How Should We Then Live? October 12, 2014 Session 3

Psalms 11 11:1 To the choirmaster. Of David. In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, "Flee like a bird to your mountain, 2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; 3 if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

Psalms 11 4 The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test, the children of man. 5 The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. 6 Let him rain coals on the wicked; ESV

In other words David is saying… God is on His throne. Evil is on a short leash. Wickedness cannot harm the righteous in God. It will try them. It will send them deeper into the heart of God. It will make heroes and martyrs of them. But it cannot destroy them. Rather, God in His righteousness will destroy with coals (as with Sodom and Gomorrah) all that is wicked. Colossians 3:3 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ESV

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ESV

Dallas Willard writes; “Re-think how you’re living your life in light of your opportunity to live in God’s Kingdom today and forever by putting your confidence in him … The gospel of the kingdom steadies us against believing anything bad about God. It calls us, rather, to believe that what is good God will bring to pass. In fact, this world is a perfectly safe place to be as long as you’re in the Kingdom of God.”

Jesus is the perfect example of operating in the world from His place deep in His Father. The early church is a powerful example of being safe in the world by living in Christ. Ever ask yourself how the early church did what they did? How did they grow from about 25,000 believers on the face of the planet to 20 million two centuries later?

20 mil mil 723, ,000 25,000 What Exponential Growth Looked Like In the Early Church 100 AD 200 AD 300 AD 150 AD 250 AD

Q. How did this kind of multiplication take place? A. We might say, "Well the times were just right for this exponential growth phenomenon.” True, the fields were white and ready to harvest, but what did that readiness look like on the ground?

Christianity was an illegal religion throughout this entire period. They didn't have any church buildings as we know them. They didn't have the Scriptures as we know them. They didn't have an institution or the professional form of leadership/staff normally associated with what we think of as successful-church here in our culture. They didn't have seeker-sensitive services, youth groups, worship bands, special lighting, internet, seminaries, commentaries, etc.. By the late second century they actually made it hard to join the church. Aspiring converts had to undergo a significant initiation period to prove that they understood the cost of following Jesus.

Alan Hirsch[1] writes;[1] "They had none of the things Westerners think necessary for building up the church, and yet they grew from 25,000 to 20,000,000 in 200 years. How did they come to experience this exponential growth? [1][1] Hirsch – The Hidden Ways 2006 Brazos Press

If you read the book of Acts it appears to be quite spontaneous. How did they come to experience this exponential growth?

Narrative… Acts chapter 3 Peter and John The healing of the lame man.