Men Were His Method

 We are deep into the book of Acts in our home group.  The seasoned disciple Paul has been at work for some years when we find him in Acts 20.  We find him on the road.  But he is not alone.  Certainly Jesus is with him in a special way, opening and closing doors, sewing seeds and establishing churches.  But more are with him.  There is a group of men travelling the dusty roads of the Mediterranean coast line.  Men from various places and various times.  There are eight men in company with him - counting Luke (given the account is written in first person).  Let's meet them briefly.

Sopater was from Berea.  The place known for searching the scriptures to see if what Paul said was true.  Many came to know Jesus from this place.  He may be the same person as Sosipater in Romans 16.  Artistarchus is mentioned several times in Scripture and is known as a fellow prisoner and fellow laborer of Paul's.  Secundus is only mentioned here.  Both he and Aristarchus were from Thessalonica - a place that Paul wrote to twice.  Gaius was from Derbe.  Paul was in Derbe several years earlier (Acts 14:20, 21) where many disciples were made.  He is not to be confused with several other Gaius's mentioned in Scripture.  Timothy was probably from Lystra (Acts 16:1,2) and became a spiritual son to Paul.  He was the recipient of two pastoral letters from Paul that helped him implement God's program for the local church at Ephesus.  Tychicus was a beloved brother, faithful minister, and Paul's fellow servant in the Lord (Col 4:7).  Trophimus, at one point, became ill and Paul left him in Miletus sick (2 Tim 4:20).  

There must have been something about these men that Paul had noticed.  Maybe he saw openness of heart, general availability, or a quiet faithfulness as they served in their local churches.  So, he called them to be with him.  These men, I want these men, to be with me.  To travel with me.  To live with me that they might feel the life of God alive and moving in me.  They need to see the pattern of a disciple (Phil 3:17, 4:9).  To hear, smell, see and touch true discipleship.  They need to not only hear of fearlessness in a sermon, but to see fearlessness.  What does a true disciple do when he is tired and hungry?  What does a true disciple do when the world is against him?  They would learn these, . . . and so much more.  

Jesus began this pattern in Mark 3:14.  He called his disciples that they might be with Him.  Paul was only doing what Jesus did.  God's program is not accomplished by recipes or algorithms for success.  It is accomplished by the Spirit of God at work through the lives of people.  Men were His method.  

Let's Go Home

Jesus gave His final instructions to the disciples on the second floor of a home in Jerusalem.  He was to be wrongfully arrested in a matter of hours but had some very important things to tell his followers.  The One they loved was leaving and the disciples were grieved and confused.  But Jesus shared with them what the relationship with Him would look like after His death and resurrection.  And, it would be better!

In John 14:15, Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep my commandments."  At first glance this seems presumptive and demanding.  In a sin-filled world, this statement can trigger anger.  But Jesus says this for our blessing.  It is for us.  (As everything He said and did was.)  If they truly loved Him, they would obey Him and their obedience would produce three things.

First, if they love Him and so keep His commandments, Jesus will pray that the Father will give them a helper to be with them forever - the Spirit of truth.  He has been WITH them, but will be IN them.  The very Spirit of Jesus, that loving, pulsing ocean of grace and truth, giving them the very thoughts and power that belong to Jesus alone - this will be IN them (14:17).  Heartening indeed.

Second, if they love Him and so keep His commandments, they will be loved by the Father and the Son AND the Son will manifest Himself to them (14:21).  This is extremely insightful for us today.  We all want to know Jesus better.  We sing various songs telling God that we want to know Him more.  John 14 tells us how to do this.  He is telling us that if we obey Him in the things He has already shown us, then He will show us more of Himself.  Obedience becomes the avenue for "more Jesus" in our lives.  Conversely, not obeying His commandments, can leave us idle in the Christian life.  How do I grow in Jesus?  Obey Him.  

Third, if anyone loves Him and so keeps His commandments, something even more spectacular will happen.  The Father and the Son will come to him and make Their home with him (14:23).  This is the ultimate goal of life itself - the primal aim of all humanity - the call upon the deepest fundamentals of the human heart - to be at home with God.  This is more than God ruling or reigning in your life.  This is the final reality of you in God's home.  At the culmination of creation, Revelation 21:3 reads, "the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people."  The future reality is ours to taste . . . now.  Love prompted obedience truly brings us home.  

Rent Time

In our home group we are walking through Isaiah.  The book is usually divided in two.  Chapters 1-39 are focused on prophecies related to Judah's problems while chapters 40-66 are focused on God's answers.  The two sections of Isaiah correspond easily with the two main sections of the Bible itself.  The old testament has 39 books which present Man's problem while the 27 books of the new testament provide God's answer.  

Chapters 36 through 39 of Isaiah conclude the first section and contain two historical events pertinent to Isaiah's prophecies.  The first of the two events fulfills the prophecies that Isaiah has been declaring to Judah for 30 years.  Judgment was coming because of their departure from God and that judgment was coming in the form of an invading nation.  Chapter 36 recounts Assyria's invasion of Judah in 701 BC. 

Assyria was a terror, well known throughout history for its brutal military tactics.  It's king at that time was a man of rage (37:28) known as Sennacherib.  He once described his personal qualities when conquering the king of Sidon.  [I] attacked and "the king of Sidon whom the terror-inspiring glamor of my lordship had overwhelmed, fled far overseas and perished."  It is this King Sennacherib we find at the doorstep of Jerusalem in the southern kingdom of Judah in 701 BC . . .  with an army of hundreds of thousands.  

King Sennacherib sent a prominent commanding officer called the Rabshakeh to Jerusalem.  He came with a message for King Hezekiah demanding submission.  The message seems to be conveyed to us in full and contains all manner of bullying tactics.  For this is what the enemy does - he demands submission.  

You have no strategy to beat me.  You have no strength.  You are all talk.  (36:5)

You are relying on weak friends/alliances. (36:6)

Your religion is being torn down by its leaders - even they don't believe.  (36:7)

Your group is so small!  (36:8)

God told me to conquer you.  (36:10)

I will hurt you if you don't submit.  (36:12)

Your leaders are deceiving you.  (36:14)

Don't listen to those telling you to trust in God (36:15)

Surrender to me and it will go well for you.  (36:16)

I will provide you with everything you need.  (36:17)

Your God is no different from any other god.  (36:18)

God will not work on your behalf.  (36:20)

These are the tactics of the enemy when he invades.  Wisely Hezekiah had instructed those receiving the message not to answer.  There was only one response that made sense.  The King's advisers rent (tore) their clothes.  This action contains two main elements - an expression of complete bankruptcy to meet the situation and, at the same time, an appeal to God for help.  And so it is when the invader comes to the people of God.  We confess that we have no strength of ourselves to meet the enemy and we look to God in hope.  

Comfort, yes, comfort My people

What comes to mind when you think of the word "comfort"?  Was there a time in your life when someone drew alongside you and gave you comfort?  Was it a gesture, a comment, a look?  Comfort has many forms but for our purpose I am going to focus on words that comfort.  For example, someone may find themselves waiting to hear from the doctor about a biopsy result.  To hear the words, "it's benign," provides you with comfort.  Or maybe you are waiting to hear from the surgeon about the cancer that you were recently diagnosed with.  You may not sleep at night.  To hear, "we got all of it," provides a strong measure of comfort.  

The church at Ephesus was particularly concerned for Paul because he was in prison.  A Roman prison was harsh and deadly.  Naturally they wanted to hear some news of how he was doing.  They were afraid for him.  Their thoughts may have kept them up at night too.  Some may have been praying for him.  Some maybe not.  

So, he sent Tychicus.  Paul writes to them saying, 

    "But that you also may know of my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother, and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts."  (Ephesus 6:21,22)

Tychicus was sent four times in Scripture!  (Eph 6:22, Col 4:8, 2 Tim 4:12, Tit 3:12)  Twice we read that he was sent to comfort.  To provide words and to listen to words for the purpose of comfort.  And how much comfort he must have brought!  Paul was doing well and wanting to know how they were doing.  One man sent on missions of comfort throughout the mediterranean world.  What a guy.  What a role.  The traveling comforter.

The Greek word for comfort in this verse is "parakaleo" - one of the primary words used to describe the Holy Spirit.  It means "to call to one's side - to beseech, urge, exhort, comfort". Through Tychicus God has given us a palpable example of the work of the Holy Spirit.  Tychichus gave comfort, but even moreso the Holy Spirit gives comfort.  What words has He said to us?  An entire book!  For me, Romans 8:29,30 are just such comfort - Predestined, called, justified, glorified - all in aorist tense - completed actions done in the past.  So, by Divine Decree, God has already concluded the matter, I am already glorified.  It's a done deal.  That will help me sleep at night!  The real Comforter.

Loud And Smelly

 Both Elijah and John the Baptist not only had shared doubts, but they probably looked similar too!  Both were Wilderness Men - wearing who knows what and eating who knows what.  They were likely hairy men, bearded with a rough appearance.  They spent much of their days out in the wild.  They would be men that we would not naturally, on first appearance, go toward.  In fact, we would go toward them only if we needed to.  Doesn't that fit!  If I was walking down the street and saw a hairy man with leathery skin and a booming voice ahead of me, I would calculate how to get around him.  Not wearing the refined clothing of the day or of the cities, he displays an appearance of being outside the normal hum of life.  He does not fit in my circle.  

As we look upon John the Baptist, we do not feel the tug on our pant leg while our child says - "Daddy, please take me to the wild, dark, smelly, hairy, loud, harsh looking man!  I want to meet him."  It is not our first inclination to go toward a man like this.  It is not our first inclination to go toward John the Baptist.  It is not our first inclination to go toward repentance.  But it is to the unknown, to the scary looking man, to whom we must go.  We must go out to meet him.  

John finally declares who he is to the Jewish inquisitors.  He is -

    "the voice of one crying in the wilderness"  John 1:23

Prophets Have Weaknesses Too

 It is worth looking at these two prophets from long ago - Elijah and John the Baptist - to see how identical they appear to us in the Bible.  Both had moments in which they would falter in their faith.  After his triumph on Mount Carmel, Elijah ran from the threats of Jezebel.  He ran a long way.  He ran way back to the mountain at which God gave the Law, Mount Horeb.  Elijah sadly ran back to a fleshly way of thinking which of course took him back to the Law.  That is what the flesh does.  It runs to the Law to try to justify itself before God.  It wants to lean on its own righteousness.  It is only fitting that God would ask Elijah, "What are you doing here?"  It would be wise for us to hear God asking us the same thing when we are justifying ourselves, leaning on our own righteousness.  "What are you doing here?"  We are not under law anymore - we are under grace. 

In the very revealing seventh chapter of Luke, we see that John the Baptist also stumbled by doubting that Jesus was the Christ, the Coming One.  He wondered if there was someone beside Jesus who would be the actual Messiah.  So, he sent messengers to Jesus asking if He was the very Christ Himself.  He wasn't sure.  He had doubts about God.  

For both of these men, God answers their failing faith by showing them more of Himself.  Elijah finds God in the gentle stillness - just what his heart needed.  His heart needed to stop the storm of self-focus and self-pity.  So God quiets him.  John finds God as the fulfillment of Scripture - just what his heart needed.  He needed assurance, so God gives it.  It was more convincing for Jesus to show that he was the fulfillment of Scripture than to merely say, "I am the Messiah."  

Prophets Call People To Turn Back

Continuing in our look at John chapter 1 regarding repentance, we find the Jews asking if John the Baptist was Elijah.  No doubt the Jews were remembering Malachi 4:5,6 which says:

    "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.  And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."

Elijah is the best example of an Old Testament prophet.  To the average Israelite in those days, if one asked for the name of a prophet from the history of their nation, most would reply Elijah.  By looking at Elijah's crowning moment on Mount Carmel, we see the distinct role of a prophet in the mind of God.  The primary role of the prophet is to call people back into relationship with their God.  When it became Elijah's turn to offer the sacrifice on the altar he had made, he prayed a simple but powerful prayer:

    "Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.  Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again."  1 Kings 18:36-37

Notice His purpose in this prayer.  It is to show the people that their God is turning their hearts back to Him.  A turning back to God.  This is the pathway of repentance.  Repentance at its root means "to turn".  So, we find that the ministry of Elijah is exactly what we find John the Baptist doing.  He was triggering repentance.  Though Elijah and John the Baptist were not the exact same person, if you were to place them side by side, you would find that their ministry would be identical.  It was time for the people to turn again.  What time is it for us?