I. INTRODUCTION

Jesus is in trouble! The world of post-9/11 is a different world in many respects; not just for the secular realm but for the sacred realm as well. We are faced with the challenge of negotiating and navigating a course which is far more perilous than we had imagined. Looking back on our most recent past, we would all agree that in our culture we have just come through a time of unprecedented prosperity and unparalleled security. We, for all intents and purposes, had begun to see ourselves as the unquestioned chosen nation of God. An ideology that crept into our thinking perhaps four if not five decades ago, one that I call "notional Christianity," has taken deep root and begun to blossom and bear a bitter fruit. By "notional Christianity," I mean specifically that we have given ourselves to the thought that since we live in America and since we have such prosperity and security and since we are feared if not totally respected by other nations, we must be held in the highest esteem of our Creator. Therefore, we must be living the Christian life. We live, in other words, under the notion that we are Christian. That may or may not be true. It is because of this type of thinking that I can say with some certainty that Jesus is in trouble! For many times the Jesus we read of in the Bible and the Jesus we present in our daily living is, in fact, two completely different persons. Yes, Jesus is in trouble, but, in all fairness, it's not the first time. It is because of this that we, like Peter and Paul and all the other Scripture writers, must be careful to understand just who this biblical Jesus is.

Last week we began what was intended to be a single sermon. It has now evolved into a three part series on the Apostolic Gospel. It continues to be a source of amazement to me the way the Holy Spirit of God works. I find myself very much in the pattern of one Saul of Tarsus, lately known as Saint Paul. He was one who had great plans, and, to be fair, they were God-centered plans, they were Christ-honoring plans. He came, however, to understand that God had different plans. The specific example I'm speaking of is the time when Paul purposed in his heart to go to Bithynia to preach the gospel. Acts 16:7 says that instead, "the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to go." That same Spirit of Jesus wanted Paul to go to Macedonia. I am not a series preacher. I have rarely spent two or three Sundays covering the same ground. I'm remembering just now an experience I had when in seminary. My preaching professor, Dr. Fred Craddock, said that we do our people a great disservice when we rush through the stories and topics of the Bible. Using the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus as an example, Dr. Craddock said, "We tend to grab our people by the scruff of the neck and drag them up the mountain in order to see the wondrous thing God has done. What we should do," he continued, "is to invite our people to pack a lunch and enjoy a leisurely stroll up the mountain. In this way they, like we preachers, will better understand the vision and the story that goes with the vision." So, in essence over these three weeks, beginning last Sunday and concluding next Sunday, I am inviting you to pack a lunch and walk with me through the tenth chapter of Acts so we, all of us might better understand and appreciate Peter's sermon on Jesus, or what I am calling the Apostolic Gospel.

At this point let me say something that is becoming more evident to me in these days. It is important for us to focus on the life of Jesus. We do indeed spend a great deal of time focusing on the death of Jesus. Indeed, the final point of this sermon today will be a treatment of the death of Jesus. However, in our rush and concern to make doctrinal points we often expound far too much on the death of Jesus and all but ignore the life of Jesus, the way he lived day-to-day. I have come in these days to understand in a new way that Jesus gave us, in his daily living, the divine paradigm for conjugating all the verbs of our living. Chew on that for a few moments. Last week, you may remember, we spoke about the age old message that is as relevant as this morning's newspaper. Specifically the message that we are all sinful by nature; we all need a Savior, and that in and through this Savior, Jesus, we get a glimpse of the glory of heaven. We talked about only one thing last week, namely, that Jesus is preached in Peter's sermon to Cornelius as the Anointed One. God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power. Jesus knew his mission and embraced his ministry with the firm, clear vision of God's plan for his life. This, I trust and pray, helped to guide all of us to a point where we could also confirm our ministry and mission in God's kingdom. Today we return to that sermon and see three additional things: Peter preached Jesus as the Compassionate One; the Mighty One; and the Suffering One.

II. PETER PREACHED JESUS...

When Peter preached his sermon to Cornelius he preached Jesus as the Compassionate

One. Acts 10:38b says, "He went about doing good." In the gospels we also find that Jesus proclaimed his mission to encompass the bringing of the good news to the poor. We read that whenever he saw the great multitudes Jesus was "moved with compassion," for he saw them as "sheep without a shepherd." Jesus was God's man of Compassion.

There are two Greek words I'd like to expose you to this morning. One is Agathos, which means, "being good," or "keeping the rules." Most of us don't have any trouble with that. I mean we know the rules and we strive to keep them, to live within them. More than that, we point out when others don't keep the rules and aren't being good. A prime example of this is what we are inundated with these days as the Enron and Worldcom stories unfold. Here are examples of people who are not involved in Agathos, in being good.

The other word is Kalos, which means, "Doing good." Now here's a different slant on the whole matter. Doing good means not only to know the rules and to keep the rules. It means to live n such a way as to apply the rules. What the world needs today is not just a bunch of people who can Agathos those around them. What the world needs is people who believe in and follow Jesus who can, as he did, Kalos those around them. That's what Jesus did. He, the Bible says, was moved with compassion. He went about doing good.

I'm beginning to see that the way Jesus went about his ministry was the very embodiment of one of the stories he told. Remember how Jesus told the parable of putting new wine into old wine skins? If one were to do that, then the old, stretched out skins would soon burst with the fermentation of the wine. Therefore, new wine calls for new wine skins. Likewise, the sharing of the Good News in our day calls for a new approach. Jesus used an idea he had inherited from the ancient message of the Old Testament known as Jubilee. He, in fact, used that idea to invert the practices of the day in which he lived. Jesus used on one occasion the words, "if you would be first you must be last." On another occasion he said, "if you would gain your life you must first lose it." Perhaps the most clear example of new wine and new wine skins and Jubilee occurred when Jesus took the towel and the basin and washed the feet of his disciples. In so doing, Jesus pointed these followers toward a new way of seeing life. In other words Jesus was showing them how to look at the world with eyes toward the needs of others.

There are many opportunities that present themselves for us to do good; to Kalos the world around us. Several years ago I had a professor who said something that I shall never forget. He said that we in the church are good at doing the deeds of goodness, but we are not so good at naming the name that enables us and empowers us to do those deeds. He said we need to name the Name as well as do the deeds. Unfortunately, we too often ask ourselves that age old question, "What's in it for me." If we don't get ahead and if our portfolio is not enriched, we would just as soon not participate. That's not the way of Jesus. Jesus, the Bible says, "went about doing good." He went about bring Kalos to the world.

A friend of mine serves a church in the Southern part of our Annual Conference. He noticed that his church attendance was growing to a point that parking was a critical problem. He also noticed that the Winn Dixie store across the road from his church didn't use most of its parking on Sunday. He called the manager of the store and asked if his church members could use the Winn Dixie parking lot on Sundays. The manager said he would be glad to let them use it every Sunday during the year except one. When the minister asked which one, the manager said he didn't know yet but would decide later. This got the curiosity of the preacher aroused so he asked, "Why can't we use it every Sunday?" To this the manager replied, "That's so you will remember whose parking lot it is."

That little story is good to use as a reminder of whose we are and who gave us the gifts and graces we have for ministry. God doesn't mind if we use our talents to enrich our lives. In fact, I'm convinced that is part of God's plan. We need to remember, however, the primary reason for our ability to not only know good but to do good. Jesus went about doing good for he looked at the people around him with compassion. He saw their needs and reached out to them in the name of his Father. He did the deed and named the Name. When Peter preached Jesus to Cornelius, he preached Jesus as the Compassionate One. We can be compassionate, too.

Then, as Peter continued to preach Jesus, he preached him as the Mighty One. Verse 38 also says, "Jesus went about healing all who were oppressed by the devil." Now, before we go to the heart of Jesus' power to heal, we must first look at the root of that which oppresses us; namely, the Devil. When Jesus prayed what we call The Lord's Prayer, the original wording contained the words, "Deliver us from the Evil One." We ask to be "delivered from evil." I am coming to understand more fully the overall intent of that prayer, that we be delivered from the Evil One. I've discovered that in his teachings Jesus spoke more about evil, hell and the Devil than he did about heaven. He wanted so passionately to keep us from these.

I don't know about you but I have met the Devil face to face. I believe he is real. Jesus did, too! It was in a cemetery in Weoka, Alabama that I met the Devil. The Sunday School class that Janice and I were part of had come to that place to select our burial sites. It was, believe it or not, an interesting time. When we were finished choosing our plots, Michael and I walked up the hill to speak to another family that was visiting the grave of a relative. I had no way of knowing what was about to happen. One of those men suddenly began to verbally attack me. The reasons are far too complicated to go into here and now. Suffice it to say that he had perceived me to have wronged him in some way that was simply not true. As he cursed me I could see his anger rising and I knew there was the definite threat of the encounter escalating into a physical altercation. As a matter of fact, he approached me with fists clenched. In an instant I could tell that he was about to hit me, but something happened to prevent him from doing so. Now, believe me, I cannot explain except in a metaphysical way what happened next. As his anger rose and his fists were about to make contact, it was as if an invisible force stopped him. He had a look of bewilderment come over his face. He made another approach and the same thing happened. After the second failed attempt he walked away. Michael and I also walked away and down the dirt road that bordered the cemetery. When Michael asked me what happened I quoted for him the very verse that I quote for you now, "Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world." I am convinced that what saved me that day was a deliverance from the oppression of the devil. It was Jesus and the forces that he commands that delivered me that day.

We hear a great deal these days about those people called, "Charismatics." These are more often than not, people who are members of the more Pentecostal and demonstrative faith communities. Their name comes from the word "Charisma" and denotes folks with special gifts. Jesus was a Charismatic. Actually, Jesus had what is known as "Charism," which simply is a divinely inspired spiritual gift that God bestows upon individuals for the good of the community of faith and the advancement of the kingdom of God upon the earth. Among Jesus Charismatic gifts was the gift of healing. I don't understand this gift, I simply believe it to be real. I've discovered that I don't have to understand healing to be healed any more than I have to understand salvation in order to be saved. Jesus, however, both understood the gift and possessed the gift. He went about healing all sorts of illnesses.

Jesus healed those who were born blind. One day he bent down and made a paste of saliva and dirt and placed it on a man's eyes, told him to go and wash and he would gain his sight. Another day a woman touched the hem of his garment and by that very touch, she was healed. On another occasion Jesus heard the cries of a funeral procession and touched and healed the dead son of a widow. Jesus had the gift of healing and Peter proclaimed him as the Mighty One. I frankly do not understand healing that takes place outside the care of trained physicians. At its root much of that which ails us is a physical, mental and/or emotional manifestation of the oppression of the Evil One in our midst. It binds Christians and non-Christians alike. Jesus recognized that. He did something about it because, as Peter was swift to proclaim, Jesus was mighty enough to do so.

To oppress means to burden by force or authority; to weigh down. Do you remember the story of the

Gadarene demoniac? Here was a man who was so oppressed and possessed that when Jesus asked him his name he said, "My name is Legion, for we are many." He had so many demons and so much oppression in him that he lived in the graveyard and ran around naked. He would tear away his clothing that others would provide for him. Then he met Jesus and the Lord recognized what you and I know: The graveyard is no place to live. Jesus met this man right where he was and called those demons out of him. The scene radically changes after this for we see the man, "clothed and in his right mind."

Let me say something to you that I hope you remember. Whatever it is that is oppressing you today; I don't know what it is, but Jesus does; whatever it is, Jesus is mighty enough to cast it out. Jesus is the Mighty One who is able and willing to do away with any and all of that which weighs you down. Remember, "Greater is he that is in us, than he that is in the world."

I need to make one more point this morning. It may seem a strange place to stop for the day, but here it is. When Peter preached Jesus to Cornelius, he preached him as the Suffering One. Verse 39 says, "They put him to death." How can this be? How can such forces of evil come against One who was so good? How can one who is anointed, compassionate and mighty be made to suffer in such a terrible manner? I'm not able to fathom the deepest depths of this but I do know this: God is working out the eternal destiny of you and me and not the temporal understanding.

I'm beginning to see the importance of you and me changing the way we read the Bible. I'm beginning to see that we need to begin reading the Bible with Jewish eyes. We need to read it as if we were Hebrew. Do you know what that means? Quite simply it means that we would read it from the back to the front. Rather than reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we would begin to read it from Revelation to Genesis. If we do that, it all makes more clear sense. The Bible, after all, is a book about Jesus. Revelation says that Jesus is "the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world." In other words, even before God stepped out into the vast expanse of nothingness and spoke that very first word, "Let there be light," He had a plan that Jesus would suffer and die for our sins. Before the apple was plucked from the tree in the garden of Eden, the shadow of the cross was looming over the horizon. The Book of Revelation is the book of the apocalypse. That comes from the union of two words, "apo" and "calupsis," which means to "reveal that which was hidden." In other words, the Book of Revelation is a book that unveils that which was hidden about Christ. We see only glimpses of his glory in the gospels. We have to search for clues along the way in the Old Testament. They are there. Jesus is present in every book of the Bible, but he is most clearly revealed in Revelation. Revelation says that Jesus is, "the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world." The suffering of Jesus is spoken of in Isaiah. It is fulfilled in the gospels. It is restated in Acts where Peter tells Cornelius, "They put him to death by hanging him on a tree." It was the most horrible, despicable, and tortuous means of execution known to man in that day. Yet, it was the method of choice of the Roman Government. It was foretold by the prophets. It was foretold by God, himself.

What are we to do with this suffering of Jesus; this "Suffering Servant?" I say was are to worship him. I say we are to invite him into our lives in new and vibrant ways every day. Here's what Jesus said of our response. Jesus said, "If you would follow me, you must take up your cross, daily, and follow me." He said, "Come unto me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Jesus promised that there would be yokes and burdens, but he also promised that they would be easy and light. Read again what Saint Paul recalls in the fourth chapter of Second Corinthians. Read there his list of hardships that he calls, "light and momentary troubles." You will be amazed! Unless and until we see Jesus fully as One whose way is not all miracles and meals; unless and until we have seen Jesus as the Suffering One, we will not have fully viewed the One who died for our sins. That's the point Peter was trying to make with Cornelius.

III. CONCLUSION

Yes, Jesus is in trouble. It is not, however, the first time. Jesus has been in trouble before.

The Bible says that, "Jesus went about doing good." That got him into trouble. The Bible says that he, "went about healing all who were oppressed by the Devil." That got him into trouble. The Bible says that, "they put him to death by hanging him on a tree." That was his ultimate trouble. Paradoxically, that was also his greatest glory. Could it be that we sing of that Old Rugged Cross for this reason? Could it be that this is why we sing, "In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o'er the wrecks of time..."?

The Church, the Body of Christ is charged with one thing: To preach Jesus and him crucified. We are called and commanded to "go and make disciples." We are not called and commanded to "go and make converts." Preaching Jesus will get us into trouble, too. It's a risk worth taking.

Next week we will conclude our series by looking at how Peter preached Jesus, the Risen One; the Exalted One, and the Universal Saving One.
 

AMEN! GLORIA SOLA DEI!