UNLEASHED: KALEIDOSCOPE



UNLEASHED: KINETIC

The Church Turning the World Upside Down

Acts 13:1-13, 42-48

Francis Chan, July 2011, NACC

James Sayers, October 21, 2012, RCC

Our tour through the book of Acts, watching how God unleashed His power on the church to turn the world upside down, brings us to Acts 13:1-48. It’s a long passage and an interesting story. Let me sum it up for you:

Barnabas and Saul started together in Antioch. Then Seleucia (300 miles north of Jerusalem). Then to the island of Cyprus where they visited Salamis (150), then Paphos (80). Then Perga (150). Then Pisidian Antioch (100). By the end of Chapter 13, they are in Iconium (80). Wherever they go (860 miles), they are teaching and preaching to whoever will listen. A man named Elymas tried to stop the influence of the gospel. And the consequences he faced actually ended up furthering the kingdom. Through the rest of this chapter, Paul and Barnabas get more and greater opportunities to preach about Jesus, from a private audience with a government official, then to a synagogue filled with Jews and some God-fearing Gentiles. We can read the fantastic sermon that was preached in the synagogue that day. The hearers were so touched by the men, they invited them to speak again the next day, and then virtually the entire city came to hear the Gospel. Jews and Gentiles alike heard the message about Jesus and believed. The entire region was set on fire by the good news about Jesus. The church that Jesus launched was on a roll.

That “roll” is a demonstration of kinetic energy—“Contained by a form of matter because of its motion or work that is needed to accelerate an object from rest to action. Kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses due to its motion.” What causes something to move is kinetic energy.

It’s the idea behind what Jesus said about His church—I am going to build my church, and hell won’t stop it. Nothing will stop His church. Alive and healthy forever and ever. We aren’t able to stop His church. An unstoppable movement. The gates of Hell won’t stop this thing now that He has started it.

Sometimes we live like the health and success of the church is up to me. “The whole church is depending on me.” This brings a huge burden to people. It creates a huge level of stress. Fear and guilt and shame follow. Honey moon. No other real vacations.

What does the Apostle Paul say in Acts 17:24-25? “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath.” He doesn’t actually need anything from me. Or from you. We’re not going to eternally mess up the church.

Maybe you’ve had some stress about your role in His kingdom? Do you ever have any anxiety about it? What does it mean, actually, if we are concerned about this? “Do not be anxious about anything,” Philippians 4:6. Do we believe that God is off the clock and that the success of the church will rise and fall with me?

We beg with God to do things we believe He doesn’t want to do. It’s as though we are asking Him a personal favor: “Lord, it is James. I know you don’t want to do this, I know You probably don’t care about Roy or Riverdale very much, but as a personal favor to me, would You . . . ?”

2 Chronicles 16:9. “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

In 2 Chronicles 14, we start reading about King Asa. He “did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” In a battle in Chapter 14, Asa prays, “Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on You, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You.” A beautiful prayer of reliance and dependence and trust in God. And God’s people had a great victory. In Chapter 15 we read more about his commitment. He even kicked his own grandmother out of power because of her idolatry. Then, there was no more war. Judah had years of peace because of his faithfulness. In Chapter 16, after thirty-five years of peace, things changed. Asa made an alliance with the Arameans against the northern kingdom of Israel—a catastrophic move on his part. A seer came to Asa with this message: “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. Because you relied on the king of Syria and not on the Lord, you have done a foolish thing. From now on you will be at war.” Doesn’t it seem right that he would make alliances? Not in God’s sight. God wants someone to just look to God for His assistance and guidance. Asa should have looked to God for his help.

Our advisors might tell us, “Faith isn’t enough. Go get some help.” Maybe you’ve been the one who mocked someone for living the way the prophets called for. You ridiculed someone for living in faith.

You started faithfully. You believed in the power of God. You displayed courage and power in Him. And things changed. You started comparing to others. You started reading books by experts. You started listening to those who had had some success

Even at the end of his life, Asa still didn’t change. He developed a severe disease in his feet. He looked to doctors for healing than instead of looking to God. He did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. He didn’t learn anything and he didn’t repent. And he died. Turned his back on the power of God and died way down at the bottom.

Do you still believe in the power of God?

We all know John 3:16. Whoever believes? Who is it that really believes? Who are the men and women who actually believe in Him? The ones that say “I will pick up my cross and follow.” Those are the true believers, not those who only give intellectual assent.

“Whoever believes in me will do the works that I have been doing and they will do even greater things that these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).

Do you really believe that verse?

God has started something. And He uses those who are true believers. He started the work and He will finish the work.

What does that mean for us? That we seek His direction. That we follow His plan. We look for Him to supply needs. We trust Him for more workers. We allow Him to build His church. We expect Him to build His church. It’s His.

Don’t worry. Don’t stress. He is going to build His church.

Quit praying things like, “Lord, what do You want me to do today.” Start praying, “Lord, what are we going to do today?”

In Acts 13:47, Paul and Barnabas quote the promise of the prophet Isaiah (49:6). It was a prediction of a light to the Gentiles that would bring salvation to the ends of the earth. Not for just a chosen few, but for all who would believe. That’s the church that Jesus launched. That is the scope of the kinetic kingdom He began.

Lord Jesus, will You build Your church? Do something amazing. Father, we want to see Your power at work in our lives every day. We want to become like Jesus. We want to believe like little children. We want to have the faith of little children. No stress. No anxiety. Give us faith. Help us to find Your joy and to share it with the world. Lord, we are Your church. We are full of Your Spirit. Lord, will You move in your unstoppable church forever and ever?

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