Catching Fire: A Book of the Spirit (Acts 28) Chris Altrock – October 21, 2012 – Sunday Morning Message

For a period of four years, 1,500 churches participated in a study designed to measure the spiritual growth of the members of those churches.  The study was called REVEAL.  It tried to identify what practice or habit led to the most spiritual growth in a congregation.  What was most responsible for leading people from just exploring Christ to being completely surrendered to Christ in every area of life?  Using the language of our current Sunday morning series, we might put it this way: What leads a church/ Christian to “catch fire”?  What makes the difference between a church/ Christian that is as cold as ice and one that is on fire and full of the Holy Spirit?  What transforms a person who just plays at religion to one who bubbles over with generosity, spirituality, integrity?  The answer from REVEAL was simple and surprising.  The one practice most associated with deep spiritual growth was this: reflecting regularly on Scripture.  The researchers put it this way: “If churches could do only one thing to help people at all levels of spiritual maturity grow in their relationship with Christ, their choice is clear.  They would inspire, encourage, and equip their people to read the Bible—specifically to reflect on Scripture for meaning in their lives.”[1]  They found that even if a person was involved in a small group, attending worship services and volunteering in a ministry, if that person wasn’t regularly reflecting on Scripture, that person wasn’t growing.  Simply put, Christians catch fire through regular reflection on Scripture. 

 

A separate study followed 2,500 Christians for a year to find out what practices led to the greatest spiritual growth.  The number one catalyst that sparked growth was this: daily reading of and reflection on Scripture.[2]  More than participating in a small group, more than serving in a ministry, reading and reflecting on Scripture sparked radical spiritual growth.

 

Could it be that simple?  I think many of us here this morning are not satisfied with a superficial kind of Christianity.  We’re not happy with a Sunday-only religion.  We want something worth dying for.  We want to be people who live and love just like Jesus did.  Is it possible that simply reading and reflecting on Scripture can get us there?

 

When we come to the Book of Acts, the focus of our current Sunday morning series, we see a nuanced answer to this question.  It does turn out that one of the key ingredients to this Acts church that was so on-fire and so Spirit-filled was their relationship with Scripture.  The way they used Scripture had a profound impact on their lives.  And yet, these Christians and this Acts church used Scripture in a very specific way.  It’s a way of using Scripture that may not be quite what we are used to.

 

Let’s watch some of the occasions in Acts in which these Christians interact with Scripture.  The first time occurs in chapter 1: ¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, ¹⁶ “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” ¹⁸ (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. ¹⁹ And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) ²⁰ “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’ (Acts 1:15-20 ESV)

 

At the core of this scene are a group of Christian leaders struggling with a leadership issue.  One of their own, Judas, has disqualified himself from leadership.  What should they do?  To find guidance, they go to Scripture.  Peter finds guidance in two Scriptures: Psalm 69 and Psalm 109.  And Peter believes that these Scriptures are not just past history.  They are present help.  Peter believes these two ancient Scriptures speak into their contemporary situation.  And notice who Peter credits for the way these Scriptures provide insight into their current dilemma—the Holy Spirit.  Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke… Peter believes the Spirit spoke that Scripture into existence—the same Spirit about to be poured out on all Jesus’ followers in Acts 2.  And because those ancient words were inspired by a living Spirit, they were not just past history.  They were present help.

 

In Acts 4 the Christians are under attack.  Jewish leaders are clamping down on Christians in Jerusalem.  And in the heat of the conflict, Christians are looking for guidance.  So, they go to Scripture: ²³ When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, ²⁵ who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?  ²⁶ The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—²⁷ for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸ to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.  ²⁹ And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, ³⁰ while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:23-31 ESV)

 

These Christians turn in their Bibles to Psalm 2.  And in this Psalm they find help for the present.  This ancient Scripture reminds them that people have always tried to take charge.  People have always tried to stand against God’s plans.  But this Psalm also reminds them that God is truly in charge.  And notice what they say about this Scripture.  In vs. 25 they state that this Scripture came through the agency of the Holy Spirit– who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?  The Christians believed that Scripture was spoken by the Spirit—the same Spirit now dwelling within them; the same Spirit who filled them to speak with boldness.  And this Spirit could use Scripture not just as past history, but as present help—a word to guide them in the here-and-now.

 

We’ll look at one more.  Acts ends with Paul in Rome.  Paul calls the Jewish leaders of the city together.  These are the wisest, most Scripture-saturated people in the city.  No one knows the Bible like these Jewish leaders whom Paul calls together.  But despite Paul’s best efforts, some of them refuse to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.  Despite their knowledge of the Bible, they don’t hear the testimony of the Bible regarding Jesus.

 

And as Paul searches for some explanation, for some insight into this predicament, he finds it in Scripture: ²³ When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.²⁴ And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. ²⁵ And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: ²⁶ “‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”  ²⁷ For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’  ²⁸ Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” (Acts 28:23-28 ESV)

 

Paul’s put it all on the line to come to Rome and tell these leaders about Jesus.  But they won’t believe.  And Paul is able to make sense of this by turning to Scripture.  He finds insight in Isaiah 6.  Though written hundreds of years before Paul and though addressed to a different group of people, Paul found that there was a word in that ancient text which spoke to his situation.  And notice what Paul says about the origin of that fresh and living word–“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: ²⁶ “‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”  The Holy Spirit authored that word and now used that word to help Paul through a very tenuous time.

 

For these on-fire Christians, the Bible was a contemporary word which provided insight and assistance for whatever they were facing at the moment.  And what made that possible was the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit spoke Scripture into existence.  And because the Spirit dwelled within the Christians reading that Scripture, that same Spirit could use those words to provide insight and guidance for them in the present.  One of the functions of the Spirit is to speak to us through Scripture.  As we’ll see two weeks from now, there are many other ways the Spirit speaks to us.  But he definitely speaks to us through Scripture.

 

The words of Scripture can become the voice of the Spirit.  The Bible is not just some antiquated word.  It’s a word as fresh as this morning’s sunrise.  It’s a word as contemporary as this morning’s news report.  The Spirit uses these ancient words to provide guidance in the here-and-now.  If I want to ask God what he’s up to in my life, I can ask him to speak to me through his Spirit in Scripture.  If I want to know what God wishes me to do in a certain situation, I can ask him to speak to me through his Spirit as I read Scripture.  This is not the only way the Spirit speaks.  Some Christians have long made a mistake of thinking the Spirit speaks only through Scripture.  The Spirit leads us in many ways, as we’ll see two weeks from today.  But one of those ways is Scripture.  The words of Scripture can become the voice of the Spirit.

 

R. A. Torrey writes this: A true Christian life is not one governed by a long set of rules without us, but led by a living and ever-present person within us.[3]  God guides us not with a set of dusty rules that exist on some pages outside of us.  He guides us through a living and ever-present person within us—the Holy Spirit.  But part of that guidance comes through Scripture, made alive by the Spirit.  The words of Scripture can become the voice of the Spirit.

 

In her book Lead Me, Holy Spirit Stormie Omartian writes, “The more you put God’s Word into your mind, the more you will hear God’s voice speaking to your heart.”[4]  The more full your mind is of God’s word, the more full your heart will be of God’s voice.  God will speak to you through his Spirit as you engage God’s word.

 

Yet, as this last example in Acts 28 illustrates, there is a vast difference between knowing Scripture and listening to the Spirit through Scripture.   It’s possible to be an expert in Scripture and hear nothing from the Spirit through Scripture.  The Jewish leaders whom Paul ran up against knew the Bible inside and out.  Yet they could not hear how those same Scriptures were pointing to Jesus.  They were thus described in these words: ²⁷ For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed…’ It’s one thing to read the Bible.  It’s something else to hear the Spirit speaking through Bible.

 

Churches of Christ have often prided themselves in being a people of the Book.  We have a strong heritage in Churches of Christ of knowing the Bible.  And that’s a good thing.  That’s an important heritage.  In fact it’s a part of our heritage we need to reclaim.  For two reasons.  First, because too many of us no longer know the book.  The REVEAL study found only 1 in 5 regularly reflect on Scripture.  It’s hard to be a people of the book of we do not know the book.  Second, because we in Churches of Christ often get all worked up over things that are not in the book.  Let’s be a people of the Book, and only the Book.

 

But it is one thing to be a people of the Book.  It is another to be a people of the Spirit who speaks through that Book.  The Book does not exist as an end in itself.  The Book exists to mediate the voice of the Spirit.  It’s not enough to know the Book.  We’re called to know the Spirit’s guidance through that Book.  Just because we memorize Scripture’s verses doesn’t mean we are hearing the Spirit’s voice.  The challenge especially from Acts 28 is not to simply be a people of the Book.  The challenge is to be a people of the Spirit—who hear the Spirit’s voice through that Book.

 

Eugene Peterson writes in Eat This Book, “It is entirely possible to come to the Bible in total sincerity, responding to the intellectual challenge it gives, or for the moral guidance it offers, or for the spiritual uplift it provides, and not in any way have to deal with a personally revealing God who has personal designs on you.”[5] It’s possible to read the Bible for intellectual information, moral guidance, and even spiritual uplift and still not deal with a living God who has a personal design for your life and is trying to communicate that design to you through Scripture.

 

If we want Scripture to set us aflame, we need a different approach.  What’s needed is a way to engage Scripture with ears open, eyes focused, and heart pliable.  What’s needed is a way for us to sit before an open Bible and simply say, “Holy Spirit, speak to me through this Word.”

 

One of the easiest ways to do this is to simply ask questions as we read.  In her book When the Soul Listens Jan Johnson urges us to ask three questions as we read Scripture:[6]

What are You telling me about my relationship with You?

What are You telling me about how my character needs to change?

What are You telling me about how You want me involved in advancing Your kingdom?

If every day you took a small passage and asked those questions of it, and listened for the answers, your life would be different.  You would begin to hear the Spirit’s guidance.  Scripture would come alive to you.  And your life would never be the same.

 

A contemporary Christian group named “Mercy Me” puts this into song: Word of God speak; Would You pour down like rain; Washing my eyes to see; Your majesty; To be still and know; That You’re in this place; Please let me stay and rest; In Your holiness; Word of God speak.  Imagine if that was your prayer every day.  Imagine if every day you sat with an open Bible on your lap and this prayer on your lips–Word of God, speak to me.  There would be no power in hell or on earth that could stand against what God could do through such a person or such a church.  One thing is for sure: we’d all catch fire.