

week.

Meeting the needs of

3,000 people and

leading them into

joy-filled mission

is very messy.

And it will

always be messy.

These are, you

go from a church

with 11 leaders and

120 members, a few

extra here, you

know, fill up these

seats and you've got

some sort of a

picture of what the

early church was

like.

And then jam 3,000

extra people in

amongst it.

3,000 new babies

in Jesus.

Now, in my

family, you put

one new baby in

the house, it's

chaos.

It's chaos for 12

months.

It's just madness.

Sleep deprivation,

all the concerns,

worries, anxieties,

and 3,000 of them,

man, I'm moving to

Brazil.

It's an issue is

what's happening

here.

It's important for

us to realise it

unless we think

that out there

somewhere there is

a perfect church

that I need to go

and find and to be

part of.

Or unless we have

the other response

and we fold our

hands here and groan

and whinge and

complain and when

this church gets

perfect, then I'm

going to make a

contribution then.

In Acts chapter,

sorry, in 2

2 Corinthians 11:28

Corinthians 11

verse 28,

Paul,

in chapter 11,

he gives his long

list of all his

issues and struggles

in ministry and

all his burdens in

ministry and right at

the end of the list

he says,

apart from other

things, there is a

daily pressure on me

of my anxiety for

all the churches.

This is the

apostle Paul speaking.

The apostle Paul

was blessed by God

in planting multitude

after multitude of

successful churches.

His ministry was

blessed.

The effect of this

blessing, this

wonderful blessing

and this success

and this growth

was what he called

the daily pressure

of concern for

all the churches.

With blessing

comes groaning.

With blessing

comes hardship

and difficulties.

That's normal.

When you look

around the church

and you see

blessing and

successes,

you'll also see

mess and sin

and mistakes

and difficulties.

That's normal.

And we are

feeling it right

here now as a

church.

Let me tell you,

I am feeling

the daily pressure

for just one

church.

I couldn't

imagine what it

would be like to

be the apostle

Paul.

Let me tell you

that God has

wonderfully blessed

us as a church

in the past 12

to 18 months.

There is some

great ministry

momentum.

A number of

people have come

to Christ and

committed to our

church family.

For the blokes

amongst us

and who didn't

make it yesterday

morning,

you missed out

on a great

man's breakfast.

Jeremy Kirk,

who comes along

here occasionally

but mainly in our

morning congregation,

gave a wonderful

testimony of how

he came into

this church as an

unbeliever, just

thinking I'd be good

for the kids.

In no time at all,

Debbie's leading him

in our for course.

Eyes came alike

to the gospel.

Andrew Green at

the same time

invites him to

come along for

journaling and

prayer, Bible

reading and prayer

on a Wednesday

morning and he

said on one of

those Wednesday

mornings, bang,

he said that was

the moment,

decisive moment

where he felt the

spirit of God

came on him and

all of a sudden

joy, eyes came

open.

This is the

moment Christ

flooded into his

life.

That was a

wonderful testimony.

The time to

build pledging

was an amazing

expression of

unity and

commitment across

the church.

The $680,000

that we pledged

over the next

three years was

not just a few

people throwing

in masses of

bucks, it was

across the whole

church.

And yet, there

is a deep

groaning as we

are faced with

hard decisions

right now with

our budget for

next year.

And it's

right in the

midst of such

blessing, of

such joy.

Church is

messy.

And can I

suggest that even

as I'm calling

you through this

series to

commitment to the

local church and

St. Paul's here

and our vision

that we have for

the future and

our core values,

expect it to be

both joyful and

hard.

Expect both of

those things to

go together.

As messy as the

church is,

Ephesians 3

says that God's

universal plan for

all ages is that

through the church

the manifold

wisdom of God

should be made

known to the

rulers and

authorities in

the heavenly

realms according

to his eternal

purposes which he

accomplished in

Christ Jesus our

Lord.

When we align our

purpose with God's

purpose to make

Jesus known

through the

church to this

universe, then

our life, one

life, our drop

in the lake, that

ripple doesn't

peter out but it

grows in magnitude

through all of

eternity.

And so my call

today and through

this series is for

us all to reassess

our commitment to

the Lord Jesus and

his purpose is being

worked out through

his local church

here, St. Paul's

even to all the

universe.

Amen.