What Happens Next #7 "Practice Extravagant Generosity" Acts 4:32-37

What Happened Next #7 - Practice Extravagant Generosity Acts 4:32-37

Q. How do I let the holy Spirit into my wallet or purse.

A. Open your wallet and repeat after me “Help Yourself” (Spike Milligan). “All things come from you and of your own do we give you” (C of E Communion Service).

Pass around a £20 note. See if gets back to the front! Why would it? “It doesn't belong to me.”

What happens when HS comes? We respond. Personal & Social Restoration. Talk about Jesus. Bold action in the face of opposition. Get together to pray then - Extravagant generosity.

Extravagant Generosity is a Kingdom Issue.

This weeks Alpha Course reminded me of the priority of Jesus teaching on The Kingdom. His message, now entrusted to the disciples was, “The Kingdom of God is near” and Kingdom here means, not some geographical or political area but where ever God has His way, where His rule is established. Salvation, Justice, Peace, Reconciliation, Forgiveness, Healing, And in Jesus teaching this is both “now” and “not yet”.

OT view: We live in the evil Present age. THEN The New Age begins when the messiah comes then everything is made perfect.

Jesus view: We live in the evil Present Age. Jesus comes. The New Age is inaugurated. There is a transition period as the Kingdom invades and overcomes. Jesus returns and the New Age is complete.

This is called "inaugurated eschatology".

This transition might be a straight line graph as everything steadily becomes more holy.

It might start very quickly and slowly taper off until perfection is reached.

It might start slowly but then grow exponentially.

It might be a combination of progress speeds.

It might even go up and down perhaps? We don't know. But we have to live in it, And we are here to work for, to pray for, the coming of the Kingdom.

Our expectations of God, our experience of God, our obedience to God , our relationship with God,

Our witness, our prayer life all need to come more and more into God's rule, God's kingdom as individuals, church and society. GOD RULES OK.

Sometimes the last thing to come under God's authority is our finances. – we need to practice extravagant generosity. From £Mine to £Yours

Extravagant Generosity is a Freedom Issue

It may be that this “now and not yet” takes off really well for your worshipping, for your Bible study, for your praying, for your fellowship together. But sometimes our giving gets trapped by our worldly values, it lags behind. Our voices say that “all I need is you” or “you are my everything” or “All I am I give to you”. Our prayers acknowledge that we depend on God for our well being, our health, our direction in life. Our study gives us greater store of conviction about the truth of God's love for us shown in all the He has given for us in Jesus.

Then we come to church and put £10 or £5 or sometimes something that goes “clink” in the offering. Well what does extravagant giving look like? Is is extravagant to spend £100 on a meal for two at a Restaurant? Is it extravagant to spend £100 on a pair of jeans? Is it extravagant to spend £100 on a makeover? So, if you take home £1000 a monthly tithe is £100, 2000 - £200 and pro-rata. and anything above this might be considered extravagant. Only the first disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit didn't do that. That's what the Pharisee and Sadducee did. Those who rejected Jesus. Those who didn't have the Spirit. The others, our forebears in faith, did things a bit differently. They gave. No limit. To those in need. Acts 4:34-5 “There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money, and put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone as they had need”. They were free. As Jesus taught “Freely you have received. Freely give.” If you don't know that you have been given then it is hard to give.

Extravagant Generosity is a Blessing Issue.

Jesus spoke about this in Luke 21:4 “All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.’ This woman who put in her last 5p was considered more generous that the wealthy who gave fortunes in a public manner because she gave extravagantly “all she had to live on”. Its not the amount – its the attitude. Its not how much – its how generous. Its not about getting it right to earn more brownie points – its about making sure that you are living in the freedom of God's Kingdom where He will provide. So we make a mistake when we talk about 10% or 5% and when we excuse those living on pensions or benefits as if they are excluded from extravagant generosity. Its not an obligation. Its a blessing and a joy that sets you free.

Extravagant Generosity is a Holy Spirit Issue.

We are not saying “Do more of this to get more HS power” - that's a common mistake in the church. We just need to know that in the Kingdom “all things come from you and of your own do we give you”

We just need to know that so we have freedom to respond so that no one is in need.

We just need to know that in Jesus God will also give us every blessing. Rom 8:32 “He who did not spare his only Son but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things.”

This is the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

So when God says “Open your wallet and repeat after me” We can joyfully respond 'Help Yourself!'”

What Happened Next #6 - Make A Call

 What Happened Next #6 - Make A Call Acts 4:23-31

Q. “How Does The Holy Spirit Help Me To Pray?”

A. He shakes the foundations and answers you.

So if the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon you and me and we have received power as promised. What's the difference? The boldness of the disciples is not always my experience – is it yours? I don't like conflict. I'm still a bit scared of failure. I don't want to do more harm than good. Do you?

Well the good news is that the Holy Spirit is a guide and counsellor as well as a source of spiritual power. When things get challenging – He is there to guide. When we pray, He answers.

Example: Phones. We all know how to use one of those don't we? Press Button A wasn't it.....

How did those first disciples learn about prating in the power of the Holy Spirit?

But what of it doesn't work, or you don't know what to do? Like this....

3.30am the phone rings. It can't be good news. Its the Red Button control centre. Mum has pressed the button and isn't answering the phone. Time to go. Is she OK? Asleep in bed! Equipment flashing. Press the Red Button. Flash! Beep! Brr! At 4am!. Press all the buttons (there's only 3!). “This is an Alarm Call. Replace the handset” - no response. Use the mobile together. Call BT. Exchange fault! Go back to bed. But it made me think. What do we do when the phone doesn't work? When the communication is broken?

Am I doing it right? Still pressing Button A? Rote, Church only, Routine, TalkTalkTalk. May not be the best way for me today. Try another route. Go mobile! Go together.

Is my link to the Holy Spirit down? Guilt, anger, false humility, faithlessness are all broken lines. Check your connections.

Ask for help? You may have to wait. Its not always your fault.

What did they do?

• Back to their own people v23 – share with others of faith.
• reported the facts v23 – don't try to cover up.
• raised their voices – together – in prayer to God. Don't give up. Remember the Lord loves you!
• Ruler – Creator – Word – Authority. Remind yourself who He is. What He has done.
• Be prepared to wait – but also to act with boldness
• He will back us up with power

What did God do? What will God do?

• Shake the foundations
• pour out his power
• Change the world

Do not act where you will not pray.

Do not pray where you will not act.

What Happened Next #4 cts 3:1-10 "So Get Up" Personal and Social Restoration

Acts 3#1-10 What Happened Next? #4

Personal and Social Restoration

The Holy Spirit is still poured out upon us today and He still changes us and still sends us out to fulfil the mission of Jesus to the world.

The Same Today: We are aware of the needs around us. Just like Jesus.

Personal and Social exclusion.

Disapproval and Danger

Do we differentiate between “deserving” and undeserving” poor?

The Same Today: We have the gift of the Spirit. Just like Jesus.

Meeting people not policies: Peter “sees” the lame man as one who will be saved/healed.

Attentive expectations. The lame man sees Peter as possible Good News.

Do we see through Jesus' eyes?

The Same Today: We have the power of the Spirit.. Just like Jesus.

What we can't we admit. No experts. Limited resources.

What we can we do. Open and compassionate hearts.

The result is restoration and rejoicing. From daily begging routine to a whole new life with all its joy and its challenges. He entered the temple with them. People saw it. Wonder & Amazement.

How do you see yourself?

Deserving – undeserving?

Poor – Rich?

Powerless - Empowered ?

God longs to make us whole.

What Happened Next #3 “Its Still Happening” Acts 2:37-47

TRINITY SUNDAY: We believe in One God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

• 38Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39"For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.
  

One of the works of the Holy Spirit it to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ – and to enlivien the faith of those who already believe. When the first disciples “wake up” at Pentecost the people are drawn in. Peter gets the chance to explain about...... about Jesus. What he has done. Who he is. How they have treated him. And then...

People Respond: “What must we do?”

1. Something to Start: Repent & Be Baptised & Receive HS- like this?
   1. Turn around: blindfold and instructions
   2. Join the group: go through the hoop (baggage?)
   3. Open wide: blindfold off, accept the prize
   4. Could you do that for someone else? Try!
      
      
      
2. Something to Keep Going. First steps must be followed by another, and another....v42 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
   
   
   1. Teaching HS – where are people coming to seek God? - Cell/Small Groups, Alpha
      
   2. Fellowship HS – Baptised into “one body” - how do people feel they belong?
      
   3. Breaking Bread HS – Are we Re-membering Jesus – fitting Jigsaw pieces. “Butterfly”
      
   4. Prayer HS – Talk & Listen to God through HS are we dong this together?
      

The story is one that must be passed on – to those who are “far off”.

The Trinity is not a starting place. The starting place is the experience of the disciples. They all knew that God is ONE. “I am the Lord your God and there are no God's before me”. Yet their experience of the living, dying, risen Jesus led them to a shocking confession from “You are the Christ – the Son of the Living God” and onwards to “My Lord – and My God!” for they had heard Jesus “the Father and I are one” and “if you have seen me you have seen the Father” and seen Jesus open the eyes of the blind, forgive sins, raise Lazarus from the dead with divine power. Now they had experiences the power of the Holy Spirit for themselves, just as Jesus had promised. The Spirit “from the Father” which the church recognised as the very presence of God. The only way to honour these realities is to insist that God is ONE still. But that in the One-ness there is a community: Father, Son, Spirit. A community of love into which we are invited for “he is with you and will be in you”.

“What Happened Next” #2 “It Did Happen” - What happens when the Holy Spirit comes? Acts 2:1-12

Last week we learnt “This promise is for you, your children and all who are far off” What happens?

1. You notice v1-4. 2. Other people notice v5-11. 3. People ask questions v7-12

Intro. God the Holy Spirit is in all things.

Like CO2. Its in the air all around. You breathe it in and, because there's not much you can do with it, you breathe it out again. But some of it stays in you I suppose. Like this bottle of water. Air dissolves in water. So in this water there is some CO2. But you wouldn't really notice. Its not really doing anything.

So, in much the same way because God is in everything, we can say that the Holy Spirit is in each one of us who are alive. That's good isn't it? But maybe it doesn't make much difference?

1. You Notice.

But it doesn't have to be like that. In fact it is not supposed to be like that. Jesus said “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” Do you feel powerful? Could you have “received power” inadvertently and not realised it? Not very likely, is it?
Like CO2. Water can be supercharged with it. Who likes Beer? Coke? Pepsi? (other carbonated beverages are available...” How does it get like that? You put extra in! Pure CO2 is powered into the water. And it changes it. Look (charge bottle). It sparkles! It bubbles! It tastes nicer! It might make you burp but there are always side effects!
When the Holy Spirit came on the first disciples – they noticed it! Their heads had flames on them. The heard a tornado in the room. They started talking foreign. So today. You don't have to be satisfied with the “God is in everything” state. You can receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. He'll make a change that you can notice. BUT

2. Other People Notice.
You see its not given to you as a reward or, primarily, to make you nicer, livelier, tastier... Its to be a witness, as we heard last week. In this reading the people outside the private gathering didn't see the tongues of flame or the tornado. No, but they heard something. They heard these uneducated rabble talking in their own languages. They were attracted. It couldn't be kept quiet.
The Holy Spirit is like that too. If we power up the bottle. If we shake it up. If we take a look inside.......what do we see. Wow! It's all coming out, fizzing up, spilling over. Quick – catch it! The Holy Spirit wants to break out from our lives to involve all those around us. But to do that, you have to take the lid off. Then what happens? A sudden rush, an outpouring, then.... it all goes a bit flat. Ring any bells?

3. Questions are asked.
Jesus said “...and you will be my witnesses”. Peter says that this promise is for “all who are far off”. How far off? “in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the World.” How do we witness to Jesus?
Well you see this CO2? Its all around. It can power up the water bottle. It can be a demonstration of the power within. But there's more. You are not a just bottle of water. You are not even a charged up bottle of water. Not even one that has been shaken up ready for opening. You and I can be Sodastreams. We can be those who bring this promise of the Holy Spirit to those around us.

Conclusion.
God the Holy Spirit is in you and in everything. God the Holy Spirit can change you and empower you. God the Holy Spirit can work through you to bring life to others. Is that what your heart desires?

What Happened Next #5 Holy Boldness -- What If I'm Afraid of Getting It Wrong?

What Happened Next #5 Acts 4:1-22 Holy Boldness

“What Do I Do If I'm Afraid of Getting It Wrong?”

The Spirit was promised – and the promise was delivered at Pentecost. The promise is still true for us who are “far off” in time and place. Now we have to live in that power – we are not powerless.

But we are a bit scared.

I used to sit on my Mum's Mobylette Moped in the garage and pretend to be at the TT races. I even put on the helmet and goggles! Brrrm Brrrm! Then I discovered the key! By turning the little key and pedaling Broom! The engine started! Wow! 49 cubic centimetres of power! But I kept it safely on the stand – you can't be too careful.... Danger! Excitement! Speed!Of course the only real dangers were a) My mum would find out. b) It would slip off the stand and crash into to garage wall. c) (and I didn't know about this though its the only real danger) I would asphyxiate myself with Carbon Monoxide. I wasn't worried about that - but I should have been!

The Sanhedrin tried to scare Peter into staying in the garage with the moped on its stand. “Make all the noise you like” they sort of said “But don't take it out on the streets. Otherwise you'll be in trouble if we find out.” They were afraid of the power. It wasn't just the teaching about Jesus -I'm sure they could have coped with that as a theological debate. After all they had all sorts of disagreements between Pharisee and Sadducee about Resurrection. But the problem was this demonstration of power – the healed crippled man who annoyingly kept bounding up and down “walking and leaping and praising God” they had “nothing to say in opposition” v14 to that.

They'd have preferred the “moped on its stand in the garage saying brmm brmm” model.

They could just about live with the “engine running behind closed doors in fear” model.

But they didn't want the moped out on the streets.

Today a moped.

Tomorrow a Tiger Cub

Next it will be a Mini, an Estate Car, an MGB!

Of course the Council wanted to restrict what the newborn church would do with this Holy Spirit Power. If they could be kept just talking about it then they would get bored, disagree with one another, disperse, fragment and make no impact on the world. Brmm Brmm.

Is it just words with us?

And if they tried to practice behind closed doors, a secret mystery sect with arcane mysteries kept for the committed and advanced recipients of gnosis only – they would eventually choke themselves to death and disappear.

Do we want to keep it private and personal?

But once they hit the streets everyone will notice.

And that's a whole new world of fears to wrestle with. What if I fall off? What if everyone laughs at me? What if I break down or run out of fuel? What if someone crashes into me? What about pot holes? How much is the insurance – how much! I'll have to learn the Highway Code, pass a test. And then someone will want a lift. But once you have the bug – you can't NOT ride it, can you? Peter says “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” v20.

Are some of these your fears?

Well Ok they are some of mine too.

Its sensible to be scared on a moped.

But it mustn't stop you from setting off, keeping going, learning and growing.

And in Faith all of those things have happened – falling, scorn, attacks, tragedies, expense, learning, testing, demands – but once you have the bug – the power of the Holy Spirit in you – you cannot stop.

If you are afraid of getting it wrong. Don't worry. You will. But that's OK. God likes mistakes.

You'll get used to it! Start pedaling. 

What Happened Next #1 Acts 1:1-11: It Will Happen

What Happened Next?

A series on Acts

• Each week we will ask a question that the sermon will help people to answer. 
• We'll see how the experience of the early church reflects something that Jesus said or did in the Gospels.
• Our understanding is that The Holy Spirit is still at work in and through us, his Church, in the same way today though the way that is expressed will be culturally relevant.

This Week: "It Will Happen", The Promise of the Holy Spirit Acts 1:1-11. 

Is the promise of the Holy Spirit still valid? 

When has the Spirit confirmed your faith? 

When has the Spirit taught you something in particular? 

When have you felt strengthened by the Spirit? 

Why would you like more of the Spirit's power in your life right now?

The Raincoat and The Jumper.

Jesus says: “John baptised with water but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Water” – to symbolise cleansing from your old life and being saturated with the life of God. We know now that it is the death of Jesus for us that cleanses us from sin and that we rise with him to new life – but life that is to be saturated with the presence of Jesus by His Spirit. A raincoat gets wet in the rain but a quick shake will dry it off and you remain teh same underneath. A jumper is “saturated” and you are definitely different!.  But is this true for us – or just for the first apostles?

Some say:

• Holy Spirit manifestation was for the confirmation of the Apostles as the inheritors of Jesus mission. These were the “signs following” of which Jesus spoke. Once the gospel was preached and the Apostles recognized then these manifestations ceased “Are there tongues, they will cease..” says St. Paul who spoke in tongues more than anyone. But – did Jesus say “you will receive confirmation when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you”?
• Holy Spirit came to “lead us into all truth”. In the early days the church had only the oral tradition of its Apostles but as the church grew this would not be sufficient. The Holy Spirit spoke to individuals and to the church until such time as the councils, led by the same spirit, could gather all the true teaching into the canon of scripture which would contain “all truth” and so be all the teaching that we need to follow Christ. But – did Jesus say “You will receive Teaching when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you”?
• Holy Spirit comes to feed and strengthen our Spirits and to make us more like Jesus. When we take and eat bread and wine together we are, by the power of the Holy Spirit, imbibing Jesus himself. Each week or month we use up this spiritual nourishment and need to come back to the Lord's Table or The Altar to be topped up with the sacraments to keep us going. These sacraments are the channel that the Holy Spirit has established to feed his people. But did Jesus say “You will receive feeding when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you”?
• Jesus said “you shall receive POWER when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you.” He means that we will be changed by this encounter with His Spirit. “You will receive Power when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you”. (Red Dwarf Time Machine in Space. No change! Add turbocharger to engine on bench. No change!) Power needs a purpose. “You will receive Power when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you. And you shall be my witnesses”. Confirmation – Teaching – Feeding, Yes! But more than that – Power to change you and for you to change the world into followers of Jesus. Not just getting you wet on the outside – but saturated with his love so everyone you touch is “infected”. Like Annie in the River. Me? Allesley? 2015? Far off?
• 38Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39"For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.