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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
How do you respond to something you don’t fully understand, but you can’t deny the experience because you’ve witnessed it?
I left you yesterday, standing in Jerusalem, surrounded by a crowd of people absolutely stunned by what they were seeing, and unable to understand it, much less explain it! We find Dr. Luke’s account in Acts 3. You can imagine his difficulty in writing about it. He was not an eyewitness of this astonishing healing miracle, but as a physician I’m sure he interviewed Peter & John at length, and perhaps others who had been there that day.
Luke writes: “While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them…Peter said to them, ‘Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we made this man walk? The God of our fore-fathers has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over to be killed…You disowned the Holy and Righteous One… You killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus name and the faith that comes through Him, that has given this complete healing to him,as you can all see.” (Acts 3:11-16)
Peter paused I’m sure, and let the power of what he had just declared sink in. The people were stunned! Do you notice how similar his message this day was to what he had proclaimed to a crowd a few days before when he explained how the 120 were speaking in languages they didn’t know? (Acts 2:14-38) In both cases a remarkable miracle was taking place right before their eyes… but Peter courageously took advantage of the moment to focus on the harsh reality that these Jews had not only missed their great opportunity to experience God among them in the person of Jesus… Jerusalem was guilty before God! The Jewish people and their religious leaders had rejected God’s Messiah, Jesus! Do you hear Peter’s very strong accusations here? Peter is standing in the Jewish Temple courts, surrounded by very devout Jews, and he boldly accuses them of opposing God, and God’s messenger Jesus… even to the point of murder!
Into their minds would quickly have come stories passed to them by their ancestors and recorded in the Old Testament. Stories of wicked people who opposed God, God’s people, and His purposes. People like the Pharaoh who enslaved the Hebrews in Egypt, even killing their baby boys. (Exodus 1) Or Haman in the days of Queen Esther seeking to kill all Jews. (Esther 7) Or Nebuchadnezzar, who had built a golden statue of himself demanding that everyone worship him, and anyone who didn’t be thrown into a fiery furnace! (Daniel 3)
These Jews knew that over and over in their history, God had rescued His people from such adversaries and destroyed those opposing God, or His plans for His people. Now this crowd of Jews, looking at a healed beggar and hearing Peter’s strong accusations, had to ask themselves a fundamental question: Are we guilty of the same horrible sin of opposing God, because of how we rejected Jesus? If God reacted with fury against wicked people who opposed God, what might God do to us?
I ask us to pause right here and ponder a moment. Look around our world today… do you see people or governments opposed to God and His Truth, His Purposes, or His people? Do you see events in our world which may well be God’s response, and they are beyond our understanding or our control? What pattern do you see, throughout Biblical history, when God powerfully responds to those who oppose Him?
Do you see in history God sometimes has responded with powerful, devastating storms; or devouring locusts; or destructive earthquakes; or God has withheld rain and famine has resulted and people die of starvation; or even uncontrollable diseases? Now think about the global news headlines in just the past few years, do you see the judgmental hand of God responding in power, to humanity’s rejection of Jesus and refusal to live in alignment with God’s truth?
Now here’s an even more important question: Look at any of the great disasters of the recent past, which are not man-made but are in the categories just mentioned, God caused or permitted disasters… what has been the response of humanity, especially human leaders? Have you heard pride, reliance on man-made solutions, a determination to overcome the disaster in a way that honors the wisdom, strength, resilience of humanity and our leaders? Have you heard continued mockery of those who call us to prayer or even strong rejection of God and celebration of that which are abominations to Holy God? OR… have you seen humility before God; calling on God’s mercy; calling humanity to repentance before an Almighty, Holy God, in the face of disaster?
And what have you learned, my friends, from your understanding of history? When God pours out His power in destructive ways, calling humanity to humble themselves before Him… and instead, humanity and their leaders raise their fist and defy God, relying instead on our own pride and collective human wisdom… what does history teach us my friends, that we should anticipate will be the result? What might God do next? What has God done in the past when humanity responds this way, to His discipline?
Remember God’s pattern my friends, it is repeated over and over in history: When God sees mankind is rejecting Him, opposing Him, mocking Him, the first thing God does is, He removes His hand of blessing. He will not bless sin, evil, wickedness. If nothing changes, God next removes His hand of protection. With God’s protecting hand removed, nothing holds back the encroaching darkness, the devastation…we are far more vulnerable that we imagine!
If still the people remain defiant against God, God next imposes His hand of discipline. Note please my friends, there is a huge different between Satan’s hatred of humanity and his constant efforts to harm us, and God’s love for humanity and His efforts to draw us to Himself, even in loving discipline.
And finally, if even still people remain defiant against God, God next imposes His mighty hand of destructive judgment. So where do you suppose the place where you live is, in this downward spiral my friends? Have you noticed God sometimes focuses His response on one town or city or region?
Do you notice how Peter moved the attention away from the miracle of the healed cripple and focused on the heart of the people and their rejection of Jesus, and the impending disaster? While they were amazed by the miracle, they were frightened by Peter’s accusation and what they knew from history might be God’s judgment coming their way?
Now look closely at what Peter says to the stunned Jews standing around him and the healed beggar in Acts 3:19 “Repent and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord…” What a profound and powerful, simple yet complex, statement of God’s formula for rescue and restoration in the face of judgment and devastation!
My friends, THIS is God’s Word for North America and every other nation of our world today…in the face of the recent devouring locust invasion of East Africa eating every living plant…have you seen the news from that region of Africa lately? Or the lack of rain and famine in northern Africa causing the desert to creep south at an alarming rate. Or the devastating Typhoons and Tsunami’s in Asia; and the destructive earthquakes in Central Asia; or the destructive hurricanes and tornadoes in North America and of course the global pandemics like the Ebola Virus, or COVID-19. And of course, all around the world, there’s one more horrible reality: The more people turn away from God, the darkness of evil rises up in their souls.. man’s increasing, wickedness and violence which continues to escalate in every city and town in our world, leaving thousands of people dead or terrorized every day!
Peter’s words in Acts 3 are EXACTLY God’s same message for our world today in May 2020: “Repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” It’s God’s standing offer. It’s His promise, but also God’s warning. The downward spiral will continue, things will get worse, UNLESS. . . Do you see God’s formula for hope?
REPENT… Hope begins right here. Repent is the opposite of Rejection or Defiance against God! As I’ve told you several times my friends, God’s pattern is clear… His rescue of a drowning person or family or community or nation starts when we REPENT, and repent begins with CONFESS.
The lifeguard stands on the beach looking at the drowning man flailing in the water, being dragged down by the rip currents. The lifeguard cries out, ‘I am ready to help you… do you need my help’? The prideful drowning man screams back… ‘I can do it myself, I don’t want your help.’ In truth, the lifeguard can’t help the drowning man unless he will confess… ‘you are right, I need help. I can’t rescue myself.’ It all begins right here… when will humanity, anywhere in our world, unclench their raised fist and instead fold their hands in prayer and acknowledge to Holy, Almighty God… ‘You are right God, I am wrong. I need Your help and without Your help, I am doomed to self-destruction because I cannot control the evil in me or around me.’
That is the moment of HOPE! In that place of confession before God, God is ready to begin working His rescue of any person, any family, any community, even any nation! In that place of confession, the next step is rejecting the old self-reliant ways and turning TO God for His help, as Peter said to the crowd. It’s the drowning man saying ‘Help me!’ In that moment the lifeguard leaps into action, throwing out a lifeline and instructing the drowning man to grasp the life-ring while the lifeguard pulls him to safety. As the drowning man nears shore, the lifeguard leaps into the water, wraps his arms around the drowning man, and carries him to shore. It’s the very same thing with Jesus, isn’t it my friends?
When we repent of our sin, God engages Jesus…our lifeguard, who is the ONLY one who can help us. And with our sins forgiven, because Jesus has paid the full price for our ransom, then God sends His Holy Spirit who begins a great work of cleansing and new life in us, and yes it’s true… “…times of refreshing come from the Lord.” as Jesus assumes responsibility for leading us in our new life with Him!
So I have a simple closing question… are you part of the problem or the solution in our dying world? Are you one who is living in a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ the risen King of kings and you can help bring HIS hope and help to your world… or are you still among those opposing God, God’s truth, God’s purposes and God’s people in your world? Are you among us pushing back the darkness, or among those inviting the onslaught of God’s judgement on our world? It’s decision time… all around the world, is time running out on God’s patience?
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Click to read today’s chapters: Acts 3; Acts 4. (At the top you can choose a different translation.)
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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