WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.540 isn't it, that scripture and you go, yes, yes, that's what it should look like. 00:00:08.339 --> 00:00:13.519 And what an amazing picture that we were given in that reading of the early church, 00:00:14.099 --> 00:00:20.780 of that something that was new, something that was exciting. And the Lord added to the number 00:00:20.780 --> 00:00:27.660 that day. That raised two questions for me, two questions here this morning. What was the personal 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:36.899 cost and what was the challenge? So what is the cost and what is the challenge of following Jesus? 00:00:37.380 --> 00:00:44.480 Firstly, the cost. Put this in context. The disciples had been in this three year of transition. They had 00:00:44.480 --> 00:00:51.560 left the things, everything that they had found security in. They'd left their fishing, they had 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:59.179 left their jobs, he'd left his job as a tax collector, and they had dropped that to follow Jesus. 00:01:00.180 --> 00:01:09.420 Everything that they had trusted and known in, they went to follow this person and have this amazing 00:01:09.420 --> 00:01:19.079 experience. They went both feet in and had the most extraordinary time with Jesus. Cost and challenge. 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:27.259 I mean, you know, who wouldn't, who wouldn't want that daily walk with Jesus? You know, you walk into 00:01:27.259 --> 00:01:32.219 somewhere and all of a sudden there's people being healed. You walk into people, they're crowding in 00:01:32.219 --> 00:01:37.359 and suddenly you find, you feed all these people. Who wouldn't want to be around that? Well, you wake up 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:44.819 in the morning and you think, so what next are we going to do today? But sadly, so many Christians, 00:01:44.819 --> 00:01:52.279 disciples today, I don't see with that same enthusiasm. Somehow it isn't, we've lost that 00:01:52.279 --> 00:02:00.000 closeness of walk with Jesus, that expectation of great things going to happen. They had given up 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:08.740 so much. This was about sacrifice and yet I see so many of my colleagues and friends that actually, 00:02:08.740 --> 00:02:17.159 when the rubber hits the road, it's bye-bye Jesus. Because suddenly it just got a little bit 00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:26.820 too tough for them. The thing I love about the disciples is that they had stickability. You know, 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:33.100 the majority of the disciples had suffered. Last week we heard about where they were all taken off 00:02:33.099 --> 00:02:38.919 to be flogged, you know, and this wasn't just a little sort of tap on the wrist. This was sort of 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:45.299 like, you know, a proper flogging. You know, bone on leather, right down your back, into your bottom. 00:02:45.819 --> 00:02:53.060 That was it. There was no messing. This was a proper flogging. And it said, and the next day they went out 00:02:53.060 --> 00:02:58.319 and they couldn't stop them preaching. You know, I don't know about you, there's been times in my life 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:03.000 where a little something's got under my nose in church and I've wanted to give it all up. It doesn't 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:08.219 give anything to the perspective of these people in the early church where the rubber hit the road 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:13.699 and they couldn't help but tell people about Jesus. It's because of that closeness that they were 00:03:13.699 --> 00:03:22.659 walking with. And timid, retiring, scared people that went out and just shared it. I don't know whether 00:03:22.659 --> 00:03:30.139 you were here last week. But, you know, Jim courageously got up here and shared with people 00:03:30.139 --> 00:03:35.419 how a year ago he'd been sat there just in the congregation thinking, do you know what, 00:03:35.560 --> 00:03:41.400 this transforming lives for good, you know, the last thing that is on my mind is to go in to a school 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:49.300 and spend an hour a week transforming not only that child's life but wider thing. I know 22 others of you, 00:03:49.300 --> 00:03:58.240 23 are there at the moment by that. Hugely courageous. This was life-changing stuff where you step out. 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:05.960 You know, and here they said that it was transformed. It was changed. People's lives were changed. 00:04:07.060 --> 00:04:12.100 I've known people who have said, well, what does that actually mean for me? Maybe this morning 00:04:12.100 --> 00:04:17.620 is that decision time where you're going to think about that transformation in our cultural thinking. 00:04:17.620 --> 00:04:28.060 It does miff me a bit when week after week people stand and say, do you think you could help with this? 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:39.180 Please. And in this early church, they didn't have to ask. People just shared. They couldn't wait to 00:04:39.180 --> 00:04:46.259 share. Hospitality was at the top of their list. And generosity of hospitality. They just sold houses. 00:04:46.259 --> 00:04:51.000 They gave away what they had. They didn't have to wait. And I know I want to encourage you 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:58.719 because the cultural shift in Christchurch is that is changing. Because I am hearing great stories 00:04:58.719 --> 00:05:04.939 about people who are having meals sent to them who have been, haven't even been part of the church. 00:05:05.180 --> 00:05:10.099 And they'll say, my goodness, I've just had meals brought to me. How does that happen? 00:05:10.100 --> 00:05:17.160 Do you know what? I've had somebody that's dropped an amount of money through my door. And I didn't even 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:24.760 ask for that. But it was exactly what I needed. What is it about these Christians? What is it about 00:05:24.760 --> 00:05:29.500 this church? What is it about this that they give up an hour a week? What is it that they give up this 00:05:29.500 --> 00:05:35.560 and give up that? Because it's about what the early church looked like. And we need to get back 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:44.339 to that place of expectation, excitement, and walking closely with Jesus. Most of the rest of 00:05:44.339 --> 00:05:52.699 what I was going to say today has gone out of the window because of Peter in our tech up at the top. 00:05:53.180 --> 00:05:59.959 Because when I arrived here this morning, Pete is playing a track. I've never heard of this track 00:05:59.959 --> 00:06:05.839 before. And it was just amazing. And I thought, do you know what? I'm listening to the words as I'm 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:10.120 doing stuff here. And I thought, do you know what? That sounds like the early church to me. 00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:15.359 That sounds, and we're going to listen to that at the end. But I want you to think what it means 00:06:15.359 --> 00:06:22.079 about sharing. Because in that early church, the challenge and the cost of his sharing 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:28.680 is that. And I think what it means to me is that the church is going to be doing. And sometimes 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:35.979 it's nice that it is, but I don't want to be seen shaking somebody's hand, handing over a check. 00:06:36.899 --> 00:06:42.879 I don't want to be seen, because I think Jesus said something about that, about seeing our good works, 00:06:43.180 --> 00:06:49.199 but he sees them and everybody else doesn't have to. Do we get that? Yeah, people are nodding. 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:54.740 You know, it's that personal thing. I think this clip says a lot for me. Enjoy. 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:06.019 Now I have to make a big song and dance over it. It's just seeing it. And Jesus helps us see it. 00:07:07.219 --> 00:07:12.919 There was in the early church, people just went for it because they wanted to see the kingdom. 00:07:14.019 --> 00:07:16.639 And isn't that our job, that we want to see more of the kingdom? 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:24.240 I was just thinking back along, the thing that gets in the way is suspicion. And we all get 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:32.120 suspicion. The suspicion is, I get a new phone and they give you a free tablet. They didn't give me 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:38.240 this free. But you get a free tablet. Now you and I know that through the charges and everything, 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:43.479 that we're actually paying for this. You know, that's the suspicion, isn't it? 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:49.560 The suspicion is, is that I know that there's something behind. I know the suspicion is in 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:56.000 church that we can or we won't give freely because maybe years ago I disagreed with the 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:02.580 colour of the chairs that people chose, so I'm not going to give anymore. Or I'm not going to give 00:08:02.580 --> 00:08:08.319 anymore because I want to give my money to fixing the clock, but I'd rather give my money to the clock 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:15.540 than I'd see people's lives saved in school. And so I don't give anymore. And there's all this 00:08:15.540 --> 00:08:20.420 suspicion that's around. I didn't see that in the early church. The early church didn't say, 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:28.120 they didn't say, it's not, they knew it's not my money. It's not my preference. It's not about me. 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:36.779 It's about him because it's all about him. And that's what it is. And the Lord added to their 00:08:36.779 --> 00:08:47.620 number 3,000 in one day because people saw it. They saw the generosity. You see, in this Actitude 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:54.940 Church, we are called to shape the culture. And we will shape the culture of this nation. I've been 00:08:54.940 --> 00:08:59.420 away at New Wine. What I was really encouraged with is that I've been saying for a long time, 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:07.140 and along with many of you here, I feel a sense of urgency. I feel a fresh sense of urgency of people, 00:09:07.140 --> 00:09:13.240 of God, people coming back to meet with Jesus. And we all think, though, we're suspicious about that. 00:09:13.420 --> 00:09:22.300 It isn't. But I think as Rob Parson said, you know, it's very true that when the house is full of 00:09:22.299 --> 00:09:28.000 God's love, the people will come home. And I think we're seeing that. We're seeing a shift in culture 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:36.699 and change. You see, you rarely see people saved unless they have encountered the radical, 00:09:36.959 --> 00:09:45.859 sacrificial, and empowering love of God which lives in us all. And somehow, I think we got it wrong. 00:09:45.860 --> 00:09:53.300 And what I'm going to do is invite you this morning because, like me, maybe you've been a Christian for 00:09:53.300 --> 00:10:05.039 years. And somehow, you did the stuff. We all got, we did the stuff. And we built on it, we grew it, 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:12.980 and we did it. Button by button. And then suddenly, we got to a point and realized, 00:10:13.699 --> 00:10:17.139 actually, it didn't fit, and it didn't look right. 00:10:19.339 --> 00:10:28.199 The early church had to start at the beginning. And for me, often, I built my faith on tradition. 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:37.900 I built my faith on the trappings of the church rather than Jesus. And the early church had that, 00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:43.740 didn't have a choice. This scripture was written by people that had known him and loved him. 00:10:44.900 --> 00:10:51.860 And so, sometimes, I think this message for this morning is some of us need to unbutton some of that 00:10:51.860 --> 00:11:00.120 stuff and to start again with Jesus. Because when you do, somehow, it fits and looks a lot better 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:06.680 to the people that we're seeking to reach. I just want to encourage you this morning, 00:11:06.800 --> 00:11:10.180 because everything else I was going to say, I've thrown out the window. 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:17.139 Because I think the message is that simple. And I just want to encourage anyone this morning 00:11:17.139 --> 00:11:24.559 that if you'd got mixed up like I did many years ago, and it was all about everything else rather 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:31.279 than Jesus, then you're not going to get very far, and it doesn't look very good. But there is 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:37.620 always an opportunity to say, I come back to you afresh and show me what that's like, 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:41.720 whether I've been a Christian for years or whether today is the first day. 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:46.539 Track this morning that the Lord just led. Holy Spirit, would you come? 00:11:47.139 --> 00:11:50.019 Would you come amongst us? Thank you, Lord Jesus.