IS THE STORY OVER?

Today we are at the end of the “UNSTOPPABLE” service series. It’s all about the >Acts of the Apostles<.

Together with his first book, the “Gospel of Luke”, i.e. the life story of Jesus of Nazareth, the doctor Luke writes about the beginnings of Christianity. The name >Acts of the Apostles< makes it clear that it is about the history of the apostles, i.e. how God worked through the apostles.

And we could also call this book History of the Church/Church of God. Because it is about their unstoppable spread from Jerusalem. (and in ever larger circles via Antioch and Ephesus) to Rome, the end of the world at that time.

Unstoppable – the kingdom of God that had begun with Jesus, the crucified and risen.

Unstoppable – the Holy Spirit.

Unstoppable – Word of God.

Unstoppable – the church of God.

The Acts of the Apostles ends with these words:
“Paul openly proclaimed the kingdom of God and preached about Jesus Christ, the LORD.” ( Acts of the Apostles 28:31 )

It is about the preaching of God’s kingship in the lives of more and more people, with the aim that one day Jesus will rule over everyone as LORD and King. Is this story over now with the end of the book? No, thank God, the story is not over.

The story went on, as the 2000 year history of the Church proves and shows.

That is why the theme of this sermon is:
“UNSTOPPABLE – The story goes on ” and it is about Acts 29.

You are welcome to open your Bible to it and you will discover that Acts 29 does not exist at all.

Honestly, the first thing I stumbled upon was and wondered if it could and should be like that.

With my imprint as a Christian, also on the Bible and the church, it is deeply imprinted on me that we are not allowed to add anything to the Bible.

“Whoever goes beyond the teaching of Christ will have no fellowship with Him! But those who remain faithful to the doctrine of Christ will be joined to both the Father and the Son.” ( 2 John 9 )

( 1 Corinthians 4,6 / 2 Corinthians 2,17 / Revelation 22,18+19 )

It is my deep conviction that as Christians we are committed to the Word of God, the Bible, to be faithful and reverent. And can’t just cut out parts of it or add other things. A 29th chapter of Acts looks and feels like an expansion of the Bible. And that would be fatal. Especially since – who then sets the limits? Who decides what really is God’s Word? Who has the authority to subtract and add? This brings us quickly to the defense of the “right faith” and the right teaching about God and us and the church and community. That is exactly what characterizes orthodoxy. And it’s also very quickly about becoming stuck in tradition.

Here is a historical quote I modified a bit:

>Tradition is not the defense and worship of the ashes, but the transmission of the fire.<

I will come back to fire later in a very important context. Last Sunday’s sermon was about God’s speaking to us today and not just through the Bible itself and directly. As elders, we experienced exactly that very impressively in our session last week.

After a long conversation about a topic, we realized that we were not making any progress and were going in circles. Until we had the impulse to pray right now and ask God for wisdom. After praying, we had a solution within 5 minutes – God had spoken to us.

And so the topic “Acts 29 – UNSTOPPABLE – The story goes on” is quite in order.

Because God keeps talking and HE is truly allowed to do that, because HE is God.

Recently, at the Pentecostal Youth Conference, I was very impressed by this prayer: > Lord, you may do and speak what you want! <

I wish you and me exactly this openness for God’s speeches, also today in this service! The question today is, as the story of God’s church goes on – and it goes on – where is your and my place in that story after Acts 28, today? Where are we when it comes to preaching and living in the kingdom of Jesus? Thank God, church history continued just as “inevitably” after Acts 28 as before. And with today’s service we are actually already starting the next series:

Welcome home – my community!

It means:

God says, “Welcome home, it’s my (God’s) church.”

And also for saying, “Welcome home to my community!”

The topic for you teenagers and young people at the Pentecost Youth Conference was: “Ecclesia – God’s church/community” The last sentence of the Acts of the Apostles is the bridge to us today:

“Paul openly proclaimed the kingdom of God and preached about Jesus Christ, the LORD!” ( Acts 28:31 )

The story – the church story goes on! I would like to make it clear with two relatively recent examples:

George Verwer , the founder and longtime leader of OM, Operation Mobilisation, who recently passed away.

He was converted at the age of 16 at a campaign with Billy Graham. Very soon after that he began preaching about Jesus as far away as Mexico City and later far beyond, inviting countless people to believe in Jesus.

On the way south after the wedding he traded the wedding cake for gas. Usually not a good idea for newlyweds.

What always distinguished him was that he was very creative in bringing the good news of Jesus to people. And in doing so he influenced many young Christians of his and our time and invited them to take part. Among other things, they smuggled many Bibles into the Soviet Union. The organization he founded has sent several thousand missionaries to many countries around the world to tell people there about Jesus.

Another very creative way of inviting people to believe in Jesus is the 5 ships of OM that have been and are still navigating the world’s seas. They bring the Bible and other Christian literature to the people and give them very practical help on site. Today more than 5000 people worldwide are on the way with OM in the name of Jesus to the people.

With George Verwer, God’s story continued around the world, and so it continues after his death.

Another example from my generation of God’s story going on is:

Keith Green He was born in 1953 in the USA. He was a great musician (pianist and singer) and wrote and composed many songs.

As a musician, he slipped into Far Eastern religions, took drugs, etc. Together with his wife Melodie (both came from the hippie milieu), he was converted at the age of 20. From that point on they took care of the socially disadvantaged, prostitutes and the homeless. With his life motto, which was also the title of his book, “No Compromise” (No Compromises), he strongly influenced many Christians of my generation (and today again young people) and challenged them to seriously and consistently trust and follow Jesus.

These are just two relatively recent examples:

God’s history of the church goes on – unstoppable!! But it is not primarily about church history – not about history, but about the present and the future. It’s about your and my life and about this question:

Where are you and where am I in this story?

It’s not a question of organization, but of passion! That God’s story has been going on unstoppably for over 2000 years is a fact and a fact. And it is guaranteed to continue. But you and I decide whether we want to be part of it and are, or whether this story passes us by.

You ask: How can I be part of this? In response, I quote from the Visions sermon from earlier this year:

– For which person are you praying this year that he/she will get to know Jesus and trust HIM? Who are you praying for this year and helping him/her to truly follow Jesus?

In order for people to get to know and trust Jesus and for God’s church to grow, Jesus needs and uses people like you and me to live out this vision and commission. God does not know passive membership in God’s church, only saved, called and sent in His name!! That’s what it means to be part of God’s story.

In our retreat as church leaders last week, we worked very hard and prayed about where we stand as a church? What is good and what are we missing? Yes, we are very grateful for many in our church who live in their calling of God and work in God’s kingdom.

And yet we also see some deficiencies and deficits, things that are not going well or not. But God has shown us, we are convinced of that: Our hearts are tired, we are drained and sometimes discouraged. The fire is missing, the passion for Jesus and His church! That’s why too often we defend the ashes, what we want to preserve. Even if a lot of work is going on, maybe even going well, we long for new living faith that changes and shapes our lives.

Revival – new freshness and passion for Jesus and His kingdom, for God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and for His word and action today. And we are totally aware that it starts with us, with me and then also with you.

The core question is: How do I live my relationship with Jesus and also with His church/congregation? Even though it is certainly also about our contribution and service in His kingdom and in His church, we are convinced that it is about my heart and yours first. It is not primarily about what we do, but about our BEING. And our next concrete step looks accordingly – but more on that in a moment.

And it’s about making a decision today , me as well as you.

In John 6 we read something very amazing how Jesus put people who were with Him into the decision and challenged a clear decision:

> From then on, many of His disciples turned away from Jesus and no longer followed Him.

Then Jesus asked the twelve (disciples): “Will you also go away?” ( John 6:66 )

Jesus can afford to ask so fundamentally and apparently existentially for His project “Church”. HE doesn’t want any followers, no passive followers – a blatant contradiction in terms: either passive and not further along or followers! What is my and your answer to this question from Jesus today?

Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Only you have words that give eternal life. We believe and have recognized that YOU are the Holy One of God.” ( John 6:68+69 )

It’s about your heart and mine! What is your and my heart beating for?

As leaders, we want to live and exemplify this in our relationship with Jesus and the church!!! My heart and ours should beat anew for Jesus and for His church, full of enthusiasm and gratitude to be able to belong to God’s family. It’s not about “to do”, but about our passion! God’s heart clearly beats for His church!!!

“Christ loved His church. He gave His life for her, that she might be His, clean from guilt, washed clean by baptism and God’s Word. He did this to present her as a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and spotless.” ( Ephesians 5:25-27 )

Matthew 6:21 : “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also!“

Is our relationship with Jesus and belonging to God’s family a treasure for us – the greatest treasure? If so, then it will inevitably have a tangible impact in our lives, personally and as a church!

“We are a church in which as many people as possible get to know Jesus Christ and are happy to follow Him together.”

This has been our vision for years as a church. We invite you to live this vision together from the heart! This week we reformulated our vision of what should move us in the next 5 years.

“We (experience) a spiritual awakening in you and us – a longing for God and a new devotion to God that only the Holy Spirit himself can bring about and that has noticeable effects”.

” We pray for a spiritual awakening in you and us – a longing for God and a new devotion to God that only the Holy Spirit Himself can bring about and that has noticeable effects”:

• We consciously live relationships with non-Christians.
• We are willing and able to talk to other people about our own faith and to share (communicate) our own faith and to guide others in following Jesus.
• We live relationships and friendships in the community, and in particular intensive contact with at least one person.

The small groups make a decisive contribution to this. As the management, we have decided to take this one concrete next step:

Starting tomorrow we will do this every 2 weeks on Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. (even if not all of us can always be there) and we cordially invite you to pray with us. We are only concerned with this concern: LORD, awaken me, mine and our heart! Give us new living faith in you and passion for you and your kingdom!

Are you in?

That would be awesome!

Amen!