Popcorn Plant
Corn Plant
Acts 5:18-20, 27-29, 33, 40b-42 - 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.” 27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” 29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
We discussed tonight how Peter and the apostles could have rejoiced after being beaten for proclaiming the name of Jesus. First, we had to go back and look at the miracle they'd experienced in being escorted out of prison by an angel. Of course they were willing to go back to the very place and do the very thing that got them arrested in the first place! They had just witnessed God by their side as never before. Who could be afraid of going to jail or even of being beaten after such a wonder?
We talked about popcorn Christians then, like Peter and the apostles were. I think we've used popcorn as an object lesson before, but it has so many good and different qualities, doesn't it?
Anyway, we talked about the history of popcorn a little and how the Inca Indians of Peru were raising and popping corn more than 500 years ago. The Incas didn't just grow popping corn though. They grew all sorts of corn. Some of the kernels were as big as quarters. The colors of the corn ranged from red, pink, and blue to brown and even black. We compared corn plants to popcorn plants then and showed the kids pictures of both. Popcorn grows on small plants and the ears are also small, unlike other corn plants. But it's not the outer qualities (size or beauty) of the kernels that make them so different, but the unusual inner qualities.
Popcorn, like a true Christian, is different not on the outside, but on the inside. It's having Christ in one's heart that makes a person a Christian. Christians can't boast of their own power or strength or wisdom. It's the unusual quality of Christ in them that makes them different. Peter and the other apostles could not boast that THEY had escaped from the public prison. Only Christ's power, strength, and wisdom could set them free in the manner in which they were freed.
The true character or nature of popcorn is not fully appreciated until it has been tested or heated by fire. It is then that the moisture inside the kernel turns to steam, which builds up great pressure. Finally, the outer skin bursts and then the entire inside of the kernel puffs out. Only popcorn kernels do this!! Grains of any other kind of corn may look the same, but they will not explode as popcorn does. They will only crack and dry up because they don't have the power to withstand the heat. Still, the unusual quality of popcorn doesn't show up until fire is put to it. Likewise, the unusual quality of Christians doesn't show up until fiery trials are put to them.
We talked about Daniel's 3 young friends who trusted God and were delivered from the fiery furnace and fierce flames (Daniel 3). We talked about the first martyr, Stephen, who proved his faith in Jesus by dying for him (Acts 7:55-56). The true character of Christians shows up when circumstances are hard. Then their inner strength is revealed. The true character of Peter and the other apostles was displayed every time they were imprisoned, every time they were beaten, every time one of them was mocked or even killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. Go. Stand. Speak.
And again, it doesn't make any difference what you look like on the outside. There are yellow, black, and white popcorn kernels, but after fire is put to them, they all turn white. It's what's inside that counts. Amen!
