Coram Deo:
Living before the face of God
Acts
3:19-26
Introduction: Even the recent rains in California have not
alleviated the severe drought which is threatening to raise the price of produce
this year across the country. The lack of water is largely looking to have a
huge financial impact on the farmers and an economic impact on our country. In
many parts of the world droughts can be a matter of life and death. The story
of Joseph in Genesis is an example where a drought meant a famine, and it drove
the sons of Jacob to Egypt looking for food. It’s not surprising that God would
use the image of water to illustrate the life giving refreshment that comes
from God alone. The psalmist said “As the
deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for you O God…” (Psalm 42:1). Isaiah spoke of the refreshing
presence of the Spirit being lavished on the faithful remnant of Israel,
2 Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you
from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I
have chosen. 3 For I will
pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my
Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. 4 They shall spring up among the
grass like willows by flowing streams (Isaiah
44:2-4).
Jesus picked up on this metaphor in his encounter
with the Samaritan woman at the well when he said in John 4:13-14,
"…Everyone
who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will
never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a
spring of water welling up to eternal life."
That
same imagery is picked up by Jesus again at the great day of the Feast, when he
says in John 7:38, “Whoever believes in
me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living
water.'" John, the writer of the Gospel
then explains, “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those
who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given,
because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39).
The promise of the Lord’s refreshing
presence pointed to the pouring out of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, when
the NT church was born. As we look at the Book of Acts that day had come, and
the life giving refreshment that comes from His presence was being offered to
all who would come to Him in faith.
As we
open to Acts chapter 3 and pick up the sermon of Peter, it is clear that he is
determined not to prioritize “winning friends,” or “fitting in” with His
neighbors. His top priority is to clearly point out to his countrymen that
Jesus is Messiah and that they need to trust in Him. As we see this story unfolding, despite the
evident hatred of Israel’s leaders for Jesus, the Father’s steadfast love for
Israel is unmistakable in both the context and the content of Peter’s sermon.
The context was at the Temple in Jerusalem. The content was a
call to come to Him for restoration and refreshment. By divine appointment Peter and John were at
the Temple at the hour of prayer and by divine leading Peter was used to heal
the lame man in the name of Jesus. The
shock and awe that resulted gave opportunity to preach Christ to the crowd that
gathered in amazement.
Context: As Peter speaks, we saw in the first part of his
message last week, he presented his indictment of the people in Acts 3:12-18.
God had revealed Jesus, the Holy and Righteous, the Author of Life, to them,
and yet they had rejected Him and delivered Him up to be killed. Now what? The
next part of the speech answers that question.
In the
story that we look at this morning, Peter is alluding to a bigger story, a
story that began in Genesis, reached a climax at the Cross and resurrection,
and will finally reach a resolution in the New Jerusalem at the end of the book
of Revelation. Man was created in God’s
image, and God walked with him in the Garden before the Fall. That was life Coram Deo, before the face of God, life as
it was designed to be lived: unhindered face-to-face fellowship between God and
humans, the pinnacle of His creation, made in His image. Sin brought
consequences: separation, suffering, and death. Humans would survive by the
sweat of their brow on the face of this sin-cursed world. But hope was extended
for restoration and reconciliation, the shedding of blood allowed for a
covering of sin, until ultimately it would be wiped away for those that would
put their trust in Jesus. So even as we look forward to the day when Jesus
walks among us in the New Jerusalem (Rev 21-22), even now, by faith, we live in
His presence, Coram Deo, living
before the face of God.
The Big Idea: Life Coram Deo,
before the face of God, is not only possible, it’s God’s plan. If we turn from
our sin and turn to Him, we can experience the abundant life we were designed
for now and forever.
I. The Way
into His Presence (3:19a,b). “Repent
therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out…”
“Therefore” in v.19 indicates a
transition: based on the first part of Peter’s sermon, based on who Jesus is
and in light of what He has done, the hearers (and readers!) are called to
respond to the clear revelation of God. Peter is saying that He is the holy and
righteous one, the very author of life, and you not only disowned him, you were
complicit in delivering him up to be crucified! The need of the people was
evident in their actions. In light of who He is what they had done, they
desperately needed a way into the presence of God. They had committed the worst
sin imaginable: rejecting the Son who had come into the world! They needed to
change directions, and they needed to do it now.
The first word Peter speaks in his call for a
response it “…repent…” Repent by
turning from sin. The word “repent” literally means “change your mind,” but in
the New Testament usually is referring specifically to changing one’s mind
about Jesus. For the Jews it meant turning from their rejection of Him. In the book of Judges, before there was a
king in Israel, we see a pattern repeated over and over. The people fall away,
and “every man does that which is right in his own eyes.” If there are no
absolutes of right and wrong, what’s the problem? Post modern thinking would say “live and let
live,” “I’m ok your ok.” But the problem is that there is right and
wrong. There is a Creator who made this world and who owns it all. God makes the rules, and even fallen humans
know that in their heart.
Peter says repent and “…and turn again…” Not only do we turn away from our sin (metanoeo), our idolatry and pride and
the lust of our flesh, but we turn to Jesus (epistrepho). When I first
started using a GPS with some frequency I would start off in the wrong
direction, and it would say, “Make the first legal U-turn!” Peter is calling on
the people to make a U-turn, a 180 degree shift in direction. We see the idea in Paul’s
commendation to the Thessalonians in 1
Thess 1:9-10,
“For they themselves report concerning us the kind
of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to
serve the living and true God, 10
and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who
delivers us from the wrath to come.”
The same word, epistrepho,
is used to describe the turn, the change in direction, in the lives of the Thessalonians.
In Acts 3 Peter tells his countrymen to “repent,” to turn from their sin, he
makes it clear that they are not just turning over a new leaf, they are being
called to change direction, turning from their old life to a new
life of faith.
The
result or purpose of this new direction is described by the phrase “….that
your sins may be blotted out…” The word that is used here was used in
secular literature to describe the process of cleaning the writing off an old
document, a sheet of vellum or parchment, so that it could be reused. It was
wiped clean. Paper, or writing material I
should say (some were papyrus, which was cheaper, others were made from animal
skins) was expensive, so it was not wasted. We waste a lot in our country! As
missionaries in Brazil, we were always careful when we received gifts from the
US, especially if they were wrapped in wrapping paper! That was a present too since it was hard to
come by and expensive! We would carefully unwrap the present, and the paper was
put away and “re-used” later! Sarah still unwraps presents that way! Waste not,
want not, right? Peter uses this image
of a document being wiped clean, the writing blotted off the paper. It was made
clean, usable once again. A fresh start. Because of Jesus, God does that for us who repent and believe. That’s the first
step toward the life God wants for you. God’s word indicates that life Coram Deo, before the face of God, is
not only possible, it’s His plan. If we turn from our sin and turn to Him, we
can experience the abundant life we were designed for now and yes, forever.
II. Living in His Presence: the Already and Not yet
Kingdom (19c-21).
“…that
times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may
send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus…” The first result of the
repentance and faith that leads to forgiveness is the refreshing presence of
Jesus.
Robin mentioned in the History of Boothbay Baptist Church that in the minutes
of meetings from the 1800s mention was often made to the members enjoying “a
time of refreshing from the Lord.” Can
you say that? I hope so! Have you
been refreshed by the Lord’s presence this morning? If there is a problem, it’s
not with the fountain! He promises His
presence with us always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). He said “I will never leave you or forsake you”
(Hebrews 13:5). Even so there is a
special promise of His presence as we gather together in His name (Matthew
18:20). As we’ve studied the psalms on
Wednesday nights we’ve seen that the Old Testament ideas of “shalom,” and rest, and “tob,”
the “good [things]” that are associated with the blessing of the covenant
life, reach their fulfillment in Jesus. As we learned in John, He is the
source of the refreshing, life giving water that we desperately need (John
4:13,14; 7:37-39). The Spirit was now present, and that refreshment was flowing
freely to all who would believe. The Spirit was present, so the Lord was
present.
Now the context makes clear that in one
sense that presence will be more fully realized in the millennial Kingdom and
ultimately in the New Jerusalem. But v.21 indicates that the return of Jesus
must wait for the time appointed by the Father.
Even so the Scripture is clear that there is a sense in which He is
present even now with His people. It’s the idea we see reflected in Colossians 1:11-14,
May you be
strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance
and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to
share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of
darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we
have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
In this text the believers are already in the
Kingdom of the Son. Even so we await the promise of his return (Col 3:4). In
the interval we are urged to live in the light of our position, Col 3:9-10, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self
with its practices 10 and
have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the
image of its creator.” That renewal is a process, even as we learn and
grow to be more like Jesus. “But we all, with unveiled face beholding as
in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image
from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18).
Peter reminds his hearers that God’s story
will continue to unfold according to His plan: “…whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things
about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” Jesus is returning, as surely as He was taken
up into heaven before the eyes of His assembled disciples in Acts 1:9-11, He
will return in like manner. Remember the disciples had asked in Acts 1:6, “Is it at this time that you will restore the
kingdom to Israel?” The King will come, the kingdom will be established,
and then ultimately the eternal state. God’s word indicates that life Coram Deo, before the face of God, is not only possible, it’s His
plan. If we turn from our sin and turn to Him…
III.
The Promise of His Presence: To the Jew first, also the Nations (22-26). The
Old Testament spoke of the coming One and the New Age He would inaugurate…
Moses wrote of a coming Prophet who
would show the way to live Coram Deo,
before the face of God (22-23). “Moses
said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.
You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul
who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.'” If
there was an authority that was universally respected among the Jews it was
certainly Moses, the traditional author of the first five books of the Bible. Moses
was used by God to lead the people out of Egypt to the brink of the promised
land. He spoke with God face to face and received the 10 commandments. All
prophets that followed would be “like Moses” in that they brought God’s word to
the people, and all prophets, like Moses, would look ahead to the coming of the Prophet, the Word of God incarnate.
All the prophets looked ahead, proclaiming “these days” (24 ). “And all the prophets who have spoken, from
Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days” (see Acts
2:17; Heb 1:1). Peter seems to be saying
that they day of fulfillment had come, or as Paul said, “In the fullness of
time God sent forth His Son…” (Gal 4:4,5).
This “last days” perspective was something we saw hinted at already on
the day of Pentecost when Peter interpreted Joel’s prophecy in terms of the “last
days” (Acts 2:17). The writer to the Hebrews is emphatic at the beginning of
his epistle, “In different times and various ways God spoke in times past to
the fathers through the prophets, but in these last days He was spoken
in a Son…” (Heb 1:1,2). The arrival of the Messiah indicated the dawn of a new
age, the messianic age of fulfillment.
God
had been working through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to carry
out His plan (25-26). “You are the sons
of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to
Abraham, 'And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be
blessed.' 26 God, having
raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one
of you from your wickedness." This is a key aspect of the promise for
the nations, because the promised Seed, Jesus, is the One in whom and through
whom the gentiles are blessed. So we’ll
see in Acts the outward spread of the Gospel, and so that mission continues as
we are called to be His witnesses.
What is God
saying to me in this passage? God’s
word indicates that life Coram Deo,
before the face of God, is not only possible, it’s His plan. If we turn from
our sin and turn to Him, we can experience the abundant life we were designed
for now and yes, forever.
What
would God have me to do in response to this passage? Have you come to the Son on His terms? That means
admitting your need, that you are a sinner, and choosing to repent, turning
from your sin and turning to God. It means acknowledging who Jesus is, and
trusting what He did for you on the Cross.
And
believer, have you experienced the blessed privilege of not just coming to
church to meet with God, but of living your life 24/7 Coram Deo, before the face of God? Do you regularly experience times of
refreshing from the presence of the Lord? The presence of His Majesty should
motivate us to choose carefully, to desire to put off the “old man” and to put
on Christ, the Holy and Righteous, the Author of Life, and so to live in the
renewed life, the abundant life, for which he has designed us. Are you living Coram Deo, before the face of God? Are you experiencing times of
refreshing in the presence of the Lord? If not, why not? The life giving water
flows freely from the fount of every blessing. There is a drought in California
as you know, but there is a far greater spiritual drought that most of us
hardly notice. The refreshment that comes from His presence can satisfy the
deepest longing of our souls. Think
about that. AMEN.
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