The Foundation of A Break Through
The Foundation of A Break Through
- Greg Waybright
- Acts 1
- The Breakthrough
- 36 mins 49 secs
- Views: 1042
Pastor's Letter
The Foundation of A Break Through - Week 1
Last fall, the Lake Avenue Church Ministry Council, our congregation's leadership group, went on retreat to plan for the church's future months of ministry. Most of us who have been on church retreats know that they are usually not retreats at all. They often are times of intense strategic planning, debate and dialog, and policy making. As Garrison Keillor once said, "Church retreats are not retreats. They're more like advances."
Last fall, the Lake Avenue Church Ministry Council, our congregation's leadership group, went on retreat to plan for the church's future months of ministry. Most of us who have been on church retreats know that they are usually not retreats at all. They often are times of intense strategic planning, debate and dialog, and policy making. As Garrison Keillor once said, "Church retreats are not retreats. They're more like advances."
But something different happened at this retreat. Kathy Hollimon and Roger Bosch called us to stop our frenetic activity and spend time seeking the Lord together—not just for a few moments but for the entire first evening. And on the second evening (and we had only two of them), Jeremy Rose insisted that we take extended time worshiping God. And I believe that we heard some things together.
When we tried to formulate what we had heard, this is what we wrote:
We are sent ones, intergenerationally:
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Worshiping in unity
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Learning in community
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Progressing toward completion in Christ
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Serving God's mission
Since that time last October we have been considering how we should move forward in ways consistent with the vision gained at the retreat. That brings us to the study we will be engaging in each weekend from April through August 2013. If any book in the Bible guides a local church into becoming a community of people who 1) meet to worship in unity and then 2) go out into the world as sent ones in service of God's mission, it is The Acts of the Apostles. I think that a better title might be "The Acts of God through His People."
Listen to what Bible scholar, translator, author, and pastor J.B. Phillips wrote about Acts in the middle of the last century:
No one can read this book without being convinced that there is someone here at work besides mere human beings. Perhaps because in their very simplicity, perhaps because of their readiness to believe, to obey, to give, to suffer, and if need be to die, the Spirit of God found what surely He must always be seeking—a fellowship of men and women so united in love and faith that He can work in them and through them with the minimum of let or hindrance. Consequently, it is a matter of sober historical fact that never before has any small body of ordinary people so moved the world that their enemies could say, with tears of rage in their eyes, that these people "have turned the world upside down"! (Acts 17:6)
I am praying already that the same will be said of us at our church and at all churches who name Jesus as Lord in the San Gabriel valley.
To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Study Notes
The Foundation of A Break Through - Week 1 - Study Notes
title="English
Foundation for a Breakthrough
Acts 1:1–11
Edward Lorenz was a physicist at MIT who was developing computer-modeled programs of weather systems in the 1950s and 60s. He devised a program in which once he had entered a set of meteorological data, he could calculate what the subsequent weather pattern was going to be. As he did his research, one day he intended to enter a piece of data consisting of 6 decimal spaces, 0.506127. But he mistakenly inserted only the first three digits, 0.506 and then ran the program. When he noticed the error, he decided to run the entire program again with the correct number in place although intuition told him that such a small error, only one part in 1,000, could not possibly change the results much. To his amazement, the result was a radically different weather pattern from the first. Lorenzo was shocked. As he later explained, it was just as if the flap of a butterfly’s wing in Beijing combined with the other conditions should soon give rise to a typhoon or tornado in Boston. In other words, the universe is interdependent in such a way that one small thing can have an enormous impact.
The name given to his discovery soon became “the butterfly effect.” It has led to a great deal of scientific investigation (and some bad movies) in the years that have passed. So, if weathercasters get forecasts wrong, don’t blame them. Perhaps we should blame a few butterflies in Asia flapping their wings!
I won’t go into the debate that has gone on about the butterfly effect among scientists and physicists. But, I do want to make the point that what seem to be small things in the eyes of the world often have great effects. And that brings us to this first message I am doing in the Book of Acts in the Bible.
Acts is the second book written by a physician named Luke. As any good author does, Luke summarized the first book to his patron, a man named Theophilus in v. 1: In my first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach…
When we go back to that first book, we discover that Jesus’ last teaching was focused on what the Scriptures said about the mission of the promised Messiah. This is found in Luke 24:45-49. Jesus opened the disciples’ minds to Three Necessary Parts of the Messiah’s Mission from Luke 24:
- Suffering and death (v. 46a)
- Rising from the dead (v. 46b)
- Proclaiming the gospel to all nations (v. 47).
So, #1 happened in history culminating on Good Friday. #2 happened on Easter. The only part left is #3. And, Jesus made it clear that the mission of carrying the message from Jerusalem to the world would be done through his followers. He said, “You are my witnesses. You will carry out this task.”
This is what Acts is all about. It’s about the beginning of a new community through which God will fulfill his worldwide mission. But, when we open Acts 1, we see this huge divine mission began with something that seems not much more significant that the flap of a butterfly’s wing. Jesus met with a group of his followers, followers who had recently failed due to a lack of faith, understanding and courage. But Jesus chose to use this flawed group. What Jesus did and how he used this unlikely group to do God’s extraordinary work is what we’re going to be studying for several months here at LAC. We will see that these disciples started the work – but did not complete it. We will see that what Jesus did through these people is what he is ready to do in and through us too. Listen to the words of JB Phillips about Acts:
“It is a matter of sober historical fact that never before has any small body of ordinary people so moved the world that their enemies could say, with tears of rage in their eyes, that these people "have turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6)!” J.B. Phillips: The Young Church in Action
Sometimes I wonder if we can be a church like that. Is it possible that we can become be a church about which people would say, “That church is turning our neighborhood upside down. God must be in that place.”
You may say, “Well, we’re not as perfect as they were.” I say, “Ha!” It’s more true to say, “They were as imperfect as we are! How did God use them?” We’ll see over and over again as we read through Acts that they wrestled with problems and sins just as much as we do – and sometimes the very same ones we do!
Or you might say, “The early church in Acts didn’t face the challenges we face. “They weren’t in a pluralistic culture as antagonistic toward religion as ours is.” Or, “they didn’t have to figure out how to have young and old people worship together.” Or “they didn’t have the broken marriages and families that we have…” But I say, “Their challenges were at least as great as ours are.” I’ll mention just two:
If we sometimes find it hard to worship together, it must have been harder for them. What Scripture would they read each week? It could no longer be just the words of what we call Old Testament. Jesus had come. They had to ask, “Are Jesus’ teachings also Scripture? And what about the Apostles’ words?” Beyond that, what songs should they sing? The Jewish people loved their Psalm book and could have said, “God inspired those songs. King David wrote those songs. Psalms are the music acceptable to God.” But, the Gentiles couldn’t relate to the Psalms at all. This comes out in places like Ephesians 5:19. “Should we worship with psalms, the more contemporary songs that are being written (like Phil. 2:6-11) or spontaneous songs inspired by the Spirit?” Paul says, “Yes, all three. You have to do them all as you respect one another and sing to the Lord together. Yes, together!”
Another challenge we’ll see in Acts had to do with ethnic and socio-economic differences. Before Jesus came, people thought they knew whom they were required to love, i.e., other Jews; other Pharisees; people like themselves. But what do you do when those you used to ignore or even hate have the same Holy Spirit within them? Are they in the family too? And, what if they’re aliens in our neighborhood? Yes, they had an immigration problem too in Israel and it affected the church.
So, how did they do it? How did they become a church that “turned the world upside down”? Today, we begin with the foundations of this breakthrough.
I. Identify, Hold Onto and Pass On the Essentials of “the Faith” (1:1-3)
In these first 3 verses of Acts, Luke boils down what Jesus taught over the 40 days between his resurrection and ascension. In one sentence, we read some of the essential teachings that must understood by all and then passed on to all who would follow Jesus.
Luke’s Summary of essential doctrine includes:
- The acts of Jesus
- The teaching of Jesus
- The suffering and death of Jesus (and its meaning)
- The resurrection of Jesus
Luke used very strong language for the resurrection. As I declared on Easter Sunday, the bodily resurrection of Jesus is at the heart of our faith. It really happened.
- The promise of the Holy Spirit
- The kingdom of God
Luke summarized this list of essential teachings with the statement in verse 3b, i.e., that Jesus taught them about the kingdom of God. This is the heart of what I talked about all through our series in Mark’s gospel. The kingdom of God has to do with all that God is bringing about through the saving work of Jesus. The book of Acts will teach us that God’s rule is definitely going to be established in this world. When God’s kingdom is complete and he rules fully over all creation, our lives will be made whole, our relationships will all be reconciled and we will be with God together with people from every people group, language and nation.
So, in these three concise verses we find a summary the essential teachings that we must understand, live in the light of, and pass on to all who come to faith in Jesus. I tell you that it is the teaching, meditating on, application of, and passing on of this body of essential truth that must be at the foundation of our church too. So, let worship styles change. Let church programs come and go. But, whenever we gather we must open God’s Word, hear it, understand it, and then respond in obedience to it.
All lasting movements of the Spirit of God have been founded on sound teaching. Jesus started the church by providing sound teaching. Oh, I know that doctrine alone can numb our brains and can chill our souls. But fire in our souls based on inaccurate doctrine will lead to heresy. It always has and always will. So, I want to make sure that all who come to LAC will learn the essential matters of the faith that have been passed down to us.
This is why we worked so long and hard to clarify our church Statement of Faith. Now, we are committed to teaching what’s in that Statement. I am personally committed to making sure each one who comes to LAC will have the opportunity to learn what the faith is that we must pass on to our world and to future generations. Our high school students already are engaged in learning that faith in “The Timothy Project”. In this coming year, we are committed to making available the same kind of teaching to our children and adults. Until then, I urge all of you to read the Word faithfully. Study the Word both in our services and in small groups. And utilize the Statement of Faith resources we have available on our website.
II. Rely on the Presence, Guidance, and Work of the Holy Spirit (1:4-5, 8a)
The book of Acts is a record of how God established a church made up of people as flawed as these disciples were – and as we are. We will see that God took this group and equipped them to do carry his message and his love to the world. They could not do what God told them to do in their own power and with their own human talents. They needed something else. No, they needed Someone else.
A physicist friend once told me that the power of the sun drives the “butterfly effect” in weather systems. He said it is only because the sun heats the earth’s atmosphere, creating enormous turbulence, that minor atmospheric disturbances can lead to major events like tornados. He said, “You cannot make waves without energy.” So, what is the energy source God will use so that the little flapping that we do as Christians can make a difference? In Acts 1, we see that the power source is God himself -- coming to us by His Spirit.
We are going to be learning a lot about the Holy Spirit in the coming months. Before Acts 1, Jesus had often told his own disciples that the Holy Spirit would come into their lives after the resurrection. And, the disciples probably knew that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came upon significant prophets, priests, or kings at times to do God’s work. But once the task was done, the Holy Spirit would leave.
But, Jesus is teaching here in Acts 1 that the presence and work of the Holy Spirit will be different now that Jesus had died and been raised. In Acts, we will see the Holy Spirit come upon all who trust in Jesus – not just upon a few leaders. And, the Holy Spirit will stay in the lives of those He indwells.
In these opening verses of Acts, we learn from Jesus that being filled by the Holy Spirit is essential to doing the work of God. Jesus says here, “I have little time left to be with you. I know you want to run out and talk about these miraculous things. But, you don’t yet have the strength, wisdom, or courage to do eternal work. You must wait for the Holy Spirit to come.” I have found that it is when I own the fact that I cannot do what God wants to have done in my own power, only then am I ready to be used fully by God. I say, “I know what you want me to do Lord but I can’t seem to do it.” Then he says, “Spend time with me. Wait upon me and know my Spirit’s presence and filling so you can go forward in my strength.”
And let me tell you: We need to learn to wait in prayer as a church family too. We must learn that the Spirit of God – though unseen by human eyes -- dwells among us. We must take the time to acknowledge he is here and that we cannot do eternal things without him. We must learn to seek his guidance together – and then go out in his strength to be witnesses. There is nothing that we face as individuals or as a church that go beyond the knowledge, the capability and the sovereignty of the God who has given His Spirit to us.
In summary: 1) Before his ascension, Jesus taught his followers about the essentials of faith. 2) After they were taught, Jesus commanded that they wait for God’s Spirit to fill them. Then, with the truth of God's Word in their minds and the fire of God's Spirit in their hearts, the early church began “to turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6).” By God’s grace, we will follow that same pattern here at LAC.
III. Get Engaged in God’s Mission by Being Witnesses (in word and deed) (1:6-8)
The Acts 1:6 Question: We’ve just been through Mark’s gospel as a church so we know the disciples should have known better than to ask this question. Jesus had told them again and again that the end would not come until all people groups had heard the good news of salvation. And we know that this hadn’t happened by Acts 1. But, this idea that Messiah had come just for Israel was deeply ingrained in them. And we human beings don’t change easily. Their vision was too small. They thought of Israel only -- but Jesus had a vision for the world. They thought, “How will you do it Jesus?” And he said, “I will do a much bigger thing – and I will do it though you.” Jesus’ vision is the vision of Revelation 7, i.e., a redeemed people made up of every tribe and language and nation who would bring glory to His name. There was a time in which this surely had seemed far too big a task to the disciples. But by Acts 1, they knew that Jesus had risen from the dead. The should have known that anything is possible for One who has power over death.
See v. 8. Jesus is saying, “God is going to do a much bigger and more glorious thing in this world than you have ever imagined. You have the privilege of being a part of it. I will return but there is a task to be done – and you will be sent out to do it. Don’t just look up into heaven and do nothing. Wait for the Spirit. And then, move out into the world and share what God has done and will do. You are my witnesses. I will do my work through you!”
We see that the power of the Holy Spirit is specifically a power given to do God’s mission. It began with a new power to grasp the truth of God’s Word that, up to this point, the disciples had been dead to. From this point on, it would be the power to move forward in obedience to God. Power to interact with Samaritans and Gentiles and immigrants and people in the streets. Power to love those they had never loved. Power to speak the message of Jesus in ways they had never spoken.
Jesus tells them they are to be the witnesses to an unbelieving world -- and then he leaves them. He ascends to heaven. The disciples sit and stare. So, two angels in v. 11 say, “Why are you sitting here. He’ll come back.” So, they were to wait for the Holy Spirit – and then to get ready to go in his power.
The opening verses in Acts give us an outline of what will happen in the rest of the book. We will see the Gospel breaking through all sorts of barriers that had one time seemed impossible. When the Book of Acts ends, the work will not be complete but launched. The mission is still alive. And what should resound in our ears each week we gather is that we are God’s people with a mission. We who are alive and who have heard the Gospel (and been rescued by it) are to take the message and love of Jesus to the world. We are to do it with the same focus and fervor as we will see the early disciples did. They turned their world upside down. We are to do the same.
The point is not simply that the church has a mission. It is that God created the church to complete his mission. That’s why we exist. The Spirit of God was given to empower us for this mission. Our efforts and words may seem no more significant than a butterfly’s flap but the butterfly effect of something empowered by God’s Spirit can turn the world upside down! What do I want us to do? To “turn the world upside down,” we must do everything we do in the light of God’s mission:
- Be ongoing learners of “the faith” Jesus taught and that we must pass on to others.
- Be people of prayer who live in the power of the Spirit.
- Figure out where people haven’t heard the gospel and get witnesses there (with a readiness to be those witnesses ourselves).
- Be a church family in which all people – yes, all people -- are invited to be a part of God’s family through faith in Jesus.
- Live daily with a readiness to go and be witnesses -- Intentionally extending the message and the ways of Jesus to our own neighborhood.
Two Communion Verses
After Jesus had said these things, as the disciples were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
Acts 1:9
Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— is at the right hand of God, and indeed is interceding for us.
Romans 8:34
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
title="Chinese
突破的基礎 使徒行傳1:1-11 4/7/2013
Edward Lorenz 是麻省理工學院的一位物理學家,在1950年代至1960年代,他負責研發氣候系統的電腦模型專案。他設計了一個程式,只要他把氣象資料登錄電腦,就可以計算出隨後出現的天氣類型。在他做這項研究期間,有一天,他想輸進一個資料,其中包括小數點後面6位元數字,就是0.506127。但是,他只輸入了前三位,就是0.506,然後就運行程式了。當他發現這個錯誤以後,他決定用正確的資料重新運行整個程式,儘管直覺告訴他這麼小的錯誤,只是千分之幾的範圍,不可能對結果有很大的影響。但使他驚訝的是,結果卻是與之前的天氣類型完全不同。 Lorenzo非常震驚。他後來解釋說,這就像蝴蝶在北京震動翅膀,結合其他因素,很快會在波士頓形成颱風或者龍捲風。換句話說,宇宙萬物都是相互依存的,即使很小的事情也能產生很大的影響。
很快,他的發現被命名為“蝴蝶效應”。在過去的日子裡,它引發了大量的科學研究(也包括一些劣質電影)。因此,如果氣象部門預報不準確,不要責怪他們。可能我們應該責怪一些蝴蝶在亞洲震動翅膀!
我不想陷入科學家和物理學家有關蝴蝶效應的爭論之中。但是,我想關鍵問題在於,在世人眼中看來微不足道的東西,常常會有很大的影響。這將帶我們進入《使徒行傳》的第一個信息。
《使徒行傳》是路加醫生寫的第二本書。就像任何優秀的作者一樣,在第一節裡,路加為他的讀者——提阿非羅,總結了他的第一本書的內容:提阿非羅啊,我已經作了前書,論到耶穌開頭一切所行所教訓的……
當我們回到第一本書,我們發現,耶穌最後的教導是集中在聖經有關應許的彌賽亞的內容。這是在路加福音24:45-49。我們看到耶穌開了門徒的心,在路加福音24章,祂指出彌賽亞使命的三個必要組成部分:
1. 要受苦和受死(v. 46a)
2. 要復活(v. 46b)
3. 要傳福音給萬邦(v. 47)。
因此,#1在歷史上是在耶穌受難日達到頂峰。#2發生在復活節。對於第三部分,耶穌清楚地指出,把福音從耶穌撒冷傳向世界的使命將會通過祂的追隨者來完成。祂說,“你們是我的見證,你們將執行這個任務。”
這就是《使徒行傳》所講的內容。這裡記敘了一個新團體的誕生,通過它神將實現祂的全球任務。但是,當我們打開《使徒行傳》第一章,我們看到,這個巨大的、神聖的任務在開始的時候,似乎不那麼令人矚目,就好像蝴蝶在震動翅膀。耶穌遇到一群追隨者,這些追隨者因為缺乏信心、理解和鼓勵而受挫。但耶穌選擇使用這個不完美的群體。接下來的幾個月,我們在這裡將學習耶穌都做了什麼,以及祂是如何用這樣一群不太可能的人來做神的非同尋常的工作。我們會看到這些門徒開始了這項工作——但並沒有完成。我們會看到,耶穌通過這些人所做的,也正是祂準備通過我們要做的。請聽JB Phillips有關《使徒行傳》的話語:
“這是一個嚴肅的歷史事實,以前從來沒有任何普通人的小團體能夠如此地影響世界,以致他們的敵人會帶著憤怒的淚水說,這些人在‘攪動世界’(《使徒行傳》17:6)!”J.B.Phillips:The Young Church in Action
有時我想知道,我們能否成為那樣一個教會,人們會說,“這個教會在攪動我們這個社區。神一定在那個地方。”
你可能說,“我不像他們那麼完美。”但我要說,真實情況是:“那些人和我們一樣不完美!神如何使用他們?”在學習《使徒行傳》時,我們會不斷看到,他們在與困難和罪角力,和我們差不多——有時甚至和我們完全一樣!
或者你可能說,“《使徒行傳》裡的初期教會,不會遇到我們今天所面對的挑戰。”或者說,“他們沒有像我們這樣的破碎的婚姻和家庭……”或者說,“他們不需要解決青年人和老年人共同敬拜的問題……”但是,我要說,“他們所面臨的挑戰至少和我們一樣大。”我要提到兩點:
如果我們有時發現一起敬拜是困難的,那麼對他們來說更困難。他們每週要讀什麼經文?可能不只是舊約了,因為耶穌來了。他們會問,“耶穌的教導也是聖經嗎?使徒的話又該如何對待?”不僅如此,要唱什麼詩歌?猶太人喜歡《詩篇》,他們可能會說,“神感動大衛王寫了那些詩歌。《詩篇》是神所悅納的。”但是,外邦人與《詩篇》根本沒有關係。這就像《以弗所書》5:19,是否我們當用詩章、頌詞(類似於《腓立比書2:6-11》)、靈歌來讚美主?保羅說,“是的,三個都要用。你們三個都要重視,要一起用來讚美主。是的,一起用!”
我們在《使徒行傳》看到的另一個挑戰是文化和社會經濟的差異。在耶穌到來之前,人們認為他們知道需要去愛誰,就是別的猶太人,別的法利賽人,就是像他們自己的人。但是,當那些你以前忽視甚至憎惡的人也被聖靈充滿了,你該如何做?他們也在大家庭當中嗎?如果他們是我們身邊的外國人呢?是的,以色列也有移民的問題,他們也影響教會。
那麼他們怎麼做的?他們如何成為一個可以“攪動世界”的教會?今天,我們從這個突破點的基本內容開始。
I. 識別、抓住並傳遞信仰的要素 (1:1-3)
在《使徒行傳》的前3節,路加總結出耶穌在祂復活和升天期間的40多天裡,祂教導了什麼。一句話,我們讀到讓所有的人能理解的一些基礎的教導並且再傳給耶穌的追隨者。路加對基本教導的總結包括:
• 耶穌的行為
• 耶穌的教訓
• 耶穌的受苦與受死(以及它的意義)
• 耶穌的復活
路加用激烈的言辭來形容復活。就像我在復活節主日所說的那樣,耶穌身體的復活是我們信仰的核心,它是真事。
• 聖靈的應許
• 神國
路加在v.3b總結了這些基礎教導的要素,就是說,耶穌教導他們有關神國的內容。這是我在《馬可福音》系列信息的中心。神國是神通過耶穌的救贖工作來進行的。《使徒行傳》這卷書將教導我們,神的規則一定要在這個世界上建立。當神國完成時,祂將完全統治萬有,我們的生命也將變得完全,我們的關係將會變得融洽,我們將與不同團體、語言、民族的人一起與神同在。
在這三節簡明的經文中,我們發現了這些基本教導的概要,而這是我們必須知道的,是我們生活的光,我們要把它傳遞給那些對耶穌有信心的人。我告訴你,這是教導、思考、應用和傳遞的基本真理,而且必須是我們教會的基礎。因此,可以敬拜風格發生變化,讓敬拜程式發生變化。但是,無論我們何時聚會,都要打開神的話,傾聽、理解,然後遵行。
神的靈所有的持續的運作都是以健全的教導為基礎。耶穌是通過提供健全的教導而啟動教會的。我知道教義能夠麻痹我們的大腦,能讓我們的靈裡冷淡。但是,假如我們靈裡的熱情是建立在錯誤的教義上,就會導致異端邪說,並且常常如此。因此,我想確保來LAC的人能夠學到信仰的基本內容,這些內容是已經傳遞給我們的。
這就是為什麼我們費了那麼大的勁和那么長時間來申明教會的信仰宣告。如今我們委身教導信仰宣告中的內容。我個人委身對每一個來到Lake Ave 教會的人確保大家有機會來認識什麼是要留給世界和我們下一代的信心。我們的高中學生已經參與"提摩太計劃"的信心學習中,在將來的一年裡,我們委身將同樣的教導提供给我們的孩子以及成年人。直到那日,我呼籲你們所有的人信實地來念神的話語。在敬拜中,在小組中學習神的話。教會網站上可以找到信心宣言作為參照資料。
II. 依靠神的同在,引導和聖靈的工作(1:4-5,8 a)
使徒行傳是記載神如何建造一批和門徒們一樣不完美的人組成的教會。我們就是這些不完美的人。然而我們看見神帶領這幫人,塑造他們,帶著神的信息和愛到世界上。他們靠自己的力量,憑人自己的才幹不能行神要他們行的事。他們需要從別處,不是別處乃是一位萬能的幫助。
一個從醫的朋友曾經對我說太陽能驅使氣候產生"蝴蝶式效應"。他說就是因為太陽能使地球大氣層熱化而產生巨大的湍流,大氣層被攪動導致象龍捲風這樣大的氣候。他說,"沒有能量無法產生這樣大的浪濤。"那麼神用什麼樣的能量使基督徒小小的撲騰可以成就大氣候?在使徒行傳一章,我們看見神的能源就是祂自己-藉著祂的聖靈來到我們身邊。
在未來的幾個月裡,我們會了解更多聖靈的工作。在使徒行傳一章,耶穌多次告訴門徒們,祂復活後要差遣聖靈來到他們生命中。門徒們可能知道在舊約中聖靈有時臨到一些重要的先知,祭司和國王來行神的工作。一旦工作完成,聖靈就離開。
但是耶穌在使徒行傳的教導是聖靈現今的同在和工作在耶穌死而復活後不同。在使徒行傳中聖靈臨到所有信靠耶穌的人身上-而不是少數的幾個領袖。而且聖靈停留在祂內住的人生命中。
在使徒行傳開篇中,耶穌說被聖靈充滿乃是行神的工作的根本。耶穌這裡說到,"我還有不多的時間。我知道你們想要出去,向人傳說這些神蹟奇事。但是你還沒有力量,智慧和勇氣來做永生的工作。你必須要等候聖靈的降臨。" 我發覺只有我了解這樣一個事實,就是我無法靠自己的力量來做神的工作時,我才準備好為神使用。我說,"主呀,我知道你要我做,但是我做不來。"然後祂對我說,"花時間和我一起。等候我,認識聖靈的同在和充滿,你才能靠我的力量往前行。"
聽我說:作為一個教會家庭,我們也需要學習在禱告中等候。我們要了解神的靈,雖然肉眼不能見,但內住在我們當中。我們需要花時間認識祂此時在我們中間,沒有祂我們不能做永生的工作。我們要學習尋求祂一同的帶領-然後帶著祂的力量來做見證。我們個人或者教會面對的任何事情神都明瞭,沒有任何的事是在神的能力和主權之外。祂的聖靈在我們中間。
總結:1)在耶穌升天之前,祂教導門徒關於信心的根基。2)耶穌教導他們之後,命令他們等候神的聖靈充滿他們。然後,帶著神真理的思想和充滿神聖靈之火的心,早期教會開始"攪亂了天下" ( 使徒行傳17:6)。 靠著神的恩典,我們在湖邊教會跟隨同樣的腳蹤。
III. 參與神的大使命見證神( 用言語和行為)(1—6-8)
使徒行傳1:6 問題:我們教會剛剛完成馬可福音的學習,我們知道門徒們應該了解而不至於問這麼個問題。耶穌一次又一次告訴他們末期不會來到直到各族各方的人民聽到得救的福音。在使徒行傳第一章這些都還沒有發生。但是彌賽亞要為以色列而來的思想在他們的心裡面是根深蒂固的。人類天性不容易改變。他們的異象太小。他們只是想到以色列-然而耶穌的異象是全世界。他們想,"耶穌,你如何實現呀? "耶穌的回答是," 我要行更大的事。我要透過你們來行這事。"耶穌的異象在啓示錄7,得救的人要從各國,各族,各民,各方來,這些人要帶來神的榮耀。 這曾經在門徒看來簡直就是太大太難的事。但是使徒行傳一章他們知道耶穌從死裡復活。他們本來應該知道在那一位有權柄掌管死亡的,在祂沒有不能的事。
請看第8節。耶穌說:“神要在這個世界上做一件比你能想像的還要更大,更榮耀的事。你榮幸參與其中一份。我將要再來,但要等到工作的完成 - 那就是你為此被分派出去。不要只是望天,什麼也不做。要等待聖靈。然後,邁出去,到世界各地和人們分享神已經做的事以及神將要做的事。你們是我的見證。我會透過你們成就我的工作!"
我們看到,聖靈的力量是一種非常特殊的能力,來做神的使命。它始於一個全新的力量可以把握神話語的真理,之前使徒們是懵懂不清的。之後,這股力量推動人在順服神的心意中往前行。是此力量讓他們來和撒瑪利亞人,外邦人,移民人,還有街頭的人們互動。也是這股力量使他們來愛他們從來沒有愛過的人。這力量使他們用前所未有的方式來傳講有關耶穌的信息。
耶穌告訴他們,他們要在這個不信的世界中做見證人, - 然後祂離開他們。祂升天了。門徒坐著凝視著。然後,兩個天使在第11節說,“為甚麼站著望天呢? 他會回來。"所以,他們要等待聖靈 - 然後準備好以祂的力量去行動。
在使徒行傳開篇幾節中,讓我們看到整本書的概要。我們將看到福音的傳播突破了各種障礙,一度認為幾乎是不可能的。當使徒行傳結束時,這工作是還沒完成的,但是開始行動了。這使命是還活著的。而每個星期當我們聚集,在我們的耳邊應該迴盪的,是我們是帶著使命的神的子民。我們這些活著的人,聽過福音的人們(並因此得拯救的)應當帶著福音和耶穌的愛給予世界。我們用和早期的門徒一樣相同的專注和熱情,來宣揚神。他們把世界翻轉了過來。我們要做同樣的事。
要點是教會不是單單的負有此一使命,而是神創造了祂的教會來完成祂的使命。這就是為什麼我們存在的原因。我們領受神的聖靈加給的力量來完成這一使命。我們的努力和話語似乎不會比蝴蝶振翅更有力,但因神的靈加給的力量產生的蝴蝶效應,可以將世界翻轉過來!我希望我們做什麼呢?“要將世界翻轉過來”我們必須凡事行在神使命的光中。
#1:不斷在"信心"上學習,這信心是耶穌教導的,我們必須要傳遞給別人的。
#2:成為一個禱告的人,住在聖靈的能力中。
#3:找出沒有聽過福音的地區,使福音的見證可以進去。(我們自己時刻準備好向人做見證)。
#4:加入一個教會的大家庭,在這個教會大家庭中,所有的人 - 是的,所有的人 – 都歡迎通過對耶穌基督的信心,成為神的家庭的一員。
#5:每天在生活中都準備好去與人分享見證 – 有意識地在我們自己所在的鄰舍中擴大耶穌的信息和道理。
兩節聖餐經文
“說了這話,他們正看的時候,他就被取上升,有一朵雲彩把他接去,便看不見他了。" 使徒行傳1:9
“有基督耶穌已經死了—而且從死裡復活,現今在神的右邊,也替我們祈求。" 羅馬書8:34
榮耀歸給神,
格雷格博士
主任牧師
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2012, Lake Avenue Church
湖边大道教会地址:
393 N. Lake Ave,Pasadena, CA 91101
www.lakeave.org
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Study Guide
The Foundation of A Break Through - Week 1 - Study Guide
The Breakthrough
Acts 1:1–11
Within Mark 8:27–10:45, Jesus both called and taught people to follow him. This has often been called “the discipleship section” of Mark’s gospel. At the beginning and end of his teaching, Jesus healed two blind men.
- Compare Acts 1:1–3 with Luke 1:1–4, the openings to Luke's two books. What is the same, and what is different?
- Read Luke's summary of what Jesus began to do and teach in Acts 1:1–5. As Luke boiled down the most important things, what did he emphasize? (Make a list of them and discuss what they mean.)
- Put into your own words the disciples' question and Jesus' response in vv. 6–7. What did the disciples hope for?
- What is the mission Jesus gave to his followers in v. 8? How should that mission give focus to our lives as individual believers and to our church?
- In vv. 9–11, 40 days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended to the Father. Read what he did there in Romans 8:33–35. What promises do you gain from reading both the Acts and Romans passages?
- What is the main thing you hope to apply to your life from this study?
2013 Study Series • Copyright © 2013, Lake Avenue Church