Bible Talks - Family Church (9:45am)

40 Days With The Risen LordSeries: 40 Days With The Risen Lord

Progress of the proclamation

Sunday, 01 May 2005

Tim Adams

Luke 24:44-48; Acts 1:8 ESV or NIV, 2 Timothy 4:1-5 ESV or NIV

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Big Ideas

  • Recap whole series
  • How has proclamation progressed from 2000 years ago to today, and how is it to progress into the future?
  • Apostles, Paul, Us
  • Steps to personal proclamation

Introduction

I need you to cast you minds back to 36 days ago. You may remember it as a day filled with chocolate, roast family lunches, and also the day you were invited by Philip to join him on a journey. The journey was to spend 40 days with the risen Lord Jesus. Thirty six days ago we celebrated Easter Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus, and Acts tells us that Jesus appeared to the disciples for 40 days after his resurrection. So for the past 36 days we have been following what he taught and commanded his disciples during that time.

We’ve all been involved in the 40 Days journey somehow. The most basic 40 Days Journey Package was to come along each week and hear the topic preached on. The middle class package would have also included doing the “Proclaiming the Risen Lord” studies in your growth group. The deluxe first class package also included a daily prayer journal, to help grow and focus your prayer life.

So why spend 40 days following the risen Christ? Well, hopefully you have picked up that one of the big themes of this series has been proclamation, indeed a few times during the 40 days Jesus gives his disciples a “resurrection command” such as Luke 24:44-48, and Acts 1:8

He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. Luke 24:44-48

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 1:8

This is great stuff to learn about, and apply to our lives. But it is particularly relevant as we strive to participate in the “Mission” of the Anglican Church to see 10% of the population in Bible based churches and fellowships by 2012.

Through “40 Days” we have sought to truly believe the resurrection of Jesus, and to hear the “resurrection command” that he gives. We have stood in the shoes of the disciples as Jesus opened the scriptures to them. We have reflected back to what Jesus had done, and what lay ahead for the apostles. And we have done all this because we want their ministry to inform our ministry as we take part in God global mission, and our local Anglican mission, to proclaim the gospel to all people, of all nations.

So, what have we learnt so far about proclaiming the risen Lord?

Re-Cap: What have we learnt so far?

Well, I could just tell you what we have learnt about over the past 36 days, or even better you could tell me! Now, does anyone here watch “Who wants to be a Millionaire”? Well, today is you lucky day because you are the contestants in the first annual “40 Days with the Risen Lord Who wants to be a Millionaire Challenge!”

Week 1: Who is doing the proclamation?

Correct Answer: A

That’s right! In Week 1 we were reminded that it isn’t us doing the proclamation, rather it is Jesus speaking through us and using us to proclaim his message. We need to allow Jesus to do that.

Week 2: Where does proclamation fit into Gods plan?

Correct Answer: B

That’s right! In Week 2 of the studies we found out that proclamation plays a big part in God’s plans. We saw that Jesus has been a part of God’s plan from the very beginning, and in fact his death and resurrection were a climax in God’s plan, beginning a new era in this world. The Bible refers to this new era as the last days, in which we are to urgently proclaim the gospel to all people.

Week 3: What is the message being proclaimed?

Correct Answer: D

That’s right! In Week 3 we found out that the message we are to be proclaiming is actually the same message that is spoken of all throughout the OT. And the message is to Repent (or turn away from our rebellion against God), and accept his offer of forgiveness available through Jesus death & resurrection.

Week 4: How are we and others to respond to the proclamation?

Correct Answer: C

That’s right! In Week 4 we found out that the only correct way to respond to proclamation is to repent. We saw that repentance is more than the Sunday School answer of “Saying Sorry to God”, but rather involved a whole change of mind, and change of life in response to the grace of God through Jesus.

Week 5: What blessings are in the message we proclaim?

Correct Answer: B

That’s right! Last week we found out that we receive a lot more than forgiveness when we accept the message proclaimed. We receive assurance of salvation, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the promise of Eternal Life.

Thankyou for playing the “40 Days with the Risen Lord Who wants to be a Millionaire Challenge!”

There is a summary of the correct answers on the screen.

So we have learnt all these good things about proclamation, from the teaching and commands Jesus gave his disciples 2000 years ago, in the 40 days after he had risen. So proclamation is good in theory, but did it happen in practice? Was a message of repentance and forgiveness of sins preached in Jesus name to all nations? And if it was, where is it up to? What is the progress of proclamation?

Progress of proclamation

Well, as I am sure you are aware, and as is evidenced by the fact that we are all here today, proclamation did work in practise, and the ball was set rolling to proclaim the message to all people, in all nations. And the one to set the ball rolling was none other than the greatest Christian trendsetter of all time – Jesus.

Jesus started the ball rolling

For 3 years before Jesus commanded the disciples to proclaim, he himself had been modelling the way to do it through his own words and actions. Jesus started his proclamation ministry shortly after his baptism. We read about it in Mark 1:14-15 which reads:

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!

Jesus was a walking talking gospel machine. Have a flick through a gospel (like Luke) sometime, and you will see that with each new person he met, with each new crowd that drew around him, with each new source of opposition, Jesus took the opportunity to proclaim the gospel.

Jesus not only did the proclamation himself, but he appointed the first 12 MTS apprentices, more commonly known as the twelve disciples, to help with the task! Luke 9:1-2 reads:

And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.

Luke 9:1-2

The twelve had a powerful testimony didn’t they? Unlike us, the twelve were eyewitnesses to Jesus teaching and actions. They had been with Jesus since the beginning of his ministry, and had heard and seen all of it for themselves.

Jesus didn’t stop at 12 though. In Luke 10:1-9, we read that he appoints another 72 people to go ahead of him. They too were to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is near.

So what was the response to Jesus, his wave of proclaimers, and message they gave?

  • Luke 4:14-15
    • Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside
  • Luke 5:15
    • Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.
  • Luke 6:17
    • A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon,
  • Luke 14:25
    • Large crowds were traveling with Jesus
  • Luke 19:37
    • When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God

And that is the progress of proclamation up to where we are now in our series. Look back at Luke 24:44-28, ands Acts 1:8 in your handouts. You will see that Jesus has opened the disciples minds to the scriptures. He has shown them Gods big plan as revealed through the Old Testament, and as demonstrated in his life and teaching. And now he commands them to proclaim the message of repentance and forgiveness to all nations with the help of the Holy Spirit, who will arrive soon. Did the Holy Spirit arrive? Could the apostles proclaim without the physical presence of Jesus?

His eyewitnesses continued with the Holy Spirit

Well, right on cue in Acts 2:1-4 the Holy Spirit arrived, and the proclamation that Jesus commanded began in Jerusalem! Actually if you read the verses that follow, you’ll see that the proclamation began instantly.

The arrival of the Holy Spirit was such an attention grabber that Peter took the opportunity to preach to the crowd, and show them that Jesus was the promised Messiah spoken of in the scriptures, He did pay the price for our sins, and we do need to respond to that by repenting and accepting the forgiveness that only Jesus can offer. And when Peter had finished, 3000 people did just that. And this was only the apostles first half hour of proclamation. Not bad huh?

Well it didn’t stop there. The apostles paired up and headed off around countryside. They faithfully proclaimed the message of repentance and forgiveness available through Jesus. And those who heard responded:

  • Acts 4:4
    • But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
  • Acts 5:14
    • Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number
  • Acts 8:4-8
    • Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city.
  • Acts 9:31
    • Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
  • Acts 11:19-21
    • Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

And I could go on… The book of Acts is filled with the Acts of the apostles, and of stories of their preaching to both Jew and Gentile, in many places.

Acts also tells us about the appointment, and work of the 13th Apostle – Paul. Paul (who was formerly know as Saul) was the most unlikely candidate for the position of “Apostle to Gentiles” from a human perspective, but an excellent candidate from God’s perspective. Up until his conversion, Paul had been “breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord” and was well known for this. But Jesus used Paul, and showed that life changing repentance is available to anyone.

Over half of the book of Acts is devoted to the proclamation of Paul. His proclamation took him on three missionary journeys, and one final trip to Rome. He preached the gospel in Cyprus & Galatia, Asia Minor & Greece, Ephesus and finally Rome. His letters to the Romans, the Corinthians, the Galatians, the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, and Thessalonians attest to the success of his proclamation in establishing churches of those who had repented, accepted forgiveness, and were eager to obey God’s will for their lives.

So that was the progress of the proclamation in the first 150 or so years after Jesus. So what about now? Where are we up to in proclaiming the repentance and forgiveness available through Jesus to all people, of all nations?

Current Status

If we look at this graph, we can see that only 33% of world population in the year 2000 claimed to be Christian. The 33% is made up of groups such as Anglicans, Baptists, and AOG’s. But it is also made up of groups such as Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, and quite a few other religions that mention Jesus, but also add to, or misinterpret what he said. So the percentage of actual Christians may indeed be a lot less that 33%.

So then have all nations to the ends of the earth heard the message of repentance and forgiveness yet? Have all people heard the message of Jesus yet? Has Jesus returned yet?

No, No, No. So the resurrection command still stands. We need to preach a message of repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus name to all nations.

Proclamation & Us.

That’s a really daunting task. I have enough trouble thinking about how I am going to proclaim it to my next door neighbour, let alone all nations! How are we going to do it?

The easy option is to decide it is all too hard, and hope that someone else figures it out – and that is what a lot of Christians do. I don’t think it’s too hard, or beyond the gifts and abilities that God has given each of us. I think we can look at what we have learnt about proclamation in the 40 Day series, look at the resurrection command given in Luke 24, and simply apply these things to our lives. So here are my steps, based on what we have learnt from 40 Days, and Luke 24 on how we can proclaim the Risen Lord.

Step 1: We need to ensure that we have responded appropriately to the proclamation, and the only appropriate response is to repent. We saw that repentance was more than a moralistic New Years resolution, or simply attending church; instead it involved a whole change of mind, and change of life in response to the grace of God through Jesus. So, step 1 is repent.

Step 2: Be encouraged by the blessings we are promised from the proclaimed message that we have received. Not only have we been forgiven of our sins, but be are assured of our salvation, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us, and we are promised eternal life. These are all great gifts from God! We know that through his Holy Spirit, he is always with us. So, Step 2 is be encouraged by blessings.

Step 3: Proclamation is a big part of Gods plan. The prophets in the Old Testament proclaimed the coming messiah, and prophesied the salvation he would offer. Jesus proclaimed the gospel to everyone he met, and commanded his disciples to do the same. Since proclamation is a big part of God’s plan, it should also be a big part of our plan for our lives. I once heard the Christian life described as the boot of car. The things we do in our lives are like the things we might pack in a boot to take on a picnic. When we go on a picnic, there is always one large item that sits smack in the centre of the boot, the Esky, and everything else is sort of jammed around it. What is the Esky in your life? Is it your relationship with God, and the proclamation that flow from that? Is it sport? Is it money? Is it work? So Step 3 is to allow our relationship with God, and the proclamation that flow from to play a big part in our lives.

Step 4: We learnt that ultimately, it is Jesus doing the proclaiming not us. We are the instruments that he can choose to use, but he can only choose to use us if we offer ourselves to that service. We need to offer our lives to Jesus to be used to proclaim his name, and then rely on Jesus to use us. A big part is to seek God’s guidance as to how he wants to use us by praying to him, and by reading the Bible through which he can also speak to us. So Step 4 is to rely on Jesus to use us.

Step 5: We need to proclaim a message of repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus name to all nations. This is the same message that has been part of Gods plan since the beginning of time. It is the message that the prophets spoke of, the message that Jesus proclaimed, and the message that Jesus commanded his disciples to proclaim. The prophets, Jesus and the apostles didn’t wait till there was an evangelistic dinner to bring their friends to. Instead, they took every opportunity in all aspects of life to proclaim the message. So Step 5 is to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus name in all aspects of our life.

I think “40 Days with the Risen Lord” has given each of us a challenge. You might have noticed it particularly in the Prayer Journal. The challenge is to ask yourself whether you have ruled out your part in proclamation before even asking God about it? Have you ruled out overseas mission? Did you ask God about it? Have you ruled out sharing the Gospel with a particular group of your friends? Did you ask God about it? Have you decided that you life circumstance (for example – a family, or retired) exempts you from church involvement? Ask God about it.

I am going to finish by reading you a passage from 2 Timothy, where Paul is encouraging Timothy in proclamation. I can relate to Timothy because he has the same name as me, and is a believer, even though he did not physically see the risen Christ. He is keen to be used to do God’s will, and here is Paul’s advice.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3For the time is coming when people will not endure sound[a] teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

2 Timothy 4:1-5

Amen