Great Grace

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0:00 So the text that we're looking at for this morning comes from, like I mentioned, the actually possible, if you want to look there with me, we're picking up where we left off last week. And last week we finished with the end of Acts chapter 4. And remember where we are in this part of the story in the Acts chapter 4.

0:40 We're pretty sure that the person that wrote last week of the book was the same person that wrote the book. And so he has worked far to go interview. We think a lot of the story of Luke's Gospel comes from Mary, the mother of Jesus, and he's interviewed some other people, some of the followers of Jesus. And then he gets interviews and chronicles after what happens after the crucifixion, and then the resurrection, and then the ascension. And where we are in the story right now is right after the ascension.

1:11 And then two weeks ago we had Pentecost where it's hard to imagine the experience of being there at Pentecost. It's one of the great moments in the metanerative of the God of Creation. Where this long-laid plan comes to fruition. Remember there's the experience of God of Creation at the very beginning forms humanity

1:42 out of the dove, and in order to animate life into this created order that carries the image of God, he breathes, God breathes, God's own spirit in humanity. And up comes Adam and Eve carrying the image of the Creator God. Now they will be His image bearers in the world carrying the food and government of the garden. Of course then the problem happens. But the separation between God where the first ones are ushered out of the garden and now

2:15 they don't get to walk with them in the food and eat them anywhere. This fundamental separation where they're removed from the tree of life, where death enters into the world, this problem of the separation between God and man permeates human existence and the globe coming out of the garden. And God sets out a plan to restore that problem at the very beginning. But Pentecost is the culmination of that long-laid plan where that original spirit

2:48 is let loose on humanity. For the first time and unmitigated, no one standing between the Creator God and humanity. It says that the Spirit is poured out on young and old men and women without discrimination they get the Spirit of God. And immediately the countenance of Peter changes where he cowards before and fear of humanity who stays up after Prandtl and announce that they feel the best behavior of the world.

3:24 And he dies because of people are at their number. And that's where we are because I want us to be thinking about what does it mean for us to be the church in the world today. And we're going to start to answer or think through that question intelligently. I want to look at how we start in the beginning. And so I want to pick it up in verse 32 of chapter 4, right at the very end of chapter 4 of Acts. It says now, the full lumber of those who believe were of one heart and soul.

4:04 And no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection for Jesus. Great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of land, or houses sold them and brought them proceeds of what was sold and laid out the apostles' feet. And it was distributed to each of any head.

4:34 We talked a little bit about that last week, but I wanted to come back to it again because I don't know about you, but that picture of this community of people, it's like really beautiful. Did you listen to the descriptions? Now the full lumber of those who believe were of one heart and soul. They were completely the unified day.

5:10 They had a same understanding, motivation, mission, the direction of their generosity and mercy was aligned. Their compassion towards each other was kind of pure. Their motivations were similar, one heart and soul. And no one said that any of these things that belonged to him was his own. They trusted each other with all of their things.

5:43 And they weren't a grasping or hoarding. They were open handed with each other. Now the full member of those who believed were of one heart and soul. No one said that any of the things that belonged to his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power, the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. That's my favorite line. Great grace was upon them all. I think that in order you think about the world that they're in, even right in the center

6:16 that very immediately the temple they're in. Remember that just a week ago, Jesus had gone in there and overturned the tables because even inside the temple there was all this green running rampant among people. There was extortion happening where the leaders of the church were extorting the pilgrims came as they translated the money into the temple money, right?

6:46 The ego into the macro world and you have Pilate, who's the governor of the region who's propped up Herod who's a false king. And the two of them are in cahoots to keep the money coming from the people, pay just enough to roam. Pilate is known to be just brutal. I mean, we just weeks before this, they brutally murdered two criminals and Jesus. And he spread out even further. They are actually an occupied country, right?

7:19 By an extreme dictatorship that keeps the whole known world from fighting with each other by killing anybody who goes against them. This is a fraught position that the church springs up in where this group of people is of one mind and the heart. I want you to see that when it is needed most, the grace of God is sufficient to break out

7:55 a community of people of one heart and one mind in the worst of places. It would take great grace to take these people who were unexpected and unaware. They were coming to make their offerings for Pentecost, coming out of broken, manipulative, exploited systems, participating in it to their own degree. They were just coming to Pentecost to do what was in their ritual and great grace breaks

8:29 out on top of them and changes them from inside out so that they are not just behaving and following all the rules. It doesn't say that the rules were clear and they followed them. It says that they were all of one heart and one mind and trusted each other and held all things in common. And great grace was upon them. I mean, that is beautiful. When I think of that, the first thing I thought of where is the great grace of God

9:03 and the story of Scripture. I thought, what does it feel like when God and his family walk out of the ark onto the pristine earth to start the human race again? What great grace at that moment to resurrect humanity and culture? I thought about that. We had some friends over with a new baby about tonight and there's something amazing about

9:34 a new baby in the right to the center of the living room. And I thought about Abraham and Sarah with Isaac, the birth of a nation. In that moment, out of barren, lean, and ancient old man, to bring new life, there is great grace in that moment. Grace in that moment.

10:08 I don't know what broken system. I mean, I know some of the brokenness of our system. I know that we are familiar with peace maintaining our voice. I know that we are familiar with the country with directed in justice, generational, wrong,

10:46 over and over again. I know that we are familiar with the economic uncertainty. Wherever you are, you will meet each other. Grace, Grace. The first piece of good news for all is that the God of creation in life, the God of Noah

11:18 and Mary, the great store. It took great grace to launch the church. Great grace. In this beginning moment, I talked a little bit about a gospel. It is very unique in the scope of human history.

11:48 There is only one Abraham and Sarah. There is only one Isaac where Israel begins. There is only one Noah where there is only one Ark. There are places in the story of our people where there is only one in those great moments where God is in actual God's plan for the salvation of humanity. There is significant grace to protect the plan and the future of humanity.

12:21 This is one of those moments where there is an inordinate amount. I have experienced grace in my life. There have been moments where I knew that I knew that God took care of. There have been quieting beauty where I knew God was there.

12:52 I was thinking this morning about one of those. When I was in college, a group of us went to Honduras and spent some time in a couple of different places there. One of them was in a very rural mountain village in Honduras. At night, we had been to this church where people came from all over and they were

13:24 preaching power by car-bathing and having electricity out there. It was a beautiful experience of worship with people whose words I didn't understand, but the spirit I connected with. In the morning, we were saying the submit block house that didn't need any AC because it was up in the mountain. On the back porch, they had these hammocks that looked at the green jungle of Honduras and the mountain jungle. When I thought about where is the moment where I have experienced great grace?

13:54 I was swinging in that hammock in the morning after that, so as looking at the zoonal of Honduras and the mountains. Surely you have experienced moments of great grace where you know God is proximate and you know. I can imagine these several hundred several thousand people in Jerusalem walking and sharing their meals together, experiencing their proximate.

14:25 I think of the place I mentioned. Think of no one in this family. If you know that story well, it wasn't long after they disembarked from the art that brokenness came in. They knew Abraham, Sarah, and I think of that on the same with me.

14:59 And they knew the church. I had to begin it. Look down, left off at Acts 4 verse 34. There was not a needy person among them. Or as many were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid that the cost of speech. And it was distributed to each as they had. That's Joseph who was called by the across as Barnabas, which means son of the American Levi and native of Cyprus.

15:32 And he was called the field that belongs him and brought him and laid that the cost of speech. I think he singles out Barnabas here because Luke who shares the author of the actual apostles later on and starts writing the first person. He actually picked up and traveled with Paul and Barnabas for a while. So Barnabas became someone who was known in the first century. People reading this would like to know, oh, that's where Barnabas comes into the story right there. And then didn't go back to his island.

16:03 His land on Cyprus sold it and brought the proceeds to the group. And then he took up with Paul later and Paul comes to Jerusalem to see if he's allowed to take the gospel to the church. So Barnabas comes into the story. But I want to look forward here because there this beautiful situation of great grace is like shattered very quickly. But a man named Ananias with his wife, Sophia, a piece of property and with his wife's knowledge, he kept back for himself from the proceeds.

16:39 And brought only a part of it and laid it up the apostles feet. But Peter said, and I have seen your heart to lie to the whole spirit and to keep back for yourself, part of the proceeds of the land. While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? It's important Peter is telling him, this is your property. You could do with it whatever you want. Nobody was saying that to be here, you have to sell everything.

17:09 Saying, wasn't it yours to do with as he wanted? And I said, well, it's good to see the person. While it remained unsold, did not remain your own. And after the soul, was it not your disposal? Meaning after you sold it and not, couldn't you just do with whatever money, whatever you wanted with the money? You're saying, nobody's compelling you and do anything with the dollars that you made from the sale of your rent. You do a thing with everyone.

17:39 And after the soul is not, why is it that you would have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God. When I and I swear these words, he fell down and breathed his last. Same thing happens to anyone whose wife is a fire. He did this as a chance to say, no, you know what? We decided that it was best for our family to keep some of this money aside and bring this stuff to the community. He gave her the chance to say that as she didn't.

18:10 She died as two. Now, I mean, I'm going to ask God the father how he decides second chance this deed is over that and what happened in the ! That's a question that I have. But the principle here that I want to consider is what's going on with any of the fire. That they tell people, oh yeah, we sold the land because we want to be like, all you want to share all our things in common.

18:42 But they actually don't share all of them. This is the fatal flaw of humanity. They want to trust God, but they just can't. They want to say, if we put everything into the pot here and trust that God is in charge of it, God is building a kingdom where he is a good, generous, benevolent king. And here under this kingdom, he takes care of his arm.

19:12 And so what we're going to do, we're going to put everything that we have. This is what faith in this looks like to us. It's like God has called us. Instead of saying that, they say, we are sure God can't do that. So we're going to go halfway trusting and halfway trusting ourselves. I can relate to that. Once Jesus ascends, we don't see that.

19:46 And we talked about it two weeks ago when we looked at the burning bush where the young men of the Israelites are being killed by their oppressor over and over and crying out the men. God takes this time to respond. I can understand it nice and smart because you cannot see God and God operates in God's own time.

20:18 So it can be hard to trust God for what? Money? Justice? Love? It can be hard. And you may be in a position like so many of us where you are baffled right now at the injustice of society.

20:49 You're worried about the future of your money and work. You're isolated and alone and feel unloved. And it can be hard when we are waiting on God to believe that God will come through.

21:26 And it's all hard. And you're safe and you're hard. My response when my faith gets hard when I notice my little side bets like Edna and Ciphaella, when I'm hedging my activities, that looks like not trusting the way it's done. And not hedging my bets looks like I don't trust God's prescription for how to live.

22:03 Whether that be generous forgiveness, merciful giving and living. Whether that be the way I interact with relationships and look for love. Whether that would be the way I understand work or advocate for justice. When I find myself hedging my response is your time. I need more of your great, great.

22:38 I need more of your great, great. What I understand about the God of Abraham, I'm going to take it to God of creation, life, Christ and the church is that in the end, he comes through every time. That the straightest line to lasting justice, provision, love is through the way of Jesus back to God.

23:15 The straightest way to envision justice love is through the way of Jesus back to God the Father. And this is who the church is. We have the opportunity empowered by the great grace of God to embody the reign of God of people who trust the authority of God with our actions, love and intent. That looks like embodying God's motion of justice, embodying God's motion of mercy, embodying God's motion of love, embodying God's motion of fidelity, embodying God's motion of God's sense of an economy.

23:54 We have the opportunity to embody those things for each other, for our families, our neighborhoods and our cities. And what I want to go look at over the next several weeks is what are these aspects of the reign of God? What does the economy of God look like? What does the justice of God look like? What does the mercy in the reign of God look like? Because I think that as we begin to say, what does the culture that exists underneath the reign of God will begin to fill out the answer?

24:26 What does it mean for us to be the church in our homes, in our families, in our neighborhoods and in our cities and in our land of today? Let me pray that we could have some great grace this morning and begin to address those questions for ourselves. Hey Lord, we know that you have grace enough for us today, that the world is not so evil, that it is beyond the reach of your great grace.

25:00 We need more great grace today. From the evil in our hearts and our hearts and our homes and our cities, we need more great grace to embody your land and live under your authority to carry your culture, to experience your freedom. We need more great grace today to be your church.

25:30 From the sake of Jesus, would you give up that great grace this morning?