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Tipping Points

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: Acts 13
Meditation: Acts 13:9-11

Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, Looked intently at Elymas and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, you indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on Elymas, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

Shift Your Focus… Up to this moment, Paul, who was called Saul, had been in the background. He was ministering in the church at Antioch, but was basically the ministry associate to the better-known Barnabas. Saul was playing second fiddle in this orchestra.

All that changed on this ministry trip to Cyprus when an influential sorcerer named Elymas harassed Barnabas and Saul. Elymas’ demonically inspired powers held sway over the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus, to whom Barnabas and Saul were witnessing. This up and coming official was on the verge of accepting Christ as his Savior, but Elymas was making it very difficult.

Saul, discerning that this sorcerer was being used as a tool of Satan, turned on Elymas with both barrels and gave him the unedited version of a Holy Spirit smackdown. And as they say, the rest is history: Elymas was immediately struck with blindness, Sergius Paulus came to faith in Christ, while “Paul and his party set sail from Paphos.” (Verse 13)

Don’t miss the significance of that last line. It is no longer “Barnabas and Saul.” Now it is “Paul and his party.” From now on in Acts we read of Paul and Barnabas, or Paul and Silas, or Paul and his companions. Apart from his dramatic salvation experience on the Damascus Road, this was the moment that defined Paul. This victorious power encounter with a demonically inspired sorcerer was the tipping point that launched Paul’s ministry into orbit, and on to becoming the most influential leader and theologian in the history of the church.

Paul could have backed down from making a scene. He could have waited to see how team leader Barnabas handled this disruption. He could have tried to out-reason Elymas. Rather, he responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, seized this God-ordained moment and smashed the devil in the chops in one of the most dramatic encounters you will read in the entire New Testament. And in this God-moment, Paul was defined for the rest of his life.

You never know on the front side of any given moment if it will be life-defining or just another ordinary experience. But when you stay filled up with the Holy Spirit, and when you sense his prompting, and when you seize that moment to take a dramatic, risky stand against what is clearly the work of the devil, you may very well be at the tipping point that defines the rest of your life—either in your private character or in your public life, or perhaps even both.

If it doesn’t turn out to be that kind of a moment, no big deal! You got to kick the devil’s fanny—and that’s always a good thing. But you never know when your moment of courage will be just the thing that opens the door to even greater things, so be prepared.

“Courage is the human virtue that counts most—courage to act on limited knowledge and insufficient evidence.” ~Robert Frost

Prayer… Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit. And keep me courageously ready to seize any given God-moment for your glory.

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Low Expectations of God

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: Acts 12
Meditation: Acts 12:16

Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

Shift Your Focus… I hope you see the humor in what is an otherwise somber story. James, the brother of John, has been executed. Now Peter has been imprisoned and it is his head that is on the chopping block. The megalomaniac King Herod is the culprit, and he knows that killing Peter will gain him the support of the Jewish leaders. In reality, there is nothing funny about this situation. This is as serious as a heart attack, especially for Peter.

But God decides to have a little fun in the midst of all this drama. He sends his angel to deliver Peter from prison, yet the night before his likely execution, amazingly Peter is sound asleep. He is in such a deep slumber that the angel has to whack him on the side to wake him up and guide him by the hand like a little kid past the guards and out the gate. Even then, Peter assumes he is having a dream.

Once outside the prison gates, Peter realizes that he has become answered prayer. So he goes to the home where the church was “earnestly praying” for his deliverance. When the servant girl, Rhoda, opens the door and sees Peter, she is so excited that answered prayer is standing right there in front of her she forgets to let him in. He continues to stand out on the street, a fugitive on the lam from justice, waiting for a church that has been praying for his release to see that their prayers have been answered.

When Rhoda tries to explain that answered prayer is knocking at the door, the believers think she has lost her mind. They disbelieve the very answer they have been earnestly and constantly praying for. Finally, they hear Peter pounding at the door and let him in. And they were astonished that God had actually answered their prayers.

You have probably done that, too! I sure have. There are things for which we earnestly pray, yet deep in our hearts are convinced we will never see the answer. I am glad that at times God’s mercifully overrides our low expectations and sends answered prayer to knock on our door.

Are your prayers wrapped in low expectations? You pray, but you don’t really believe God will answer with a provision of healing for your broken body or the salvation of a wayward child or deliverance from a dark habit or the financial miracle you desperately need or a spiritual breakthrough into a greater abundance of God’s grace. Unwrap those requests, remove your low expectations, and listen up—you may just hear some answered prayer knocking on your door today.

Ask boldly, expect greatly and pray unceasingly—God still answers prayer!

 “Not failure, but low aim, is crime.” ~James Russell Lowell

Prayer… Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!??

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Preserving Preferences or Saving Sinners

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: Acts 11
Meditation: Acts 11:9

“But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’”

Shift Your Focus… It happens in every era: People elevate their religious traditions to the level of Divine law. They attach holiness to their spiritual preferences and then fiercely worship what they prefer.

The Jews battled Jesus because he broke with their long-held faith-practices to introduce a strange new approach to spirituality. Now the very Jewish believers who had been liberated by faith in Christ to a new and living way have turned around and are reluctant to accept Gentile believers into their Christian faith. They have put Peter on the hot seat here in Acts 11 and are demanding answers to why he, a good Jewish boy, went into the home of a Gentile and preached this Good News that was meant for the Jews.

Fortunately, when they heard Peter’s side of things and saw evidence that the Holy Spirit had worked among the Gentiles too, “they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.’” (Acts 11:18)

If it could happen to the Jews to whom God gave the Law of Moses, and if it could happen to the first century Jewish Christians to whom God gave living faith in Jesus Christ, it can happen to you and me as well. In fact, it probably already has, but we just don’t recognize it.

Attaching holiness to a preference and then worshipping the preference is hard to spot—very hard. It is so subtle. And attaching certain values to spiritual preferences is just naturally justifiable. We like our preferences, so it follows that they must be right, they must be best for us and everybody else, and they must be holy unto the Lord.

The problem is, our preferences can get in the way of what God wants to do to reach unreached people with the Good News of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. God had to root out Jewish religious practices, preferences and rituals in the very first church because they were unnecessary to faith and worse, they were a barrier to Gentiles unfamiliar with Jewish law. Likewise, God has to do that in every era of the church.

Examine your own preferred way of worship and ask yourself if what you value is truly necessary to authentic faith. More importantly, ask yourself if your spiritual preferences are perhaps a barrier to the unreached, unchurched people in your community coming to know the awesome Savior you follow.

Let me give you a hint as to some things that you must be open to changing for the sake of the Gospel: the style of music in your services; the religious language you use (which may very well describe your faith experience to you and fellow believers but actually confuse if not scare off seekers), i.e., “saved,” “washed in the blood,” “pay your tithe,” “let’s have fellowship,” etc.; unexplained orders of worship; service times; what you wear; even the look of your house of worship. Now that I’ve got you thinking about this, you could probably add a few more things to the list.

These things aren’t necessarily bad, but just keep in mind, neither are they inherently holy. They are simply what you prefer. So resist allowing your spiritual preferences to become what you worship, and worse, become a barrier to someone else finding faith in Jesus Christ.

“Jesus came to save sinners, not preserve traditions.”

Prayer… Dear God, lost people matter to you.  Help me to keep that first in my mind.  And give me the discernment to see when what I prefer stands in the way of what you prefer—lost people coming to faith in your Son.

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No Act Of Faith Goes Unnoticed

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: Acts 10
Meditation: Acts 10:4

The angel answered, “Cornelius, your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”

Shift Your Focus… Who knows how long Cornelius had faithfully prayed to God and showed kindness to people before he experienced this amazing moment of spiritual breakthrough.  The flavor of the story seems to indicate that day after day Cornelius simply offered a life of quiet piety with no real or visible acknowledgement from God.

Perhaps that is your story.  Perhaps you have faithfully trusted God, consistently served his cause, and patiently waited for his favor over the years with seemingly nothing to show for it.  Maybe you are wondering if you really matter to God or if he even notices your faithful life.

It is not uncommon at times for Christians to feel as if their prayers are nothing more than an exercise in futility and their acts of kindness simply go unnoticed.  Honestly, there have been times where we all have felt that our faithfulness just doesn’t matter.

According to this verse, however, and others like it, every act of faith, whether reaching out to God in prayer or touching someone with the love of God, matters greatly to a watching Heavenly Father.

According to Revelation 5:8, every prayer you offer in faith to God rises up to heaven and is offered as precious and pleasing incense before his very throne:

“The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

And according to Hebrews 6:10, your every act of kindness toward people counts in God’s book, and will one day result in his kindness being turned back to you.

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”

Cornelius simply, consistently, faithfully set his course for a long obedience in the same direction, and one day there was a spiritual breakthrough.  He didn’t know it would happen that day—but the God who watches and remembers had other plans.

This may or may not be your day of spiritual breakthrough—you just don’t know.  But here is what you do know:  God is watching, he remembers, and he has plans for you!

“The reward of being ‘faithful over a few things’ is just the same as being ‘faithful over many things’; for the emphasis falls upon the same word; it is the ‘faithful’ who will enter ‘into the joy of their Lord.’” ~Charles S. Robinson

Prayer… Lord, strengthen me for a long, consistent and determined faithfulness.  And may this day be the day of breakthrough into a deeper realm of your favor.

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Unfeathering The Nest

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: Acts 8
Meditation: Acts 8:1

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Shift Your Focus… 8:1 = 1:8. That is an uncomfortable Kingdom equation that has been played out over the last 2,000 years of church history.  We may not like it, we may wish it weren’t so, but it is true; it just seems to be the way God has to work.

Let me explain what I mean by the 8:1 = 1:8 equation: The persecution and scattering of the church in Acts 8:1 couldn’t have been very much fun for the first century believers, but it is likely that it was the only way to fulfill Acts 1:8,

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus never intended for his followers to stay in their comfortable Jerusalem nest; there was a “Judea, Samaria and the end of the earth” where he wanted his witness proclaimed. But things were going very well for the believers in Jerusalem. The church was thriving, growth was phenomenal and great favor was upon them in the city. This was a pretty good deal for first believers—why would they leave such a good thing?

But what we see as a good thing sometimes aren’t God’s thing. There was a world to be won. So God used this persecution to remove the feathers and get them out of the nest. Acts 8:4 adds,

“Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” That was God’s thing!

How many times has that story been repeated in your life? Has God ever used persecution, hardship, failure and sorrow to get you out of your comfort zone and onto a new and better calling? Some time ago, a friend shared with me about a mutual acquaintance who had been unexpectedly released from his job. After several months, a new and greater ministry opportunity had finally opened up for which he is much better suited than in his previous role. This man commented to my friend, “God is finally using this to my advantage.” My friend wisely replied, “No, God was using this all along to position you for this better place of service.”

The truth is, this man would have never left his former employment because he was so comfortable there. God allowed a little persecution to get him out of his comfortable nest and onto God’s greater purposes for his life. God had to use Acts 8:1 to get him going on Acts 1:8.

Perhaps there is some discomfort in your life right now. I would suggest that you begin to look at it from this perspective. It is highly likely that the hardship you are currently experiencing is in reality, a grace disguised. 

“No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.” ~William Penn

Prayer… Lord, help me to see my thorns as my path to my crown!

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Taking Chances

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: Acts 9
Meditation: Acts 9:26-27

And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles.

Shift Your Focus… I wonder what would have happened to Paul if it hadn’t been for Barnabas.  Paul had been marvelously converted on the road to Damascus, but his fierce and frightening reputation as a persecutor of the church understandably kept the believers from fully embracing him.

Every time Paul tried to join the fellowship, he was treated like he had the plague. But then Barnabas showed up and took a chance with Paul.  He came alongside this new convert, put his own reputation on the line, vouched for the authenticity of Paul’s conversion, and literally walked him by the hand into a meeting with the Apostles. As we now know, Paul ultimately became the all-time greatest theologian, unequaled evangelist and driving force of the church, but it was Barnabas who gave him his start.

We first met Barnabas back in Acts 4:35-37. Actually, his name was Joseph, but he had such a reputation for showing up and helping at just the right time that the Apostles nicknamed him Barnabas—which means, “son of encouragement.”

What a reputation to have!  And what a needed ministry in the church today!  There are probably a number of folks like Paul, trying to live down less than ideal reputations, who need to “draft” behind the reputation of someone like Barnabas for awhile.

Perhaps you can think of someone in your church, class or small group who just can’t seem to catch a break.  Their reputation precedes them, and as a result, the group is reluctant to fully embrace them.  What might happen if you came alongside them, like a Barnabas to a Paul, and poured your encouragement into their life.

You never know, you just might release greatness in the next Paul!

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. ” ~William Arthur Ward

Prayer… Lord, show me where I need to risk an investment of encouragement in someone’s life today.

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Death Defying Boldness

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: Acts 7
Meditation: Acts 7:55-56

But Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

Shift Your Focus… Whether reading about the death of Stephen here in Acts, or the stories of the saints in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, or even modern day accounts of Christians dying for their faith, your tremendous admiration for these martyrs is likely mixed with the realization that you could never face death with such grace and confidence.

Yes you could! Time and time again we read where God has given special grace to those he counts worthy to die for their faith. In fact, I would be so bold as to call martyrdom a gift of the Spirit.

As he did in Acts 6, the author again makes clear that Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. There is no other explanation for Stephen’s death defying boldness in declaring truth to his adversaries, his clear vision into the unseen realm, his peacefulness in the midst of the most painful type of death, and his willingness to forgive those who were guilty of killing him.

That kind of calm is supernatural. That’s why you can’t imagine having it yourself. You don’t—not naturally, anyway. But in the unlikely event that you are called upon to give your life for the cause of Christ, the Holy Spirit will infuse you, too, with this gift of grace.

In March of 2007, a Muslim man named Bekele, his wife, eight children, and several from his extended family, all joyfully received Christ as their personal savior in one of the Ethiopian villages where the missions foundation I serve planted a church.

The Muslim leaders in this village were angered by Bekele’s conversion. They came to his house the following week to demand that Bekele renounce his faith in Jesus and return to the mosque for their Friday service. To make their point, they beat him, but Bekele remained strong in his new faith. The transformation in his life was so profound that even though he was just a couple of days old in the Lord, he actually began to witness to his persecutors. He told them that they, too, needed to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

Ignoring the demands of these Muslim leaders, Bekele didn’t attend mosque that Friday, so the following evening, they returned to his house armed with clubs and knives. After tying up his wife and pelting her with rocks, they again beat Bekele, but he remained strong. The Muslim leaders became so enraged at Bekele’s refusal to recant faith in Christ that they slit his throat with a knife.

Bekele, less than a week old in the Christian faith, and having received no formal instruction in the way of Christ, remained true to Jesus. On that day, Bekele bled to death, not only as the first Christian martyr among our Ethiopian church plants, but he joined the ranks with countless other brave believers in that Great Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11) who will wear a special crown in eternity—the martyrs crown.

Death defying boldness—that is a special gift granted by the Holy Spirit. You won’t know that you have it, but it will be there if you need it.

“The highest honor that God can confer upon his children is the blood-red crown of martyrdom. The jewels of a Christian are his afflictions. The regalia of the kings that God has made, are their troubles, their sorrows, and their griefs. Griefs exalt us, and troubles lift us.” ~Charles Spurgeon

Prayer… Lord, like Stephen, the martyrs of the church, and a simple convert named Bekele, I, too, want to be so full of the Holy Spirit that I can not only die courageously, but more importantly, live courageously as your faithful witness.