October 13th, 2024
The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
The Passionate Difference
In 1994, I made my second evangelistic trip to Russia. On this particular trip the group I was working with spent several days in a city of about 600,000 people called Tver, about 120 miles north of Moscow. During this week our team met in a small auditorium in the heart of the city. It was the middle of February with the temperatures between 0 and 15. Attending every service was a sweet little woman who walked with a cane. To say that she walked with a cane would be quite an exaggeration. Actually she shuffled, or better yet, she inched along. Besides the cold weather, she had to climb steps coming into the building and again to the second floor where the service took place. As the service continued, her face would glow with joy as she would lean forward in her seat trying to absorb every word preached or sung to the point that I feared she would fall from her seat.
This woman had a tremendous passion for Christ and it showed. She never missed a service and was hungry for God’s Word and His presence. She made an enormous impression on me.
Her passion reminds me of the passion of the Apostles and the early church in the book of Acts. Such passion for the mission of the church ignited their lives from the beginning and is available to ignite us today.
In the third chapter of Acts, Peter and John had met a lame man in the Temple who begged them for money. Peter gave him more than he requested, In the name of Jesus, Peter commanded him to get up and walk, and he did. Peter used this miracle as a springboard to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, his mission and the authority of his resurrection to the crowd.
What happened next in chapter 4 is a little strange:
As the people were listening to Peter’s sermon a group of religious leaders, the same ones who had tried Jesus came with the captain of the temple guard and arrested them. They were angry because they had been teaching the resurrection from the dead through Jesus. Because it was late in the day, they put them in jail for the night. –Acts 4:1-3
In the middle of the action it would be easy to miss the statement in verse 4,
But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. –Acts 4:4
Passionate believers draw new passionate believers. On the day of Pentecost over 3000 people were baptized. Here we have the growth to over 5000 men. That doesn’t even include women and children who had come to faith.
Still, what was driving their passion?
The next day the apostles were brought before an informal segment of the Sanhedrin, the ruling religious counsel of Jerusalem. They wanted to know by what power and what name they were preaching and doing miracles?
Look at their response.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ (fulfillment of Psalm 118:22) Acts 4:8-11
Peter’s passion took away all fear and he spoke boldly in the face of a group of leaders who had the power to have him beaten, stoned or imprisoned, telling them how wrong they had been about Jesus. The next statement summed his passion…
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
Knowing that there was no other way for mankind to be healed from the consequences of sin was faith in Jesus Christ drove him to tell everyone the truth, even if they were a hostile, even dangerous, audience.
The thirteenth verse brings us to the reason for their passion:
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. –Acts 4:13
It did not matter how much, or how little, education these men had! What mattered is that they had been to “The University of Jesus Christ!” It was their close relationship with the Savior that had ignited their passion for his mission. It was a mission that consumed their very being because the one who called them to it had already moved into their lives and taken charge! They had been radically saved by the resurrected Son of the living God and their lives were now radically transformed.
When we give our entire being to Jesus Christ, we take on his radical mission; His mission was simple…CHANGE THE WORLD, one transformed life at a time. They were to go out into the world and make disciples, baptize them and teach them everything they had learned from Christ all in Jesus’ name. (see Matthew 28:8-20)
Following a conference of confusion, the Sanhedrin reconvened and commanded Peter and John to never speak in the name of Jesus again. Peter and John asked the religious leaders to judge for themselves whether they should listen to them or to Christ. Then they made one more powerful statement in verse 20.
As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.
Acts 4:20
They had seen Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and rise from the dead.
They had heard his teaching and his heart of love and forgiveness through his gentle words. They had heard his commands and promises. They knew he was coming back one day to take all who follow him back home to heaven.
They had experienced the life changing power of Christ in their lives and they could not help but show everyone they met that he could do the same for them.
There is a tale of the great English actor Macready. Macready was once asked by a preacher; "What is the difference between you and me?" You see the actor appeared before crowds night after night proclaiming fiction and people listened with delight. The preacher spoke of the essentials and the unchanged truths of God yet, most listened with no passion upon their hearts. Macready's answer was this, "I present fiction as though it were true; you present truth as though it were fiction."
Unless Christ possesses your life fully and you have experienced his life changing power, you will not possess the passion for him and for sharing him with others. If you do not possess that passion, it is important to step back and evaluate that relationship.
Many know the doctrinal facts about salvation, but not all have embraced the life changing relationship with Christ where he is given full control.
Can people tell that you have been with Jesus by your passion for his mission?
I am on vacation this week, but will return by Sunday. I will lead the service, but our Associate Pastor, Josh McVey, will bring the morning sermon. Plan to join us for this exciting move of God.
Ignited with you,
Jon
The Passionate Difference
In 1994, I made my second evangelistic trip to Russia. On this particular trip the group I was working with spent several days in a city of about 600,000 people called Tver, about 120 miles north of Moscow. During this week our team met in a small auditorium in the heart of the city. It was the middle of February with the temperatures between 0 and 15. Attending every service was a sweet little woman who walked with a cane. To say that she walked with a cane would be quite an exaggeration. Actually she shuffled, or better yet, she inched along. Besides the cold weather, she had to climb steps coming into the building and again to the second floor where the service took place. As the service continued, her face would glow with joy as she would lean forward in her seat trying to absorb every word preached or sung to the point that I feared she would fall from her seat.
This woman had a tremendous passion for Christ and it showed. She never missed a service and was hungry for God’s Word and His presence. She made an enormous impression on me.
Her passion reminds me of the passion of the Apostles and the early church in the book of Acts. Such passion for the mission of the church ignited their lives from the beginning and is available to ignite us today.
In the third chapter of Acts, Peter and John had met a lame man in the Temple who begged them for money. Peter gave him more than he requested, In the name of Jesus, Peter commanded him to get up and walk, and he did. Peter used this miracle as a springboard to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, his mission and the authority of his resurrection to the crowd.
What happened next in chapter 4 is a little strange:
As the people were listening to Peter’s sermon a group of religious leaders, the same ones who had tried Jesus came with the captain of the temple guard and arrested them. They were angry because they had been teaching the resurrection from the dead through Jesus. Because it was late in the day, they put them in jail for the night. –Acts 4:1-3
In the middle of the action it would be easy to miss the statement in verse 4,
But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. –Acts 4:4
Passionate believers draw new passionate believers. On the day of Pentecost over 3000 people were baptized. Here we have the growth to over 5000 men. That doesn’t even include women and children who had come to faith.
Still, what was driving their passion?
The next day the apostles were brought before an informal segment of the Sanhedrin, the ruling religious counsel of Jerusalem. They wanted to know by what power and what name they were preaching and doing miracles?
Look at their response.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ (fulfillment of Psalm 118:22) Acts 4:8-11
Peter’s passion took away all fear and he spoke boldly in the face of a group of leaders who had the power to have him beaten, stoned or imprisoned, telling them how wrong they had been about Jesus. The next statement summed his passion…
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
Knowing that there was no other way for mankind to be healed from the consequences of sin was faith in Jesus Christ drove him to tell everyone the truth, even if they were a hostile, even dangerous, audience.
The thirteenth verse brings us to the reason for their passion:
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. –Acts 4:13
It did not matter how much, or how little, education these men had! What mattered is that they had been to “The University of Jesus Christ!” It was their close relationship with the Savior that had ignited their passion for his mission. It was a mission that consumed their very being because the one who called them to it had already moved into their lives and taken charge! They had been radically saved by the resurrected Son of the living God and their lives were now radically transformed.
When we give our entire being to Jesus Christ, we take on his radical mission; His mission was simple…CHANGE THE WORLD, one transformed life at a time. They were to go out into the world and make disciples, baptize them and teach them everything they had learned from Christ all in Jesus’ name. (see Matthew 28:8-20)
Following a conference of confusion, the Sanhedrin reconvened and commanded Peter and John to never speak in the name of Jesus again. Peter and John asked the religious leaders to judge for themselves whether they should listen to them or to Christ. Then they made one more powerful statement in verse 20.
As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.
Acts 4:20
They had seen Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and rise from the dead.
They had heard his teaching and his heart of love and forgiveness through his gentle words. They had heard his commands and promises. They knew he was coming back one day to take all who follow him back home to heaven.
They had experienced the life changing power of Christ in their lives and they could not help but show everyone they met that he could do the same for them.
There is a tale of the great English actor Macready. Macready was once asked by a preacher; "What is the difference between you and me?" You see the actor appeared before crowds night after night proclaiming fiction and people listened with delight. The preacher spoke of the essentials and the unchanged truths of God yet, most listened with no passion upon their hearts. Macready's answer was this, "I present fiction as though it were true; you present truth as though it were fiction."
Unless Christ possesses your life fully and you have experienced his life changing power, you will not possess the passion for him and for sharing him with others. If you do not possess that passion, it is important to step back and evaluate that relationship.
Many know the doctrinal facts about salvation, but not all have embraced the life changing relationship with Christ where he is given full control.
Can people tell that you have been with Jesus by your passion for his mission?
I am on vacation this week, but will return by Sunday. I will lead the service, but our Associate Pastor, Josh McVey, will bring the morning sermon. Plan to join us for this exciting move of God.
Ignited with you,
Jon
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