Acts part 1- Laborers' Podcast

Welcome to the laborers podcast. Thank you for joining us tonight. We are going to be doing acts part one. Looks like hopefully chapters 1 through 6. Hope you can stick around.

Welcome to the laborers podcast, which is a part of the truth in love Network. Join us as together. We strive to grow up together in all things in the Christ. Subscribe and follow the truth and love Network on Facebook YouTube rumble Spotify and iTunes.

Podcast Introductions and Conference Announcements

Now, let's join our laborers for tonight's broadcast.

Thankful that you guys could be with us. I'm thankful for my brothers that are here tonight. Taylor. Taylor. I'm already messing up Tyler with red alert podcast who's blowing up rumble blowing up Twitter.

You guys need to check brother Tyler out. He's doing a great job. Brother Matt who's been working hard on third ship. We are so thankful that he's able to be with us tonight. Jay the reform recon. Recon.

I do that every time. I don't. I don't.

Recon.

American sniper and reform recon.

Is it pecans or is it pecans?

That's what I need to think. I need to remember that. Is it crappy or crappy?

And.

Brother brother Claude Ramsey the happy Calvinist. Here I stand. Theology podcast and you've got some Good interviews coming up. I believe yes.

Yeah, I've actually got Daryl King and Mark Ron from in second reform coming up in early September. Maybe the second I'm just I'm still messaging with him right now even as we speak and A separate big surprise interview that I'm super excited about.

He just got back with me today. Let me look up to date Sam storms. Oh, yeah, I'm excited about that September 19th. So we're gonna be talking about the book kingdom come. It's a fantastic book.

He's mr. All mill as well. Mm-hmm. Okay. Okay. He can't claim king of the post or the all mills I should say.

My apologies to his majesty.

It's it's really good I'm serious it really is and he is he's a phenomenal he's a phenomenal Preacher and teacher in and of itself, you know, you lay it you put continuation cessation aside. He's he's still good.

So I appreciate him in his ministry.

So I want to let everybody know that the comment lines as always are open because we are live tonight and You can give us a critique a question. We'd love to try to answer your questions if we can. Before we dive into the book of Acts, I can't remember if this is Claude's video or Tyler's video, but we do want to remind you of the labor's conference coming up April 26 to 28 in Knoxville, Tennessee a reprimand of Baptist Church 2024 empowered by the Holy Spirit.

There's gonna be the theme topic Seating is limited. So please go to the website labors conference .com and register let us know that you're coming because seating is limited and Check out if you're friends with brother Matt on Facebook or any of us actually because we try to share them he's he's What would you call them?

It's not a raffle or Fundraising items that's very good. Very good fundraising items that you can take advantage of if you're going to be in the Eastern Tennessee area. We'd love for you to check this out.

So what's this a little video about the upcoming conference?

Great job on that Tyler.

Very smooth. I like that. All right, let's jump into the book of Acts. I know when it comes to the book of Acts there can be some controversy some of us talk about. Interpreting the book of Acts looking at the book of Acts.

We want to look at it more historically than we do practically. We don't want to build All of our doctrine based on what we see in Acts. Some people look at it that way. Some people think oh you can learn some practices and doctrine in the book of Acts.

It's not all just historic and then. Kind of the path that I took for the the podcast guide this evening in the book of Acts. You know how there are. There's sayings out in the world that that are common to us and people say well that's in the Bible, right?

Well, no. There's certain things in in each of these chapters that that we go back to and we say we want to model this we want To do this, but I want to hear from you guys. And see if you guys Use these these passages the same way.

As other people do and and you'll know what I'm talking about as soon as we jump into this first one. Is it is it more descriptive instead of prescriptive or do you see it as a model? So, how do you look at these verses of these questions that we pull out of these verses?

So, let me let me read the first few verses. We'll start in chapter 1 chapter 1 verses 6 through 8 and God's Word says so when they had come together. They were asking him saying Lord is it at this time?

You are restoring the kingdom of Israel. He said to them it is not for you to know the times or epochs Which the father has fixed by his own authority. But you will see power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem.

And in all Judea and Samaria and even the remotest part of the earth. So if you will kind of catch what I was saying earlier we oftentimes use or hear people use this as a model of our missions planning our evangelistic planning.

How do you guys See this passage of Scripture. Is this a model for us as a church? We take this as our missions model.

I.

Sing the different layers the different realms.

What do you guys think? Let me ask you something. Are you asking in?

Specifically with verse 8 is that is that we referring to? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah verse 8. Absolutely. Gotcha. What do you have there? Being his witnesses. And you start in Jerusalem and you work your way out till you get out to the entire world.

And a lot of people use that as a model.

Okay, um, I mean I can I can jump in here first if nobody else wants to. Last chance. Okay, I'll go ahead and say. So, um, I would agree that acts is primarily a Descriptive book not a prescriptive book.

That now that doesn't mean that we can't take principles and things like that out of it. Right, so I Agree that hey, we do we are called to take the gospel to the nations. I 100 agree with that but I wouldn't necessarily say well we need to do everything exactly as the early church in the book of Acts did right so.

I.

Don't know if that answers your question or if I need to expand a little bit more or is that good enough? I usually go on for a long time. So I'm gonna try not to do that. I would agree. I would agree with you.

The principle the principle is there we see it encapsulated in verse 8 like you mentioned, right? We should be we be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. You said descriptive.

Yes, it is a descriptive narrative with principles to be drawn and Discriminately or discerningly maybe is discerningly word discerningly applied. That Jerusalem Judea and Samaria typically has probably in all of our lives Been you know been basically saying at home, you know, then your city then your state so on and so forth.

There's been all kinds of allegories that have been made there, but I would I'm an agreement there with Jay there, too the principle is there and We what we do have is as it being Descriptive telling us what was taking place.

Jesus promised That he would send the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit would empower believers to be witnesses under him. The gospel itself doesn't have any power Based on the person who communicates the gospel the gospel itself is power of God and through salvation.

It is made alive and quickened by the Holy Spirit. Oh. You know, that's why we must be I believe a close attention to the to detect That the description as it's given as Jesus has already communicated in the Gospels in Luke gospel primarily You know in this the book of Acts is just a continuation.

Luke picks up exactly where he left off After 24 of Luke act 1. It's literally a continuation of Luke's account with the author so in what Luke does in making a orderly account of Gospel in the person work of Jesus Christ.

Luke continues this here and he goes from he goes from the life death burial Resurrection of Jesus to the promise of this the sending of his Holy Spirit. And then we see the outworking of the Holy Spirit throughout the furtherance of this book itself.

Yeah, that's good.

This is always in the context we got a look back to verse 6. They asked him a specific question and he this is an answer to their question he's not just given this kind of as a General statement, so they're kind of focused on the kingdom of Israel.

He's saying that's not for you to know, but you're gonna be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be my witness to take my kingdom out to everyone so I think in the context this is. It's a little bit different from us.

Obviously, like the other guy said we can take principles, but this is kind of the foundation the very beginning of The gospel going out not only to the Jews, but to the Gentiles as well. And also we can look at.

I'm definitely don't. I'm not up on my original Languages, but I did read a little bit that the word we get Witnesses from it's the same word that we get the word martyr from and if we Kind of look at it in that sense.

We can go over acts chapter 8 and verse 1. It says and Saul approved of his execution. Talking about Stephen A great persecution against the church in Jerusalem and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea Samaria except the Apostles, so it was through persecution and ultimately Martyrdom of some that the gospel was spread to these areas that are talked about here in act 1.

I think we again we can take the principle, but we've got a look at the specific context of Jesus's statement there to his Apostles, you know what he was getting at directly speaking to them.

And I think this kind of Harkens back to some of the conversations that Christ had with the disciples through the last. Through the last couple years, you know, we go back to James and John. Shall we call down fire from heaven?

You do not know what spirit you are of. And then they come back with their mom a little bit later. That one of us had your left and one of us that you're right and Jesus asks Are you able to drink of the cup?

Are you able to do what is required to sit there? And you keep getting these little things like that to be first. You must be last to be yeah. And then we get here and It's again. It's the same kind of question.

Are you ready to? Roll with an iron rod right here on earth and make Israel the center again.

Hmm.

And.

I.

Don't think that's. Like like we've talked about that's not for them to know when when. When is the Millennial Kingdom coming? When is the end game? Is it now? Apparently not. Jonathan Edwards, I think painted a beautiful picture of this not just in reference to Israel.

I think to the individual believer that if you could see Your life as a river and you could look down down the river and see where God will call you where you will go. You may not be encouraged. Because you will see all the obstacles all of the rapids all the things God has not brought you through yet.

And I think in that sense it's probably for our benefit that we don't have the whole picture yet. Because well, we're not told how we get there. We are encouraged by God that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses now.

Tyler let me let me ask you a question. Actually, okay said something and we're starting to Play around with eschatology here a little bit. So It's always dangerous waters depending on who you're talking to.

Okay, would you would you say that they are asking about the consummation of the kingdom. I.

Think they're asking about the consummation in the sense that they're conflating deliverance from Rome. Right with the the Messianic Kingdom, right?

Okay, the kingdom that they were looking for was not the kingdom that Jesus. Correct. They were looking. Yeah.

We're more on the same page tonight. I mean not that I doubted whether we were in the same page or not.

I'm just testing the waters here. Just trying to I could have been a little more clear on that. So no, you're okay.

You're okay. I was just curious. That's it back to you Rob. Well, I think you would. I feel like we'll definitely dive into that more when we get to the chapter 3 question, I Really think definitely. So what I hear you guys saying and I'm on board with how you were describing this that it was that it's descriptive.

So we don't have to unnecessarily put a burden on ourselves as a as a local church. So, you know put your elder pastor hat on. For a second. We don't we don't have to Unnecessarily put a burden on ourselves and say this has to be our model.

We need to have a ministry for our home for our state for our country and for our missions if if we're not Geared in that or have the funds or ability to do that. This is just this is more descriptive.

So as a pastor to elder leader in a church How would you how would you formulate your Evangelistic missions model. Well, what principle would you draw out of this? If you're trying to develop something to get your folks engaged in ministry evangelism missions.

What we do At reformata is proclaim this. Share the gospel With your family. Share the gospel with your friends. When you go to Walmart share the gospel. When you're at work at Home Depot share the gospel.

Of share the gospel everywhere because again the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. The gospel doesn't have to be tailored or isn't tailored to. You don't take a different approach to prop gospel proclamation to tribes in Africa.

Any different than you take the gospel proclamation on the streets in Knoxville, Tennessee. The gospel is the gospel. So the the the undue pressure that I think that and I'm gonna I'm gonna throw out a denomination here.

The the IFB's right the IFB, you know. Basically, that's the emphasis if you're not winning souls, then you ain't you're in sin, right? You need to do this. That's what they hear all the time. You need to do this.

You need to do this. And it's not possible and again, it's an undue burden that is placed on the people of God when they have to Gauge their success or failure as a Christian by how many people that they've won.

Quote-unquote. Won to the Lord when the Lord is the one who wins people unto himself.

Anybody else just leaves three chick tracks out while you're out in public today.

I.

Have so has everybody here seen so Tyler mint or Taylor mentioned chick tracks. Has everybody read chick John chicks tracks. I've heard stories I have not. Yeah, you need to look them up so that you're oh, yeah.

So, so I've never seen them again, I'm the foreigner here so I probably Familiar with them, but some people pointed me in the right direction or I guess the wrong. And I was like, well, this is.

This is one way to do it. I suppose they were. They were the primary thing in the 80s and 90s. I think I'm a lot of Christians, but yeah, there's yeah. Again, it it's hardcore. I've me.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Where are you at Matt? I'm in Knoxville. Oh, man. I'm with a bunch of Southerners in here.

Yeah, Matt and our buddies. Matt. Actually. Matt actually started the hero stand theology podcast with me. Yeah.

Yeah.

Jay aren't you in Florida? Aren't you like further south and all of us together? I have. I have said this before.

Okay, so I'm in Miami. All right, and so there's a point where you start heading so far south that you're actually heading north. Okay, that's what's happening. Like I would say right around once you get past Orlando you you're heading north buddy.

You're no longer heading south.

You guys that are watching don't forget to leave a comment ask a question just let us know you're watching. We would love to be encouraged by you. Thank you for your support. Let's jump on the question number two chapter number two verses 44 and 45.

Unity, Generosity, and the Jerusalem Church

And God's Word says there. And this is another tough one where people have a hard time understanding and maybe misapply and all those who had believed were together and had all things in common and They began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all as anyone might have need.

So, how do you how do you see that verse? What did it look like in the first century that to your ability to understand it and is it applicable to us? In what way?

Well, I think in some ways this might be a sort of indictment to the American Church in some ways when we have We are very well to do financially as a nation as communities oftentimes as churches. But we're all but we often don't have that same unity that we hold all things in common now that we have all money in Common, but we have all things in common the where of one accord as the King James puts it.

That is such a hard sell for us these days, you know this week's episode of bread the word. Taking a pause from Joe to talk about Philippians to adopt the same attitude as Christ Jesus. Make my joy complete and have the same mind among all of you.

And so there's this picture of unity that I see in Acts chapter 2 regardless of historical context you see this unity of Believers that they hold all things in common that they have they are of one accord.

But it also said as they sold their possessions in the property and distributed the proceeds to any that had need that they were In a position to give generously to give sacrificially and whatever that may look like.

Today, I think there is a practice there is a practical component to giving sacrificially to people in need in our communities and Sometimes I think we lose sight of that. I think sometimes this text kind of stares us straight in the face.

Hmm I'm I'm I said, this is something that I've been thinking a lot about this week with just how much disunity there is in the church today.

Just how. Don't go on Twitter. Slash X. Yeah, you're right. Avoid it you're right. Yeah.

Between that and between the local church, and I'm I'm constantly reminded of that beautiful verse in song of Solomon chapter 2 Let me see you then the voice of Christ to his bride. Let me hear your voice.

Let us have communion with Christ And let us be united with Christ. Does anyone else?

As far as the Part about selling and distributing to the media again. I agree completely with Tyler. I think there's a definite application for us today. But at the same time, I think we need to again Look at the context so we can go back to in chapter 2 to verse 9 and we can see that these people were Most of these people weren't Local they were coming from other areas.

So most likely when they got there They were without a job. They were without a way to provide for themselves. So they're Really had to be a reliance on the church and most likely these people as they were Converted were We're gonna be Staying in that area learn about the faith before they were sent back To their home so they were going to be there for probably an extended period of time.

Most likely with again, no job. No source of income No home.

So.

Really out of necessity That the church took care of them, which obviously is a good thing what they should have done, but I think we Again, we have People with need in our midst. I don't think it's necessarily the same as this contact and We do see principles do that this Selling and giving was Voluntary, you know, I think sometimes we Have that idea that it's we have to which I think if we're In the right spirit that it's something we're we're gonna want to do.

It's to give to others to help support those in need but we also see in Scripture, I think in Talks about the poor will always be with so at the reality. There's always going to be poor people and people in need so that's not a distinction that that Christ eliminated or that that distinction wasn't there and it would be incumbent upon us to Do the things necessary to wipe out those things?

Obviously To take care of the orphan the widow to me. I think this is a special context of people Coming from out of town to be there for a period of time and Really be reliant on the locals for their survival.

So are you telling me that? The early church wasn't a proto communist organization.

Well, I was gonna throw that out there. That's one of the two misconceptions that I hear sometimes. This is this would be a passage to support more socialistic Ideology and then the other one would be well.

The church needs to be more like a you know, a commune where we we have our own property live on the same property everybody Pulls all their money together. How do you defend what it's really saying against those two misconceptions?

So I would Historically number one. I would say just based on what you just said. They're taking the the last thing you said and addressing that first. I think history Teaches us that that is not what the scriptures teaching.

More you know are more recent history the cults that have come up. That's exactly what they do, right? I mean it the the Heaven's Gate cult. Manson, right. Koresh, all of these cults take take that this passage and it's this passage part of what they're they're They're teaching is based on and you know like David Koresh says, you know said such foolish things that Communal living was so much so that I don't know if you all have seen that documentary on.

This is about the Waco stuff. Oh, yeah.

I mean they I mean they they took it to absolute extreme so much so that Koresh Actually told one of his followers Well, it was the teaching to all of his followers that Nobody was to even have the men weren't to have sex with their wives that he was going to take on the burden of sex.

For everybody. Oh Yes. Yes, so but we see this warping misconception of this idea of communal living when again Contextually like Matt mentioned there's a specific context right and for me pastorally, the the context is the local church and I think wisdom teaches us and wisdom should instruct us and more so than even our Emotions and our wants.

Certainly we want to help everybody we can certainly won't we want to do good to everybody we can but practically the local church is a community of believers that is designed and Informed so that we can if you would have it Focus the resources that God provides to the local congregation on the congregants of that congregation to care for them.

Because we can't we can't help the world, right? You know back in in the a in the 80s that song we are the world right that was a big thing. Oh, everybody was united around that. We are the world. We are the children, right?

We we are the ones that make a brighter day. So let's start giving right, but we can't we can't help everybody and we need to be Discerning enough as believers and when we look at passages like this to see this was a concentrated Focus of God's resources to God's people in this local Region in this local in Jerusalem itself at that time so I think we can rightly take and apply that to the local church and Not be so confounded and disheartened when we're not able to do all the things we want to do.

So, can I pose a question there? Yes, sir. Do you think that there's a part of the reason we kind of Overcompensate with this passage and we get these janky ideas of what that community means for us because of how Detached we've become recently with ideas like community and fellowship.

Are you saying like do we over?

Do we over compensate?

I mean are the some of these ideas of like the commune and the socialism from like the the progressives. Do you think that part of the reason these ideas are persisting is trying it to overcompensate from how disconnected?

People are today. I think so. I would say I think so to some extent and you know. Speaking of which one of the saddest things that I see sometimes in churches is that there's no real sense of family. Yeah, you know what I mean.

It's kind of like we see each other on Sundays and everybody goes their own way now. I'm fortunate not to be in that situation, but I've experienced it and it's funny because. Even when I was still an early very early believer.

And.

I experienced the first for the first time what it was like to truly love one another inside the church. Not just like hey say good morning to some random guy out of like 500 people and then never see him again.

You know what? I mean? Like yeah, there's there's there's You get a sense for what what the Bible really is teaching as a whole like total scriptura, right? Yeah, and it's really sad to see how so many people think that Their relationship with Christ is entirely personal.

I'm not saying it's not personal. But they think that it's entirely personal. So the to the point that when they go to church They don't even know people there. You know what I mean? Like they know their pastor the pastor may not even know them, but they know the pastor, but they don't they don't know Anybody in that church and they don't know them and they don't they definitely don't serve there.

Yeah, I think we we do have to take a principle out of this right and again it is descriptive not Prescriptive so it's we're we're not going to see this everywhere in every church but I do think that there should be a Some kind of unity, right?

Like if the pastors at the very least if the pastors don't know your name and you've been going to the church for a year There's a problem. There's definitely a problem.

If I could bag on my generation for a brief moment I I have autism and part of what that means is that I've had some added difficulty navigating social interactions and conversations. I was in a good amount of therapy as a child learning how to start conversations and conversations maintain conversations and so a lot of that's kind of ingrained in here that and I Don't see that with a lot of people in my age bracket.

Especially in the church and it it's sad that we've we've we seem to have lost that Communal aspect that yes, it's it's almost entirely internal. I'll be I'll be 25 a little bit later this year and As weird as this seems the older I get The less I want to go to do the events and the more I just want to sit around and talk.

Yeah, so so that word community. Right, it's part of the if that's the root word of communication, right? It's people actually being in unity and discussing and talking and you're right Tyler. That is very very important.

Unfortunately, Tyler. To some extent my generation. I'm a millennial. I.

Don't know.

Okay, but you're at the tail end of that. So you fall somewhere between I guess but but at progressively right like as we see even like. You know Gen Z. I think it is right? That's the next one after that.

How much and and the Internet's not a bad thing, by the way I'm about to bash the Internet, but it's not a bad thing. I mean look I get to talk to you guys and I would have never met you guys. Otherwise, so I'm used appropriately like the the Internet is a blessing from God.

Absolutely, but as we so often do as human beings we pervert and Corrupt the gifts that God gives us to the point where like, you know Tick-tock is popular because you get a quick little, you know Dopamine dopamine fix right for like a five second video and then you can move on to the next thing.

People don't know how to talk to one another. You know because it requires attention it requires care it requires love and we live in a very loveless very Selfish society, right? And so the Internet is being abused in that way.

Like think about how many people watch this podcast. I'm not trying. I love this podcast. But how many people don't watch things like these because they're like, it's too long. Mm-hmm, right? You know what?

I mean? Like it's too long. They just want okay. Give me the spark notes, right? Give me the bullet points because they just want to move on and then we wonder why people so many people are depressed and sad and lonely and.

The.

The church is supposed to be the opposite of that but so much of that has come into the church because what's happening is is that instead of us influencing influencing the culture the culture is influencing us.

Right. And I I feel for you Tyler because to some extent to some degree I've seen what you're describing and it's like you're saying I just want to have a conversation. I don't you know events are fine, right?

We can go and do a field day. That's fine. But at the end of the day, we're not gonna have Deep conversations about life about God. What's the point? You know like and I've been in those situations where like.

You've got the little cliques at church and they all go to like play golf together or you know, whatever it might be but man like Aren't we Christians? Like are we supposed to be passionate about God?

Like yeah, and it's it's something that really I don't know how else to describe it, but it's a poison in the church currently.

I'm a big believer in the giving of our time and not just our money. Yeah.

Absolutely.

What is every what is every stereotypical businessman say about time? Time is money. I Think that just gets more true with the culture. We're in with all the rushing and all the go go go go go and investing time in people is.

So out of out of context so. Controversial, you know, I think it becomes that much more meaningful. Yeah, especially in the body of Christ to invest in each other to visit the sick to pray with the lonely.

Well and Tyler you you often do this and I'll take the time to do this I why I appreciate our group that we have that and the the brothers that God has brought together amongst us that that we invest in each other as as Much as we can we invest each other in the in the small ways that we can we we share with one another our burdens.

We pray for one another we ask questions about Scripture and we love one another and so I'm appreciative of that investment that you guys put in me and I'm able to put in you. It's such a blessing from God.

I'll put my two cents worth on on this passage and we'll move on to the next one I think really to help us not take it out of context and to get the Prescription out of it is look at what it doesn't say and look at what it actually does say if you're in verse 45 It it doesn't say that they sold Everything everything that I had put it in one pot.

It doesn't say that it just says and they began selling their property and possessions. It doesn't say all of them and it doesn't say they put it all in one pot. But what it does say is that Everybody that had need was taken care of As anyone might have need they shared it with all of they did not redistribute wealth.

Right, that's right. They took care of their people. All right, so here's here's a Could be controversial passage that goes back to Maybe the eschatology conversation as I was looking at it chapter 3 verse 21.

The Restoration of All Things and Christ's Current Reign

I Read it quickly Whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things About which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times. So the question is Explained the restoration of all things and I think that's gonna look different from a different eschatological perspective.

Maybe this is Just a little bit of context. This is Peters part of Peter's sermon to them they had just Somebody couldn't walk. They they raised him up and he was able to immediately walk. Yeah, and they They put this wrong emphasis wrong Almost worship towards Peter and John and they they were like, whoa It's all Jesus.

It's in the name of Jesus and they start pointing Jesus and he shared the gospel with him and started preaching film of course, he He blasted don't put him on blast work. They were the ones who killed Jesus But then he talks about this this restoration of all things what do you guys think about that?

I am I am immediately reminded of 1st Corinthians 15 for he must reign until all enemies are put under his feet and Revelation where it says behold, I am making all things new.

I.

Yeah, I mean I can't avoid the eschatological implications of this passage. And I'm you know, I know we're gonna agree to some extent disagree to to another extent. I don't know what everybody's position is here.