Dare to ask tough questions
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- Published on Tuesday, 16 August 2011 02:00
Recently I flipped through the Book of Acts. I tried to recess into the story and understand what the first Christians and the apostles were interested into and wanted most. Of course, they followed Jesus, but still I wondered what they priorities were and what was the common denominator of what was happening and what all they were going through. I started reading the subheadings in my Bible since the day of Pentecost. Here they are: Peter’s first speech to the people, The first converts, The ideal life of believers, Healing of the lame, Peter's speech in Solomon's porch, Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, The prayer of the believers for courage, Common ownership of believers, Ananias and Saphira, Signs of the Apostles, The persecution of the Apostles, The establishment of deacons, Imprisonment of Stephen, Stephen’s speech, Stoning of Stephen, The first persecution of the Church, Preaching of the Gospel in Samaria, Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, Saul’s conversion, Paul's preaching in Damascus, Paul escapes the Jews, Paul in Jerusalem, Peter heals a paralytic, Resurrection of Tabitha, Peter and Cornelius, Peter's speech in the house of Cornelius, Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit, Peter's message to the church in Jerusalem, The establishment of the church in Antioch, Imprisonment and death of James, Peter's miraculous deliverance, Herod's death, The mission of Barnabas and Paul, The journey to Cyprus, Performance in Antioch (Pisidia), Paul and Barnabas in Iconium, Paul and Barnabas at Lystra, The Return to Antioch in Syria. That happened to 14th chapter and it goes even further in a similar way. This can be summarized as follows: 1. Church boldly proclaimed the gospel locally and beyond its region. 2. The Gospel was always accompanied by miracles and healings. 3. Consequently, some turned to God, and some began to persecute the church.
Each church would have to set the mirror of God's word and critically examine the extent to which it is distant from the biblical model. Sayings like: now there are other times, and therefore no miracles are necessary, or that people are tougher than before are all just an excuse. Even as individuals we should ask tough questions ourselves: “How often do I tell people about God in my neighbourhood? Do they really know that I am a Christian? When did I go on a mission lately? Do I often pray for healing? Are the miracles in my life normal, or just very few? I’m I misunderstood and sometimes persecuted because of my belief or all respect me and everyone considers me a good person? Occasional Christian of course doesn’t think that way, but a zealous follower of Jesus should think of himself and desire to be like his Lord and the first Christians. Have you noticed that the disciples didn’t pray so much for God's protection, but especially that they would have the boldness to preach the gospel? Modern charismatics mostly pray for protection before each journey, pray for protection of their families, property, etc. I'm not saying it's bad, but the emphasis in Acts was somewhere else. The apostles did not try to avoid all the pitfalls and problems, on the contrary – it must be obvious to every unbiased observer that they literally searched for the danger. We have to change as soon as possible. Change in the Church is associated with the change of life of its individual members. The Gospel is still the same, Jesus has not changed, and people in essence have basically the same needs as before: they are dissatisfied, sick, alone, experiencing problems. Let's use this summer time and preach the gospel! It is assumed that we can bounce on such people who would think they can go without God, but surely we meet with people who desperately need God. Get out of your comfort and become living instruments in God's hands.