It’s Time to “Acts” and Finish the Book! (1) Acts 1:1-11

CPAC 26^th April 2009

It’s Time to “Acts” and Finish the Book! (1) Acts 1:1-11

"If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself."

– St Augustine

Sermon:

Show my original oil painting of a “Vase with Daisies and Anemones” by Vincent van Gogh (1887)….

Show a print of Claude Monet’s “Bouquet of Sunflowers” (1881) and link it to the comments that follow….

You will know that at the moment Te Papa museum has an exhibition of original paintings by Claude Monet and other Impressionists.

When you see prints of Monet’s paintings they look wonderful don’t they, but the prints are only a shadow of the beauty of the original paintings.

You can buy Monet’s prints over the internet for about $20!

The originals will cost you a six figure sum, no doubt.

When you see Monet’s original work, or that of any famous painter, you gain a much, much greater appreciation of how talented these painters really were.

When you stroll through Te Papa museum you can learn a lot more about Monet and his paintings than you may already know,

simply because you are able to study his original paintings.

Let’s extend that thinking now to the original church.

This book was a Christmas gift to me from Linda and Melanie two years ago!

You can see that it's not a coffee-table book.

In fact, it's big enough to be an actual coffee table!

This book records the accounts of the original church under the heading “The Acts of the Apostles” (refer to and show the book)

It’s not the original account.

It is a short record about the original account.

It’s still significant and very meaningful, but it represents only a shadow of the original account.

This illustration, like the illustration of the paintings,

highlights a very important principle of church health and church growth.

You see, for us to truly understand the church and really appreciate what it is supposed to be like,

and if we are to stir our passion about our potential as a church family, then, the fact is, cheap copies won't do.

We need to study the original, that is, the original church.

We need to learn from its principles and patterns of ministry.

Then we need to implement those patterns, adapted according to the context in which we live now.

So over the next few weeks I want us to take a close look at the very first church, the original church that was established by the very first Christians after Jesus ascended to heaven.

The life of this original church has been very carefully recorded in the Book of Acts.

The author of the Book of Acts is Luke, the same author as the gospel of Luke.

Luke was a gentile, who Paul says was his "excellent physician" (Colossians 4:14).

So Luke is Dr Luke, a medical doctor.

The Book of Acts is a history book, one of five historical books in the New Testament.

The other four are the gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John which are historical accounts of the life of Jesus Christ.

Acts is an historical account of the life of the original church.

It is exciting, action-packed history book filled with fascinating people, life-changing events, and crucial ideas,

hence the title, "the Acts of the Apostles..."

The Book of Acts is like a sequel to Luke's gospel and we see this in the first verse of Acts where Luke says,

"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach..."

But in a real sense you could say that Acts is a sequel to not just Luke but the other three gospels as well

and I say this because of the way the other gospels end.

Matthew ends with Jesus' RESURRECTION.

Mark ends with His ASCENSION.

Luke ends with Jesus' PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

John's concludes with Jesus' SECOND COMING.

And in the first eleven verses of Acts Luke presents all four of these key themes and shows how they relate to the church.

So really Acts is more than a sequel-it is a BRIDGE that takes us from the life of Christ in the Gospels to the practical, everyday outworking of what Christ taught.

Acts is a bridge because it connects the life of Christ to the life of the Christian.

In the Gospels we are Christ's admiring audience.

In Acts, we are the ones on stage.

How can we as a church benefit by looking at the “original church” in the Book of Acts?

1. We'll have a biblical standard to follow.

It’s so important that we pattern ourselves according to God's original design, not according to the latest trend or programme or dare I say, another church.

We must never be a photocopy machine church, that is, a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy.

The only way to get a good copy is to copy the original.

It’s vital we copy the New Testament church model and fit it into our context of life today.

The key focus of the original church was to seek and to save the lost.

Last week Craig Marsh talked about encountering God in transition.

He believed that CPAC was about to go through a transition of moving into new ways of understanding, believing, and operating as a church.

God is stirring up something within us as a church.

He said one of the hallmarks of a church in transition is that they will have an eye for those who are “lost”.

We all were once lost - read Ephesians 2:8 but “God saved us by His grace when we believed. We can’t take credit for this, it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”.

Craig said that as a church God wants us to understanding that the “lost” are more ready than we may realise & the harvest is fast becoming ripe.

People need to know that God considers them His masterpiece.

The lost need to know God’s saving grace in their lives.

We, the church, are God’s only means through whom they will know.

Cynthia Nichols had a dream … an admonition to today’s church:

'Going With The Flow' by Cynthia Nichols

“I saw a wide stream flowing past where people stood on either side.

As the murky black water neared a precipice it flowed faster and ran deeper. A strong undertow drew it to the point where it roared headlong over the edge.

In the gathering darkness, which made the stream appear even blacker, a girl came drifting past. Those watching saw her, and from where they stood, could quite easily have grabbed her before she reached the rapids above the falls. But they didn't.

They murmured and pointed, even referring to her by her name, but not one ventured to help pull her out of the currents' ever increasing strength.

They were still pointing and murmuring when she tumbled over the falls and was gone.

One piercing scream drifted back to their ears and for a brief moment, they looked a bit distressed. But, it was a very brief moment indeed and then they simply picked up where they left off - murmuring and pointing as yet another person drifted into view.....” (unquote)

Remember, the woman in Auckland a week or two ago who chose not to help a young woman crying out for help?

Soon afterwards that young woman was raped.

Satan's goal is to rape the beauty of God's creation - we are that beauty.

It needn't happen - we are more than conquerors.  As God’s church we are called to share the life-saving message of the gospel with people and then to help them grow as disciples so they can join us in this task of saving the lost and those who are in trouble.

It’s something we must never forget!

2. Acts shows us that anything is possible when we are empowered by the HOLY SPIRIT.

The best illustration of this is seen in the lives of the disciples themselves.

There is no way that on their own they would have been capable for the task that Jesus gave them in Acts 1:8.

From a purely human standpoint it was ridiculous to think that those first apostles could be His witnesses in Jerusalem, much less in Judea and Samaria and to the utter most parts of the earth.

But Acts records that they received power and guidance and wisdom from another Source, the Holy Spirit.

The same Holy Spirit power is available to you and I today.

When we repent of our sin and ask Jesus to come into our heart and life as Lord and Saviour, He does.

From that point on, just as Jesus promised He is WITHIN us... "always-even to the end of the earth." (Matthew 28:20)

Our English words for "Holy Ghost" has its roots in an old Anglo-Saxon word from which we get our word, "guest."

Let this remind us that the Holy Spirit is indeed an ever present Holy Guest in the lives of all who believe in Jesus,

always ready to give us what we need to do God’s will.

Remember, God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.

And that supply comes from the Holy Spirit.

Do you see what this means for CPAC?

There is nothing we can't do as long as we rely on the power of God's Holy Spirit living within us.

The late A. W. Tozer said,

"If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today 95% of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference."

Well, we don't want that said about CPAC!

We want to be a church known for doing things that would be impossible, apart from the power of God.

3. When we come to the end of the 28 chapters in Acts, we'll discover that this book is unfinished!

There is no formal ending to the book of Acts.

There is no climax.

It just stops after recording about 34 years of history from A.D. 30 to A.D. 64.

In fact, it ends with the hero, Paul, in prison.

We are left wondering what's going to happen next.

God did that for a reason.

The book of Acts is unfinished.

That’s because God is not finished.

He is still working in and through His people, us, His church.

In fact the literal Greek translation of the title of this book is this: "Acts of Apostolic People" – ie. no definite article, just ACTS...as if there are more ACTS to come.

A favourite clip from the Lord of the Rings movies is toward the end of the second film.

Frodo and Sam are working their way through a forest trying to get to that volcano in Mordor where they can destroy the evil ring.

And as they walk along Sam asks,

"I wonder if we'll ever be put into songs or tales?

I wonder if people will ever say 'Let's hear about Frodo and the ring.'

Maybe the kids will say, 'That was one of my favourite stories. Frodo was really courageous wasn't he dad!'

And, the dad will say, "Yes my boy, Frodo was the most famous of all hobbits and that's saying a lot."

Then Frodo chimes in, "Well, Sam, you left out one of the chief characters in this story we are writing: Samwise the brave. Kids are sure to say, 'I want to hear more about Sam because Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without Sam.' (unquote)

Well, when we get to heaven and we all look back on the history of the church...I wonder what they will say about you and me?

I wonder what will be said about the chapter we are now "writing" in the continuing history of the Acts of apostolic people.

Will they say, "CPAC was a great church! They constantly sought God's will and sought God’s vision for them. They faithfully followed and served God. And they relied on the power of the Holy Spirit...oh, God did amazing things through that church!"

I pray that people will say those things about CPAC, and that above all, God would be glorified.

If God is to be glorified in the life of CPAC it has to start with each one of us, each individual.

So may you and I begin a new chapter of the Acts of God in our individual life right now.

May we commit to always listen when His Holy Spirit speaks.

May we pledge to trust in, and rely on His power, instead of our own.

May we decide right now that we will always ACT when God tells us to.

Like young Samuel said to God, may we even now say,

"Speak Lord for Your servant is listening." Amen.

Craig Marsh "Encountering God in Transition " 19th April 2009

Sermon (notes) by Craig Marsh "Encountering God in Transition " 19th April 2009

We encounter God through transition.

God is on the move (around the world, in our local communities, our lives);

He is always active, creating and re-creating.

He stirs up and shakes our lives - we must have eyes to see (the unseen/spiritual).

Read Acts 10:1ff  -  Cornelius has a vision, St Peter has a vision - gives Peter a new understanding of the Kingdom of God.

God is preparing Peter to prepare believers for transition and change; to move into new ways of understanding, believing, and operating.

God is always seeking to build into our lives & circumstances:

1    relationally = our relationships with God, others (family/friends/work relationships, etc), self,

2    generationally = our family line

3    revelationary = God's revelation to us

Satan "tries" to interrupt/intersect/destroy the first 2 but he cannot affect the 3rd one at all!

God wants us to learn from Him and to advance from/through one revelation to another and so on.

Such is His love for us that God does not want us to remain the “same” but He desires that we grow more and more like His Son.

This is involves transformation and change (Romans 12:2).

However we are generally resistant to change (RTC) but change we must if we are to progress, grow and mature in our faith and journey with God.

We encounter God through transition.

CPAC is in a time of transition.

We are at the edge of a move of God transitioning us in a way that we will never be the same again both individually and corporately.

Transition takes on many shapes and forms.

Offer 8 ways for CPAC to consider “transition”:

1 Increase in signs and wonders from heaven.

During transition God in His grace often moves in the supernatural in response.

Refer to real experiences of gold dust, jewels, oil coming from bible….

Know God’s peace in storms, healings, anointings, miracles to break out of ruts & break from ‘stale’ traditions – we need to discern the moves of the Holy Spirit – 1Cor 2:9 > widen our horizons/mindset

2 Increase in Angelic visitation

God uses or employs angels in the supernatural transition.

· Joshua before he took Jericho

· Daniel in lions den

· Peter & Cornelius in Acts 10

· Paul on road to Damascus

· Mary & Joseph

· Zechariah when Elizabeth got pregnant with John the Baptist

Allendale – the Pastor experienced visit of 3 angels wearing backpacks – they were revisiting places of past revival.

3 Old mindsets & strongholds of thinking are broken off individuals and off the church

The old ways of doing things are dropped. Old ways of thinking are turned upside down like what happened to the NT church over associating with Gentiles

4 Fresh revelation unfolds for the journey ahead so you can move forward.

Not a time

to sit back but a time to sit up and go for it

to wait and see of it all works out

to throw in the towel

to move on because you don’t agree with the changes on the church

to resist, shut down, withdraw, go into hibernation/depression

Always aim to be a participant not a spectator or commentator.

5 Breakthrough advances into new geography, new cultures, new programs, new buildings, new people groups.

Expect breakthrough in prayer, finances, healings

6 New doors of opportunity in ministry for individuals and corporately as a church

New programmes and new outreaches will be launched – expect doors to open

7 Criticism and persecution will rise up/increase!!

This is good for strengthening your resolve! This is not meant to stop you but rather to empower you/us to break through and move to the next level.

Eg. see Acts 11 > Peter was criticised but he had the support of other believers who vouched for him.

Criticism can help focus us on the next God-inspired move.

8 The “lost” are more ready than you realise & the harvest becomes ripe.

Too often this is missed because of the time of the transition and being moved from one perspective to another. But if you have an eye for it and a willingness to go after the harvest the result will be the extension of the Kingdom of God!

Recognising, embracing, and understanding transition, even looking forward to it, will cause growth to happen, change to take place, and God’s Kingdom to advance – and you will never be the same again!

So get ready! See 2Cor 3:18, Eph 2:10, Acts 10 – God helps Peter to make a wise transition by giving him a revelation.

To transition well there will need to be an all round greater effort, be willing to move beyond our comfort zones, increased finances….

Prayer for healing for people…

Palm Sunday 5 April 2009

CPAC sermon Palm Sunday 5 April 2009

Scriptures: Matthew 21:1-17 (dvd); Mark 11:1-10; Matthew 5:33-48

There are very few places in the gospels where Jesus allows people to make a public fuss of Him.

The Palm procession into Jerusalem is one of them, where the focus is on Jesus.

By His actions of riding into town on a donkey He is boldly declaring Himself King.

He was also fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah (9:9) which says,

“Rejoice greatly O Daughter of Zion… see your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey…”

This was also the way that Jesus was affirming His Messianic royalty.

He was the Messiah, the One who the Prophets of old foretold would come to save God’s people.

And in addition, by riding on a donkey in the manner that He did, Jesus was revealing something of His character ie. His great humility.

By this very public appearance and demonstration Jesus was declaring exactly who He was.

In what ways do we “reveal” publically, who we are?

What things can we do to reveal something of our Godly character?

How are we, or can we be, clearly recognisable as children of God?

This morning, let’s think a little more about these things.

When people see my daughters with me they are clearly recognisable as my children.

No doubt about it… peas out of the same pod!

Why? Because they look very much like me in appearance and sometimes in mannerisms.

This illustration is a good one for our earthly family, but what about our church (heavenly) family?

How do people know that God is our heavenly Father and that we are His children?

Well, the best way to reveal that we are children of the Most High God is through Godly character.

Jesus helps us out big time in this department by explaining what Godly character looks like when He addresses the crowd sitting on the mountainside on the shore of the Sea of Galilee….known as the Sermon on the Mount.

So let’s look at Matthew 5:33-48

33 - "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.'
34 - But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne
35 - or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
36 - And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.
37 - Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
38 - "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'
39 - But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 - And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
41 - If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
42 - Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
43 - "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44 - But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 - that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46 - If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
47 - And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
48 - Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

This text is full of God-like traits that we can demonstrate in our daily lives.

As verse 45 puts it, when we embrace these Godly characteristics,

then in the same way that my children are clearly recognizable as my daughters, you and I become clearly recognizable as "sons of our Father in Heaven."

Now ladies please don’t get upset when you are referred to as “a son of our Heavenly Father.”

There’s good reason you are referred to as a “son” in the context of the bible.

It is because we all have our identity IN CHRIST.

And because Christ is the Son of the Father (Son spelt with a capital “S”), then we are also “sons” (spelt with small “s”) of the Father.

And note that the apostle Paul went to great lengths in his epistles to

stress that we all have our identity and existence IN CHRIST.

Now, verse 48 emphasizes that when we live life according to Godly principles, we then are "perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect."

The word we translate as "perfect" is the Greek word teleios.

It is a word that refers to functional perfection.

In New Testament times a thing was considered teleios or perfect, when it fully realized the purpose for which it was planned, and designed, and made.

A very simple illustration is in these two screw drivers I am holding – a small one and a large one.

Each one is designed and made to fit a certain type of screw and when they are used to turn that screw then they are screw drivers that are teleios.

That is, they are "perfect" for turning those tiny screws or those large screws.

They are being fully utilised in the best way when they are used for their proper purpose. If I tried to turn a large screw with the small screwdriver then that screwdriver would not be teleios.

So as followers of Jesus we will be teleios, we will be perfect, when we fulfil the purpose for which we were created.

Now what exactly is our purpose as human beings?

We could look at it this way - in Genesis 1:26 God says humankind was "made after Our image and after Our likeness."

In other words we were created to be like God, to act like God,

and to look at people and treat people and respond to people in a Godly way.

As Jesus puts it later in the gospel narrative, people are to see our good works and to praise our Father who is in Heaven.

Of course, none of us succeed in doing good works all the time.

Many times in life we "screw up" (use screw driver to illustrate) but nevertheless this is to be our goal, our target.

As 1 Timothy 6:11 says, we are to "pursue Godliness."

So, "what does a Godly person look like?"

(1) First, Jesus says in His sermon, that they are known for their commitment to the truth.

Look back at verses 35-37.

Our Lord says, "…simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

The point Jesus is making is that our word ought to stand on its own.

Charles Swindoll writes,

"When a monosyllable will do, why waste your breath on polysyllables.

Keep it simple. Say 'yes' or say 'no' because verbosity is no guarantee

of veracity."

"Teleios" Christians are known as people of their word.

They don't need to talk like children who say things like,

"Cross my heart until I die, stick a needle in my eye, if this isn't true." (unquote)

Teleios" Christians don't have to say things like this because they are committed to the truth.

They understand Proverbs 12:22 which says,

"The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in those who are truthful."

Sadly we live in a world where the truth is growing harder to find.

There was a minister who noticed a group of boys standing around a small stray dog. "What are you doing, boys?" he asked.

"Telling lies." one of them replied. "The one who tells the biggest lie gets to keep this dog."

The minister was shocked and said to them, "When I was your age, I would never have thought of telling a lie."

The boys looked at each other with disappointment on their faces.

Finally one shrugged, pointed at the minister, and said,

"I guess he wins the dog."

Back in the eighteenth century King Frederick II of Prussia visited a Berlin prison. One inmate after another tried to convince the monarch of his innocence with long verbose stories.

In their opinion, they were all being punished unjustly for crimes they never committed, all that is, except one man who sat quietly in a corner while all the rest unfolded their lengthy and complicated stories.

Seeing him sitting there, oblivious to the commotion, the king asked the man why he was in prison.

"Armed robbery, your honour".

The king asked, "Were you guilty?"

"Yes sir" he answered, without attempting to excuse his wrongdoing.

When he said this, King Frederick gave the guard an order,

"Release this guilty man. I don't want him corrupting all these innocent people in here!"

So how are you doing in this area of being truthful?

Do you stand out? Are you recognizable, as a child of the one true God because everyone knows your word as your bond?

Would your creditors say that you stand out to them as someone who always pays your debts on time?

Would your neighbours say you always keep your promise to return things you borrow?

Husbands and wives, would it be accurate to say that you have kept your vow to put your spouse first every day of your marriage?

Parents would your children say that you always keep your word to them, always keep your promise to spend time with them or help them with their homework, or do you end up doing other things?

Jesus says one of the things that identifies you as a child of God is that you are an honest person, a truthful person.

Your yes means yes and your no means no.

(2) A second thing Jesus says is this: Godly people are willing to release their rights to retaliate when wronged by others.

Look at verses 38-42 where Jesus says,

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I

tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the

right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue

you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone

forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who

asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from

you.”

The oldest law in the world is "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."

In the Old Testament, Exodus 21:23-25 says, "If there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise."

This tit-for-tat philosophy may sound savage and difficult to understand but its original aim was to limit vengeance. Its purpose was to begin to help ungodly people learn to understand the concept of mercy.

In any case the people who heard Jesus' sermon that day embraced this way of thinking. They had been taught that when attacked or insulted, retribution equalled justice!

But Jesus says people who want to be perfect, people who want to be "teleios", must respond differently.

They must release their rights to hurt those who hurt them.

Jesus gives us four specific examples of this principle. He said to:

turn your other cheek,

walk the second mile,

give away your tunic and your cloak,

give to those who want to borrow from you.

In that first example, Jesus was talking about the way we should respond when people intentionally offend us.

But the fact is, we are very good at giving as good as we get when it comes to our response to the attacks and insults of others.

A good example of this is Winston Churchill, who had an ongoing feud with Lady Ascot. It's reported that on one occasion, she found the great statesman obviously drunk in a hotel elevator.

With disgust she snipped, "Sir Winston, you are drunk!" to which he replied, "M'lady, I may be drunk but you are ugly, and tomorrow I will be sober but you will still be ugly!"

Perhaps we would all like to be as quick-witted as Churchill and give as good as we get!

However, Jesus said we need to think twice about retaliating!

And even if we don’t actually retaliate out loud verbally, there is always the danger that we can retaliate in our hearts by holding a bitter grudge against the person who has offended us!

Jesus says, don't do this.

He says,

"If you want to be like Me, don't respond in kind. Instead go against the flow, stand out by turning the other cheek."

That’s not to say we become a door mat. Jesus doesn’t ever intend for us to become a door mat - stand your ground and stand up for the principles you believe in especially when it comes to our faith.

Instead, this is the way I understand what it means “to turn the other cheek” – it means to catch the person offending you off guard with the element of “surprise”!

What could be more surprising (metaphorically) than “turning the other cheek” when some one “strikes one of your cheeks”?

One of the best forms of surprise is to respond with a gesture of “caring/blessing” when someone offends you. They will not expect such a gesture!

This is how Jesus “surprised” His offenders - Isaiah prophesied about Jesus,

"He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He

was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her

shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth." (Is 53:7)

Jesus never retaliated but He responded to His offenders with the greatest surprise of all – by rising from the dead!

You couldn’t get a greater surprise than that!

Wise King Solomon said,

"A prudent man overlooks an insult." (Proverbs 12:16)

Even the former short-tempered St Peter learned that we must not, "…repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." (1 Peter 3:9)

When you learn this aspect of Godliness, you usually discover that the conflict ends as quickly as it began, and many times this Christ-like, unworldly response, has a powerful positive impact on those who cause offence.

God has a way of softening hearts.

(3) Thirdly, Jesus says that people who want to be like our Heavenly Father must learn to love all people, even their enemies.

This is another behaviour that makes us stand out such that we are recognisable as children of God.

The Pharisees taught that love should be limited to those who deserve it.

Jesus responded to this teaching by saying,

"No, if you want to be like God, you must act in love toward ALL people, even those who persecute you."

Now please note, Jesus is not condoning the lifestyles and the practices of your “enemies”.

He is talking about loving people who are of value and worth in God’s sight, loving people who may be spiritually blind, who know nothing of Christ's power and love.

This is called agape love.

Agape love is the way God loves - it looks beyond sinful actions.

It sees beyond hateful words so that it is able to see another soul in need of help.

Think of the late Corrie ten Boom and her response to the Nazi guards who had brutalized her sister.

She was able to look beyond what they had done and forgive them.

She refused to live the rest of her life with resentment and bitterness, because she wanted to be like God, and Godly love sees beyond the evil someone does.

It is a love that is unconditional.

This is a poem written by an 8-year-old. It goes like this:

“We have the nicest garbage man,

He empties out our garbage can;

He is just as nice as he can be;

He always stops and talks with me.

My mother doesn't like his smell

But then, she doesn't know him well!”

Godly love is a love that values and cherishes all people in spite of their "smell."

Regardless of their sins, God loves the sinner.

Here’s a quote from C. S. Lewis from his classic book Mere Christianity:

"The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste your time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbour; just ACT as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him (or her). If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less. The difference between a Christian and a worldly person is not that the worldly person has only affections or 'likings' and the Christian has only 'charity.' The worldly person treats certain people kindly because he 'likes' them; the Christian, trying to treat every one kindly, finds himself liking more and more people as he goes on, including people he could not even have imagined himself liking at the beginning."

Try C. S. Lewis' philosophy.

Try to act lovingly, even toward people who may not give you the time of day, and see what happens.

God will use your Godly actions to change the heart of that person.

Someone once said that God has really given us five gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and YOU.

The gospels are the “good news” about Jesus Christ.

As far as God is concerned, YOU are good news, and YOU HAVE good news to share!

You are a living gospel for Christ!

People will come to know God through each one of YOU who is a follower of Jesus Christ.

So ask yourself, how Godly in my attitudes, behaviour, speech, and thinking am I?

Or better yet, how godly would other people say I am?!

So be known

1 for your commitment to the truth

2 as someone who retaliates when offended with the element of loving surprise

3 as someone who values and cherishes all people in spite of their "smell"

Be a living gospel for Christ, and in that way, be recognised that you are a beloved child of the living God!

Let us pray:

Father God, once again we ask that You would take Your Word,

and use it on us as a double-edged sword to penetrate deep within us, judging our thoughts and attitudes.

Even if it causes us pain and discomfort, show us the ways that we fall short, the ways our thoughts and attitudes are not perfect.

Then as we recommit ourselves to Your Lordship,

empower us to love and act toward others in ways that make us recognisable as your children, the children of God.

Help us to live out the gospel in such a way that it draws lost men, women and children to faith in Your Son Jesus Christ.

In His name we pray. AMEN.