Peter Misselbrook's Blog
Mar 29 2020 - Acts 18:1-23 – Whose mission is it anyway?

When Paul arrived at Corinth his preaching and the reaction to it followed a familiar pattern. There was controversy and division in the synagogue and Paul declared that he would henceforth speak to the Gentiles. Many of the Jews seemed determined to stir up trouble against him.

In the night, the Lord spoke to Paul in a dream, telling him not to be afraid but to continue preaching. As he had promised the original eleven before his ascension, so now the Lord Jesus promises Paul that he will be with him. The Lord’s presence will ensure that his ministry will result in many converts for, the Lord says, “Many people in this city are mine” (Acts 18:10).

Here we are reminded that the mission conducted by Paul is not his own, it is the mission of the risen Lord Jesus, into which Paul has been recruited as a helper. Christ has gone before him and Christ will now go with him in his mission.

Nevertheless, the Jews who opposed Paul’s message dragged him before Gallio, the proconsul of Achaiah, and charged him with “persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law” (18:13). Gallio will have none of it. If Paul has been guilty of some crime he is quite prepared to listen to the charges of Paul’s opponents but if it is merely a matter of their religious customs, Gallio considers this to be none of his business. Indeed, he seems to have viewed the Jews and their religious disputes as rather troublesome for he is quite prepared for them to beat up their synagogue leader in front of him and take no action.

In the Book of Acts, Luke is concerned to show that the Christian message, while proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord, is no threat to good government; it is no threat to human flourishing. But equally, the Christian message does not need the active support and promotion of civil government. Christ is at work building his church and he is the one who will ensure its success.

In past centuries, the church sought to have a privileged position within the state even to the point of arguing that part of the role of civil government is to uphold God’s law. The Christendom project has now collapsed. In many parts of the world we now see Christians suffering at the hand of those who argue that the state’s role is to preserve a very different religious order and to oppose those who will not conform to the privileged religion. We live in world in many ways similar to that of the first century Roman Empire. Christianity has no privileged position and must demonstrate that it is no threat to good order but promises blessing to those who follow the crucified Messiah. There are welcome signs that this message is being heard in China where suspicion is slowly giving way to respect.

We need to take courage from the words of the risen Saviour to Paul and to remember that he has said, “I will build my church.” He is the one who is still at work in the world by the power of his word and his Spirit to bring many to know him and to follow him. He neither needs state support nor can be stopped by state opposition.

Thank you, Lord, that you have a part for each of us to play in your mission of transforming the world. Help us to be faithful and diligent in the work you have given us to do, but help us to remember that without you we can do nothing. Strengthen and encourage your people who face persecution that they may have wisdom to know how to remain faithful to you and to their calling in the midst of trials. Lord, build your church. May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

6go6ckt5b8|00005AC6389D|Blog|Body|74E86411-C014-4003-966A-B576FE1BE5A0

Mar 29 2019 - Joshua 3:1-17 – Crossing the Jordan

The majority of the Israelites who had been rescued from Egypt had died in the desert over the last forty years. The Israelites now camped beside the Jordan opposite Jericho had heard what God had done for their parents and grandparents in bringing them out of Egypt and through the Red Sea – as also had the inhabitants of Jericho, as we saw yesterday. God will now demonstrate that he is the same God. What he did for their parents and grandparents he can do also for them. He will lead them into the land he has promised to give them.

The Ark of the Covenant is more than a box for the tablets of the law, it is the symbol of the presence and power of the living God among his people – he sits enthroned between the cherubim. The Ark, carried by the priests, will go before the people; God himself will lead them. The moment the priest’s feet get wet in the shallows of the Jordan, the water will cease to flow. It was as if the water had been dammed up at some point upstream and downstream the waters simply drained away. The priests carrying the Ark stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed while all of the Israelites marched safely over on dry ground.

Some forty years before, when the Israelites had seemed to be trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, Moses had told them, "Stand firm and you will see the deliverance that the Lord will bring you today" (Exodus 14:13). The waters of the Red Sea had parted to allow the Israelites to cross on dry ground. Now the Lord does another amazing thing for his people, repeating the miracle at the Red Sea. No longer are these Israelites a people who have merely heard of the saving power of their God, they have experienced it for themselves. Now they know that God is with them just as he was with their parents in the days of Moses, and they know that the Lord is with Joshua just as he was with Moses.

The same is true for us, it is not enough to be told what God has done for former generations – though such stories can provide us with great encouragement. We want to experience and know God acting for us in our day and generation. We want to know that God is with us and that he plans to lead us into the blessings he has promised to give us.

But did you notice that the priests who were leading the people needed to go down not just to the water's edge but to put their feet into the river before the water stopped flowing and the river dried up. They had to trust God that he would do what he promised and that they would not be carried away by the harvest floods of the Jordan. To mix the metaphor by making reference to the New Testament, in the words of John Ortberg, "If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat." God performs miracles for his people but he also calls for us to exercise faith in him. And every act of God's salvation, witnessed in response to our faith, will add to our confidence that God will not abandon us but continue to work in us and through us to establish his kingdom (see v. 10).

Lord Jesus, thank you that you are the same yesterday and today and forever. You did great things for your people in generations past; we thank you that you will do great things for us today – and for our children tomorrow. May our knowledge of all that you have done for us in the past – especially in saving us through your atoning death and glorious resurrection – fill us with unfailing faith in you.

6go6ckt5b8|00005AC6389D|Blog|Body|55EB6B43-8C95-4C85-9C69-381766301337

Peter Misselbrook