he book of Acts begins with waiting, but when the Spirit shows up, the "acts" of the apostles take off with a bang. God doesn't call us to wait forever, and when it's time, He wants us to stand up and act. When God calls us to act, we need to be ready to act, to stand up, and do all that God has called us to do.

Faith Acts - Full Version

by Eric Elder

I don’t know if I’m going to show you a movie clip every week, but as I was preparing my message for today, I thought of a few clips from the Spider-Man movies that I thought would really help to make the point.

So I’d like to show you two scenes today from the movie Spider-Man 2. Like the scenes I showed you last week from The Incredibles, what I want to show you in these scenes is not so much what happens, but what doesn’t happen. Take a look.

[ Spider-man swoops from building to building, shooting his webs from his hands to pull himself through the city, but then something goes wrong. The webs stop shooting out from his hands.]

PETER “Oh, no. No!”

[He tries and fails again, plummeting into an alley between the buildings. He looks at his hands.]

PETER “Why is this happening to me?”

“Why is this happening to me?”

Peter thinks he’s losing his power. But it turns out that’s not true. He still has the same power he’s always had since he first got bitten by that supercharged spider. It’s in his blood. What he lacks is faith.

You see, he’s lost his uncle to death and just lost his girlfriend to another man. He’s not sure he want to be Spider-Man anymore. So he gives up. He throws in the towel and throws his cool spidey suit in the garbage. He just wants to go back to being Peter Parker, a normal guy with a normal job.

But as the movie goes on, Peter has a talk with his Aunt May and a kid from her neighborhood who thinks Peter is just Spider-Man’s photographer.

HENRY Okay. You take Spider-Man’s pictures, right?

PETER I used to.

HENRY Where is he?

AUNT MAY Henry and I agree. We don't see his picture in the paper anymore.

PETER He...quit.

HENRY Why?

PETER Wanted to try other things.

HENRY He'll be back, right?

PETER I don’t know.

AUNT MAY You’ll never guess who he wants to be. Spider-Man.

PETER Why?

AUNT MAY He knows a hero when he sees one. Too few characters out there, flying around like that...saving old girls like me. And Lord knows, kids like Henry need a hero. Courageous, self-sacrificing people...setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them. Cheer them. Scream their names. And years later, they’ll tell how they stood in the rain for hours...just to get a glimpse of the one...who taught them to hold on a second longer. I believe there’s a hero in all of us...that keeps us honest...gives us strength...makes us noble...and finally allows us to die with pride. Even though sometimes we have to be steady......and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams. Spider-Man did that for Henry...and he wonders where he’s gone. He needs him. [Peter reflects] Do you think you could lift that desk and put it into the garage for me? But don’t strain yourself.

PETER Okay.

I’d stop the clip right now, but this next scene is a classic scene of faith in action...

[Next scene, Peter’s on top of a building ready to run towards the edge and see if he can jump again]

PETER Strong focus on what I want. [He flies high into the air and shouts]

PETER I'm back! I'm back!

[Half-way across the street, he panics and falls into a clothes line which barely breaks his fall into the street below. As he tries to stand, he moans]

PETER My back. My back.

I guess he’s still got a ways to go! But he’s working on it, something that I want to encourage you to do today, too. To keep standing up in your faith, even when things might be going against you.

Like Aunt May, I believe there’s a hero in all of you. Not a prideful hero, but a hero that can tell people to “hold on a second longer,” a hero that helps them see the truth, points them to Jesus Christ, and passes on to them what God has passed on to you.

Peter Parker’s not the only one who’s wrestled with his faith. We all do. But there’s another Peter who wrestled with his faith, too: Peter the Apostle, who stepped over the edge of a boat and began to walk on water towards Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and began to sink. It was like one minute he was flying high saying, “I’m back! I’m back!” and the next minute he was crying out, “Lord, save me!” (see Matthew 14:30).

Some people criticize Peter for his lack of faith, but the truth is, he’s the only one who stepped out of the boat, who stepped over the edge by faith, and got to experience walking on water, even if only for a short time.

This same Peter stood by Jesus the night He was arrested and said he would die for Jesus if he had to. But later that night, Peter denied that he even knew Jesus three times.

Something kept happening to Peter’s faith along the way. Troubles came and he doubted. And the same thing can happen to us. But something else was happening to Peter’s faith along the way as well.

I’ve heard it said that, “Faith is like a muscle, it gets stronger the more we exercise it.”

For as much as he failed, Peter still exercised his faith on a regular basis, until he finally became that Rock that Jesus called him to be when Jesus changed his name from Simon to Peter, or Cephas, which means Rock.

I want to show you what Peter does on the day of Pentecost, the day the disciples waited for when Jesus told them to wait. It’s found in Acts, chapter 2, and Lana’s going to come and read to you verses 1 through 14, and then verses 36 through 41.

I’d like you to follow along in your own Bible if you have one with you, or in the pew Bible in front of you. You’ll remember that Acts is the 5th book of the New Testament, coming after the 4 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, then Acts. If you get to Romans and Corinthians, you’ve gone too far, back up a few books to Acts.

Lana?

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say...”

Peter then tells them the truth about Jesus. I’ll continue in verse 36.

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Thanks, Lana.

There’s a lot we could look at in this passage, but today I want to focus on what Peter did in verse 14, when he stood up and addressed the crowd. Last time I told you that there are times when “faith waits.” But this time I want to show you that there is also a time when, “faith acts,” to stand up and do what God’s called you to do.

How did Peter go from denying Christ to standing up and proclaiming His name to thousands of people? What happened?

In short, he got his faith back. He saw Christ risen from the dead, he waited when God told him to wait, and he got a “dose of the Holy Ghost.” The combination was powerful, and when the time came, he was ready. Look at the results! 3,000 were baptized and added to their number that day!

There’s a third Peter I want to tell you about today, Peter Muhlenberg, who knew the difference of when to wait and when to act. Peter Muhlenberg was a pastor at the time of the American Revolution. Peter was was asked by George Washington to serve as a leader in the cause, but was also warned that doing so might mean the end of his ministry. On January 21st, 1776, Peter Muhlenberg stood up in his pulpit and preached from Ecclesiastes 3 which says, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesidastes 3:1). He then told his congregation, “There’s a time to pray and a time to fight, and now’s the time to fight.” He took off his robe, revealed his officer’s uniform beneath it, and walked out of the pulpit to join George Washington in the battle.

Let me paraphrase Peter Muhlenberg to make it personal for you today: “There’s a time to wait and a time to act. And for some of you, now might be the time to act.”

It may not even be a big thing that God tells you to do, but if God tells you to do it, do it.

It makes me think of some people in the Bible who did what seems to be a very small thing, but God used it to do something big.

You might remember the widow who needed money to pay her creditors, but had nothing in her whole house except a little oil. Elisha told her to go around and ask all her neighbors for empty jars, and not just a few! She did it and went into her house and shut the doors behind her with her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring oil from her own jar until all the others were filled. When the last jar was filled, the oil stopped flowing. Elisha said to her,

“Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what’s left” (2 Kings 4:7).

All the woman had to do was gather some empty jars. God’s the one who miraculously filled them. But she had to do her part.

You might also remember a man named Naaman in 2 Kings chapter 5. He was the commander of an army and a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. He sent word to Elisha to see if Elisha could heal him. Elisha sent word back, saying, “Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed” (2 Kings 5:10). Sounds easy enough. But when Naaman heard it, he was outraged that all he had to do was such a simple thing. His servant said, “If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it!” How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed!” Naaman did it and he was healed.

It’s similar to our story today. Jesus told the disciples they would be His witnesses even to the ends of the earth, and eventually they were. But when the day of Pentecost came, Peter didn’t have to go anywhere! God brought people from the ends of the earth to him! All he had to do was stand up and proclaim the truth. Not that it’s always so easy to do that, either, but it’s easier than having to figure out how to travel to the ends of the earth and then stand up and proclaim the truth, too!

When I went into full-time ministry, I knew I wanted to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, but how? I knew how to work with computers, so I created a website and put my testimony on it. People began writing to me from places like Greece and Egypt and Singapore and Seattle. I got an email this morning from a man in England, interestly enough named Peter, who wrote to say he had been encouraged by visiting my website. When you fill a shoebox with toys and gifts for Samaritan’s Purse at Christmas, you’re helping to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. When you support the local Christian radio station with your gifts and prayers, you’re helping reach people not only locally, but throughout the world because their broadcast is on the Internet. God can do a big thing by prompting you to do even a little thing.

I remember watching a show when I was a kid about the filming of the movie Huckleberry Finn. The lead actor said he was shooting a scene on a boat one day when the boat tipped over and he fell into the water. He started to scream and panic and yell for help because he couldn’t swim. Then he heard the director shouting, “Stand up!” He stood up and found that he was “drowning” in only 3 feet of water.

Sometimes we’re looking for dramatic answer to prayer when all we really have to do is “stand up.” Stand up in our faith like Peter did.

There are certainly big things God calls people to do. But there are also those simple acts of faith that God calls us to do on a daily basis, that when He calls us to do them, we need to act -- to take a pie to a friend, to visit your dad in a nursing home, to give a call to someone who needs encouragement, to get involved in a Bible study, to help with the youth or in the children’s ministry, to speak the truth in love to someone’s who’s gone astray, to send an encouraging text message to a friend, to stand up in a meeting at work and call your co-workers to do what’s right instead of what’s easy or safe or more profitable.

People often wonder, how do you know if God is speaking to you? How do you know if He wants you to wait or to act. That’s a whole ‘nother sermon or series of lifetime of sermon’s in itself. But here’s one suggestion for today. If a thought keeps coming to you, it might be something you should pray about until you hear clearly if it’s from God or not.

Some of you know that our family recently moved to Peru, Illinois, into Lana’s parents’ old house. Her parents moved into a smaller house a few minutes away, so we’d been thinking and praying about moving for some time. Throughout the year, whenever I’d pray about it, I felt God wanted us to move by the end of the year. But as the end of the year got closer, I started to doubt. Things were really hectic and I didn’t think we had enough time to move. But every time I prayed, I felt God really did want us moved by the end of the year.

One morning, I asked God for a confirmation in His Word if this really was from Him. Did He really mean “the end of the year?” I tried to think of a Bible story when God ever told someone to do something by the end of the year, but couldn’t think of any. Not knowing where else to read, I opened my Bible to 2 Timothy, chapter 3 that says, “All Scripture is God-breathed...” (verse 16a).

I thought about how important every Scripture of the Bible is. But when I kept reading into chapter 4, I read a verse that struck me as funny. It said, “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas...” (2 Timothy 4:13). I thought it was odd that such a mundane verse was in the most Holy Book in the world. I’ve never heard anyone say their favorite verse in the Bible is when Paul tells Timothy to bring him his coat that he left with Carpus at Troas. But as soon as I had that thought, I caught myself and had another thought: “I bet God will prove me wrong for thinking this is some unimportant verse in the Bible.”

And He did, less than ten verses later. In the middle of his closing words to Timothy, Paul wrote: “Do your best to get here before winter.” (verse 21). Another version says, “Try as hard as you can to come to me before winter” (New Century Version). It was like the words leapt off the page for me saying, “Eric, I’m serious, do your best to get here before winter.” The first day of winter was on December 22nd, less than ten days from the end of the year. It was close enough to the prayer I’d been praying all year that I felt it was directly for me. So we worked hard and got moved in by December 21st, and I made sure I brought my coat with me, too. (Thanks to the youth group who helped us move still more boxes last weekend, as we’re still not fully moved out of our house in Streator!)

All Scripture really is God-breathed, inspired by God. God breathes life into it every time we read it. When God wants to speak to you through His Word, He will speak, if we’ll listen. When God calls you to wait, wait. But when God calls you to act, act.

I would be remiss if I left chapter 2 of Acts without talking about one of the most power-packed verses in the chapter, and in the whole Bible, Acts 2:38.

You may have heard this before, but it’s worth repeating, about the power of this verse in a story about a woman who caught a burglar in her home stealing her things. She didn’t have any weapons, so she shouted at him, “Acts 2:38!”

The burglar froze in place while she called the police and they took him away. As they walked out with the burglar, the police asked him, “Why did you freeze when she quoted scripture?”

The burglar said, “Quoted Scripture? I thought she said she had an ax and two 38’s!”

Well, if he only knew the whole truth, he’d know that this Scripture is even more powerful than an ax and two 38’s.

It says: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

If you’re stuck in your sin and don’t know the way out, here it is. Repent, turn away from your sins, make the right choice. Put your faith in Christ, believe in Him and trust Him that He died for your sins. Be baptized. If you’ve never been baptized, be baptized! There’s water here at the church; you can do it today! Then receive the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that gave Peter strength on Pentecost, and will help you do what you need to do from now on, who will comfort you and guide you, and who will speak to you everything Jesus wants you to hear.

I want to show you one more scene from Spider-Man, this time, from Spider-Man 3. It’s like a movie version of Acts 2:38. It’s a bit intense -- in fact all of the Spider-Man movies are rated PG-13 because of some intense violence, so don’t rush out and buy it for kids under 13. So I’m going to show you some still shots from the movie as I tell you what’s going on.

What’s happened in the 3rd movie is that a black glob from outer space attaches onto Peter Parker. It entices him to give in to the “dark side” to begin exploring the power that comes from revenge and bitterness. Peter is warned not to touch it, but he likes the power it gives him, and he allows it to cover him entirely, turning into a new black spiderman suit.

After Peter does some horrific things, including hurting the woman he loves most in the world, he realizes he’s got to get rid of this darkness that’s clinging to him. But how? Here’s what happens:

As Peter wonders what to do, (01peterwonders.jpg )

he hears a church bell ring. 02hearsbell.jpg)

He sees the belltower and goes to the church (03seesbelltower.jpg)

climbs onto the top and looks at his black covered hand. (04towerhand.jpg)

He goes into the tower (05goesintotower.jpg)

and tries to tear the suit off, but can’t (06triestotearoffsuit.jpg)

He falls against the bell, it rings out, (07fallsagainstbell.jpg)

giving him strength to tear off his mask, (08tearsoffmask.jpg)

tear off his sleeves, (10tearsoffsleeve.jpg)

until he’s completely free. (10getsridofallofit.jpg)

He goes home and takes a shower, (11washesaway.jpg)

and sits in his room, finally back in his right mind. (12rightmind.jpg)

Peter Parker does, in Hollywood terms, what the Apostle Peter told the crowd to do 2,000 years ago. He repents, he turns away from all the wicked things he’s done, and goes to the only place he knows could help him get rid of it once and for all -- to the church where Christ is proclaimed. As the bell rings out, it’s like he hears the Word of Truth and he’s able to get rid of the sin that entangles him. He even goes home and is baptized! Well, at least he takes a shower to wash himself clean. He gets the strength to go on and do what’s right.

At the end of the movie, here’s what Peter Parker said as he reflected on all that happened:

“Whatever comes our way, whatever battle we have raging inside us, we always have a choice...It’s the choices that make us who we are, and we can always choose to do what’s right.”

Peter Muhlenger reminded people about the choices people face when he said:

“There’s a time to pray and a time to fight, and now’s the time to fight.”

And the Apostle Peter called people to the most important choice any of us can make when he stood up and said:

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38-29).

For those of you who’ve never repented, been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, or received the gift of the Holy Spirit, I encourage you to take that step of faith and do it today.

To those of you who’ve already done that, but know people around you who haven’t, I want to encourage you to stand up and speak a word of truth to them in love. Let your words ring out like a bell to others to help them make the right choice. Don’t let troubles keep you down. Stnad up and keep exercising your faith until you get as strong again as peter Parker, as Peter Muhlenberg, and the Apostle Peter, the Rock.

Let’s pray...

Father, thank You for coming again today to give us strength to do what we need to do. I pray You would give strength to those who still need to put their faith in You so they can do it today. I pray that You would strengthen those who have already put their faith in you. Help them to stand up and speak a word of truth in love, or to do an act of kindness, blessing the lives of those around them. I pray that they would wait when You say wait, and act when you say act, knowing that in all things, at all times, they can do everything through You who give them strength. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

As we come to our time of decision, if you’d like to make a decision for Christ today, or to make a decision to join our church, I’d encourage you to come forward as we sing our invitation song.