Scripture - Acts 15:7-11 Peter rose up and said to them: "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Observation - Peter is reasoning with the people of God, the leadership of the churches and trying to explain his experience with the Holy Spirit. Peter was also of the mindset that Jesus came for the Jews until his experience at Cornelius house. The Holy Spirit shows up and tells him that Jesus came for all men, not just the ones that Peter deemed in the right group. In this passage the Jewish leadership are trying to get the new disciples to honor the circumcision process and they are rebelling against that. The brethren are telling these new disciples that they can't be truly saved until they go through the process. I love Peters words: Why are you putting a yoke on the disciples that neither our fathers or we could bear. In other words - why are you making serving Jesus more difficult that it needs to be. You are making it harder than Jesus made it. He rebukes them and establishes a new season of grace for the believers.
Application - Pastor Ray began a series about World Systems and the issues they can have over the lives of people. Systems can not love and there fore can become callous and harsh. The system of religion is a really necessary one, good in its foundation and needed to spread the gospel. God established the church and is using it as his last effort to spread the gospel around the world. However, when the church puts more on the believer than God does, the system begins to degenerate and cause religion to be the primary focus. We need to love people and serve others. That is the primary responsibilities of the disciples. Not to create rules and regulations that keep people out of our world. Let's not put on yokes that neither our forefathers or we can bear.
Prayer - Father help us to keep this simple. To love you with all of our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Father we need revival in our cities, states and nations.
