Word & the Wild

This is Word and the Wild. It's a one year Bible adventure with friends. My name is Owen. I'm your host and your guide. Just delighted to be here with you on this 12 month journey as a podcast plus community where we read the Bible for ourselves, but not by ourselves. And here we are, gang. We're in week 47.

Can you believe it? We got Peter, Paul, Philip, and a cast of thousands crossing borders and boundaries as the Holy spirit uses persecution and problems to push the young church forward in Jesus mission. So that's our conversation for today. Get you set up for the win. As you look at the book of acts. So hello.

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All right. Now with that let's jump into some conversation about the book of acts and the here on I'm calling this my scratchy face Friday. Cause I usually don't do the podcast on Fridays, do it on Friday this week. And Friday's, you know, it's kind of a no shave day. So we're going to get into some scruffy conversation about the book of Acts.

You know, the book of Acts tells the story of how God, the Holy Spirit moves through Jesus disciples and moves with Jesus disciples as they carry the good news about Jesus from a room in Jerusalem. All the way to the ends of the earth. And that, that story is really all about crossing boundaries, boundaries, borders, barriers you see the Holy spirit crossing geographical boundaries, political and social boundaries, religious boundaries, and even personal boundaries.

And to me, that's, if you want to look at acts and how to make sense of it all, That's the overarching theme, Jesus message and mission going on through the power of the Holy Spirit over, around, and through boundaries. The Holy Spirit is disruptive. And constructive. And by that, I mean, he's, he's interrupting the natural order of things the, the status quo, and he's doing it with supernatural power.

And he's doing that in order to, to free up and build up individual people who will band together into groups called churches and together, they're going to carry Jesus message of the way to have friendship with God. Oh, they're going to carry it into their towns. And, and, and families and, and on and on to the very edges of the world as that project that starts at Pentecost even continues on to this day.

Now we live in a world right now, sadly, where some semblance of Jesus is embedded into our cultural awareness. You know, at least part of his story surfaces, you know, at Christmas and Easter. And even if it's just a fragment of the story and it's, it's not even the real story. We, he, awareness of Jesus is kind of nebulously out there for many people.

And, and, and, and by the same token, we see church as an institution that we're familiar with many towns, especially here in the States, you have organizations that call themselves church. They're scattered here and there on corners and street corners and just about everywhere. And in much of Europe, even my European friends there are a lot of churches and there are also a lot of church buildings that stand as cultural reminders of their history.

And so when we think of those artifacts today, kind of of Jesus and church, it's really hard for us to imagine, wrap our mind around how These, these, these tamed and sanitized social clubs and cultural references could cross any kind of boundary and barrier. They're just kind of weak and watered down.

And in fact, for many these, these, I don't know, sanitized, systematized remnants of Christianity and church inside of culture. They don't only not cross boundaries. In many ways, most, many people see them as, as creating boundaries. They, they create the dividing lines between cultures and countries and communities.

But, but that. Was not the case in the decades after Jesus life on earth, his life, death, resurrection sparked what we're seeing here in the book of acts. And it caught fire through the power of the Holy spirit. And it's, it's in some ways the message and the mission is the same for believers today, just as it was in those early days and acts, but.

Yeah, it's hard to imagine sometimes seeing what we now call church, you know, operate in a way that, that is, is, is more like the book of acts than you know, than a sleepy main street in some small town in, in America. Right. But, but with the Holy spirit, empowering people like Phillip. Peter and Paul and a bunch of just every day, normal people that's growing all that in the book of acts.

The Holy spirit is crossing boundaries. No boundary is, is sacred or even safe in the face of what the Holy spirit is doing in the book of acts. Take, for example, here's what I mean. Take for example, geographical boundaries. From, again, from that single second story room in Jerusalem we're seeing, I mean, the good news of Jesus just spread and it's beyond the city walls of Jerusalem and then beyond the borders of Judea, the little, the surrounding kind of province right there and, and into neighboring areas like Samaria.

And then you're seeing persecution and acts that was intended to really snuff out, stamp out the church instead. It's, it's causing the church to spread like wildfire wildfire rather into places like you know, North Africa. Asia minor, modern day Turkey. And even with Paul taking the lead, going out from Troas on the border of Asia minor and crossing over into the continent of Europe.

We are seeing places like Athens and Corinth and eventually Rome itself getting the, the good news about Jesus. And all of this is happening, crossing these geographical borders. It's happening. By hand, you know, in the form of, of letters getting passed from one hand to another to, from one little group to another or, or even just by word of mouth, that what happened at Pentecost was, was so unforgettable and memorable there in Jerusalem that the, the news of it just spread.

And as a result Mountains, rivers, seas, deserts. There is no geographical barrier that stands a chance against what the Holy Spirit is doing here in the book of Acts. It's amazing. How about another boundary? How about political and social boundaries? So far in Acts, we've seen country bumpkin, Jewish fishermen preached an eloquent, passionate.

messages in languages they've never learned. I mean, it's something when you hear a Galilean start, you know, sharing passionate beautiful messages to crowds in. You know, Greek or Latin. That's, that's wild. That's crossing boundaries. We've seen, we're seeing Jews, Greeks, Roman citizens, Roman soldiers, synagogue leaders, merchants, magicians, government officials, all responding to the same good news about Jesus.

Men, women. Nobles, slaves, all just receiving the gospel with joy and watching it change their way of life as they join into a brand new kind of community that's called church. That's not based on social status or stratification or hobbies or interests, but only based on the fact that everybody in that circle.

Has experienced the forgiveness that comes through faith in Jesus. Like that's amazing. The Holy Spirit is just blasting through lines that divide along race, gender, culture, social class, and language. And, and those distinctives are still there. And that's one of the things we see them, them, them these early believers wrestling with.

The distinctives are still there, but, but those distinctives are no longer the definition of their identity. They belong to something new and different. Paul explains it this way to his Galatian friends. This was from last week. You remember this? He says, all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ.

Like putting on new clothes. There's no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. New identity, it's like putting on a new pair of clothes, getting dressed for a new kind of job, a new kind of life, a new kind of work and calling and that, that, that's the Holy Spirit.

There's no other force that, that this world has seen that could permanently, gently. And irresistibly bring together people from various backgrounds diverse cultures the gender divide and, and bring them together into something like a new family. It's, it's amazing to watch. And at times the sparks fly too.

So it's not all, you know, it's not all just unicorns and rainbows. That's a struggle, but the Holy Spirit's helping them Helping them do it. We see that unfolding in the book of acts and the letters Paul writes to the, the, to the churches that get started in that book. How about another boundary? How about the, the stubborn boundary of religion, even stubborn religious boundaries we see in acts.

No match. For the power of the Holy Spirit. The tension around the role Jewish practices play in following Jesus for, for Gentiles, for non Jews. I mean, that's a real problem, a real tension in Acts. It, it threatens to tear the young church apart. You got Peter, Paul, James, I mean, and, and, and, and others Barnabas and Silas and John Mark, they're all at odds With each other these these are friendships and partnerships that that fracture you see false teaching start to crop up and and feed that that that Division that's happening among these early these this young church is early believers and and yet Just when it feels like this thing might fall apart.

No, no No, the Holy Spirit uses that divide to To conquer new ground instead of divide being divided and conquered the church divides and splits and continues to conquer. When teams like Paul and Barnabas, for example, split up and you, and you get Paul taking Silas, Barnabas takes John Mark there.

And we're going to see that this week. They, they actually uncover, they actually cover more territory, more ground. God uses all of this to, To, to pull men like, like Peter away from this, this kind of syncretism, this dependence on Jewish law and practice and culture to maintain a relationship with God, it kind of finally pulls Peter away.

And together, the church is learning the truth of the statement that comes from the old Testament. The statement from, from Joel, remember this, that, that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved and all means all. You don't have to become a practicer of the Jewish religion to, in order to then be a follower of Jesus.

Jesus doesn't live inside Judaism. Jesus is above and apart from those kinds of religious boundaries. Amazing. And then to me, all right, most impressive and miraculous of all the work of the Holy Spirit. It's crossing. Deeply held personal boundaries. The Holy Spirit pulling new believers to cross personal boundaries.

Everybody has you know, what you, I don't know what you call, I call your oh no list, right? It's the things that if God asked you to do it The answer is, Oh, no, I'm not doing that. Or, Oh, no, I can't believe God wants me to do that. It's your own no list, right? We all have it. We all have a list. We all have the I would nevers.

Okay. Well, in the book of acts, in the letters, we see Paul right now, writing to his friends in the wake of his efforts to spread the good news around the surrounding region. We're seeing those. I would never become. I will gladly. Okay. Think about this. Saul would never accept the teaching about Jesus and never help actually spread it.

Saul becomes Paul. And that's exactly what he does. His I would never becomes. I will gladly. I mean, that's awesome. Peter would never consider the fact that Gentiles can have the Holy Spirit. He would never consider the fact that you know, there are, you know, bacon is back on the menu for a follower of Jesus, right?

Until he does. Right? People would, would never give up on their personal rights and preference and, and preferences and, and cultural values and, and wear those as their identity. People would never do that until they do. And even the strong instinct of, of you know, self preservation keeping yourself safe and, and well cared for and well fed and warm.

Even that self preservation instinct, that, that, that boundary that, that, that is a strong personal boundary that gets crossed by the power of the Holy Spirit as new believers in towns and cities all across the known world start to put their homes, their wealth even their lives on the line in the name of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is empowering. These new believers to be more brave, more loving, and, and less selfish than they ever imagined they could be. All the oh noes are becoming, oh yes, absolutely, I will. Through the power of the Holy Spirit to me It's the way that the the Holy Spirit crosses these personal boundaries that to me we see I mean the real true power in Jesus message of forgiveness of sins of a right relationship with God and then the gift of the Holy Spirit to help help that relationship it'd be established and grow that we're seeing that power through those who choose to believe in Jesus as the, as his or her savior, these, these individuals, they're receiving the presence of the Holy Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit.

He's working with them. He's working within them and it's changing their lives by changing them, not their external circumstances. Believers that, that found that, that became followers of Jesus in Corinth. They still living in Corinth people who were in tough marriage situations or seeing that this week in, in first Corinthians, they are still in those tough situations.

The people who are, are you know, needing food and are, are struggling financially. Many of them continue to struggle with the Holy Spirit is. Likewise, continuing to change their life. And it's not by changing their circumstances. It's by transforming them by changing who they are at the interior level.

And that's lifting these early believers above and beyond their personal preferences and their default behaviors. And that to me is amazing. The Holy spirit is freeing them up. To walk out their lives in the way of Jesus that to me the most powerful miracle In the the this era of the story we are in that to me is is I mean sure having seeing a a blind person see A person who can't walk be healed That's that's amazing.

But what's more amazing? Seeing people become truly brave loving And self less as Jesus and his message transforms their life. All right. So as we move through the story of acts. The letters Paul writes to his growing list of friends, . What we're discovering is there is only one boundary that matters.

It's not a line between Jews and Gentiles, even though that comes up and they have to fight and wrestle with it. It's not a geographical boundary. It's not mountain seas or even continents. It's not political boundaries. It's not a line on a map. It's not social boundaries, Jew, Gentile, gender, social status, or occupation.

It's not even religious boundaries or languages, or even the boundaries of personal preference. Those boundaries matter little to what the Holy spirit is doing. The only line that matters, right? The real dividing line. The line to cross, the only one that matters is the line of faith in Jesus. Paul explains this so well in Galatians 2 20, he says, my old self has been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And so I live in this earthly body by trusting in the son of God who loved me and gave himself. For me, that's Galatians again, two 20, Jesus stands as the door on the border between life and God's kingdom or life on the outside, which is no life at all.

And the good news is that's it's the port of entry. That's the good news. The good news is the port of entry is open to all who choose to walk through it. and believe. That's Jesus is the door enter into cross the border and enter into life with him. And as, as these believers, as we read, and it's not just the big names, you know, Peter and Paul and Steven and James and fill up it's, it's the others, Aquila, Priscilla and Apollos and and so many others, and even some anonymous.

Right. As these believers give their lives to Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit takes their lives to places they never imagined they could go or would go. Jesus cross crosses that line and he crosses all other lines. And in the story, Acts tells no other border, no other barrier, no other boundary.

Matters. It's the cross that crosses any other line. So now as we look ahead, Oh, this week, what's on the plate for us as we, we kind of continue to work through acts, watch the story unfold. It's amazing. And I love how our chrono Bibles are doing this for us because it is chronological. It is story order.

And so what that does for us is it drops in some of Paul's letters to his friends. Inside of the book of acts as we go. So we, for example, we get to read about what goes down with Paul in Corinth. And then we get to read a letter from Paul that soon followed his physical visit to Corinth. And I just think that's, that's fantastic.

Gives you some really great insight and background and helps you understand why Paul is saying what he's saying and what his relationship is like with these people that he's gotten to know and love. And all of that sets us up to, to really understand the, the, what the story behind the story, I guess, in the book of Acts, you know, Jesus told his disciples that he did not come to bring peace between people, but to introduce conflict where he said, I don't come to bring, bring peace, but a sword, very kind of a strange and strong statement from Jesus.

Peace with God? Yes, but harmony with the world we're living in? Yeah, not so much. And we're starting to understand what Jesus meant by that statement in some way. I mean, in fact, last week we got a peek into why that is the case. Why does does Jesus introduce conflict in many ways into our lives and into the lives of these early believers.

Why, why is it, why is it so hard and why are they face so many struggles? And why is, why is life with Jesus not solving them, but in some ways even causing them? Well like everything else in our story, we have seen here in this episode with Acts that, that the Holy Spirit. It is the center of it all.

And that includes the, the matter of, of, of conflict that we're seeing within these young believers and their relationships with each other. And then the, the, the deeper conflicts within in Galatians chapter five Paul, Paul puts it like this. He says let the Holy spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.

The sinful nature wants to do evil. which is, is just the opposite of what the spirit wants. And the spirit gives us desires that are opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other. That's Galatians is page, 1494 in your chrono Bible. Okay. Did you catch that though?

The Holy Spirit Yes, he's the source of guidance Direction all that all that is essential to following Jesus through the twists and turns of life in this broken world. Yes Yes Yes But did you also pick up on the fact that it's the arrival of the Holy Spirit into the life of a new believer? That actually sparks a deep conflict like deep within the deep inner self Before the Holy Spirit's arrival.

Hey, Peter All of us, we just live default lives without much thought. We just do what people do. It's not great, but it's happening right. But after the Holy Spirit arrives in our lives, conflict is introduced. We're, we're conflicted as the Holy Spirit battles it out for control of our hearts and minds.

Battles our default self. To, in order to take over and empower us to live the life that Jesus has for us to live, sharing his message, living his way and, and, and being part of his mission to extend the good news into the places he takes us, you know, so as we follow this, the big story. Of how the Holy Spirit is, is overcoming barriers and obstacles.

You know, to, to, we're talking, you know, rulers and, and and you know, community bodies and synagogues and it's on this big scale, how the Holy Spirit is kind of reaching cities. This week we also get to look over Paul's shoulder and, and, and, and see the letters he writes. To his friends, to help coach and encourage them over these very personal wars, struggles within.

And I think you'll see that the battles they face will, will feel very familiar. You'll recognize yourself on some of the pages of Paul's letters and the portrait won't always be flattering, but I think you'll also see that the advice Paul gives. To his friends. They're those early believers.

That advice holds up really well. For the struggles that we face in our lives today too. All right, my friend. Hey, we got a great journey ahead of us. I hope you enjoy it. That's gonna get you set up this week, read enjoy dive in i'd love to know how it's going for you I'd love to hear from you. Hey hit me up on facebook if you're not already part of the word the wild facebook group search for it join it Just just look for word in the wild And jump in with us there.

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And with that, my friend, we're out. Have a great rest of your week. Enjoy the journey. I'll be looking for you out there on the trail in the word and the wild. You have yourself a good one.