Making A Difference

Acts 3:1-10

 

                The Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963.  On that day 17 of the greatest football players in history were enshrined for the accomplishments over the course of their careers and the difference they have made in the game.  Since its opening, only 267 players have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.  In the modern era of the NFL each team has a 53 man roster each year, as well as a practice squad.  Every season there are 1,696 players in the NFL – a league that began in 1920 and merged with the AFL in 1970.  All these statistics mean little together until we consider the fact that literally thousands of people have had careers in professional football in America, yet only 267 have made a big enough impact to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.  While thousands have played, few have really made a difference.

                In this respect, our Christian lives can be compared to professional football.  Over the course of history countless thousands have claimed to walk with Christ through this life, but how many have made a difference in the lives of people around them?  What percent of Christians today are making a difference in the world around them?  What does it take to make a difference in the lives of others?

                There are Christians who ask these questions each day.  Some become frustrated with their attempts to do the work of God in a way that will impact the people around them.  We wonder at times if the ministry we are doing really matters, and if anyone is really coming into contact with God through the lives that we live.  At times our spiritual walk brings with it great frustration and discouragement as we see the ground gained by this sinful world each day.  But Scripture teaches us that God can use even the most unlikely people to impact the world.  He can change lives with anyone who is willing to allow Him to lift them above the mediocrity that is so often accepted in the church today.

                The book of Acts gives us the antidote to the discouragement that so many Christians face as they strive to make a difference in this world that has been corrupted by sin.  It gives us the answer to a frustrated work, and the hope to defeat our discouragement as the power of God is put on display through the testimony of His work through the early days of His church.  Peter and John did not make a difference in the life of this lame man because they were by nature greater than any other Christian, but because they were willing to allow God to work through them.  This is a choice that each of us has today.  We can live in mediocrity and just play the game – like the vast majority of pro football players – or we can live a life of victory empowered by the Holy Spirit.  This life of victory is the life to which God has called each of us.  We see clearly in this passage of Scripture what it took for Peter and John to make a difference.

               

                The Apostles were not men who stumbled through life hoping they would happen onto some direction from God.  They actively sought out His direction and guidance.  When they found this lame man they were on their way to the temple at the hour of prayer.  They were going to the temple because they were people of prayer.  Peter and John were men who took their relationship with God seriously.  They were not interested in the ritual religion of their time, but in the power of salvation displayed through the work of Jesus Christ.  They needed Him and they were well aware of the need.  They had experienced defeat when God’s will was not done and they understood the importance of making sure they were within that will – which made prayer something of eminent importance to them.  No matter what they faced they met the circumstance with prayer.

                When the early church needed direction and power, Scripture tells us, “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer (Acts 1:14)…”  After the Holy Spirit came this was a normal part of life for these Christians: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42).”  After their imprisonment for preaching the gospel they prayed for boldness, “And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God (Acts 4:24)…”  And the Apostles would not compromise the discipline of prayer when faced with increasing responsibility of the church: “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4).” 

                If we are to make a difference in the lives of the people with whom we come into contact, we must value prayer as the early church did.  Everything they did was done in light of prayer.  They believed that through their prayers the mind of God was revealed to them.  Through the time they spent in prayer they were led by the Spirit of God, and empowered for the work they were called to accomplish.  The difference they made in the life they encountered that day was a direct result of their commitment to prayer.  If we are to be difference-makers we must have the same commitment to prayer.  If the church is to make a difference – and if you and I will make a difference – prayer can no longer take a back seat to other things in our lives.  This seems to be the first thing we are willing to compromise when things start to get busy and life begins to overwhelm us, but it is the last thing that should be put off.  Our victory in a Christian life depends on our connection with God through prayer.

 

                When Peter and John walk up to the temple mount they noticed the man there begging.  This man was carried there each day, and beggars were not uncommon in first century Jerusalem.  It would have been very easy for them to just walk by and ignore one more beggar sitting at the gate, but they did not.  They would not allow their agenda for the afternoon dictate the impact they could make on the life of another.  But how many of us can say we live like that?  What is it that drives us today?  Most often it is the agenda we have.

                We are goal-oriented people.  We have our checklists and keep in the front of our minds the accomplishments we expect to make for each day.  There are some who are distraught if they can’t fulfill the expectations they have placed on themselves.  We wake up early and work late into the night to accomplish the tasks that we feel need to be done.  There is nothing inherently wrong with doing things that need to be done, but is it possible that our agendas and goals lead us right past opportunities to make a difference and do God’s work?  How many times do we go about our business without ever noticing the opportunities that God gives us?  Are you willing to set aside your agenda for the day for ministry?  What if someone comes to talk to you about God as you’re trying to leave for baseball or softball practice?  How do you respond when someone calls to talk about a difficult day they’ve had but your laundry has to get done, or the grass needs mowed today? 

                Peter and John stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the problem that had been placed before them.  They didn’t just go on into the temple, or convince themselves that this man would be there when they left.  The Apostles of Christ noticed the need.  They were not so driven by an agenda that they ignored an opportunity for ministry.  If we are to be difference-makers it is imperative that we notice what is happening in the lives of others.

 

                We cannot simply notice the problem and stop there, but must also be discerning about the need.  The man asked Peter and John for money, but they had none.  That was alright because the need was not money anyway.  He could have been given money and it would have bought him a couple meals and he would have been back to begging.  God is not interested in patchwork, but wants to meet our needs.  Sometimes God does not meet needs we perceive in the ways we desire because He wants more than for us to simply get by.  He wants to meet our real needs, not simply fulfill our wants.  This is what we see here.  If this man’s real need was to be met he needed to be restored and made whole, and that’s exactly what he was given. 

                The society we live in looks at the church as an organization that simply meets financial needs, but this is not always the case.  When God works through His people He wants to make a difference in the lives they live.  He wants to transform their lives and renew their hearts.  We work hard to help people meet financial needs, but we see in Scripture an explanation of a greater need – the cure for sin.  The problem at the root of all others is the fact that we live in a world that has been cursed by sin.  We could meet the financial need of every person on earth, but will make no difference until we meet the need of sinners.  We are charged with carrying the testimony of the work of Jesus Christ into the world.  This is the answer to the greatest problem the world has ever encountered.  It is the only antidote to the sickness that man faces and the epidemic that drives us toward the depths of hell. 

                Just as the Apostles discerned the need of the people they encountered we must understand that the need of man is Jesus Christ.  This has to be our focus and purpose in all that we do.  When we look back on the difference-makers we have seen through history, we see people who have a focus on Jesus Christ above all else.  Their daily agendas and personal goals took a back seat to God’s work.  They wanted nothing more than to experience His presence and transforming power as they journeyed through this life.  You may have little to give in the way of material, or great wealth to share, but you still stand in the same position: You can give nothing greater than the testimony of the work of Jesus in your life.  Peter and John were witnesses of this work.

 

                After recognizing the need of this man Peter and John did something that we too often fail to do.  It’s not hard to turn our attention to a problem, and it’s not even all that difficult to remember that Jesus is the answer to our difficulties.  These guys did not just stop there, they responded – boldly!  This man had not walked for 40 years, yet they told him to stand up and walk.  He sat at that gate every day, and they had likely seen him there before, so they knew they were asking him to do something that was impossible, but their faith was greater than even the most terminal of physical ailments. 

                Peter and John were willing to do what many would consider taking a great risk.  They didn’t just pray for him and ask if he felt better.  They didn’t try to ease into the situation, or tell him to try to stand up.  They claimed the victory of God as soon as they had spoken the name of Jesus Christ!  They didn’t settle for anything less than the power of God because they understood that God can do more than all that we ask or think.  They believed that they serve a Savior who is backed by the full power of heaven and refused to claim anything less in His name.  The church today stands in a weakened state because we are willing to claim so little in the name of Jesus.  How many of the things we claim when we employ the name of Jesus are actually worthy of His name?  Do we honestly believe that they are?  We are good at doing things half way and making sure we do no more than we think we can accomplish because we have convinced ourselves that we have to protect God.  We wouldn’t want to put Him on the spot or make Him look bad, so we claim that our work was done in His name.  We can be part of a church that is completely dead and still claim the name of God in our work because we refuse to ask God for the life that He really wants to give His church.  Martyn Lloyd-Jones commented well on our situation:

 

                “Though we must know the theory and have the understanding, we must never forget that first and        foremost the Christian faith deals with life and living; it is the most revolutionary power the world has ever known.  A dead church is a contradiction in terms.  It is a dead something – call it what you like – but not a dead church.  The church is life, and it is power, and it is vigor.”

 

                When we ask God to meet a need, can we really say that we have been bold about it?  Difference-makers are people who stand for Christ boldly, and claim the power of God just as boldly.  Peter and John incited the anger of the religious authorities because of this boldness, but they were bold nonetheless.  Where are those who are willing to do something bold today?  Where are the people who are willing to go to prayer and not leave until it’s answered?  Where are those who are willing to bring up Christ to complete strangers?  Where are those who are willing to ask this dying world if they are prepared to meet Jesus Christ? God will work through boldness.  He wants to use us to display His power, not ours. 

 

                It is when we are bold enough to believe that God can use us to make a difference that we see the church become what God has called her to be.  People recognized the work of God in this lame man.  They had seen him sit there day after day; some may have even given him money on occasion.  This day was different, on this day the man who they had passed day after day stood among them praising God.  Miracles take place for a specific purpose.  They show the work of Jesus Christ on display in the world.  Luke explained in the first verse of Acts his reason for writing, “In the first book, O Theopilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach (Acts 1:1)…”  The work of Jesus did not end when He ascended to heaven, but began with His ministry on earth.  It was carried on through the Apostles and the early church and continues today through those who are willing to allow Him to make a difference. 

                Our belief that we can never really make a difference shows a disbelief in the power of God.  There will be times when we feel like we are making no difference whatsoever, but that does not mean that it can’t be done.  We excuse the things that happened in Scripture by saying, “That was a long time ago,” and we put off the power we see at work today by claiming it was “extraordinary circumstances.”  God never intended this, and when we talk with people about these things we don’t argue with them about miracles or power, but we talk to them about God.  Too many people worship a god who is much smaller than the God revealed to us through Scripture.

                We cannot settle for being anything less than difference-makers.  When we do not experience the power of God and see His work we lack the wonder and amazement that should motivate and empower the church.  The work of God done through the people of God always draws a crowd. 

 

• “And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language (Acts 2:6)…
• “Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles (Acts 5:12)…
• “And Stephen, bull of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people (Acts 6:8).

 

                Some are people who just want to see a show, but others have longed and waited to see God’s reviving power.  The church today is in desperate need of the work of God.  If we are to influence the lives of people in this world we must resolve ourselves to be difference-makers.  We must look at the problems of the world in light of the work of Christ and be bold about responding to them, even if we know we can’t do it alone. 

 

                Some people make it their goal to be professional football players.  These people will never be difference makers for their teams.  It is those who are determined to make a difference who are enshrined among those elite few in the Hall of Fame.  God is looking for those who will make a difference today, people who will risk everything to accomplish the miraculous.  Will He find such people among us?

                The opportunities to experience God’s work through our lives are all around us.  Each day we come into contact with people who desperately need to experience the power of a living God.  The discouragement and frustration we face is not because of a lack of opportunity, but apathy toward God on our part.  In our busyness we so seldom stop to look around.  Look at your life.  Where might God be calling you to make a difference? 

The Church Grows In the Word

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.                       -Acts 6:7

 

Church growth is a hot topic within the world of Christianity today.  As many congregations decline in size pastors and laity alike continue to search for answers.  Why do we struggle in this postmodern world?  What is keeping people away from the church?  Why have we lost our influence and authority in this nation?  We commission market studies and research to help us find the methods that will attract people and convince them to join our ranks.  Local congregations of our day will seemingly try any method or program that might bring the masses to them. 

 

Sometimes, as I read books about methods and programs, I wonder where we find all this in Scripture.  If the church described in the book of Acts is our model then why do we not follow their example?  Have we considered the fact that with all of our modern innovations, and our life on the “cutting edge” of ministry we are failing miserably while that small band of fishermen so many years ago set the world on fire?  Those men and women of the early church turned a pagan world upside down.  Their influence was so great that the pagan government of the time could not help but stand up and take notice of the work that God was doing among them.  Where is that power today?  Why do we not see such a work?  Even churches that are growing tremendously do not see the power of God at work within them like the apostolic church. 

 

There are many differences we could point out between that church and the church of our day, but we would be better served to look at what drove their ministry, and where their attention was focused.  They were not looking at the most recent sociological studies, but at the Word of God.  Acts 6:7 tells us that the number of disciples grew as the Word of God INCREASED.  With each passing day the doctrines and teaching of Christ became more prominent in their lives and within the church.  “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching [doctrine] and the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42).”  These were people who desperately wanted to know Christ through His teaching.  They wanted to make Him, and His work, the object of their being.  The talked about doctrine with one another, and lived it in everything they did.  For the early church, things like sanctification and holiness were more than simply a theory, or an exercise in intellectual gymnastics.  These teachings were a way of life and a part of their very being.  For them, to know Christ was to learn of Him through His work in their lives.  To understand what He taught and did among them.

 

For many among the church in this day, doctrine is not longer a matter of importance.  People are continually telling us that doctrine does not matter as long as people are getting saved.  We allow any number of heresies (and we need to call them what they are) to be spread throughout the church as long as a few more people show up this Sunday than last.  Those who desire to stay true to the Word of God are accused of loving doctrine more than Jesus.  To briefly consider things like this shows the fallacy on which they are founded. 

 

Doctrine simply means teaching.  A doctrine is something that Scripture teaches us.  If Jesus Christ embodied the truth of God (John 14:6) then what He did and taught are doctrine.  Jesus’ work and teaching cannot – and should not – be separated.  To love Jesus is to love His teaching, and therefore, to love doctrine because it is an explanation of His Holy character, and teaches us the truth behind the works that He did.  The apostles looked at the teaching and work of Christ in this way.  In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began TO DO AND TEACH… (Acts 1:1)”  In their minds, to do the work of Christ was to live the doctrine of Christ.  That Is why John wrote, “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the TEACHING OF CHRIST, does not have God.  Whoever abides IN THE TEACHING has both the Father and the Son (2 John 1:9).”  One cannot and does not truly know and love Jesus Christ without continually gaining an understanding of doctrine.

 

While considering the importance of doctrine in our personal lives, we cannot forget its importance in the church.  The church was multiplied only as the Word of God increased.  As it was taught and took a position of prominence.  As Jesus’ teachings were passed on to the disciples who followed the lives around them were touched and even changed.  They were changed because this doctrine, and this Word are not without power.  “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).”  The apostolic church did not simply teach a theory or a method.  They lived in submission to God and allowed His Word and His Truth to live in them.  They did not work to explain it away, or to excuse themselves from its commands, but they taught and understood it so that Jesus Christ (the Truth) would become a part of their innermost being.  So that it was Christ who lived through them. 

 

The power contained in the doctrine of the Word is why they worked so hard to maintain purity in their teaching.  If the doctrine taught by Christ and inspired by the Holy Spirit multiplied the number of disciples, false doctrine – and those who promoted it - would be the greatest threat to the young church.  John wrote to the church, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [doctrine], do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works (2 John 10, 11).”  Have you ever thought about how much we have changed since those days?  We have gone from not even greeting one who bears false teaching to promoting them to the highest positions of leadership because their “gifts” are more important than their beliefs.  Jesus Christ Himself even rebuked this false teaching in His letter to the Church of Thyatira:  “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants… (Rev. 2:20)”  The truth is that there is no place in all of Scripture that condones false doctrine.  But beyond that fact is the truth that there is no verse anywhere that teaches us that doctrine is not important.  In fact, most of the epistles give some type of instruction to seek the Truth. 

 

By continuing to look away from God and to things of the world for direction, the church is missing the power that is available to her.  We continue to suffer from our power outage as we seek the ways of the world, and try everything in our power to win souls.  We try in vain because soul winning and discipleship are not in our power.  Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches us that Christianity is “not something that we take up or put down, but something that God does in our lives.”  When His Word moves in our lives discipleship takes place.  When the Word becomes a part of us outreach takes place.  “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself (John 14:32).”  It seems that we are making the commission given to us by Jesus Christ much more difficult than it should be.  We are not called to come up with slick marketing strategies and ingenious ploys.  We are simply called to submit to God and allow His Spirit to work through us. 

 

The need of the world today is not another program.  The need of the church is not more organization and structure.  The need is the power of the Spirit of God working through the Word of God.  As the world closes in all around us, what the church needs – and what the world needs – are preachers and teachers who take doctrine seriously.  We need those who, as the Old Testament prophets, can boldly proclaim, “The Word of the Lord came to me.”  The church needs those who will not compromise this Word for all the wealth of the world or the favor of its people.  A.W. Tozer once wrote, “I do not know what the future holds.  But I know one thing: Rather than betray the sheep of God, rather than lie to them and deceive them and keep them agitated and stirred up with all kinds of popular topics; rather than take my material from Time magazine, I’ll preach the Word to empty seats and sigh and cry for the abomination that is in the earth.” 

 

It is not an easy task to hold true to the doctrine of God’s Word.  It will bring criticism and skepticism, but in the end, it is the truth that will set people free.  The church has been entrusted to teach and proclaim the Word of God.  And we are told that it will not be popular.  “And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.  But the one who endures to the end will be saved (Matt. 10:22).”  James Earl Massey speaks of the difficulty of holding true to the Word in his book Stewards of the Story, “A trustworthy stewardship as preachers demands courage to preach in these times when religious pluralism influences the public mind and postmodernism has emboldened many to question our message and the necessity of our work.”

 

The call to hold to the doctrines of Scripture is not always easy, and is seldom popular.  But it is our charge nonetheless.  The book of Acts gives us an example of a viable, growing church.  It is a church where doctrine was not only important, but imperative.  If we are to “be the church,” we must hold to the doctrine that has been entrusted to the church.  If we are to experience a renewal of God’s works and power in this day when the world pulls us in a thousand different directions, it will be when doctrine once again becomes a priority in the church.

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