students of jesus

Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is get a good night’s sleep. No, really. Sleep is part of God’s plan for us--he invented it.

There are plenty of reasons to lose sleep. Not many of them are very good. Single moms would love to get more sleep. Others work two jobs or strange hours that conspire to break up their sleep. But most of us rob ourselves of God’s good intention for us--to sleep before Him, to rest in his presence.

We think we have mastered the clock, the sun, and our bodies. In the not too distant past, all the world moved to the rhythm of earth--the earth set in motion by God, who designed the days and nights to march in step, the tides to rise and fall, and his creation to find rest as a natural part of their being. Urban life has stolen sleep. Electricity has become a thief. And media, those Frankensteinian works of man, have turned us into the living dead.

Have you ever noticed the role of dreams in the Biblical narrative? The Holy Spirit inhabits our rest as much as our praise. We should do our part and trust him to do his: “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.” (Psalm 127:2) In my opinion we should embrace the spiritual discipline of sleep.

Could you summarize Jesus’ ministry in one sentence? Be careful--your answer will say more about you than it will about him. The Apostle Peter (my friend Pete) gave a one-sentence summary in Acts 10:38:

"You know . . . how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him."

It’s a fascinating account. Peter has a remarkable encounter with God, filled with revelation and mystery, and before he has time to sort it out he is called upon to share the gospel of the Kingdom to a roomful of people who are completely foreign to him. This passage is pivotal to the growth of the church; it’s the moment when Peter’s experience overwhelmed his theological understanding of the gospel; it’s when the Holy Spirit sovereignly decided to demolish the walls and renovate the church.

Peter's response is instructive because it not only gives the essentials of Jesus’ ministry, it provides the essence for us as followers of Jesus. Peter was after more than a mere presentation of gospel message, he was out to make disciples. First impressions, as the saying goes, are lasting ones, and I suspect Peter wanted his hearers' first idea of Christianity to include the notion that they were called to be just like Jesus. The tree will grow from the seed, and Peter sowed the seeds of the divine nature becoming flesh--not only in Jesus, but also in us.

What kind of tree will grow from the seed we plant? Perhaps we should measure our summary against Peter's inspired example. He are five points of comparison:

• Peter’s gospel message includes Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working together.  (“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit”) The tree will grow from the seed. Do we present the full picture of God at work in the earth, or limit the image of God to only One Person? Peter’s example is instructive. A “full gospel” requires the presentation of the full Godhead.
• Peter’s gospel message doesn’t point to heaven as a future event. He paints a picture of heaven and earth linked together through the work of the Holy Spirit, who spans the divide and pours the stuff heaven into the words and works of Jesus. In one simple sentence, we get to see how “Let-your-Kingdom come-let-your-will-be-done-on-earth-as-it-is-in-heaven” works.
• Peter’s gospel message does not limit Jesus’ mission to redemption only. We see Jesus going from place to place, “doing good and healing.” We see God in action, expressing his goodness and power. How many gospel presentations affirm his essential goodness as well as his power to express that goodness. True, redemption is part of the story, but Jesus embodied a much bigger “good news” than we dare to imagine.
• Peter’s gospel message reminds us that we are called to conflict. Those who are in need of healing are “under the power of the devil.” Even the most “Missional Churches” of the western world fail to highlight the nature of spiritual conflict. His intent was not to win an argument, his intent was to win freedom for the captives.
• Peter’s gospel message presents the presence of God as a necessity for ministry. This final point is worth of a separate post (or a book). Jesus--Immanuel--operated in the presence of God. That presence was essential, not optional. If Jesus needed it, how much more do we?

Verses 39-43 indicate that Peter had more to say, but the Holy Spirit had heard enough. He was ready to harvest. He was ready to start a wildfire. Even those who were strangers to the Jewish covenant flooded into the Kingdom of God. The church would grow from pagan soil. The barbarians in Europe were about to see the light. If we were only dealing with church history this verse would be interesting enough. Strangely, God’s not into church history, and certainly he didn’t inspire the book of Acts merely to interest us.

How we summarize the gospel is the seed of our expectation. The tree grows from the seed. Peter called the seed “imperishable” because he wanted us to become partakers of the divine nature. Do we partake? Isn't it time to revisit the gospel Peter preached?

My friend Pete had a dream the other night, or maybe it was a vision. Or a trance. I dunno. It was strange. It was filled with repetitive images of food and bed-linens. Apparently he fell asleep without having enough to eat and the result was a Freudian mix of images that didn’t make much sense. He woke up confused and began to wonder about the meaning of what he had seen. Then he had the strangest feeling--really strong and clear--that he was going to have to leave on a mission trip immediately.

My friend Pete has had a history of impulsive and emotional behaviors but this one topped them all. Three strangers came to the door and asked for him. The strangers said that another guy (who Pete had never heard of) was told by an angel that Pete was the man to come and speak at a meeting.

Personally, I thought the whole affair was crazy. The guys at the door had never been to church a day in their life. Apparently “Mr. I-Saw-an-Angel” had read a bunch of religious books, but he’d never been to church, either.

So Pete takes a few friends with him and leaves with these guys the next day. A few days later everyone comes back and says God did amazing things on this “mission” trip, but the only thing I could hear in their description was that they broke nearly every rule in the book and then tried to slap a God-label on the whole affair.

Finally I took matters into my own hands and brought Pete’s actions up before the church leadership because even though Pete is one of the leaders himself he doesn’t have the right to just fly off the handle like this. Breaking the rules and blaming it on some emotional God-experience just won’t do.

We had a big meeting about it, but that will take a long time to explain, and I’m out of time, so if you want you can read about it here. Jeez. I’m thinking of going back to my old church.