The word “fellowship” is translated from the Greek word “koinonia.” It is used 20 times in the New Testament. And all of the instances have some form of its original meaning, which is the word “common.” In other words, it’s the coming together to share what is common together. Now you might think that seems to substantiate the bowling fellowship idea. But we see in the other uses of this word in the NT, most of them carry with it the idea of fellowship we see in 1 John 1:3: “That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” So the biblical fellowship with one another is dependent on our fellowship with the Triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit. Paul uses the word in the same way in 1 Corinthians 1:9: “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” So what Paul and John and Luke here in Acts 2 is describing by fellowship is that these 3000 people and multitudes more after this event have come to so delight in their Savior and what He has done and who He is as He reigns eternally and this desire is given to us by His Holy Spirit, that they want nothing more than to meet with one another to enjoy His presence together.

And this desire is only a foretaste of what is to come. The fellowship we have now falters with our waywardness and our distractions and our sinfulness. Think of a sports season like football. There is so much hype that leads up to the Super Bowl. When that game is played there are all sorts of talk and media and people who are fighting to pay large amounts of money to get tickets. Companies vie for multimillion dollar 30 second commercial spots. Then the game is played and one team wins and another loses. And then it’s all gone. Nothing’s left. Those athletes who spent their whole life playing a game might retire to now go work at some retail chain wondering where their life is. No matter how wonderful the camaraderie is between athletes in the greatest of arenas, it always ends. But the fellowship we have through Christ by His Spirit will far outlast even our own lives. It will never end. And so shouldn’t it make sense that this should be your life’s pursuit?

This is why Luke tells us in Acts 2 that the new church persistently “devoted themselves to fellowship.” You can’t give up on God’s people. One of the identifying marks of a Christian is our fellowship together. This is at the root of the church. We need each other. And according to this text, Christians want to be together. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains the significance of Christians devoting themselves to fellowship:

All who believed these things [devoting themselves to meeting together in fellowship], all who were Christians, were constantly found together…One of the first tests you must apply to yourself, or to anybody else, in order to discover whether or not you are a Christian is to ask the question, “Do you want to come together with other Christians?” If you do not feel this desire, there is only one explanation: You are not a Christian. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Authentic Christianity, 91)

So much is at stake when Christians do not desire to come together, do not long to worship together. It undermines the very work of the Spirit of God in us. If He has genuinely cut us to the heart, we will not give up meeting together. And so, if you have grown weary joining in meeting, if you have been inconsistent because of all sorts of reasons, you might want to ask yourself, “Have you lost sight of your precious Savior and Lord and what He has done for you? Have you failed to see Him as exalted?”

God’s Word solidifies this reality for us. He has secured His plan of salvation for us. And as Job finally came to see about God, His force is unstoppable as he realized: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2) And so our sin, Satan, life circumstances, evil plans, tragedies, trials, nothing will stop God from loving us.

If you are in a season of trial, if you are dragging yourself through the day, these words should bring hope to you. God can and will use even your deepest of trials to reveal Himself to you. However, you have to wait on Him, depend on Him, and trust Him. And God assures you in His Word with His Son’s cross being the guarantee that He can do this because He demonstrated this, He can even use your darkest moments into joy.

Joni Erickson Tada is one living person who reminds me of this reality every time I hear her speak. Some of you know she was paralyzed in a diving accident as a teenager. During a Bible study, she asked the leader this very difficult question: “Steve, was my diving accident, bottom line, God’s will?” In reflecting on this question, Joni came to this astounding, Christ-trusting conclusion:

Sitting there on that late Friday evening, it wasn’t hard for me to draw the parallel in my own life. Maybe the devil’s motive in my tragic diving accident was to shipwreck a young girl’s faith, to make her life be an example of anger and bitterness against God. But it was God’s motive to accomplish His own ends in my life. God’s purposed to turn a headstrong, stubborn, rebellious seventeen-year-old girl into a young woman who, three and a half decades later, is still learning to take grace moment by moment, is still learning to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ in her daily, desperate need. She is still falling in love with the Savior as He escorts her deeper and deeper into the inner sanctum of the fellowship of His sufferings. My quadriplegia is not a jigsaw puzzle that I’m supposed to solve. No, it was not a quick, shocking jolt to get me back on the right track. My paralysis is a long, arduous, delightful adventure into intimacy with my Lord Jesus Christ because He permits what He hates in order to accomplish all that He loves. Christ in me, the hope of glory in my life. (Joni Erickson Tada, “To Know Christ, Now and Forevermore,” The Journal of Biblical Counseling, (Fall 2004), 40.)

Waiting is perhaps one of the most difficult practices of the Christian faith. But may I say it is one of the most important means of obedience to learn as a Christian. It is vital to our faith and every work of God in our lives and in the church is usually preceded by a time of waiting. Why is this so? I like how pastor James Montgomery Boice’s answers this question:

If you are going through a period like that [waiting on God] in your life, when you know what you should do but do not know why you need to do it, or if you are experiencing a delay in God’s dealings with you and it seems that you are stuck in one spot and can’t quite get off it, learn that there is a valuable preparation for future work just in remaining where God has put you. The action will come later. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 32)

God is preparing us for something, but waiting is vital to prepare us for that work. God is not a God who controls us for His whim and humor. He is not like the little boy whose malicious delight is in pouring salt on a slug to watch it squirm. God’s call for us to wait always has a purpose for us and that purpose is that He prepares us and protects us in order to follow Him and to trust Him and to delight in Him. Without waiting upon Him, we simply wouldn’t depend on Him and He knows that. He knows that our tendency is to jump headlong into something without Him, like the toddler that pulls his hand from his mother to run between two cars into onrushing traffic. We too pull away from God to move in our timing only to rush into the path of an oncoming car. And as we lay there broken and bruised, we don’t blame ourselves, but instead, we blame God while asking Him, “Why God?”   Or we ask God, “Why did you get me into this mess of a job I can’t stand while my family falls apart,” meanwhile forgetting that I decided the money and power that that job offered was the true reason I took the job in the first place and “seeking after God’s will” was nothing more than a rubber stamp of my already-made decision.

I too have leapt in front of that car many times. When my wife and I were first married, it dawned on me that I was going to have to care for someone other than me. And we were moving from Boston to Chicago so I could go to school. Neither she nor I had any means of income. So the pressing thought was, “How were we going to survive?”  Well, when we had returned from our honeymoon preparing to move to Chicago, I received a phone call from a pastor who had heard about me through a mutual friend. He asked me to come down and meet with him about a position. Of course, I believed it was from the Lord. I went to that meeting, and accepted the position after a quick discussion with my wife. But frankly speaking, I might have spent 5 minutes in prayer, really a “bless me Lord as I make this decision because it’s the best one and the opportunity has to be from you” type of prayer. No waiting. No seeking Him and His will. No searching and mediating on His Word. No extra counsel from those wiser believers. I simply had a “This has to be from God” mentality.  And as a result of that decision, I ran into the middle of that street flattened on my back from my running ahead. It was the most difficult year of our marriage still to this day. I poorly led my wife. I was impetuous and cocky in ministry. And only by God’s sheer grace, did we leave that church in Chicago well, after persevering through that first year. Waiting on the Lord in prayer means sometimes waiting on choices that can even seem like God opening doors. If it really is the Lord, the doors will be open regardless of ourwaiting. No one has ever missed God’s opportunity for them by spending time in prayer and in His Word seeking His will. No one.

And He never asks us to wait any longer than we should. We should never think that we’ll miss opportunities by waiting on Him. I am not talking about laziness or procrastination or fear which makes us wait. I am talking about intentionally and fervently seeking His will. His timing is perfect. The Ecclesiastes writer makes this so clear for us, especially in chapter 3, where He begins with verse 1: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

Maybe for some of you, this is a season of waiting for you. Are you waiting on a future spouse, on a possible job opportunity, on an acceptance into a school, on an opportunity for reconciliation with a friend? Oh how difficult waiting is. You simply want to take matters into your own hands, don’t you? Well, know that God has not abandoned you during this time. Far from it. He is right by your side, caring for you, preparing you for something far greater. But you need to trust Him and you need to wait in Him and as you do, I know you will be like the psalmist in Psalm 40, declaring to all the world:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

And so too, the disciples realized they had to wait following Jesus’ ascension and before the coming of the Holy Spirit. Even Peter had to wait and you can imagine how hard it must have been for someone like Peter, impetuous Peter. Peter’s personality was all about action. And can you imagine also how antsy he must have been? After all, he was the one who had denied Jesus. John 21 reveals how Jesus called Peter to account in front of all of the others for his denials. So now everyone had known what Peter had done. In fact, his denials and cowardliness is there for all to see, and trillions of people know Peter’s dirty laundry. Can you imagine how badly Peter must have wanted to “make up” for his denials and prove himself with his action?

And yet, it was Peter who recognized that they had to wait upon Jesus to act. He finally came to recognize that waiting on God was vital to following Christ. And he and the rest of the disciples also realized one critical understanding of waiting on God, an aspect of waiting on Him, that serves us today as we wait on God, the primary means of waiting on God in prayer.

Acts 1:1-11

Introduction

We’re beginning a new series called The Messy but Marvelous Church from the book of Acts and 1 Corinthians. I can’t tell you how excited I am for this series. The more I consider the church, the more I am blessed by it. And so when I refer to the church, what am I referring to, Foothill High School? The Worship Band? Axis? Gospel Train? The Men or Women of the church? No. Not at all. I’m talking about God’s people. And the more I live my life, the more I am so thankful for God’s people. And this past weekend’s retreat was just a wonderful example of this affection. To be able to walk down the hill to meet and greet and talk to and share and pray with some of you was a treasure to me and my family. It’s what I believe families do. They enjoy being together. They enjoy life together. But they also struggle together as well.

And like any family, the church family is a messy family. It can go through seasons of tension, rivalries, and conflict. Sometimes people are not so easy to love in the church. Mix in people of different levels of faith, different personalities and quirks, different backgrounds and lifestages, and the church can get, well messy. But in Christ by the power of His Holy Spirit, as we process such times through the lens of the gospel, not only is there forgiveness and healing because of such incidents, there is also growth and maturity and even joy when we persevere to the end. And in this way, we can look back and marvel at what God has done through us during such messy times.

This is exactly why we need to explore Acts and 1 Corinthians and see what we can learn that applies to us. So today we’ll explore three emphases of this church in Acts 1:1-11: 1) The Continuing Work (vv. 1-3), 2) The End of Stargazing (v. 6, 9-11), and 3) The Beginning Mission (v. 4-8, 11).

The Continuing Work (v. 1-3)

So first, let’s look at the continuing work of Jesus in verses 1-3: “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”

It’s very clear from these verses that the book of Acts is a continuation of Luke’s Gospel. It’s written to the same person (Theophilus). And it has the purpose of presenting the second part of the life of Jesus’ ministry. Now you might be wondering, “How could Acts be a second part of Jesus’ ministry when Jesus is only mentioned in ch. 1 (and chapter 9)? But this is exactly what Luke infers in these verses. He tells Theophilus that the first book (the gospel of Luke) has dealt with “all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day he was taken up.” But following this event, Luke implies that the rest of this book (Acts) will present Jesus’ continued work amongst His apostles and His people. And clearly, the means by which this will all take place will be “through the Holy Spirit.”
So what does this mean for us? It means that Jesus’ ministry does not end when He ascended to heaven as we shall explore later. He doesn’t leave His disciples to fend for themselves to somehow finish what He started. After all, how could this pitiful band of ragamuffins accomplish what we have today, over 1 billion people (currently) who profess to believe and proclaim Christ as King? How could 11 men, a few women who had just lost their founder by crucifixion, who had lost one of the original 12 through betrayal, who had no formal education, no training in organizational management and logistics, create a delivery system called the church that would outlast the intense persecution of the Roman government, fascism, communism, and everything else that has been against it throughout history? No my friends, this was not a manmade creation. And this is exactly why Luke wrote Acts. Acts is Luke’s way of showing us that Jesus Christ, by His Holy Spirit, is still leading His church. Jesus says as much in John 16:13-14: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

So the book of Acts could very well have been entitled, “The Book of Acts of Jesus Christ by His Holy Spirit to the Praise of His Father through the Means of His Messy But Marvelous Church,” but I figured Luke probably thought that was too long of a title. The point is this: you must see Acts as a continuation of the work of Jesus, not a new work of Jesus, and not a work without Him. This will help you to understand this text and the church with the right perspective.

The End of Stargazing (v. 6, 9-11)

Luke also emphasizes from this text the end of stargazing in verses 6, 9-11: “So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”…9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

I feel sorry for the apostles. They’re still in the same place they were prior to Jesus’ death. Can you imagine that they are staring at Jesus after He has risen from the dead after a brutal execution? Every moment they look at Him, they are staring into the eyes of the most startling miracle the world has ever known, and yet, they still don’t get it.

Look at the question they ask him in verse 6. They were still stuck on their idea of salvation through political means. John Calvin notes that their question has as many errors as there are words. (Stott, 41) The word “restore” assumes they believed there would still be a restoration of the state of Israel overthrowing the Roman government, a common misunderstanding the disciples had throughout Luke’s gospel. And of course, they assumed that it would be “at this time,” now, despite the fact that Jesus had clearly taught that no one knows the day or hour, except for the Father (Matt 24:36).

For the disciples, they still had hopes of political dominion. I know this might seem a bit abstract for us. But it really shouldn’t be. Think of today’s political climate. Every time we have a presidential election, there is always elation for the victorious party and depression for the defeated party. If you listen to the political commentary of today, there’s a longing by people from every part of the political spectrum to see salvation come in the form of their candidate on their party’s platform. And sadly, Christians today have so quickly fallen into the same trap of the disciples here in verse 6.

The idea that getting the right Christian politicians into seats of power to take over the government is certainly not a new one. The disciples wrongly believed that government can change the world and Jesus needed to take up His rightful throne now as an earthly King. It’s not that there is no place for Christians to step into the political arena. But we must not fool ourselves into believing that human governmental rule produces true change. The reality is that laws do not change hearts. Human hearts are far too hardened to be changed by mere rules and laws.

To understand this, all you need to do is look at children. You can always threaten your children to obey rules. And give enough fear of punishment, they will obey them. But that doesn’t necessarily mean their hearts will obey them. A mom can scream at her teenage daughter, “You will not leave the house dressed like that.” She can threaten all sorts of punishments. But when that daughter changes wearing a sweatshirt and then leaves the home only to take off the sweatshirt to wear what she was originally wearing, you begin to realize that rules cannot regulate the heart. No law or governing authority can force people to love someone and desire to obey the law with a joyful heart.

And no government or law or even fear of reprisal will ever get people to truly love Jesus. The other day, Shua and I were driving down the 680 when we saw this white van littered with all sorts of Christian slogans. It had huge words all over the van telling people to repent, warning them of the dangers of hell. It also listed all of the sins that people commit. It’s possible that van could scare someone to come to trust in Jesus. But one thing that van will never do is to give a person delight and joy in knowing Jesus.

And so Jesus doesn’t answer their question about restoring Israel with what they want to hear. Instead, if you look at Jesus’ answer in verses 7-8, you might think Jesus sidesteps their question. But He really doesn’t. Instead, He’s telling them, “If you think being the Roman emperor who can change laws and force people to live the way he wants them to do is powerful, you ain’t seen nothing yet. When the Holy Spirit comes, He will show you what real power is. Government might be able to force people to do things temporarily, but the Spirit will bring about real change and transformation, and they will do it with joy.” Only Jesus by His Spirit can cause someone who has no love for Him to not only love Him, but give such a person so much delight in Jesus, that he or she would be willing to do whatever it takes for others to have that same type of joy. We explore this reality in the last emphasis.

But let me add one more thing, and it’s the very reason why I am calling the second point the end of stargazing in verses 9-11. The disciples had this view that Jesus was going to restore a political kingdom. And so, when Jesus actually leaves them and the two angels tell them to stop stargazing, I can only imagine what the scene must have been like. Their mouths are probably open in utter shock because they not only saw Jesus floating up to heaven on a cloud, but for the second (third, fourth, twentieth) time, their understanding of His mission had been completely overturned. They were standing stargazing not knowing what to do, and so the angels responded to them: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

The angels’ words are not just for the disciples, but for all disciples of Christ. We can’t merely stand around stargazing, waiting for Jesus to return. Christians are not called to a life of comfort, of remaining stagnant. The church must never be a church that is simply satisfied with being saved. The gospel is not sedentary. No, the gospel by its very nature must be proclaimed and shared and declared to others. The disciples, up to this point, had simply gathered together. But Jesus’ whole post-resurrection mission was to prepare them for something far greater, a sharing of the news of Jesus. And He knows full well how weak and timid they are, which is why this last scene of Jesus’ earthly mission is a reminder of his continuing work by his Spirit. Jesus doesn’t leave the church, us, to fend for ourselves. No. He is with us in our homegroups, during Sunday worship, in our retreats. And He doesn’t want us to merely enjoy His presence, to be looking to heaven for Jesus.

This past retreat was special. It was important. It reminded me that we’re a church, God’s people. But we can’t merely be satisfied with ourselves. And the retreat can’t merely be about being “fired up for God” or spiritually refreshed. If so, then we’re merely looking up to the heavens. No, it has to lead to our desire to tell people about Jesus. It has to empower us to say that we will not only live differently, but we will delight to tell others about Him. I am more convinced than ever before that building Christian community is absolutely essential to our faith. I also believe it’s essential to our witness. We need to be so drawn together in order to feel supported to share our faith and possibly even receive persecution for such proclamations. And to that end, let us do all that we can to grow in community. Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. Let’s grow in God’s Word. Let’s pray for one another. Let’s disciple one another. Let’s be God’s family so that you can always run home when you’re in trouble. But we must go out again and tell the world that they need Jesus Christ. We must not merely gaze at the sky, bask in our fellowship, be happy home groupers who are so excited about our small group that visitors and non-believers are not welcome. We must not merely gaze at the sky believing that our fellowship on Sundays is good enough as it is and that we don’t want “that kind of people” to ruin the good thing we have. These, my friends, are the deadly pitfalls of stargazing.

The Beginning Mission (v. 4-8, 11)

Therefore, Jesus makes it clear that knowing who He is and what He has done for you should and must lead to a mission, which Jesus tells us is the beginning of the church’s mission in Acts 1:4-8, 11:

4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” The Ascension 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

And then verse 11 again: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

As we saw, the disciples could have been very content standing there waxing nostalgia. They could have simply sat around the campfire sharing Jesus stories. They could have had disciple reunions where they reminisced about all the miracles they saw. They could have sought comfort and a life of ease. Or maybe they could have formed their own little Jesus’ disciples religion. But the whole point of this chapter, of Jesus’ words in Acts 1:8, and of the angels words in verse 11, is to tell them Jesus is with them always by His Holy Spirit. And to simply stand there enjoying Jesus and what He had done for them without proclaiming to others of what He had done, would be no different than starting a Christianity without Christ. You see, it wasn’t “For God so loved the 12 disciples that He gave His only Son.” It was, “For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only Son.”

When Jesus tells the disciples that when the Spirit comes, they will be His witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and to the ends of earth, He’s telling them that this is how it must be. The Holy Spirit will make this happen. They can’t simply settle for anything less or else it really undermines whether their faith really is in Christ, and it questions whether the Holy Spirit truly is with them. The Spirit empowers believers to be WITNESSES. Again, as Jesus said in John 16:14: “He [the Holy Spirit] will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

So what does this mean for us my brothers and sisters? It means that Jesus didn’t merely die for Wellspring Church so that we can enjoy each other’s presence while keeping outsiders out because they ruin our friendship dynamics. No, the gospel proclaimed and lived out by Jesus and empowered by His Holy Spirit is inherently a good news that by definition is proclaimed. It means that in our homegroups we MUST be ready to be uncomfortable. Yes, we need to grow in community and faith. But may I say that unless we reach the lost, we will be missing a key component of our growth as Christians? Jesus makes the witness an integral part of the apostles’ mission. This wasn’t a side thing to their growth. This was essential to it. And so, I believe that the Lord is calling us to a new place when we think of homegroups. He’s asking us to consider making these groups a place where we can invite neighbors, non-believing family, co-workers so they can see the gospel lived out. We need to create new groups for the purpose of growing in community AND so that we can invite others to join a group that is not so insular. So many families in our society are broken. In my neighborhood, there are very few families that have a marriage intact. My friends, you would be surprised how much of a witness it is simply for people to see your family, as sinful as it is, to still be together in a broken world. The world will know we are His disciples when we love one another. But Jesus never said that it would be flawless love. They need to see our messiness. And they also need to see that that is exactly why we savor Christ, because He makes us whole through His work in the midst of our messiness. And so my dear friends, please consider inviting the lost to HGs, maybe as an entry point to church, and of course, to the gospel.

This then also means that we need to continue to see the church as a whole take every step necessary to see this gospel spread. I love Jesus’ promise in verse 8, “BUT you will receive power when the HS has come upon you.” Remember, this is in response to the disciples strategies and vision for the advancement of God’s Kingdom, which was a completely weak and false hope. Power will never come from earthly power. BUT there is a true alternative, the power of the Holy Spirit and that comes through the advancement of the gospel. There has to be a witness. But as we learned in Luke, witness always has a cost. Jesus’ witness, His desire to see us trust in the Father and come to be received as sons and daughters, cost His life and therefore, Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 10:24: “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.” If He suffered for His witness to God’s goodness and glory, how could we avoid such a thing? So perhaps our suffering might come in the form of persecution, rejection by peers in the workplace or being labeled by neighbors as the “weird Christian family” or fellow parents of your son’s basketball team. Perhaps it might come in the form of discomfort, joining a new homegroup or being part of homegroup launch that is filled with people you don’t “connect with” or who aren’t in your life stage. Maybe it might mean one day if we should plant another church, you might leave the comfort of this church to join a new church making new friends and fellowship that is quite different. Maybe it means going overseas to share the gospel to the unreached, or starting a ministry to the poor in our neighborhood, etc. But know this, witness though it always comes at a cost, some cost, also always comes with POWER. You will never be left alone. NO, quite the contrary, you will have the power of the Holy Spirit with you. And Jesus paid a costly price not only for you to have power, but to be freed to live with what Peter calls a “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3). I love how he describes life in Christ in 1 Peter 1:8-9: “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” This is His promise!

Conclusion

So my friends, get ready to examine the church through the lens of Luke in Acts 1-2 and 18 and through the lens of Paul in 1 Corinthians. I hope you’re challenged. I hope you wrestle with the mission. I hope you’re able to empathize with the messiness of it all. But I hope you marvel that God by His great Son’s work through His powerful Spirit should use even this messy church, sinful and broken as we are, for His fame. And by doing so, you will find your joy ever increasing forever more.

1) The causes of the famine in the Horn of Africa, perhaps one of the most under-reported tragedies in a very long time.

As George put it when we were there, about 20,000 children are dying of starvation every day up to that point. And yet, the news at the time that dominated every news outlet was the murderous rampage in Norway of a crazy man who killed under 100 children at a school. While that was certainly tragic, the numbers simply don’t compare unless you consider the difference of First World children to African children. It seems African children are valued less if you use the news cycle as a measuring stick.

2) Libya

Libya doesn’t seem like a part of Africa, but it is. And certainly what is going on there is dramatic as Col. Qaddafi seems to be at the end of his power.

3) The UN Building in Nigeria bombed

This just happened today and it just reveals the deep unrest in many African countries. Even though this was an Islamic terrorist cell that did the work, with the BBC stating that it’s a group trying to implement Sharia law throughout Nigeria, such a desire is in place because it appears that current laws simply do not govern society the way people think they should. So of course, there is a desire to try other means, including Islamic law.

4) The AU’s (African Union) Aid to the Horn

It seems the AU is donating some money for famine relief. The AU is an interesting group. It seems to be an attempt to create good will from African countries for African countries. No doubt that it seems to be doing something. But as to how much this something is, I have a feeling no one really knows.

5) The African Space Program

I read this news today about a group of young, Ugandan engineers trying to build a shuttle in their own backyard. It’s a dream. Their shuttle doesn’t look like it ca get off the ground, let alone, in space. But it’s an interesting bit of news.

Africa is on our hearts.

One thing about this text, we rarely see it in the context. And the context is perhaps one of the most sovereign, morose texts in the Bible, the book of Lamentations, especially chapter 3. This is how chapter 3 describes God:

Verse 1
I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of HIS wrath;

Verse 2-3
HE has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; 3 surely against me HE turns his hand again and again the whole day long.

Verse 4
HE has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; 5

Verse 5
HE has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation;

Verse 6
HE has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago.

Verse 7-11
HE has walled me about so that I cannot escape; HE has made my chains heavy; 8 though I call and cry for help, HE shuts out my prayer; 9 HE has blocked my ways with blocks of stones; HE has made my paths crooked. 10 HE is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding; 11 HE turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces; HE has made me desolate; 12 HE bent his bow and set me as a target for his arrow.

Verse 13-21
HE drove into my kidneys the arrows of his quiver; 14 I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the object of their taunts all day long. 15 HE has filled me with bitterness; HE has sated me with wormwood. 16 HE has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; 17 my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; 18 so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.” 19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! 20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. 21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

This is the context for those verses. If there was ever time where it seems God’s steadfast love and faithfulness have come to an end, it is in this context. The writer is writing about the exile of Jerusalem to Babylon. He has probably seen firsthand women and children slaughtered, the king taken captive, his sons wiped out. The walls have been destroyed, the Temple and all of its furnishings wiped out or taken to Babylon. He’s in the throes of sadness and he attributes it all to God’s hand. And yet, his hope is in God’s steadfast love and faithfulness that never end. How does one reconcile the two? It must be because he fully trusts God’s sovereignty, even when suffering comes, and even when judgment comes. Even if he feels God’s hand is against him, like David who puts his trust in God when he is punished for counting his fighting men, the writer knows with a certainty that even God’s anger lasts only a moment. God is faithful and the morning will come and his faithfulness great.

“Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” (John 13:6-9)

And that’s how I felt.  When George was washing my feet I felt humbled, unnerved, speechless, dumbfounded, thankful, unworthy all wrapped up in one.  I was hard to let George, someone who is heading this wonderful ministry, do such a “debase” thing.  I had to do all that I could to keep from crying (I know, I know, why not let out a big cry?). But how much more Peter who had God the Son do this for him.  Oh it must have been quite an experience for him.  And I think I had a small taste of what he felt this week.

This is just one of many memories I have of Africa and Hands.  Much more to come later.

When Levy asked if anyone had any encouragements for her, I couldn’t but say something. Hopefully, it isn’t because I am a pastor and felt as though everyone was waiting me to speak, but instead, it was because the Lord laid something upon my heart. I shared with her from 2 Corinthians 4 and the fact that those in Christ have a treasure in a jar of clay. But even if that jar should break, the treasure is secure because God has secured it through His Son’s blood. And anyone who has that treasure will one day see the Lord forever, no longer with a body like a jar of clay, but a perfected body. And that even she, in her inability to move her legs, would one day be made whole as a daughter of God should she completely trust in Him. After the talk, we prayed over her and were encouraged to hear that she actually felt better in her spirit. You could sense it in her smile and her laughter as we closed and prepared to leave.

But the sad part of her story is really her background. She most likely has AIDS and her inability to move her legs is just a symptom of a much more serious condition. This is where her real problem lies. If she has AIDS and is dying, she gets supported by the government with a stipend. But if she gets better, she gets nothing. And so, she has intentionally avoided taking her anti retrovirals (ARVs), and as she gets sicker, she gets financial support. But obviously, what she doesn’t realize is that her perspective is literally killing her and then what good is the money in the end?

I can’t imagine a direr dilemma. But sadly she fails to miss the point that she shouldn’t rely on the government for support, but on Christ. And ironically her name is Seneka which means “Happiness” in Shona.

We have met so many Seneka’s since we have been here. I don’t know if there would be any hope at all if we didn’t have Christ. I think it would be so easy to slip into despair. But thanks be to God that our Lord is still sovereign even in the midst of such situations.

Here are some more pics:

It really is amazing what these woman can balance on their heads.  And they walk miles with such things on their heads.  This would gladly posed for this picture.

This is Dan with a child.  Dan’s from the UK and a long-term volunteer at Hands.  He has a wife Jenn with three boys, their youngest only 6 months old.  Actually, Shua volunteered to watch their kids tonight while they celebrate their 10th anniversary.  Ah my wife, always thinking about how to bless others.  Dan is a great guy and Jack and Elisabeth really enjoy getting to play with their two sons, Marley and Sonny.  The boys run all over the village in bare feet.  I would imagine their feet are so calloused that nothing hurts them any more.

We met this gogo (granny) on one of our visits.  She is quite a vivacious lady for someone who really struggles with loneliness.

My kids love going down this hill over and over again with these big wheels.  I love the fact that here there is no Wii, no TV, no movies.  It’s just playing outside with friends exploring.

Church

Shua and I have now attended our second South African church.  The name of the church was called Twozhill Church (the street name the church is on).  It’s part of the New Covenant denomination, a group mostly in the UK, Australia, and South Africa.  Twozhill is a church plant from the other church we attended (Church Unlimited).  I must say, the people were quite friendly.  In some ways, it reminded me of Wellspring.  It was about the same size, many young families, friendly, and relatively young.  But I was also thankful for the sermon.  It wasn’t an exposition.  But at least the pastor was faithful to preaching the Bible.  And I would rather have a preacher preach God’s Word without style, then an eloquent preacher who neglects God’s Word in His preaching.  Overall, it was a good worship.

But I admit it, I am biased, because I can’t wait to worship back at Wellspring!

Volunteers

Shua and I have had a number of good conversations with the volunteers, many of whom are young (low to mid-20s).  They come from the UK and Canada and have different church backgrounds.  But all of them really do love the Lord and love kids.  I think what is interesting is listening to their expectations of what their time in Africa was going to be like and what their time of Africa truly is.  To keep an international organization like Hands running which receives funding from all parts of the world, you can imagine the reporting and paperwork required.  And since the volunteers are often the most skilled in English, they are often solicited to do some office work, which of course, is not what you think of when you are serving in Africa.  And of course, if you’re not careful, this can lead to some disillusionment.  But this is where George’s words really make sense.  If the goal really is to feed the most vulnerable children, sometimes office work is what it takes for some in the US or the UK to give enough money to feed thousands of children.  Isn’t that worth it then?  I realize that just like anywhere, it always takes servanthood to do kingdom work.  And being a servant is never glamorous and often tedious hard work.

Orphans

We went to a new community yesterday where we helped with food distribution to orphans, played with the children, and sang songs.  I also shared the story of the Parable of the Two Sons with the kids.  Once again, I am always amazed by how much these kids love our kids.  They’re so used to seeing foreign adults, but I think our kids are a real anomaly to them.  One young teen really loved Jack, almost as if he were a doll.  She kept picking him up like a baby, hugging him.  It was as though he was the orphan.  It really does make one’s heart melt seeing the love these kids have and yet the love they have never felt from a parent.

There was one baby there who was being cared for by a girl Elisabeth’s age.  They are a family of 8 children.  Their parents died and they were being watched by a granny.  This little girl Elisabeth’s age brought this baby and another younger sister to the center to be fed.  Can you imagine an 8 year old caring for a baby, carrying her to places as though she were an adult?  This would never happen in the first world.  But this is the face of AIDS, disease, death, Africa, orphans.  And this is why I am thankful to be in this place.

Vacation

We will have the privilege of going to Cape Town for a little break next week.  We’re looking forward to it.  It’s amazing how tiring home-based care really is.  You go spend time with the kids, go on visits, help feed, share, sing, and you feel completely wiped out when you return.  I think it’s the combination of the hot sun, the emotional drain of seeing such situations, and the fact that I’m just plain ole aging.  But it really makes me appreciate the care workers who are serving these children out of their own poverty day in and day out.  So getting a few days R&R will be good before the team comes and we’ll really be busy.  Also, I figured we’d never have a chance to go to that part of Africa so we thought we’d take the time since this place will be deserted this week and next as many people are away on vacation.  But I am sooo thankful that my family has had this intentional vacation to see the poverty that is in much of the world.  I am also thankful that our children will come to realize that God’s heart is for the whole world and socio-economic, ethnic, linguistic, geo-political, skin color differences cannot change that.  It is good to be here in Africa.

Here are some more pics for you to enjoy…

This is the child and baby, both are orphans.  It just make you feel so sad watching the “older” little girl feeding the younger one.

The name of the community we visited where this little girl was from

A close-up of the baby

Some other boys…this is one of my favorite shots since I’ve been here because the natural lighting was so great.  Bu this little boy really is photogenic.

I know this little boy looks so angry.  But right after I took the shot, I started blowing some bubbles with my spit (I know it sounds gross.  It’s my stupid human trick and it always seems to get the kids riled up and so happy.).  Well, I started blowing my saliva bubble and he burst out laughing.

I thought I’d also add some of the animals we’ve seen here.  Africa is such a beautiful continent.  And where we’re staying in South Africa (Mpumalanga), supposedly there are more bird species here than any other part of the world.