Yours, Mine and Ours

There was tremendous fallout from Peter and John's trial before the Sanhedrin.  They had stood boldly against their charges to proclaim the name of Jesus (Acts 4:13).  

Ultimately, the council simply warned them to stop teaching and healing in His name, something which they openly ignored (Acts 4:18-20).  

These believers celebrated and then prayed for even more boldness to tell the world about Jesus (Acts 4:23-30).  God answered their prayer in an amazing and powerful way (Acts 4:31).

Their filling by the Holy Spirit resulted in incredible community.  It was brief glimpse of what church can be like.  "Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul” (v32).  

Complete unity.  

This is what Paul encouraged the Philippians to be (Phil 2:1-11), "being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind."  

Throughout the NT, God calls His church to be unified in and through His Son (2Cor 13:11; 1Pet 3:8).

We much each ask ourselves if this is the condition of our church.  Is my church divided?  Is there a divided focus and mission?  

This doesn't mean that we can't disagree on different issues.  It doesn't mean that we agree perfectly on all things. 

Mark Driscoll refers to "open handed and close handed issues."  The must hold the essential doctrines of our faith with a closed hand.  

These are views on such things as the Person of God, Jesus, the Cross, salvation and the Bible.  We can't budge on these and we hold them tightly in a closed hand.  

Meanwhile, there are other doctrines on which we do not all agree and we hold those in an open hand.  These are things like worship style, the end times, communion and baptism.

The church of Jesus Christ must not be marked by division and bickering.  It must be noted for its unity and singularity of focus.  

One of the big reasons Paul wrote his stinging letter first letter to the church in Corinth was because of factions (1Cor 1:10-17).

The most obvious indication of this Spirit-filled unity in the First Church of Jerusalem is their willingness to share everything with other believers.  They were also open handed in how they viewed their possessions.  

"No one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common” (v32).  They understood that what they had were all blessings from God.  

Yours, mine and ours.

They saw what they had as a way to show grace to others.  These early Christians understood that we are blessed to be a blessing to others.  

And it is a humbling example.  Too often we hold onto what God has given us with a kung fu grip.  

A couple of problems with that.  First, that's not God's design.  Second, it REALLY hurts when He pulls it from our fingers!  We are blessed to be a blessing.

Yours, mine and ours.

Luke tells us that the apostles told everyone about Jesus' resurrection "with great power" (v33).  This was the answer to their prayer for boldness.  

This isn't "kinda sorta special power."  It is MEGA power.  The original Greek describes it as δυναμει μεγαλη/dunamei megala.  

In other words, their testimony about Jesus' resurrection was "mega-dynamic!"  That's what happens when the Spirit of God gets ahold of your life.  Is your testimony "mega-dynamic?"

And don't forget that the empty tomb and the Risen Savior was an essential component of the apostles' teaching (Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30-37).  

We must remember that very most important truth as we tell others about Jesus.  He is ALIVE!  He is RISEN!  And He is till alive today!  

They not only preached with great power but "great grace was upon them all” (v33).  This is χαρις τε μεγαλη/xaris te megala, or “ MEGA grace."  

This is "mega-grace" is a two-sided coin.  On one hand, God had blessed them with His unmerited and undeserved favor.  

On the other, the people of Jerusalem continued to be blown away by what was happening in and through this incredible new movement.

This is a very practical example of the "new command" that Jesus gave His disciples (Jn 13:34-35).  Our love for one another will demonstrate to the world "that you are My disciples."  

The watching world has its eyes on us.  What are they seeing?  Do they see us loving and caring for each other?  

Or do they see us name-calling and infighting?  Let them see our love.  Let them see our love IN ACTION!

Dr. Luke tells us that in the church "there was not a needy person among them" (v34).  Again, can the same be said of our churches today (especially in the US)?  

This isn't to say that our fellowships are to be Christian communes.  No, but it is a call for us to take a "me third" attitude (God first, others second, me third).  

If we saw each other through God's eyes, we would be generous and giving.  Pray that we see with His eyes.

Yours, mine and ours.

We see that these early church members leveraged their belongings, in particular their real estate, to take care of each other.  

They would sell their possessions and give the proceeds to the apostles (v35).  They trusted their leaders to make needed decisions.       

The good doctor then gives us a very practical example of someone who did just that (v36-37).  A guy named Joe.  An average Joe.  

But you may know him better by his nickname.  Barnabas.  This nickname means "son of encouragement."  

One way this Jewish native of the island of Cyprus encouraged his brothers and sisters was to sell a piece of property.  He gave the money to the apostles so they could distribute it to those in need.

One very important reason for this passage is to set up the story of Ananias and Sapphira which follows.  Keep that in mind as you read ahead in Luke's sequel.  Theirs is an example what NOT to do.  But that's for tomorrow.

Do you and I see what God has given us as a means to bless others.  Do we see these blessings as yours, mine and ours?    

©2011

Jay Jennings

A Spiritual Snipe Hunt

“holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain” (Philippians 2:16).

Ever been on a snipe hunt? If you have, you’ll never forget it. And you’ll never go again. A snipe hunt is essentially a wild goose chase…minus the wild goose. You take some unsuspecting sucker into the woods and spend the night looking for the rare and elusive snipe. It’s so rare and so elusive that it doesn’t exist. After several hours tromping around in the wilderness at night, the victim realizes they’ve been duped. They’ve wasted time and effort (not to mention a good night’s sleep!) for nothing. 

Paul is hoping his trip to Philippi hasn’t been a colossal waste of time. From his prison cell in Rome, the apostle writes to his Philippian friends encouraging them to keep telling everyone who will listen about Jesus. If they don’t, he worries that his trip to the Macedonian port city has been a time suck. He encourages them to keep “holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain” (v16). Dr. Luke describes those crazy days back in Philippi in his sequel to the Gospel that bears his name (Acts 16:12-40). People trusting Jesus. Demon possession. Citywide riots. Angel-led prison breaks. Yeah, it was a whole scene. Eventually Paul and his posse left town for Thessalonica. While God used the apostle to do some amazing things during his time there, the man from Tarsus hopes the message of the Gospel continues on. Otherwise, this was a waste of time. Otherwise, this was a snipe hunt.

After dropping the lyrics of a first century hit worship tune about Jesus (Phil 2:6-11), Paul motivates his readers to continue their lives of obedience. Explore what it means to be saved by God by realizing it’s God who gives you the desire to obey (Phil 2:12-13). Stop whining and instead stand out from the rest of society like lighthouse on a dark night (Phil 2:14-15). An important part of obeying God is “holding fast to the word of life” (v16). At first glance this might appear to be orders to choke my Bible with some sort of MMA submission hold. A closer look at the original language clues us in on something just a little different. When the ESV translators give us “holding fast,” Paul uses the Greek verb epecho. It can mean to hold on to something. But the term can also mean to offer, present, or be ready to respond with a particular item. It’s a compound word that literally means “to hold across.” Picture holding out and offering something of tremendous value. In this case, that something is the incredible news of Jesus’ invitation of a relationship with God.

The apostle knows if these believers continue spreading the Gospel his days in Philippi weren’t wasted. “In the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain” (v16). Once our Savior makes His jaw-dropping encore, He’ll reveal once and for all what really matters. We’ll finally see if what we chased in our lives lasts in the eyes of God. One day Paul knows he’ll see Jesus face-to-face again. He’ll never forget the time the Lord supernaturally ambushed him on his search-and-destroy mission to capture and kill Christ’s followers in Damascus (Acts 9:1-5). That was the day God transformed Saul from the number one enemy of the church into Paul, the number one spokesman for Jesus. The apostle longs for the “day of Christ” (v16) when Jesus returns. 

When the resurrected Christ comes back, Paul wants more than anything to be proud of what God did through him among the Philippians. Their passion to hold out the message of Jesus to their friends and neighbors lets him know he “did not run in vain or labor in vain” (v16). “Vain” is the Greek word kenos, which means empty, void, containing nothing, futile, worthless, or of no purpose. Did apostle and his team work their tails off for the Good News to simply stop with Lydia the fashionista, a former slave girl, the jail warden, and his family? Not to say these lives weren’t important in God’s eyes and celebrated in heaven, but it would be empty for the rest of Philippi if the message of grace stopped with them. Otherwise it would be in vain. A complete waste of time. A snipe hunt.

Several Bible translations bring out this beautiful imagery of offering the Gospel to a lost and dying world. “Holding out [to it] and offering [to all men] the Word of Life, so that in the day of Christ I may have something of which exultantly to rejoice and glory in that I did not run my race in vain or spend my labor to no purpose” (v16 AMP). The Message paraphrases Paul and reads, “Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing” (v16 The Message). Hold out the wonderful word of life. Offer it to everybody. Carry it in such a way that it shines brightly in a dark world. Don’t be greedy. Don’t be selfish. 

The application of this verse sits in the corner like the proverbial elephant in the room. (This makes me wonder, how did the elephant get in the room to begin with? How did it even get into the house? Is it sitting on the couch?) Okay, I digress. Paul’s point to both the Philippians and to everyone else who opens this little letter is obvious. I need to continue telling others about Jesus’ amazing message. Continue offering the Good News. Continue holding out the Gospel to those around me. Continue carrying the light-giving grace. Don’t let it stop with me. Keep living a life of love, mercy, and forgiveness. Keep telling others. If I don’t, those who were kind enough to hold it out to me will have wasted their time. Back in the seventies, the great theologian Freddie Fender sang about "wasted days and wasted nights." I can't let the investment others made by telling me about Jesus simply be a waste of their days and nights. I need to do everything I can to make sure this wasn’t just a spiritual snipe hunt.