Sermon: Empowred by Their Acts - Uniting

Empowered by Their Acts: Uniting
Acts 4:32 – 5:11
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
June 23, 2019

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ‘Ananias,’ Peter asked, ‘why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!’ Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him.

After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter said to her, ‘Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.’ And she said, ‘Yes, that was the price.’ Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things. Acts 4:32 - 5:11

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Why does the Church exist?” You might find yourself answering the question, “It is where we go on Sunday mornings” or “The Church exists because God made it.” These answers are true, but they do not capture the whole truth.

When the early Church was born in the first century it was not an institution built of religious doctrine or physical buildings. Luke tells us in Acts the Church exists for two purposes: it is a community of believers uniting in heart and soul and giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus (Acts 4:32-33). God honored the early church’s budding faithfulness by giving the apostles great power and an abundance of grace (Acts 4:33).

It matters that Luke places the purpose of uniting before the purpose of giving testimony. In the first century it was believed that the heart and soul joined together as the center of one’s spiritual life. The heart (more like the gut) was considered the seat of decision-making and the soul was considered the seat of feeling God’s love.

Borrowing the Apostle Paul’s words, the Spirit was shaping the believers to be of the same mind, to have the same love, and to be in full accord with the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:2). Uniting in heart and soul meant doing nothing from a point of selfish ambition or conceit but living by the godly virtue of humility; looking to the interest of others (Philippians 2:3).

Luke lifts up Barnabas as a model for what uniting in heart and soul look like. Barnabas knew he was a steward of God’s grace. The land he owned was not his, but it belonged to God. So he sold it and gave it back to God to further the Lord’s work in his community.

Luke’s point is that uniting with Jesus’ ministry of pursuing a common good will for others is what the Church in every generation should look like. Reaching out into the community to live in authentic relationship with our neighbors and sharing our God-given resources to meet real needs is a primary way of sharing the good news of God’s grace.

Luke remembered the core of Jesus’ ministry of sharing the good news came from Jesus' Sermon on the Plain (Matthew's Gospel remembers this as Jesus' Sermon on the Mount). The core of Jesus' ministry was and is to bless the poor, bless the hungry, and bless those who weep over injustices (Luke 6: 20-21). God’s great power and abundant grace will bless the poor to behold the kingdom of God, the hungry will be filled, and those who mourn will rejoice in God’s provision and deliverance (Isaiah 61: 2-3).

The Lord not only invites us to participate with God’s economy of grace, but also the Lord holds us accountable to be good stewards of it. Therefore, Luke lifted up Ananias and Sapphira, the couple who decided to hold back a portion of their land proceeds out of self-interest.

A friend of mine puts it this way: We are all connected. When you reject your God-given assignment, you could be unconsciously blocking someone else’s blessing. Don’t be fooled. Your life choices affect more than just you. Someone needs to see and experience the very gift God has given to you.

While Ananias’ and Sapphira’s motivations and actions were judged by Peter’s authority, there was no mandate on behalf of the apostles to hold all their resources in common. Luke doesn’t want us to miss what is at stake for uniting in one heart and soul. Uniting is never out of obligation or duty, but rather gratitude.

The early Christians, like Barnabas, shared all things in common for the well-being of all out of a deep spiritual well of gratitude. They gave and shared with grateful hearts in praise of God’s faithfulness. As the apostles received the gifts of time, talents, and treasures from the believers, I can imagine they all sang these familiar words with conviction; the same words we sing as we give back to God our time, talents, and treasures in worship:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures [and all neighbors]here below;
Praise him above, our heavenly host [and provider];
Praise [the promises, grace, and guidance of] Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.


The early Christians had a deep gratitude and respect for the relationships they had with fellow believers and their community, especially those who were poor, hungry, and mourning. Their respect and gratitude to love their neighbor as themselves overflowed to the point where God multiplied their gifts to meet the needs of the vulnerable. Luke says as a result there was no needy person among them (Luke 4:34).

The early Christians had deep gratitude and praise for who God is, what God was going, and what God promised to do. The early church knew that all they had belonged to God, therefore they gave their resources back to God to join God in building the kingdom in the community.

Van Wyck Presbyterian Church has long been known as a small church that cares. This church cares greatly about the relationships in the wider community and the relationships within the body of Christ.

Van Wyck Presbyterian was born 135 years ago in the spirit of generosity, with the land given as a gift for the original body of Christ to gather, worship, and serve. Throughout the generations, many apostles within this body of Christ have been and are movers and shakers to seek the good will of the community.

As this body of Christ has slowly grown in number and spirit, the session elders and I know that God’s Spirit is still moving among us. I am grateful this church has a memory of being forward thinking to envision the ways the Spirit is leading us to build God’s kingdom here. As we continue to discern what is means to be good stewards of the land surrounding the church, our text today gives me pause.

Four years ago when God called me to walk beside this body of Christ in faith, this church had already made the decision to be more missionally present in the community. God’s faithfulness continues to amaze me as I see God’s grace bearing fruit here. That good fruit is present because this body of Christ values relationships with God and neighbor. God has blessed us to be a blessing to the surrounding community.

My dream for Van Wyck Presbyterian is for us to keep growing in our passion to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves because it mattered more than anything to Jesus Christ. It is the greatest commandment after all. I am not dreaming so much about growing church membership. Growing in number is a good thing. But growing in number is not the only thing. I am dreaming about growing our passion to participate in what God is already doing among us.

Karl Vaters is a small church pastor. He says:

A church that has strong discipleship, deep relationships, passionate worship, and transformative outreach is contributing to Christ and his mission on earth, whether or not it results in the numerical increase of our local congregation.

Celebrating effective ministry is to find my place in what Jesus is doing and participate in it with all the faithfulness and passion I have… not for numbers. Not for attendance. Not for church growth. But for Christ. For his mission. And for God’s glory.

These are the things that really matter as we gather to love God and love neighbor as ourselves.

My ultimate prayer is that together we will envision how to be good stewards of God’s land that fosters strong discipleship, deep relationships, passionate worship, and transformative outreach.

May we be empowered by the apostles’ acts of uniting our hearts and souls in the mind of Christ, in God’s mission and for God’s glory.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen

Sermon - Empowered by Their Acts: Boldness

Empowered by Their Acts: Boldness
Acts 4: 23-31
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
June 16, 2019
Trinity Sunday

The past six weeks we have been sitting in the story of the Acts of the Apostles. Luke’s writings tell us that being an apostle of Jesus Christ is not for the faint of heart.

The twelve apostles, Mary the mother of Jesus, and other women had to practice patience and wait in Jerusalem for God to empower them by the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1: 1-11). As they waited they devoted themselves to prayer and yet they had no idea what to expect in their near future (Acts 1: 12-26).

Holy Spirit made her dramatic entrance in the event of Pentecost. The Spirit birthed the first century church and empowered the apostles to have a sense of urgency to continue Jesus’ ministry; they were divinely inspired to dream big like God and do God’s work in the world (Acts 2: 1-4, 14-14-20).

Living into God’s dream started with relationships with God and one another. As the early Christians were united in the gift of faith they were empowered to live differently by God’s provision, Jesus’ redeeming grace, and the Spirit’s guidance.

Jesus’ instructions were to witness to the Lord’s authority and power starting in the apostles’ backyard of Jerusalem. Filled with Holy Spirit’s power, Peter and John embarked on their first mission trip as they were entering the temple for prayer. Peter and John were empowered to give hope to a man who had been born lame. They extended Jesus’ compassion and grace to heal this man whom society had merely taken pity on (Acts 3: 1-12).

This first local mission trip landed Peter and John in jail because they were daring greatly to be about the Lord’s business (Acts 4: 1-4, 13-22). Just proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ changes things, and yet this holy work in Jesus’ name threatened the religious authorities in Jerusalem.

This is where we enter the story today in Acts 4: 23-31.

After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, ‘Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant:

“Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
and the rulers have gathered together
against the Lord and against his Messiah.”

For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

The apostles received their first lesson in the school of hard knocks: being about the Lord’s business was not going to be easy. In order to experience God’s victory, they recalled Jesus’ example. Whenever Jesus was about to embark on the challenges of life and ministry he prayed. So the apostles did just that in our text today; they prayed for boldness (Acts 4: 29-31).

This was a full circle moment for the apostles. When we go back to Luke’s Gospel these men and women were not bold. They were like you and me.

Mary the mother of Jesus had big questions about bearing the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:29).
Peter felt unqualified and unworthy to follow Jesus (Luke 5:8).
The apostles argued about being the greatest without realizing what being empowered by God really meant (Luke 9:46).
They worried about God’s provision even after seeing Jesus feed five thousand (Luke 9: 10-17; 12:22).
After Jesus’ lesson on prayer, the apostles had no spiritual stamina in light of Jesus facing his destiny on the cross (Luke 11:1; 22: 39-46).
After following Jesus for three years the apostles still did not understand the big picture of God’s work in Jesus Christ.
Peter denied his association with Jesus three times after Jesus had washed his feet (Luke 22: 31-34).
When Jesus died on the cross the apostles stood at a distance as their hope dissolved into despair like a deflating balloon (Luke 23:49).

Who in the world would entrust the kingdom of God to a group of women and men like these? God did. And God empowered these women and men to be bold in order to join the Lord in kingdom building.

So how do you and I become empowered with boldness? How do we grow in our confidence of God’s power, Jesus’ grace, and the Spirit’s guidance? How do we come full circle from being timid disciples to bold apostles?

My commentary gave me a big clue to these questions: “If the church is too timid and does not ask God for enough boldness for ministry it must have timid convictions about who God is, what God has done, and what God will do” [1].

The Greek definition of boldness is to have a resolve of leaving a witness that something deserves to be remembered. That resolve is speaking with a growing confidence in love. It took years for the apostles to grow in their faith to be confident in God’s ability to do far more than they could ever hope, ask for or imagine. It takes time for your faith and mine to grow in godly confidence too.

Personal and communal commitment are required in order for our actions and voices to embody a bold conviction that God’s character and actions deserve to be remembered. Where do you go to learn who God is, what God has done, and what God will do? God’s Word will always illumine the truth of God’s character and actions in the past, present, and future.

Scripture tells us that the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth; he does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable (Isaiah 40:28). And yet God knows each of us intimately and calls us by name saying we belong to God (Isaiah 43:1). God is love (1 John 4:16). God’s love was revealed in sending Jesus Christ, God’s only Son as the Savior of the world, so that we might live through him (1 John 4:9, 14).

Through the cross and resurrection God has given us life in Jesus’ name. God revealed his sustaining presence in the Holy Spirit, who came like a violent wind to set the apostles’ faith aflame with a passion to serve God alone no matter the costs (Acts 2:2).

And as obstacles and adversity arise in our lives God promises to strengthen us, help us, and uphold us with God’s victorious right hand, therefore we have nothing to fear because of who our God is (Isaiah 41:10).

God’s character is unchangeable, and it is impossible that God would prove false (Hebrews 6:17-18). God’s word will accomplish God’s purposes (Isaiah 55:11). If we confess this to be true about God, then what a mighty spiritual force we have in every obstacle and opportunity.

All of our spiritual ancestors faced life’s obstacles and spiritual adversity. When they asserted their own strength they did not go very far. But as they tapped into the power of our God, they grew in their confidence that they would overcome. And their stories give us courage to say we shall overcome too. The genuineness of our faith will be tested (1 Peter 1: 6-7). Every test is an opportunity for our spirits to fully rely on God so that our faith may be refined and strengthened.

The Lord will always reward our imperfect faithfulness as our faith seeks understanding. God will bring us full circle from a timid faith to a bold faith as we commit to these things: steeping our spirits in God’s living Word; devoting ourselves to prayer; acknowledging our need for the Lord’s help – “I believe Lord, help my unbelief!”; focusing where God is active in our personal lives and in the life of our surrounding community and world; proclaiming that God’s faithfulness is bigger than any obstacle we may face; taking risks to join God in kingdom building. Therefore, when we are faced with obstacles, we will stand firm in the Lord and speak the truth in love and with integrity.

When we live out our faith with intentionality and authenticity, God honors our faithfulness by empowering us to grow in our confidence in God’s ability to do far more than we can ever hope, ask for, or imagine.

The Presbyterian tradition describes being empowered by acts of boldness in this way:

The church universal is to be a community of faith, entrusting itself to God alone, even at the risk of losing its own life. The church universal is to be a community of love, where sin is forgiven, reconciliation is accomplished, and the dividing walls of hostility are torn down.
The church universal is to be a community of witness, pointing beyond itself through word and work to the good news of God’s transforming grace in Christ Jesus our Lord [2].

This is what godly boldness looks like.

May our faith be in conversation with our heart to grow in confidence of God’s ability and in confidence of our shared call to be holy partners with God.

And may we be empowered by the apostles’ acts of boldness because this is where the rubber meets the road - you and I are the next generation of apostles to join God in building the kingdom. And God's grace requires something of you and me.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Sources Referenced:

[1] New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Volume IX Acts (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), p. 73.
[2] The Book of Order 2017-2019, Part II of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) (Louisville: Office of the General Assembly, 2017), p. 2, F-1.0301

Sermon: Empowered by Their Acts - Divinely Inspired

Empowered by Their Acts: Divinely Inspired
Acts 2: 1-4, 14-21
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
June 9, 2019
Pentecost Sunday

It was the moment they had been waiting for. Jesus had given the apostles their marching orders before he ascended to heaven: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there for the promise of the Father. This is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you all will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1: 4-5).

The apostles had constantly devoted themselves to prayer, and yet they did not know what to expect. Today we stand in the story of Acts and remember the way in which the apostles’ prayers were answered in the powerful event of Pentecost.

Listen to Luke tell the story of the Holy Spirit’s dramatic entrance in Acts 2: 1-4, 14-21.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

The apostles were not only surprised by the Holy Spirit’s presence. They were also divinely inspired to prophesy to God’s mission in the world, to be captivated by God’s vision of Christ’s ongoing ministry, and to receive the Spirit’s holy imagination to live out the gospel. The dramatic entrance of the Spirit reminds me that God gave the apostles a sense of urgency to do God’s work in the world!

This year our session elders are learning how critical it is to be divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit in their personal lives and in their spiritual leadership. Together we are studying under the Rev. Joan Gray, a respected pastor and preacher in the Presbyterian Church and the Moderator of the 217th General Assembly. Gray says this about the Holy Spirit inspiring our personal lives:

When the Spirit begins to work in a person, God starts moving to the center of [one’s] life. Before this point, for many people, even believers, God has been on the edges of life, with one’s self at the center. The little religion we have makes life a little better, like an accessory added to an outfit or a bit of spice stirred in a recipe. Spirituality makes us feel better, and so we try to fit it in when we have time, but God’s impact on the deepest concerns, values, and decisions of our lives is minimal.

As the Spirit begins to work in us, the relationship with God that used to be a nice accessory in our life becomes more and more central to who we are. What God wants moves to the top of our priority list. Prayer becomes a desire more than a duty. Gratitude for God’s goodness comes out of nowhere and surprises us. We hear God speak in Scripture in deeper and more personal ways. God’s call on our life becomes central. Spiritual passion is about a kind of deep relationship with God that influences every area of life. [1]

And Gray says this about the Holy Spirit inspiring the community of faith:

[Churches] know that when God becomes the chief guide and power source in their life and ministry, the unthinkable moves into the realm of the possible. The first believers in Jesus thought his story was finished when they put his body in a tomb and rolled a stone in front of the opening, but God had other possibilities in mind. Just as human will did not produce Jesus, neither did human powers have the last word in his life. He came to bring a new reign of God upon the earth that no human power could ever equal or destroy.

The church was created to be both a demonstration of this new creation and a staging ground for partnering with God in taking it out to the world. Only congregations living into a transforming relationship with the God for whom nothing is impossible can hope to fulfill their potential as the body of Christ. [2]

Friends, Gray is talking about Pentecost moments in our individual and communal lives.

Discerning our potential as the body of Christ is something I continue to pray and think about often. Every January a new verse of Scripture guides my hopes and visions for ministry with you. This year that verse is from Isaiah 43: 18-19 – Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? That’s a bold verse, isn’t it?

I caught a glimpse of God doing a new thing on Thursday evening. About 100 Van Wyck residents gathered at the community center for a candlelight vigil. The purposes of that vigil were to grieve the four young adults (ages 18-31) who died too soon from alcohol or drug related deaths (January – May this year), to acknowledge the tragic effects on their families and this community, and to advocate for the awareness of substance abuse.

Local clergy, including myself, were invited to share in the grass roots leadership. Our Sherriff was present and encouraged by the community’s desire for change. But what gave me goosebumps were the closing remarks from my friend and colleague – Rev. Dennis McCleave, pastor at White Oak AME Zion Church.

Rev. McCleave said, “As the larger body of Christ we have a responsibility to this community. We have a responsibility to come alongside our youth and young adults to encourage them to make better choices. We have a responsibility to really come together as sisters and brothers. This vigil is not an ending; it is a beginning.”

I left that vigil Thursday night feeling the Holy Spirit was powerfully present. I hear God’s voice saying, “I will make a way in the wilderness where the Van Wyck community feels at a loss. I will make rivers in the desert where the people’s thirst can only be satisfied by the living water of Jesus Christ.

I strongly believe that Holy Spirit is calling us to start dreaming how Van Wyck Presbyterian and White Oak AME Zion might create unity in the community. God has a dream for the kingdom of God to break in right here so that all of us may have an abundant life in Jesus Christ.

How will you and I open ourselves to be transformed to join God in reaching our potential as the body of Christ? I cannot see the whole of God’s vision alone. It will take intentionality, prayerful effort, and divinely inspired passion of many in our respective churches.

On this Pentecost Sunday we affirm that God has indeed poured out the Holy Spirit to empower us to be transformed by God’s faithfulness. At this Table, Holy Spirit clothes all apostles - past, present, and future - with power from on high (Luke 24:49). It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are united with our risen Lord and spiritually empowered by Jesus’ gifts; the bread of life and cup of salvation.

Gathered together just like that first century community of believers, the Holy Spirit is at work to embolden us to proclaim the good news. God’s Spirit is on the move here and now to stir our imaginations so that we might be captivated by the vision of God’s will.

We believe, according to The Brief Statement of Faith, that we tap into God’s dreams when we unite in faith “to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace” [3].

Making God’s dream come true starts right here at the Table. We see and taste the goodness of God and then we take God’s goodness out to the streets.

With any discipline, it takes passion and effort to reach our individual and collective potential. Therefore, I want your faith to be on fire for Jesus Christ! And as our faith is rekindled it must be fueled by the breath of prayer. Fire cannot thrive without oxygen and faith cannot be fueled without prayer.

My ultimate prayer is that we may live into a transforming relationship with God as the body of Christ. The Lord God has plans to give our community a future with hope.

Each step we take to follow God’s mission is taking a step towards realizing our potential as the body of Christ. May the Holy Spirit divinely inspire us to realize our God-given potential.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Sources Referenced:

[1] Joan Gray, “Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers” (Louisville: Geneva Press, 2009), p. 24.
[2] Gray, p. 21.
[3] Part I of the Constitution of the PC(USA): The Book of Confessions, (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press), A Brief Statement of Faith , 11.4.

Sermon: Empowered by Their Acts - Daring Greatly

Empowered by Their Acts: Daring Greatly
Acts 4: 1-22
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
June 2, 2019


The apostles Peter and John had just encountered their first local mission trip at Solomon’s Temple, as told in the third chapter of Acts. Through the ministry of personal connection, Peter took the hand of the man who was born lame and raised him up in God’s strength. And then this man walked into the temple with Peter and John (Acts 3:7-8). The man was not only healed by the power of Jesus Christ, but he was freed to be who God created him to be; a beloved child of God. This man’s whole identity changed by being restored to the community.

The apostles’ first mission opportunity was about practicing resurrection. Practicing resurrection not only meant seeing this man’s need but also honoring this man’s dignity. Peter and John empowered this man to stand on his own two feet. And at that moment, this man received the hope of Jesus Christ and he could do nothing less than praise God.

This is where we enter the story of Acts 4: 1-22:

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead. So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand.

The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is
“the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.”
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

So they ordered them to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another. They said, ‘What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’ So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.’ After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.

The religious authorities in Solomon’s Temple did not think the first Christian mission was a success. Rather, they threw Peter and John in jail. You see, Jesus and his ministry made the religious authorities nervous.

Even after they had sentenced Jesus to die on the cross, he had somehow been raised from the dead. And now the Christian movement was gaining momentum at five thousand followers. The religious authorities wanted to bring the movement to a stop.

The religious authorities and the crowd in Solomon’s Temple were shocked by the apostles’ boldness. Peter and John had stepped into the arena of faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit they were confident to lift up the power of Jesus Christ and the need for God’s blessed assurance of salvation to be remembered. With zeal and passion Peter and John said to all who had ears to listen, “We cannot keep form speaking about what we have seen and heard!” (Acts 4:20).

Can you imagine having such passion for making Jesus Christ known, regardless of the costs? Many of us find ourselves quite timid in sharing our faith. Where does confidence like that come from?

The year was 1910. President Theodore Roosevelt gave his famous speech, commonly referred to as “The Man in the Arena” delivered in Paris, France. His words eloquently reveal that the confidence and success of a people stem from discipline and character. Listen to the most quoted portion of his speech:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Roosevelt’s words not only speak to the collective spirit of the American people to act with confidence and courage, but his words aptly apply to the community of faith.

Within the arena of faith, we experience the victory of Jesus Christ as we follow Christ’s example striving to do his deeds; committing to know the great enthusiasms of the gospel and the rewards that come from our great devotion to it; and spending ourselves in the worthy cause of proclaiming the kingdom of God.

Spiritual confidence is built by the act of showing up again and again to step into the arena of faith daring greatly, even when we stumble and fail. And we will stumble and fail because we cannot live out our faith perfectly.

Most of us have been captivated by the bold faith of someone we know. The way she or he lives out their faith and dares greatly for God in authentic ways inspires us to do the same. And yet there are a number of ways we Christians do this.

I had the privilege of meeting Rev. Jack Haberer, years ago when serving my last church in Mississippi. Rev. Haberer is a fellow minister in the Presbyterian Church and former editor of The Presbyterian Outlook. Haberer worked with the last church I served in helping us understand the core convictions of faith (God Views)that drive us to dare greatly for God.

Haberer says there are five basic convictions that we live out in the arena of faith. The five convictions are: the Confessionalist, the Devotionalist, the Ecclesiast, the Altruist, and the Activist. The Holy Spirit drives us to identity with one or more of these five convictions.

The Confessionalist has a conviction to “enlist in God’s mission to proclaim and promote scriptural truth. Joining the great theologians, the Confessionalist happily affirms the core doctrines of the Church and when facing challenges to the truth, puts the declaration of truth above maintaining comfortable relationships within Christian community [1]. The apostles Peter and John stepped into the arena of faith with a Confessionalist conviction to proclaim the truth of Jesus’ resurrection power.

The Devotionalist has a deep hunger for a growing relationship with God and a passion to know Christ more fully. The Devotionalist adopts a vision of God and a commitment to God’s mission that calls people into a direct, vital, and dynamic relationship with God [2]. Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, was a Devotionalist (Luke 10: 42). For Mary, the arena of faith began in her home and then stretched into her everyday living.

The Ecclesiast is driven to gather believers together for “worship, for sharing sacraments, for study, for mutual care, and for equipping the community of faith to serve God.” The Ecclesiast leads the church into ministries of outreach by never allowing the overall vision to turn inward [3]. The apostle Paul was an Ecclesiast. As a church planter, Paul stepped into the arena of faith to encourage both devotion to God and reaching out to the community and world to bring about God’s redemptive unity.

The Altruist is committed to “be as Christ to others…by showing altruism towards the needy to express their gratitude to God. The Altruist drives many to Christian service, because Jesus called us to care for the least of these by feeding the hungry, refreshing the thirsty, sheltering the stranger, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, and visiting the imprisoned” [4]. The Altruist Mother Teresa is a household name who stepped into the arena of faith with a wholehearted conviction to seek the welfare of the least.

The Activist takes Micah’s prophetic voice seriously that God requires us mortals to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). The Activist has “sensed God’s call to follow Christ to become a social transformer” to join Christ in breaking down barriers to knowing God’s peace and unity. And yet, “the call to do social transformation has been blurred by an ongoing difficulty felt by those trying to sort between their faith and their politics” [5].

Jesus Christ embodied these five convictions. Jesus confessed God’s truth, devoted himself fully to love God and neighbor, worked for unity, and served the least of our neighbors. Jesus also stepped into the arena of faith as an activist.

Jesus lifted his voice with righteous anger in the temple and turned over the moneychangers’ tables for defiling his Father’s House (John 2:13). He demanded change that glorified God.

At the moment of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, “Jesus threatened the religious power and authority of the Jewish religious elite and he threatened the political power of the Romans” [6]. Not only did Jesus challenge the Jewish and Roman authorities but he turned them on their head though his actions on the cross.

Even as Jesus Christ embodied all five core convictions that Haberer names, there is no single right way for you and me to enter into the arena of faith. Haberer says that we need all five of these convictions to drive us forward into God’s vision of reconciling the world according to God’s will.

Our text from Acts today encourages you and me to pay attention to the way God’s Spirit is moving in our lives. Pay attention because being empowered to dare greatly is to claim the responsibility to carry on Jesus’ ministry and join God’s mission to transform the world. Each of us will claim this responsibility of faith in our own unique ways as the Spirit of God equips us to be agents of God’s faith, hope, and love in our communities and in the world.

What convictions will drive you into the arena of faith to dare greatly as an apostle of Jesus Christ? It is a worthy question for us to be in prayer about.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Sources Referenced:

[1] Jack Haberer, “God Views: The Convictions of Faith that Drive Us and Divide Us” (Louisville: Geneva Press, 2001), p. 48.
[2] Haberer, p. 59.
[3] Haberer, p. 66, 69.
[4] Haberer, p. 81.
[5] Haberer, p. 87.
[6] Haberer, p 86.