A sermon by Norman Moll, presented February 5, 2000

Scripture Lesson

Psalm 118:21-23 (KJV)
I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

Isaiah 28:16 (The Living Bible Paraphrase)
But the Lord God says, See I am placing a Foundation Stone in Zion—a firm, tested, precious Cornerstone that is safe to build on. He who believes need never run away again.

Matthew 21:42-44 (KJV)
Jesus saith unto them, "Did ye never read in the scriptures,
The stone which the builders rejected,
The same is become the head of the corner:
This is the Lord’s doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes?"
Therefore say I unto you, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."

1 Peter 2:4-10 (J. B. Phillips)
. . . You come to Him, as living stones to the immensely valuable living stone (which men rejected but God chose), to be built up into a spiritual House of God, in which you like holy priests, can offer those spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. There is a passage to this effect in scripture, and it runs like this:
Behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious:
And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame.
It is to you who believe in him that he is "precious," but to those who disobey God it is true that
The stone which the builders rejected,
The same was made the head of the corner.
And He is, to them,
A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

Yes they stumble at the Word of God for in their hearts they are unwilling to obey it—which makes stumbling a foregone conclusion. But you are God’s "chosen generation,"—all the old titles of God’s people now belong to you. It is for you now to demonstrate the goodness of him who has called you out of darkness into his amazing light. In the past you were not "a people" at all: now you are the people of God. In the past you had no experience of his mercy, but now it is intimately yours.

We have recently completed a week of devotion and spiritual emphasis on the lives of people whom the New Testament writers describe as being friends, associates or relatives of Jesus. Those of us who portrayed these individuals in our daily presentations could not help but be moved and challenged as we "put ourselves in their place." John, Peter, Andrew, Judas, Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ Mother, John the Baptist, a Mother and her children – what was Jesus’ impact on them? We explored this question as a group, prayed for insights and sought ways to make applications to our own lives and circumstances.

Today I would like to keep our "Eyes on Jesus" as we consider a very important aspect of Jesus’ work here on earth, the establishment of the church and a people, that would bear his name—Christian. What were Jesus’ expectations for those who comprised it? What were the qualifications for membership? What was the mission of this church? How was this mission to be fulfilled? What were the drivers that motivated its members?

If asked, "Are you a Christian? Do you belong to a Christian church?" I think I can be certain of the answers each of you would give. Yet if we could visit the church that Jesus established, would we see anything like what we see here today? More importantly what would the members of that church be like? How would our experience compare with theirs?

I wish that there were time for us as a congregation and as speakers for the devotional series to address these issues in character. Time and resources do not allow that. But the lessons to be gained are too important to ignore. So this morning we will partially depend on your memories and imaginations as we pose questions to certain of the members of the early church.

First I would like to ask a question of John the Baptist? John, you preached that men should repent and be baptized because the kingdom of heaven was at hand. What did you mean by the kingdom of heaven? What does it mean to repent? And why should one be baptized?

John’s Reply: As Jews we reverence the name of the Almighty. Where possible we avoid using his name. The word "heaven" is one of the terms we use In place of his name.

Norman: So when you say "the kingdom of heaven" that is the same as "the kingdom of God?"

John: That’s correct. The kingdom of heaven is at hand because the one who is to rule the kingdom has come, and is with us. And He is Jesus. To prepare to enter that kingdom is an urgent need. Which brings us to the issue of repentance.

The Greek word I used for repent means "to think differently after" or "to change ones mind, to change one’s purpose." It includes far more than being sorry for ones sins and confessing. It involves not only a new mental mindset but also a new direction for the will, a new purpose for ones life, a new attitude.

Norman: That’s quite dramatic. Did your audience understand what you were getting at then, when you said they should repent?

John: I think most of them did. You see the Jews had very clear beliefs regarding the importance of repenting, because it related directly in their thinking concerning the coming of the Messiah. Individually repentance was a prerequisite to salvation by a Messiah but national repentance was also viewed as essential. In fact the rabbis had a saying that "if the Israelites would repent for one day, the Messiah son of David would come immediately."

Norman: John, I’m certain that you recognized the shortcomings of that last teaching, since you had studied prophecy and knew that the coming of the Messiah depended on God’s calendar of events as revealed to Daniel. But the widespread belief that every person needed to change and be involved with the Messiah’s coming helps to explain why your message drew so much attention.

Tell me though, how did your teaching regarding baptism fit into the idea of a new mindset, a new direction for one’s will?

John: One of the beautiful things about baptism is that you submit to baptism. You don’t baptize yourself. I wanted the people to see that removal of sin is not something you do by yourself. Even though Jewish tradition at my time taught that salvation came as a result of one’s being a descendent of Abraham and one’s living in perfect agreement with the laws of Moses and the Torah. The Messiah’s coming was important not just to mark the fact that people had repented, but because it was the Messiah who would take away the sins of the world, my sins, the sins of every Jew, and your sins, too. Baptism was a dramatic demonstration of the fact that sins can be removed only by someone outside ourselves. The Spirit revealed to me that only the Messiah, God’s Promised Son, can remove sin from a life record. That’s why I introduced Jesus as "The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world."

Norman: John, you also spoke of a greater baptism, a baptism by the Holy Ghost. You said that that baptism would come from the one, whose shoe latchet you were unworthy to loosen. Can you explain this further?

John: Even though Jesus and I were born in the same year, and even though our mothers were cousins, my study of the scriptures convinced me that the "Promised One" was no mere man. You know that our paths crossed only briefly around the time when Jesus came to be baptized. What a privilege was mine to announce what prophets from time immemorial had anticipated. Nothing I did made me worthy of that honor. This was God’s doing. While the baptism of Jesus was by my hands, the hands of man as it were, it would have been more appropriate for him the baptize me. The light that flooded over him as he knelt in prayer there on the river bank, and the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove and resting upon him, this to me was the true baptism of Jesus. God was baptizing him with the fire of the Holy Spirit to prepare him for the work that lay before him.

Norman: So is this the baptism that we as followers of Jesus should also experience?

John: That’s the way I see it.

Norman: Excuse me for interrupting you John, but I see Peter standing behind you about ready to burst, he wants to say something so badly! What is it Peter?

Peter: The baptism of the Spirit is really the beginning of ones witnessing experience. It happened to us at Pentecost, fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, ten days after his ascension. We had been together as an extended group of Jesus followers, men and women, praying, sharing our experiences with Jesus. Most importantly we were reviewing scripture to confirm in our own minds that Jesus was indeed the complete fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies. We were together there in Jerusalem, just as Jesus had instructed us to be and suddenly a roaring sound like a mighty wind surrounded us and immediately thereafter what appeared to be fire entered the room and as it approached us divided into numerous tongues of flame. These came and rested on us individually. Clearly this was the baptism of the Holy Spirit and with fire that John the Baptist had predicted. It was baptism by the Spirit because it brought the power of the Holy Spirit, the same power that accompanied all that Jesus had done, into our lives. Some of us could speak in other languages, there was power to work miracles, there was new eloquence to our speech. It was baptism by fire because a new zeal accompanied all our work for Jesus from this day forward. The fire also anticipated the intensity and power of our witness.

Norman: So Peter, what happened that day?

Peter: You know of the thousands who joined us on that one day. But do you realize who these converts were? Oh yes there were some how were hearing about Jesus for the first time, but there were also backsliders – people who had once sought Jesus out and even followed him for a while, but who then slide back to their old ways and habits. Some of the converts had been among our Lord’s most bitter opposition, even to the point of rejoicing in His death! These now are some of the greatest champions of the gospel. There are others who seemed to be always retiring, unwilling to stand for anything least of all the teachings of our Lord, these now are out sharing daily in the streets and the temple. One ambition fires every heart, one interest eclipses all others, that is to reveal Jesus’ character to others and thereby to enlarge His kingdom (Ellen G. White, Acts of the Apostles, 48, paragraph1).

Norman: And did the baptism of the Spirit come on these new converts as well?

Peter: Most definitely! Some of these people were I think especially chosen by God, for they immediately consecrated their lives to Jesus, and went forth sharing the hope and peace that Jesus brought to their hearts. They taught His love and worked miracles in His name. There was nothing that could stop them.

Norman: Speaking of being unstoppable, you and John the Beloved certainly exhibited that trait well a few days after Pentecost.

Peter: Oh you must be referring to our healing of the man in the temple gate who had been a cripple from birth, forty years of misery. John and I were just coming from a very session of earnest prayer on our way to worship in the temple when we saw this cripple begging in front of the Gate Beautiful. I found out later that he had traveled a great distance to come to Jerusalem only to discover on arriving that Jesus had been crucified. He put out his hand to ask for alms. I said to him, "Silver and gold have I none but what I have I give to you, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! The next moment the cripple was healed, walking leaping and praising God.

Norman: As I recall that caused quite a stir. Not only were the people surprised to see the cripple healed, but to realize that the it was the man’s faith in Jesus the crucified which was responsible for the healing.

Peter: That’s correct. As the crowd grew we discussed the resurrection of Jesus and the fact that his suffering and death had been foretold by the prophets. It wasn’t long before our testimony regarding the resurrection attracted the attention of a delegation of Sadducees who quickly convinced the authorities to arrest us and put us in prison. Next day we were brought for a hearing before Annas and Caiaphas and other temple dignitaries.

Norman: These were the same people before whom Jesus had been taken less than two months earlier, right?

Peter: Not only that, it was the very room where I had denied my Lord. But what a difference a few weeks can make. I had been converted. No longer was I proud, outspoken impulsive and boastful. Now I was modest. I placed no trust in myself. But with the help of God’s Spirit I was determined to honor the One whom I had denied.

Norman: Were you able to do this?

Peter: When they asked me "By what power, or by what name, have ye healed the cripple?" I knew my opportunity had come. With holy boldness I fearlessly declared, "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

You see the priests and rulers were desperately trying to regain their influence and control over the religion and beliefs of the masses. When Lazarus was raised from the dead after four days in the tomb, they were determined to kill Jesus. When Jesus was reported raised from the dead by the Roman soldiers, huge bribes were paid to buy their silence. But the preaching that began on Pentecost and now this miracle were proof that they had not stopped the spreading of the truths that Jesus had taught. Jerusalem was filled with excitement. The news of the gospel was spreading everywhere like wild fire. What could be done to stop its spread?

Norman: You and John were fortunate to escape with your lives!

Peter: True. But because the leaders feared the people they only threatened us. To which we replied, "You must decide for yourselves whether it would be right in God’s sight for us to obey you rather than Him. For we can doing nothing other than truthfully describing the things we have seen and heard."

After our release completely unharmed, our friends who had been in a continuous prayer session in our behalf were overjoyed. We joined them for a glorious thanksgiving prayer service. While we were praying, again the Holy Spirit came upon us all. The building we were in shook like it had been struck with an earthquake, and the Spirit was poured out. Our hearts were filled with courage, to proclaim with greater fervency the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Prophecy had been fulfilled. Our challenge was to proclaim the harmony of the words of scripture and those of Christ the Living Word.

Norman: Thank you for your witness and your testimony, Peter. Before we speak with another important member of the New Testament church let’s review and make some observations.

Jesus came to establish on earth a new church. He called it the kingdom of heaven which is equivalent to the Kingdom of God. He also called it "the kingdom of grace."

• Only those who belong to the kingdom of grace while on this earth can hope to belong to the kingdom of glory in the future life.

• Entry into the kingdom is by repentance including both confession and turning away from sin.

• This is followed by baptism by water and by the Spirit.

• The kingdom is based on God’s commandment to love as quoted by Jesus which was a condensed restatement of the ten-commandment law.

• The kingdom is comprised of Jesus followers; those who walked with him, heard his teaching, experienced his miracles, shared his love for the lost.

• Those who comprise the kingdom are careful students of scripture and especially prophecy. They stand ready, like John the Baptist and Peter, to study, interpret and apply prophecy.

• They know from scripture that Jesus is the fulfillment of messianic prophecy.

Prophecy is critical to our understanding of who the Messiah is, what he will do, when he will do it, and why.

It is significant that Jesus, the founder of the church, was himself the greatest of all the prophets, foreseen as such by prophets as early as Moses.

In fulfillment of Bible prophecy Jesus’ mission was announced by a great prophet, John the Baptist. As John told us: Jesus is the Lamb of God. Only Jesus can take away the sin of the whole world.

While Jesus spoke simply, without oaths or expletives when he spoke of the importance of John the Baptist’s messages his strong admonition was, "He that hath ear to hear, let him hear" (Matt. 11:15).

We will come back to this discussion in a little while but first I have one more person to interview. Paul, is that you over there? Please come here so that we can visit.

Norman: Paul, tell us about your life before being converted.

Paul: At that time my name was Saul. I was a Roman citizen by birth but also a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin by descent. I was educated in Jerusalem by the most eminent of the rabbis. I was a Pharisee; I was zealous for the law. I lived by the law and considered myself a perfect Jew, fully worthy of the salvation promised to Abraham and his seed. I had been taught that Jesus was not the Messiah, that he was an impostor, deserving of death and that the stories about his resurrection were a fabrication of his fanatical followers. I was not a member of the Sanhedrin until several years after the crucifixion, hence was not privy to the attempted cover up. Meanwhile I was zealous for the Pharisaical approach to religion. I objected strongly to the seeming disregard of the law exhibited by the followers of Christ. I fully supported the attempts by the religious leadership to stop the spread to the teachings of Jesus by men like Peter and John. I was young and ambitious to succeed. I saw in the concern for stopping the spread of the fanatical teachings of Jesus an opportunity to distinguish myself in the eyes of those who sat on the Great Council of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin as you may know was the highest judicial body of the Jesus. So I volunteered to hunt down and turn over to the authorities all who followed this Jesus.

I was busily occupied with this work when I heard about a Greek-speaking Jew named Stephen. Some of my most respected friends among the rabbis and doctors of the law had engaged Stephen in conversation expecting to easily back him into a corner and destroy his logic. To their surprise they found him to be a very thorough student of prophecy and the Law. He ably defended the truths he advocated from scripture, which made the arguments from tradition offered by my friends of little value. Some who in the past had had conversations with Jesus observed that the same Spirit seemed to empower Stephen’s arguments. The humiliation suffered by my friends in the debate with Stephen made them angry. Unbeknownst to me it was decided that Stephen would be silenced. False witnesses were obtained and paid handsome fees. Actually they were Jews from other countries who after the trial would be spirited home to safety. As the chief accusers they would also take the lead in the execution and thus the local Jewish leadership could claim not to have been involved should the Romans investigate. But just to cover all the bases the Roman authorities were again bribed to turn a blind eye on the proceedings. While not privy to these behind the scene arrangements, I was invited to participate in the trial.

Stephen was charged with blasphemy and the various witnesses offered what on the surface seemed to be a plausible story. As lead prosecuting attorney I summarized the case speaking eloquently for the logic of the traditional rabbinical position. When I finished there were nods of approval all around.

Then Stephen stood to speak in his own defense. It was a scene I shall never forget. Looking straight into the eyes of his judges, he began to recount the history of the Jewish faith. His voice was clear, his words were thrilling. As he spoke his face seemed to shine like the face of an angel. We were spellbound. He showed how Jesus Christ was connected with every part of Jewish history. "Moses foretold the Messiah with the words, ‘A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear.’ Era by era, prophet by prophet he showed that Jesus was indeed the ‘Promised One.’ Finally he connected Christ with Solomon’s words at the temple dedication, ‘the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool: what house will ye build Me? Saith the Lord: of what is the place of My rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?’"

Suddenly the furry could be contained no longer. The high priest leapt to his feet and rent his robe.

Stephen sensed fully the implications of that action. Breaking away from his historical summary he fearlessly declared, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised of heart, you have always resisted the Holy Ghost, just like your fathers did. They persecuted the prophets, and slew those who prophesied the coming of the Just One. You have betrayed and murdered the Messiah. You who have been entrusted with preserving the law, have failed to even keep it yourselves."

I watched as in frenzied anger the crowd rushed to stone him. But he seemed to have no fear of death. His eyes seemed fixed on a scene far beyond the present life. In tones filled with rapture Stephen exclaimed, "Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." His final words as the stones began crashing down were "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge," whereupon he fell asleep.

I was deeply troubled by what I had witnessed. It seemed as if Stephen had been honored by God with a vision of glory at the same time he was being executed for the worst of sins. In vain I sought for a confidant who could help straighten out my thinking. None could help. The high honor of a position on the Sanhedrin was no consolation for my troubled soul.

Not long after this I was traveling to Damascus where I hoped to drown my anxiety over Stephen’s death in new deeds for the authority of the law. But on the day of the journey there I was met by the only one whom I secretly feared, Jesus of Nazareth. The meeting was sudden and unexpected. A dazzling light from heaven brighter than the noonday sun engulfed me. I fell from my horse landing prostrate on the ground. At that moment I heard a voice saying to me, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

"Who are you Lord?" I said.

"I am Jesus whom thou persecutest," he replied. "It is hard for you to keep kicking against your own conscience as if it were an ox-goad."

And there on the road to Damascus I saw my Lord in person. I could no longer believe that Jesus was still dead. I had seen him and spoken with him. Suddenly the truth of the scriptures swept over me like a flood. Jesus is the Messiah of Promise. Everything fit the prophecies of scripture: His life his death on the cross, His resurrection, His ascension, even the rejection of Jesus by his fellow Jewish leaders. They were wrong! The disciples were right. Stephen had indeed beheld the glory of God and the Son of God by the throne of His Father.

With this realization came the realization that I was in need of the forgiveness that only Christ could offer. The following three days of blindness gave me time to think and reflect. The Spirit of God helped me recall the prophecies and see their exact fulfillment in Jesus. The horrible crime of killing Stephen and persecuting innocent followers of Jesus weighed heavily upon my heart. The forgiveness offered by Jesus became a theme of my witness for Him. The total inadequacy of our own attempts at righteousness makes Christ our only hope.

My encounter with Jesus on the road remains as fresh in my mind today as the day it occurred. By His grace I was rescued from my own misguided self. By his grace I was forgiven. By His grace I live day by day for him.

Norman: Thank you for your witness, Paul. We know there is much more to your life story. Maybe we can talk to you again another time.

We set out to consider the similarities between the New Testament church and the church today. Because the New Testament church was established by Jesus we should expect it to be as near to a model of perfection as is humanly possible. From our conversations we can draw important conclusions as to how and why the early church grew:

Those who were with Christ: 
    Recognized him to be the Son of God
    Understood his mission

1) from its definition in prophetic scripture,
2) as a fulfillment of prophecy and
3) from the divine conformation seen in Christ’s life and works.

    Became witnesses to what they had seen and experienced
    Were empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Those who joined later, who were not eyewitnesses,
    Shared with the Jesus the founder and charter members in:

Being students of scripture and especially prophecy
Being called by God
Being baptized with Jesus for repentance
Being born again for a divine purpose
Being anointed by the Holy Spirit
Were commissioned to go to all the world
Bore witness to the Truth
Were committed to the work of God on earth
Were ready to do whatever was necessary for its advancement.

Growth of the kingdom was the result of God-directed, individual action.

I believe there are very important parallels between God’s intention for the early church that we have been considering this morning and the "Church of the End Time," the church we belong to today, both of which are part of the kingdom of grace:

1. God’s intention for all who belonged to the kingdom of grace was that they have a foundational understanding of Jesus and His purpose:

Savior, Lover, Redeemer, Anointed One, Our Righteousness,
Bringer of (inward) Peace, Suffering Servant, Creator, the I Am, the Eternal One,
The Resurrection and the Life, The Judge of the living and the dead,
The Coming King, The Living Head of the Church

2. The kingdom of grace would be based on a correct understanding of the Bible and Bible Prophecy. Even when a majority had other views of truth, the church was to stand firm for God’s truth.

3. The church is commissioned to go out and find sheep, not to wait for them to wander in.

4. The church is to find its support and nurture in Christ and the Holy Spirit, the other Comforter sent by Him.

5. Some including religious leaders will oppose the true church. But those who oppose it will eventually fall because they are opposing God.

6. The message of the church will be "Repent and be baptized for the kingdom of God is at hand.

7. The church itself will be a fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

We set out this morning to gain a better understanding of the early church because we believed that it would benefit our church here in Midland to be like that charter church, the one Jesus established. We have listened to the testimony of some of the important leaders and members in that church.

Now I would like to summarize what I believe made that first church so successful. To be successful it was necessary for it to be successful in three distinct areas: 1) Individual Experience, 2) Individual Action, and 3) Collective Experience and Action. These areas build one on another. Without the first two the third cannot succeed. Jesus recognized this and was very careful to care for the individual needs. The charter of the church today is to do over and over again what Jesus did as the church was founded.

Consider these areas in detail

Individual Experience:

0.1 Discover who Jesus really is

0.2 Repent and be baptized

0.3 Baptism/anointing by the Holy Spirit

0.4 Become disciples

0.5 Be transformed by grace

0.6 Accept the commission to go share Jesus

Individual Action

1. Take individual action for Christ

2. Be individually responsive to the Holy Spirit

3. Individually bring others to a knowledge of Jesus

4. Individually be a zealous witness for Jesus

Collective Experience and Action

10. Be the body of Christ (Jesus the head)

20. Be known for the "way we love one another.

30. Align as a group with the scriptural, divine calling and mission of the church established by Jesus.

If this is done the church will grow, in Midland and all throughout the world.