This is part three of empowering the church, a key principle for
the church as a whole and individual Christians in
particular.
Key
Principle #1: EMPOWERED
Acts
1:1-8
The Power of Being Commanded By God
We are empowered by God not
only because when we wait on God, but also when we follow His commandments.
Look at Acts 1:2, “He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the
apostles. Again in verse four, “Jesus commanded them...”
If there is anything the
church and we Christians hate more than waiting, it is being told what to do. Most
of the conflicts within churches are from conflicts over power and who is going
to “run the church.” Excuse me, but Christ is the head of the church, not the
pastor, elder board, deacon board, or budget committee. And certainly not the
majority rule of a church conference. I happen to be a Baptist (a Southern one
at that) and oftentimes of late it has become a litmus test on church
allegiance to affirm the Baptist Faith and Message, whether it be the 1963
version or the 2000 version, as if every jot and every tittle was inerrant and was
fallen out from between Revelation and the maps as the 67th book of
the Bible. I cannot affirm either version as being infallible because both
contain the non-Biblical word, “democratic.” Now I’m an American through and
through and was in Baptist church nine months before I was born. As one person
said it, “You can call me Southern Baptist born and Southern Baptist bred, and
when I die, you can call me Southern Baptist dead.” But I defy anyone to tell
me where the word democracy is used in the Bible. A democratic vote kept the
children of Israel wandering in the desert for 40 years. And after that, a
majority wanted to go back to Egypt. A majority of the disciples thought Judas
was trustworthy enough to keep the money bag and when he left to betray the Christ,
all but Jesus thought to themselves, “Good ole Judas, he must be going off to
give some money to the poor.”
Who runs the church? Jesus.
But when the church doesn’t submit to His commandments, who runs off the
pastors? The church. Who runs off people who disagree with him? The pastors.
Who runs off the new believers? The crotchedy old ones. Who runs off the
faithful old saints? The young impudent ones. And who runs headlong into hell
because the church refuses to submit to the commandments of Christ? The lost.
When anyone in the church
is empowered more and Christ, the head, is empowered less, the church itself
becomes powerless. But when Christ and His commandments are affirmed and
submitted to, that’s when power comes to church and its members. There once was
a man who proudly proclaimed, “There ain’t anybody but Jesus going to tell me
what to do!” and I applaud him for saying that, but it struck me, how do I know
what Jesus is telling me what to do? Whatever it is, it sure better not
contradict the clear and apparent commandments contained in God’s Word.
When I was mentioned friendship
and the John 15 passage at the beginning of the chapter, I almost didn’t want
to include what John 15:14 says. But it is totally relevant on the issue of
power in our lives as individuals and as the church. Look back again at the
whole passage.
12 This is my commandment, That
ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if
ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for
the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for
all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
John 15:14 almost makes it
sound conditional on whether Jesus will be our Friend. But that wonderful
passage of John 15 is not on conditional friendship or conditional love, but rather
it’s on abiding and obeying the commandments of Christ as a result of His love.
He spoke about showing love to others and the joyful benefits of remaining in
the love of Christ. Why is the church often powerless? It is because we fail to
follow God’s commandments even though John clearly says that His commandments
are not burdensome (1 John 5:3).
Jesus is the one who takes
the initiative in calling us friends. He laid down His life for us and by His
grace alone are we saved in response to that salvation. We aren’t forced into
obeying His commandments like a slave or a servant, but out of love we respond
to His initiative.
When we fail to obey or when
we fail to wait, we in a sense disown our
friendship with Jesus Christ and we lose our power. What is also true is when
we fail to act in response to His grace and love, we also lose our access to
His power. The disciples weren’t impatient; from all appearances they waited in
faith, in prayer, and in anticipatory expectation of a great and mighty move of
God. They waited in obedience to His greatest commandment to love one another
by being of one accord.
They were not disappointed.
