E100 - The Church Is Born

It's the year AD 30 and a day in May of that year.  And try and imagine, if you can, that we have gone back in time and are standing outside the walls of the old city of Jerusalem.  And we are not far from the gate leading to the Essene quarter of the city. And there are throngs of people in Middle Eastern dress coming and going through the gate and going about their daily business.  There are ragged beggars sitting by the roadside, and there are little stands and booths where merchants are peddling their wares to the travellers about to go over the Mount of Olives to Bethany or down through the desert to Jericho.  And suddenly there is a commotion by the gate as Jesus of Nazareth comes from the city accompanied by an enthusiastic band of followers.

And, of course, there is a commotion for isn't this the man whom the entire city saw put to death by crucifixion only the previous month.  Well it's absolutely staggering and those by the roadside stand back in awe and amazement as Jesus leads his people along the way to Bethany and then turns up the path that leads to the Mount of Olives.  And as we follow them from a distance we see him reach a place where he gathers his followers together

And as they gather round him we overhear him telling them that they are to continue his work and to go and make disciples of all nations but first of all they are to wait in Jerusalem until they receive the Father's promise of the Holy Spirit.  He then goes on to tell them how in a few days time they will be clothed with power from on high and be witnesses for him first of all in Jerusalem, then in Samaria and then to the far ends of the earth.  And then as he gets to the end of what he is saying he disappears heavenwards and the clouds close in on him until they can no longer see him.

Well today, as part of our sermon series, we are looking at the birth of the Church.  And it's in the ten days following the ascension of Jesus that we see the embryonic church beginning to take shape although that is only apparent to us now as we read back into the story as Luke describes it to us.  What we see happening after the ascension is that a group of about 120 of the men and women who had got to know Jesus start meeting together on a regular basis to pray and wait upon God for the fulfilment of his promise.  And these people as they meet together have a real and deep hunger for God to meet with them and a sense of expectancy that he will.  
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And perhaps we need to just pause for a moment at this point and ask ourselves if we too know something of that expectancy and hunger for the things of God that these early believers had.  You know I love those words at the beginning of Psalm 42 and probably more familiar now as a popular worship song: "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."   And like the Psalmist who penned these words do we, I wonder have that same deep yearning within us for the Spirit of God to touch us with his living presence?  It makes me think of something the theologian F. F. Bruce says: "The soul's deepest desire is for God Himself, who has made us so that we can never be satisfied without Him."

Well God is faithful and one morning as these early believers are gathered together, as they have become accustomed to doing, something amazing happens.  A noise, probably something like a tornado, rushes through the room where they are waiting.  And Eugene Peterson in the Message translation describes it like this: 'without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force - no one could tell where it came from.  It filled the whole building.  Then, like a wild fire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.'

And it must have been quite something as they are suddenly drenched or baptised with the Holy Spirit.  All of them - it was not just the leaders but all of them: the men the women; the rich and the poor and the slave and the free - all of them.  They are all partakers in this outpouring and not just spectators.  It is very much an inclusive event. 

And what we are witnessing is the birth or beginning of the Church - the Church in the age of the Spirit - a Church on fire for God.  A group of believers saturated with the Spirit and set ablaze with the love of Christ.  And set ablaze is an apt description as the Spirit's presence is often spoken of in the bible in terms of fire.  In our second reading this morning, for example, we heard of what seemed like tongues of fire resting on each believer.  'God is a consuming fire' says the writer of the book of Hebrews.   And Professor Bruce, who I quoted earlier, in his commentary on Acts, speaks of the Holy Spirit as 'the Spreading Flame.' 

Well what happens next is not quite clear but the presence of the Spirit is so powerful that the believers spill out on to the streets   And it so happens that the streets are particularly busy at this time as it's the Jewish Feast of Pentecost and devout Jews from all around the Mediterranean region are in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast.  And the Scripture says those who there were amazed as they heard them declaring the wonders of God in their own language.

And perhaps we need to pause again at this point and ask ourselves just how open are we to the fullness of the Spirit's presence in our own lives?  I mean the image of being set ablaze by the Spirit's fire can seem quite scary.  After all fire burns things up doesn't it?  Maybe we can cope with a small fire burning in the hearth which we can control. But then the Spirit wants us to wedge open the fire doors so that he can spread into every area of our being.  And before a holy God maybe there are things in our lives that need burning up.  The book of Malachi says of God that: "he will be like a refiner's fire."  And the picture is one of silver being purified and all the dross being burnt out.

Well so far we have noted two important characteristics of the early Church; firstly that it is an inclusive Church and, secondly that it is a Church filled with the Spirit's fire.  The third characteristic we now need to note is that it is a mission focussed Church.  And as we have already seen, no sooner that the Spirit falls than the believers are out on the street declaring 'the wonders of God.'  And as they spill on to the street some of those passing by taunt them by accusing them of having had too much to drink.  But the Apostle Peter, who acts as spokesman for the group uses it as an opportunity to preach the gospel and to plead with those who have gathered to turn to Christ and seek his forgiveness.  And if we move down the text we can see the impact of his message.  This is what it says: "Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about 3000 were added to their number that day."  So in the course of a day we have gone from 120 to 3120.  And that's some increase by any standard.

But it does not stop there.  If we go to the end of the chapter and the last verse it says
that: "the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."  And if we then turn over the page to chapter 4 we read: "that many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about 5000."  But it does not stop there either.  If turn over a couple of more pages into chapter 6 it says that "the word of God spread and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith."  And so on it goes and that's what happens when people are transformed and set on fire for God. 

And we know from history that within 20 years of the Church being born that in every major centre of Roman civilization there was at least one assembly of Christian believers and in some cases many more.  In fact, the gospel had even penetrated into the house of Caesar himself at the very heart of the empire.  We know this because the Apostle Paul in his letter to church at Philippi includes a very special greeting and says: "All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household." 

And something these early believers took very seriously was the final commission of Jesus to his followers which was to make disciples of all nations and it's something we also need to take seriously.  And there was such a sense of the reality of the Spirit within these believers that sharing their faith was not something they found difficult at all.  And it's when we feel we can share our own faith without feeling inhibited about it that we can see the church beginning to grow.

And there is one further characteristic of this infant Church which we also need to note and that is it was a worshipping church.  Let me take you to the end of chapter 2 and reading once more from the Message translation.  This is what it says: "They (that's the believers) followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God.  People liked what they saw.  Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved."  And what comes across to me in these few words is just how vibrant and alive to God these first century Christians were.  The Church was a living entity and not a contrived structure.  And it's no coincidence that the Church in the New Testament is described as the body of Christ - a living, breathing organism

And there was something attractive about the indwelling presence of Spirit's in these early believers that drew others to them.  And this was despite a growing threat of persecution.  And in those early days there were no formal church buildings like we have today - these did not really begin to appear until the third century.  The believers tended to meet in small groups scattered within walking distance of their own homes.  Often a small cross or a symbolic fish would be drawn on the outside of a house to indicate that was a place where they would be meeting.  And it was as they met together in this way that strong bonds of fellowship were formed that built real strength and depth into the growing church.  And this speaks to me very much of the importance of our own network of home groups.  And if you are not already a member of one of the home groups, it is well worthwhile considering joining one as they start up again after the summer recess.  And the opportunity for fellowship and studying the Word of God together in small groups can be a really helpful way to become more deeply rooted in the faith and the community of the church. 

And as I draw to a close let me share with you a story I came across as I was preparing these few reflections.  It goes back a while when the Archbishop of Canterbury at the time sent out an invitation to all his clergy in a particular area to spend a quiet day in the country to consider their problems.  And one clergyman, on receiving his invitation wrote back to the Archbishop and said; "Your grace, in my village we do not need a quiet day - we need an earthquake!"  Well that's sometimes what it's like when the Spirit comes - it can be like an earthquake or a raging fire.  Things no longer stay the same. 

Well I would now like to finish with some words of an old hymn which I think captures some of that longing to know more of God and the desire to be set ablaze with the love of Christ.  And these words are taken from the first verse.
'Come down, O Love divine, seek thou this soul of mine, and visit it with thine own ardour glowing; O Comforter draw near, within my heart appear, and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.'

 And may that be the prayer of each one of us today. 'Come Holy Spirit.' Amen.

Philip Newell - Licensed Reader - September 18th 2011