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GOT A MOMENT? Not just any moment….not a long moment….but a moment you’ll let God turn into a “holy moment”…one you’ll never forget! If you do, join us as we see what that might look like! Welcome back to our series in FLOURISHING WELL from Acts 2. Trusting all you Dads and Grandfathers had a blessed “Fathers’ Day” this weekend. I’m grateful for my Dad, who had his work cut out for him! I’ll always appreciate the spiritual truths he shared with me and the priority he and our Mom made for my sister and I of being in church and supporting our decisions in going to Bible College years ago. So, make every moment count with your family, guys! Because in the immortal words of the Steve Miller Band in 1977, “time keeps on tickin’, tickin’, tickin’ into the future”. And it can sure get away from us quickly! Let’s dive back in to this monumental passage in Acts 2:42-47, where our phrase this week focuses on the commitment of the Early Church to “sharing in meals, including the Lord’s Supper”, according to the New Living Translation. I’d like to call this phrase “the Making of Holy Moments” and continue with daily passages that illustrate the principle of creating and recognizing “holy moments” that God sets the stage for us to experience that can draw us and those around us closer to Him! MONDAY…..”From Passover to the Last Supper” (Matthew 26:20-30)
Now in this passage, Jesus, in real time, transitions the Jewish Celebration of “Passover” to the meal that will now remind all believers of His sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world. Notice in verse 20…Matthew (think of the quirky guy in “The Chosen”) records that during the meal, Jesus brought up the reality of the “betrayal”. This brought on a huge amount of stress. And this is what you call a “holy moment”? Yes, I believe it is. Jesus’ reply to their stress is that the betrayer just dipped his bread in the same bowl as Jesus did. He also said how terrible it will be for this person. Judas speaks up and questions if it’s him and Jesus confirms his concern. Then Jesus goes on to invite the disciples to partake and remember that HIS blood is now the confirmation of the covenant between God and His people and is about to be poured out as a sacrifice. He then indicates this is His last “communion” until they drink together in His Father’s Kingdom. Then they sing a hymn and head out to the Mt. of Olives. The question is, how can this be a holy moment? It was the turbulence of the Old Covenant converging with the New. The blood on the doorpost reminder every Jewish person had since the night before the Exodus is now being replaced by blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who John the Baptist said, “takes away the sins of the world”! A lot for the disciples to take in but, what a memory each of them had of how it all went down that night. Now the Early Church kept this “Lord’s Supper” experience as holy. As weekly at least and as committed to as truth teaching, fellowship and prayer. May it always be a holy moment for us as well. And it can be, if we remember this night of spiritual intimacy with Jesus and His closest friends. What moment needs to be renewed as “holy” in your life today? TUESDAY…..”Realigning the Lord’s Supper” (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)
Now at the risk of over-familiarizing ourselves with the Lord’s Supper (no chance of that), please join me today in reading this longer passage by yourself without the printout. Notice Paul begins by chastising the Corinthian Church for having divisions and being apathetic about this holy moment of remembering the body and blood of Jesus. He corrects them for being in a hurry for eating and not sharing when they get together. He even points out in doing that, they are shaming the poor among them and disgracing the church.
Then he goes back to the account word for word and play by play, emphasizing to the people that in the Lord’s Supper, we ANNOUNCE the Lord’s death until He returns. And that we are to EXAMINE ourselves before partaking, not carelessly going thru the motions, because when we DISCOUNT this incredible act of love on the cross, we bring a lot of judgment upon ourselves. And in their particular case, they were to WAIT on the poor people and not eat all the food early so they are left out from the “Table of the Lord”. It appears it meant FAR more than we can imagine since our experience is 5 minutes at a weekend service, compared to their 5 hours most likely. And yet it seems they were to keep the experience holy by REMEMBERING Jesus, EXAMINING their hearts and WAITING on each other. I stand in judgment of myself by many times allowing worship, communion time, and even prayers to be “more personal and less corporate” than it appears the Lord intended it all to be. May we look for open doors to “togetherness” in family, local church and even Kingdom worship and fellowship, where “Making holy moments” might be more easily orchestrated by our heavenly Father! WEDNESDAY…..”Like Bethlehem Well Water” (2 Samuel 23:13-17)
Now this is one of my favorite “overlooked” Bible stories. I had never heard a sermon on it until I was well into my 30’s. let’s print this one out since it’s a short passage. “Once during the harvest, when David was at the cave of Adullum, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty—an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there. David was staying the night in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem. David remarked longing to his men, ‘Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.’ So the Three broke thru the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord, ‘The Lord forbid that I should drink this!’ he exclaimed. ‘This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.’ So David did not drink it. These are the examples of the exploits of the Three.” Now this is a holy moment. David turned it into one. Most of us would have drank up….maybe shared, maybe not. But not David. He turned the “moment” into a holy one by acknowledging their sacrifice and giving glory to God alone by pouring out the gift in honor of God. Even though this is in the Old Testament, I have a feeling the Early Church turned sacrificial/friendship moments into holy ones. May we be on the lookout for turning “generous gestures” into “God-honoring moments” when appropriate. THURSDAY…..”Encouraged and Corrected” (Acts 18:24-28)
Now this “holy moment” could’ve gone south pretty quickly if Apollos was arrogant and not teachable or correctable. He had an “enthusiastic spirit” and taught with accuracy. But he had limited information. Somehow he didn’t get the theological update since the preaching of John the Baptist’s teaching on a baptism of repentance. Both Aquila and Priscilla (husband and wife) heard Apollos teach. The verb in the Greek is plural and means “to explain”. With Priscilla being mentioned first, it is safe to believe that she would’ve been more active in explaining things. The couple had spent significant time with Paul, so they knew well how important “accurate teaching” was. And notice the final 2 verses of this passage. They set him up in his next place of teaching by endorsing him and Apollos’ teaching “refuted the Jews with powerful arguments” using the Scriptures explaining how Jesus was the Messiah. Just a thought…..he didn’t argue about anything, but he EXPLAINED how Jesus was the Messiah by the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and he counteracted the Jewish people who insisted He wasn’t the Messiah. He was well taught, equipped, gifted and corrected in the message of Jesus. He didn’t major in the minors. He “went to the mat” over the fact that Jesus is our only hope of forgiveness and salvation. A message we need to be corrected in if we have given in to our culture that might say “there are many roads to heaven”. There aren’t. He alone is “the way, truth and life and no man comes to the Father except thru Him.” FRIDAY…..”Tearful Goodbyes” (Acts 20:13-28)
Too long of a passage to print out for you today, but please read it if you will. What a holy moment” between Paul, the Apostle and the elders at the Ephesus Church. These spiritual leaders had no regrets. They left nothing unsaid. Deep love and commitment to the Lord had marked their lives and ministry callings. And they knew they’d never see each other again. So how do you say goodbye to some of the dearest spiritual people on earth? Honestly, openly, tearfully and affectionately. Paul affirmed them, defended himself, and warned them that others would come and try to deceive them. Then he ENTRUSTED them to God with the message of grace, reminding them they had been set apart for God’s use. Whoever you have the privilege of serving with in the Body of Christ right now, please remember that it is just that….a privilege. If we are to resemble the Early Church, we, too, are to deeply love those we are “side by side” with. Maybe take a moment today to recall someone in the past who “was a joy” to serve the Lord with. Maybe it was in a city or church previous to the one you’re in now. It might just serve as a reminder that they didn’t serve the Lord in vain during that time. Praying it has been (or will be for you reading ahead, you overachievers) a great week blessed by the Lord as only He can! Love you “finishing well friends”, george
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