By: Dale Weckbacher
Acts 1:21-22
So one of the men who
have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in
and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of
John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must
become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
(ESV)
This past weekend was one of
great joy, accomplishment, and chaos in the United States. The nation is experiencing great joy as
things shut down begin to open up. For
me and my wife, this meant returning to Church and sitting down for breakfast
at a restaurant for the first time in over two months. The great accomplishment for the nation was
the successful launch of two American astronauts from American soil in an
American built rocket, potentially freeing the nation from the need to depend
on the Russians to launch American astronauts to the International Space
Station. The chaos of riots indicates
the nation needs revival as people believe they can end evil with evil (Romans
12:17-21).
In obedience to the Lord (Acts
1:4), the disciples stay in Jerusalem and enter the upper room, devoting
themselves to prayer (Acts
1:12-14). While the primary reason
for entering the upper room was to receive the promised Holy Spirit, the Disciples
believe they have some unfinished business to tend to, replacing Judas. The question is was Matthias God’s choice or
the choice of the disciples. While his
choice came after prayer (Acts
1:14), the choice of Mattias came after they cast lots, or as we might say
today, flipped a coin to determine which of the two men chosen would replace
Judas. This is unlike the selection of
the Twelve by Jesus (Mark
3:13-14), as Matthias was the choice of the remaining eleven Disciples and
with no mention of Matthias after his selection, indicating he was not God’s
choice.
God’s choice to replace Judas would
come later on the road to Damascus when Saul had an encounter with Jesus (Acts
9:1-9). Not only did Saul’s
encounter with Jesus indicate He was the replacement of Judas, but it also
illustrates the change one can experience in their lives when they encounter
Jesus. After the stoning of Stephen (Acts
7:54-60), Saul whose name would later become Paul was on a mission to bring
Christians from Damascus to Jerusalem as prisoners (Acts
9:1-2). However, after encountering
Jesus, Paul went into the synagogues and proclaimed Jesus instead of gathering
up Christians as prisoners (Acts
9:19-22). Such is the change one
experiences when they meet the Lord.
The Apostle Paul also illustrates
that one does not need to have a physical encounter with Christ to experience a
life-changing experience in his or her life for Paul’s encounter occurred after
Jesus had ascended to be with the Father.
This gives everyone hope for while we will not physically encounter
Jesus and become one of the twelve Apostles because God has filled these
positions, we can have a life-changing experience. This is the mission of the Church and what a
world in chaos from Covid19 and now riots and civil unrest needs but is the
Church ready to courageously stand up for the truth of the Gospel. Sadly, in many ways, the answer is no. To prepare for revival, the church must do
more than address administrative issues as the Disciples did when selecting
Matthias and have a renewed encounter with God through the Holy Spirit,
empowering the church to spread the Gospel to the end of the earth (Acts
1:8).
Jesus told the woman at the well
that true worshippers worship in Spirit and in Truth (John
4:23). While well-organized programs
and operations can help the Church function more efficiently as an organization
in declaring the truths contained in the Bible, it is powerless without the power
of the Holy Spirit in each individual in the Church. A Church declaring truth with the empowerment
of the Holy Spirit is a Church where people can experience a life-changing
encounter with God.
The Church must move beyond just
a social club where people gather weekly, to a triage center where hurting
people have an encounter with God. While
encountering God begins with one making a public declaration of their faith in
Jesus as his or her savior, it continues as the church disciples them by
equipping them with knowledge of the truth in the Bible, encouraging them to be
courageous when facing adversity, and empowering them with the Holy Spirit to
resist evil and declare the truth in an evil world. The world must see the church combat evil
with the truth of the Gospel. Revival
will occur in the world as the Church ministers with the empowerment of the
Holy Spirit in declaring the truth of the Gospel not through dependence on efficient
and entertaining programs.
I encourage everyone reading this
to wear the belt of truth through diligent study and meditation on the Bible (Ephesians
6:14) and seek the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to skillfully and
powerfully use the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Ephesians
6:17). For those reading this who
may have never made a public declaration of faith in Jesus as his or her
savior, I invite you to do so by praying with me now,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
A world in chaos needs an
encounter with Jesus but cannot have one unless the Church points them to
Jesus. When I speak of the Church, I am
not speaking of a building pointing people to Jesus for the Church is not the
building but the people in the building who follow Jesus. The question all followers of Christ must ask
is will they be active and Spirit-filled participants in spreading the Gospel
or spectators. The call of God in each
believer's life is to be active participants (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:19-20) so do not be a spectator but be active disciples
of Christ.
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