Salvation!

December 18, 2023 Monday Message:

John 8:31b-32 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Acts ch. 2 is the best example we have of how the first Cristians, “The Way,” lived out their faith. Jesus had told them to not leave Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit, and here they were, all together, all of one mind, all of one purpose. Suddenly there was a sound like the roaring of a mighty wind! Notice the Bible doesn’t report that it was windy; just that it SOUNDED like wind.

Soon flickering flames fell onto the believers, representing the Holy Spirit. Picture a dog lapping up water from a dish. The dog’s tongue is what these flames looked like, flickering down until landing on each person. No one caught fire. Now, equipped with the Holy Spirit, nothing could stop them!

They were speaking in unfamiliar languages that only God knew. Quite a number of Jews had pilgrimaged to Jerusalem for Shavuot. Their homelands were different, their languages were different, but somehow everyone could understand each other.

Peter seized this opportunity to address the gathered crowd. His message was similar to the thoughts and words that got Jesus killed, but Peter didn’t hold back. The Holy Spirit had opened the minds of the listeners, and rather than inciting violence, they asked, “Brothers, what should we do?”

1. Repent and believe, and 2. Turn to God and be baptized. 3,000 were baptized and added to their number that day. While it was all good, this must have created disorganized chaos within The Way. What would your church do if 3,000 new believers showed up next Sunday? Many were from out of town. They didn’t have jobs in Jerusalem, or places to live. They needed to be fed! A lot of details to figure out.

At the time, the church had been meeting in homes. They didn’t have a building, chairs or pews, a fellowship hall or a youth group. They didn’t have a sound system, powerpoint projector or video cameras. But in a very authentic way, they had Jesus. They knew Jesus. They knew absolute truth. They knew forgiveness and redemption. They knew to love their follows. In short, they just did what Jesus would have done, and let God work out the details.

Pray that your local church doesn’t get bogged down in administrative details that have nothing to do with redemption and salvation. Pray that your local church could focus on truth and stick with it, truth being God’s opinion on everything! Pray that your local church would do what Jesus would have done!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship