God’s Church is Cross-Cultural

Transcript

GRM 1046
1/3/2010
God's Church Is Cross-Cultural
Acts 2:22-47
Gil Rugh


I want to direct your attention to Acts 2. I thought it fitting for us at the beginning of a new year just to remind ourselves of some of the basic truths that are to characterize us as the church, going back to the beginning of the church in Acts 2. We hear so much in our day about how important it is to be attuned to the culture of the day, how people think today. The church is always trying to adjust because we think we have to make the adjustment so we can reach our culture. And we have the Generation Xers and Yers and Zers and whatever else and supposedly everyone is different so we have to readjust what we are doing. I think it is good to remind ourselves as we begin a new year together as a church family, nothing has changed. When we look at what God at the establishing of the church in the very beginning and how it functioned, basically nothing has changed. Two thousand years have passed but God's purposes and plans and methodology have not changed.

In Acts 2 Peter preaches the first sermon that will result in the birth of the church on the Day of Pentecost, a Jewish feast day. Many Jews are gathered in Jerusalem. In the first part of Acts 2 the Spirit of God comes upon the apostles and the believers there. They begin to speak with other languages. A crowd draws around and Peter gets up to speak. Verse 14, Peter taking his stand with the eleven raised his voice and declared to them, men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. Then he proceeds to give a message showing that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of Old Testament scriptures. And you see as you look at your Bible, the quotes from the Old Testament in verses 17-20, and again verses 25-28, again in verses 34-35, drawing the attention of these Jews to what the Old Testament prophesied and to what Jesus Christ did in fulfilling those scriptures. And it's a simply gospel message. Verse 21 says, for whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Peter explains how salvation comes by calling on the name of the Lord. Jesus Christ, God's Son was validated during His earthly life here, demonstrated to be the Messiah of the Israel.

But verse 33, this man delivered over by the predetermined and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. Let's start right at the beginning, you are guilty. You are guilty of the death of your Messiah, the One that God had sent. But God raised Him up again. And he goes on to show further how this fulfilled Old Testament scriptures. You see the simplicity of the message? The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that's the heart of what he is preaching.

Come down to verse 33. He's reminded them again and quoting Old Testament scripture in verse31, verse 32 shows that Christ is the fulfillment of that, being raised up by God. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth that which you both see and hear. Remember Jesus Christ had promised that when He ascended to the Father, He would send the Holy Spirit. So Peter says this is what God said He would do when His Son ascended to heaven. He'd have His Son send the Holy Spirit to the earth.

Verse 36, therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Theme running through this, you are guilty. Jesus Christ was crucified, buried, raised, ascended to heaven. He is Lord and Christ. Not a complicated message at all.

Verse 36, when they heard this they were pierced to the heart. Here we see God's plan, the proclamation of the truth concerning His Son, the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing conviction to a heart and the result when we get to verse 41—three thousand people were saved on that day. Tremendous impact with a simple message. Proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God uses that message to convict hearts and minds of sin so that they might repent, turn from their sin and place their faith in Christ. That pattern does not change.

Turn over to I Corinthians 1. Now we are in a different culture when we come to I Corinthians. Peter was preaching to Jews in Jerusalem, they had their own world, if you will, their own culture, their own way of thinking and their own way of looking at the world. Now with the letter to the Corinthians, Paul is writing to a Greek church in a Greek city. Not anything like Jews in Jerusalem, a different culture. And yet Paul says in I Corinthians 1:17, for Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. Verse 18, for the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Verse 21, the Greeks like debate, they like a display of intellect. But verse 21, since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. Jews ask for signs, Greeks search for wisdom, we preach Christ crucified.

Look down in chapter 2. I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. The work of the Spirit and the power of the gospel as the Spirit uses it to convict, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men but on the power of God. You see the message nor the method, neither changes as we change cultures. I know the Greeks want something different from the Jews, but I give the Jews and the Greeks the same thing—the message of Jesus Christ. It's the true cross cultural message, it's for every and any generation. It's the same message.

Come over to I Thessalonians 1. Thessalonica is another Greek city, northern part of Greece from Corinth. But Paul when he came there, he reminds the Thessalonians in this letter of what he did. Verse 5, for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction. Same thing he said to the Corinthians. It came in word, but not word only, in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. How do you get that?

Come back to Acts 17. And what did Paul do when he came to Thessalonica? He would often go, and he did it in Thessalonica, into a synagogue where the Jews were because he could pick up the Jews with the Old Testament. And the message was to be brought to the Jews first. So what did he do in verse 2? He went to the synagogue, he reasoned with them for three Sabbaths from the scriptures. What is he doing? Explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, saying, this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ. What he did at this time is take the Old Testament scriptures and show them that they prophesied the coming of the Messiah who would suffer and die and be raised from the dead. Some of them were persuaded, a large number of God-fearing Greeks also joined along with some of the leading women. In other words converts, people saved from among the Jews, the Greeks and the leading women of the city. But the Jews become jealous and they stir up trouble. They say, verse 6, these men who have upset the world have come here also. The trouble gets so great, Paul has to leave town in the middle of the night. He travels down to other towns and cities. You see the simplicity of the message? Jesus is the Christ. He had to suffer and die and be raised from the dead. That's the message.

You come back to Acts 2. Peter has preached this simple message and we noted in verse 37, when they heard this they were pierced to the heart. The Holy Spirit convicts them. Remember Jesus said when the Spirit comes He will convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. How does He convict the world? Through the message of
Christ that we give out. It's that simple. We who have come to know the Savior pass on the message, tell people about the Savior. He died to pay the penalty for their sins, He was raised from the dead and is alive today. The Spirit of God takes that truth and convicts a heart. They are pierced to the heart. They say, what can we do? He says, repent and be baptized. You repent from your sins, you turn from your sins to the Savior and then you declare your allegiance to Him in water baptism. Three thousand people were saved on that day.

Now you'll note here, we read about Paul's ministry in Thessalonica. He preached the same message Peter did. Peter preached it, three thousand people got saved. Paul preaches it, a few people get saved evidently and he has to run out of town in the middle of the night. We have to be careful. Well Paul must have done something wrong because when Peter preached it three thousand people got saved but when Paul preached it he had to leave town in the middle of the night. You see the Spirit of God takes the message of Christ and uses it according to the purposes of God. People did get saved at Thessalonica, a church was established there, but the same kind of broad impact was not felt. But the Spirit of God was using the Word. We don't determine how God will use His Word in given situations, God determines that.

So the first thing we need to have fixed in our minds before we go any further is that God's methodology is the gospel. We give the gospel to people. They will consider it foolishness, that's what I Corinthians 1 says. It will anger some, it will result in the salvation of some. That's in God's hands. But the basic responsibility entrusted to us is to give out the gospel.

Where did they go from there? Verses 42-47 give a summary of what was taking place in this early church in the opening days of the church. And the simplicity there basically the same thing that characterizes the church today. Look at verse 42. They, the apostles, the three thousand that are saved, they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. They were continually devoting themselves. That word devoting, it means to be steadfast, have a single minded commitment to something. And they did this continually, the present tense. They were continually devoting themselves to these four areas. This is what the church was about. Ultimate simplicity, _________ basic things that characterized the church in those days.

We'll look at each one of these briefly. They were continually devoting themselves first to the apostles' teaching. It was the proclamation of the message of Christ that brought them to salvation. Now they are constantly submitting themselves to the teaching of the apostles. Remember in the Great Commission as we call it in Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus instructed His disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of all people, all nations. And what do they do to these disciples? Baptizing them and teaching them. Baptizing them identified them publicly as followers of Christ. Teaching them was nurturing them in the truth. Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. Apostolic teaching is simply taking the truth that has been revealed by Christ to His apostles. They were studying what the apostles were teaching. That hasn't changed. We're here studying the Word of God, the New Testament which was given by the apostles and prophets that God had given to the church.

Turn over to Ephesians 2. Paul has been saved, he'll be saved in Acts 9 and begin his missionary travels in Acts 13. He established a church at Ephesus so he writes a letter to that church. In Ephesians 2:19, so you are no longer strangers and aliens, you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone. In whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. Talking about the church and its growth and development now. It's on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. We continue to be taught the truth that was revealed through the apostles and New Testament prophets. That's true apostolic succession, studying apostolic teaching, the teaching of New Testament apostles and New Testament prophets. That's what we have as our New Testament. It's not men receiving authority to themselves as apostles, it's the Word of God that has been given through the apostles that is now the foundation we're building on. You'll note they don't create a new foundation, they build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the truth that God has revealed. That's what we do today. We gather together for apostolic teaching, studying the truth that God has revealed in His Word and particularly here the New Testament which has been added to the Old Testament. So now we have a completed Word of God. Peter wrote in I Peter 2:2, as newborn babes long for the pure unadulterated milk of the Word of God in order that you may grow in respect to your salvation. So just as the message of Christ, the gospel, brings salvation to a heart, so now that a person comes to salvation that is found by faith in Christ, now growth and development come through being nurtured on the Word of God, that being the pure, unadulterated milk of God's Word that we are fed on.

So the early church devoting itself to apostolic teaching. Two thousand years later what is the church to be doing? Devoting itself to apostolic teaching, the truth that God has revealed through His apostles and prophets. The simplicity of it not changing, doesn't change over the years of the New Testament, it doesn't change down through the centuries of time. Here we are. The church is to be, according to I Timothy 3, the pillar and support of the truth. Well what is Timothy to do? Take the truth that he had been taught and to teach it to faithful men who will teach others also. Pass on the apostolic teaching. That's what we are doing today. We're gathered around the Word of God to devote ourselves to the truth that God has revealed.

Turn over to II Peter 3. We get the seriousness of this. Verse 14, therefore beloved, since you look for these things, the time when Christ will return, the world will be made new and so on. Be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless. And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. The fact that God hasn't intervened and brought judgment on the world and so on, God is gracious, He is patient. These are still days of salvation. Just as our beloved brother Paul according to the wisdom given to him wrote to you. As also in all his letters speaking in them of these things. In which are some things hard to understand. Here is the Apostle Peter and he says, you know what? When I read the writings of the Apostle Paul, that stretches me because some of those things are heard to understand. Which the untaught and unstable distort as they do also the rest of the scriptures to their own destruction. You see the seriousness of the matter. Some of those things that Paul wrote are hard to understand, but you better not distort or twist them. That's a mark of destruction. So even though we have to apply ourselves with diligence to study the writings of Paul, Peter and others, and some of them will stretch us, the Spirit of God gives us understanding. And for those who twist the Word of God, it's an indication that they are lost, they don't know the Savior. Because the Spirit of God does give us understanding. So the Word of God is the focus and it's crucial that it be maintained in its purity. And that's the ministry that we have as a church together.

Come back to Acts 2. As the church gets together the focal point ought to be the Word of God. It's much better that God speak than I speak. That's a priority, that we hear God. Acts 2:42, they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and of fellowship. I mean, here the church has been flooded with three thousand new members and it is continuing to grow—Acts 2:47, the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. And soon we find in Acts the church has grown to five thousand. A big church there. They didn't have any buildings and so on, but they have thousands now of new believers who are being taught the Word of God and now they are devoting themselves to fellowship. They have to be bound together into a relationship with one another, and they have that relationship and they express it as they are together, interacting with one another in the study of the Word and being involved in one another's lives now. A new relationship has been established which supersedes all other relationships—our physical family, as important as it is and as much as we love the members of our physical family, it is superseded now by a greater family relationship, the relationship we have with Jesus Christ and His father. Remember what Jesus said when His disciples came to Him and said, your mother and your brothers and sisters are here and want to see you? He said, who is my mother or my brothers or my sister? These who have believed in Me. You see it's a relationship that supersedes the physical relationship, the spiritual relationship we have together in Jesus Christ.

Come over to I John 1. And John opens up talking about Jesus Christ and life is found in Him. Verse 2, the life was manifested, Jesus Christ is the life, the word of life at the end of verse 1. The life was manifested and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us. And we have seen and heard and we proclaim to you also so that you, too, may have fellowship with us. There is our word, fellowship, koinonia. And indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. So you see we have entered into a relationship of fellowship with God the Father and God the Son. And we proclaim the message of Christ to you so that you can have fellowship with us by having fellowship with Him. That's the relationship, the bond that is established. It is a spiritual bond, it is a bond that will be eternal. My physical family relationships will not be maintained in eternity, my spiritual family relationships will be maintained in eternity. Important we see the significance of God's family. So there the church was meeting together for fellowship.

As you come back to Acts stop at II Corinthians 13:14. We read, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. You see that provision of fellowship by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives that binds us together in a supernatural way. Jesus said if you love father or mother, brother or sister more than Me, you cannot be My disciple. That simple. He has to take priority over everything. And when we enter into a relationship with Him, we enter into a relationship with others who have a relationship with Him. And that is the bond of fellowship that supersedes everything else, all other relationships.

So when you come back to Acts 2, they were continually devoting themselves to fellowship, being involved together because there is an expression of fellowship. I mean, we think of it on a lesser level. We have just come through the holidays. We like to get together and be together as family and friends. There is something special about that. Some have traveled great distances to be together with family because it is important. So it is in God's spiritual family, the fellowship is essential. That's why the writer to the Hebrews said in Hebrews 10, do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together as is the manner of some. When we get together __________________ to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. That fellowship together as we are together is an encouragement and a motivation in our service for the Lord. Fellowship, being together in a service like this, other classes, home Bible studies, times together as believers. Doesn't mean we never do anything just socially together and enjoy one another's company, but the guiding and binding relationship is our spiritual relationship. That's what gives significance to everything else and has priority in our lives.

It bothers me that it seems we have a pattern developing where believers are happy to have less time together. We can cut down the times because our schedules are so busy. As though people in biblical times didn't have anything to do. But we are so busy and we're happy to cut back. You know, less services, shorter services, fewer meetings through the week because all other activities seem to take precedence. ______ ___________________ number one priority for us, God's people, is to enjoy the fellowship of God's people because God uses that in my life as a stimulation, a motivation, a spur to love and good deeds in my service for Him and so on. Fellowship.

And to the breaking of bread. This could be used generally of having a meal, but I think in the context and we'll see it as we move down to verse 46, but here he is speaking specifically of the breaking of bread in what we would call the communion service. In New Testament times it was accompanied by a meal as I Corinthians 11 would make clear, like Jesus had with His disciples on the last night. They were having a meal and in that meal He took bread and broke it, took the cup and passed it around to them. Down through history by and large for most groups, not all, but for most the full meal is no longer practiced, but we have the reminder in the communion service of the death of Christ. And here at the very beginning this church is gathered together around the death of Christ. That's what binds us together. We're not a social organization, we're not an entertainment center. We are gathered together around the death of Christ. What did Jesus say? As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you do proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. And the heart of the meeting of the early church is the death of Christ, this reminder of His death.

Over in Acts 20:7, and on the first day of the week when they were gathered together to break bread. I think the connection here is the first day of the week, gathered together to bread bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day and he prolonged his message until midnight. I wonder how many of us would be happy if we had Paul come preach here. We'd be a little bit like Eutychus, he's the young man who fell asleep during the sermon as you remember. But they got together, they broke bread. I mean, we're reminded of the death of Christ in this physical way. Doesn't say how often we have to do it, whether it is every day, but it is a focal point of what we do. This church is about the death of Jesus Christ, we're about serious business. Doesn't mean we don't enjoy our time together, but this is serious business. It's the disaster of turning the church into an entertainment center, that's not serious business. Turn on the game, I want to do that to get away from serious things. May be serious for those guys playing but for me it is not. It's a nice cold drink, a soda cold drink, and some snack food and relax. I'm not down there getting beat up, I'm being entertained. The church is not entertainment, we're here about serious business, we're devoting ourselves to apostolic teaching, to the fellowship that we have together as God's people bound together with His family, the breaking of bread and being focused on the death of our Savior to pay the penalty for our sin.

And to prayer, is the fourth item in Acts 2:42. A devotion to prayer. Go back to Acts 1:14. Even before the church was established as the followers of Christ have gathered together, what were they doing? Verse 14, they all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer. We belong to God, He is our heavenly Father. We're told you have not because you ask not. We are comfortable going to our heavenly Father because His Son is our Savior, our High Priest. And so we come with confidence to the throne of grace and receive from Him what we need. He is our God. So prayer is a part of what we are. You'll note prayer is limited to believers. Only those who have Jesus Christ as their Savior High Priest have access to the presence of God. You know what God says regarding those who do not believe His Word? Even their prayers are an abomination to Him. He hates their prayers, they are an affront to Him. I mean, that they would have the nerve to reject His Word and yet come to pray. That's why I don't believe in common prayer, where we have days of prayer or prayer (I don't want to get too specific and get myself in trouble), but all city prayer things. You know, the only people who can pray, and I want it to be clear, are those who know Jesus Christ as Savior. I mean, prayer is not a good thing. We get so ..............

In the paper this week they were ............... What would you recommend, I even forget the context, but they asked a gospel singing group from the West Coast, what would you say to people for the New Year? Learn a gospel song. Even if you are not a Christian it will lift your spirits. That's what we are? You call yourself a gospel group? What is the gospel? I mean, you ought to be depressed in spirit if you're not a Christian. Do you know you are doomed and under the condemnation of the living God and on your way to hell? I want to tell you to learn a gospel song, even if you're not a Christian it will lift your spirits. In other words, you can be happy without Christ. In prayer we get the same way. Well at least you pray, it's important you pray, I'm glad to hear you pray. ___________ tell people? __________ do you know prayer is a great privilege and God opens that privilege but only to certain ones, only to those who have placed their faith in His Son. The book of Hebrews is written about that. You have to have a high priest who has offered an acceptable sacrifice to be the go between, and it can't be an earthly man. We have religions that have established priests on earth. Jesus Christ is the High Priest and when we come to believe in Him we become believer priests and have access to God the Father through Jesus Christ, not through another man. You don't have to come to me and say, would you pray for me. We can do that in one sense as believers as we pray for one another, and they would have been doing that here, but you know you can pray and get as direct access to God as I get or as anybody else can get because we as believers stand on the same ground on that level. Isn't that a great privilege? So the church is devoted to prayer. Praise God for the faithful people who pray here and pray faithfully for the ministry, pray for me, pray for other teachers, other workers. You know how hard it is. Prayer is easily let go because ........... Lord, watch over us. We see how devoted we can become when someone close to you gets in a serious condition. All of a sudden we can be devoted to prayer, right? Then it becomes a serious matter. Then I pray intently. But that ought to characterize me, I ought to spend time with my Father and it ought to characterize us as a church, our prayer together. Romans 12:12 says, be devoted to prayer. Colossians 4:2, Paul exhorts the Colossians, devote yourself to prayer.

What is going on at this time? Look at verse 43, everyone kept feeling a sense of awe. They are in fear, awe, a reverential fear of what God is doing. There is a recognition God is at work. We come to take it for granted. We come, we open the Word of God, we wonder how long it's going to be because we want to get on to other things. This is the word of God that we have been entrusted with. There is a fellowship with God's people that we will enjoy for all eternity. This is the privilege of being focused on the death of our Savior, focused on communion and bringing our requests and the burdens and desires and thanks of our heart to our God. What is more important to get on to? We try to keep fitting “church” into time that will intrude as little as possible into the busyness of my life. What do we model before the world and before the coming generation? That this is something you have to do but you don't want it to interfere with the things that you really like doing. Well this is to be our life, the other things are just things we have to do.

So everyone kept feeling a sense of awe. Many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. This is an awesome time and we get caught up and say, the miracles, if we only had the miracles. But you understand the miracles are secondary. What the miracles are doing here, and you'll note the miracles are being done through the apostles, not all these three thousand new believers are not miracle workers. But wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. So what these miracles were doing is demonstrating the validity of the apostolic message. How do I know that this new truth that they are teaching me, what they are teaching me about Christ and His finished work and His ascension, how do I know that's all true? God validated it by enabling them to do miracles.

We don't have time to go through the list of passages I have written down here, but if you go through the book of Acts you'll find out a consistency that almost always with few exceptions like Stephen in Acts 7, who is not called an apostle, but he did miracles. But the general pattern is the apostles are the ones doing the miracles. Why? Because the truth is being revealed to them. Now prophets who are receiving revelation even would fit into that category in Acts 7, also are doing miracles. Miracles served a specific purpose. New revelation is given. How do we know it is coming from God and not just man making it up? The miracles demonstrated that.

Turn over to Hebrews 2. Tells us how important it is we pay attention to what God is saying. Verse 1, for this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels, that would be the law given to Moses, proved unalterable and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation. After it was at the first spoken through the Lord it was confirmed to us by those who heard. That's the apostles. God also testifying with them both by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. You see these miracles validated the truth that was being given to the New Testament apostles and prophets. That's why Paul wrote to the Corinthians and said in II Corinthians 12:12, the signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all signs and wonders and miracles. Well if every believer was around doing signs, wonders and miracles, how was it the sign of a true apostle? And at times like in the church at Corinth where you had miracle gifts taking place like speaking in tongues, they were the direct result of an apostle's ministry. So even the presence of a miracle gift in the church at Corinth validated the fact that Paul was an apostle and the message that he spoke and wrote to them was from God. So this whole idea of miracles.........

Do you know what Jesus said in telling the account in Luke 16 of the rich man and Lazarus as He records what Abraham said? If they don't believe Moses and the prophets, they will not believe though a man is raised from the dead. Because the rich man in Hades says, if somebody comes back from the dead my brothers will believe. No. It's not that there is lacking miracle evidence, there is unbelief in the heart. Now that we have the completed New Testament and with the Old Testament the completed Word of God, we do not need miracles. It is an evil and adulterous generation that seeks for miracles, Jesus said in Matthew 12. The only miracle you need, the only miraculous evidence ultimately is the resurrection from the dead. That's what will be given. We have a message complete now. Do I wish I could perform miracles? I do. We'd be having multiple services because come down here and I will heal you, I will ........... There are fraudulent things going on today, there is nothing genuine. We have the Word of God, you either believe it or you don't. You go and share the gospel with a person, they'll either believe it or they won't. Well if I could do a miracle that would show them. Yes, Christ was the greatest miracle worker to walk the earth and what did they do? After three years of that they crucified Him. He was raised from the dead, it didn't change their minds a bit. Understand, this is a work that God has to do in a heart because men and women will not turn from their sin.

So you come back to Acts 2:44, all those who had believed were together and had all things in common. They began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all as anyone might have need. You ought to underline the last part of verse 45, as anyone might have need. This is not socialism, communism or some facet of that kind of thinking. Do you know what immediately happens? The Day of Pentecost Peter preaches the gospel, three thousand people are saved. The next day they don't have a job. Understand we are in Jerusalem, these are Jews. You have to declare your faith in Christ with water baptism. The next morning you show up at work. Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Were you baptized as a follower of Him? You can't work here anymore. We have a difficulty in Jerusalem that will persist. Later on the Apostle Paul will take up an offering for the mother church in Jerusalem, if you will, because of its poverty condition. Because you are in a Jewish city that is Jewish controlled and the high priest and so on, you become a follower of Jesus Christ and you had to become an open follower because Peter preached, you must repent and be baptized. So there is no sneaking in the back door here, it's right up front. Pressure is on. So you have people who don't have a job. What do I do now? I mean, I worked for a day's wage and then I bought my food and now I'm ...............

Well, people who had things, later on in Acts 4 and into Acts 5 we have an account starting with Barnabas selling a piece of land and bringing and giving it to the church. But it doesn't mean everybody then comes down to equal level. When you get to Acts 4 Barnabas still has his land, and Acts 5 Annanias and Sapphira are told as long as you own the land it was yours. But when you said you would sell it and give it to the Lord and you lied and didn't do it, then it became an issue.

So here just that fellowship together. And we ought to be ready to do that today. Primarily responsibility of the church to take care of its own. That's why during the holiday season we take special offering and use that money through the year to help those in need. And there are many things that go on personally among you here, in your Bible study groups and in the things you become personally aware of, to help one another. That is just part of what we are as a family. Just like you do with your physical family. More so with our spiritual family. So they are sharing and taking care of one another.

Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, breaking bread from house to house. They are taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart. Did you ever notice what characterizes new Christians? They want to get together all the time. Sometimes you feel like you have to tell them, I have other things to do. They get together for a Bible study or coffee and you're talking about the Lord and you're done, the next thing they want to know is when can we get together again. We've just been together. I know, but we could talk some more, that's exciting. That enthusiasm, that zeal. Here you get the idea that's going on day by day. That doesn't mean all three thousand are able to be gathering at the same time every day, but it is a constant thing to be together. They met in the temple because that would be the largest meeting place. You understand the Jews at this time don't understand what the church is going to be. They won't come to Peter until Acts 10 and to the rest of the apostles until Acts 11. They just think this is a readjustment of Judaism now that the Messiah has come, we focus on Him. They don't understand. They are meeting in the temple, they are Jews meeting in the temple, the outer perimeters of the temple, areas that they could meet and have their discussions and so on. So they were doing that in the temple. It would be like our home Bible studies, a group would be there at the temple maybe on Thursday. Wouldn't necessarily be the same people who would be there on Friday because people did have other responsibilities. But every day you'd find people meeting together there and focusing on this. And the apostles probably would be the focal point with their teaching.

They are breaking bread from house to house. Probably here again communion going on as they meet together. Because the next statement is they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart. You just get the idea they want to be together. I mean, and they are together about the Lord and spiritual things and what God has done. This is important. Something seriously wrong spiritually is happening when the idea of believers is how little time do I have to spend together with other Christians. I mean, where would I want to spend my time, who would I want to be with? What do I want to talk about? What really thrills my soul? Like the song, all that thrill my soul is Jesus. You get the idea that's going on here.

There is gladness, sincerity of heart, they are praising God and they are having favor with all the people. This is a time of a special work of God. And there is a broadness. This comes at different times in different places. Back in the '60s and '70s in particular you would hear us talk about it. It was a time when there was just a general openness to the Word of God. I mean, people wanted to know the Word of God. I'd get invited to the high schools to speak about the Word of God, I'd get invited to the University to speak to university classes about the Word of God. Hasn't happened lately. You know, there was just a general openness. People wanted to do Bible studies, wanted to talk about the Bible. We opened the doors, people came in and wanted to do Bible study. Those times come. Here there is a favor, people respect ..............We had people of other religions who would come because they wanted to hear what you had to say about the Bible.

But you'll note what is going on, the last statement. You ought to have it underlined in your Bibles. The Lord as adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. You know the church gets off track with the simplicity we see here, when thousands aren't being saved we begin to think we live in a different setting, a different culture. People are different today, they're not open to be told this is truth. Period. That offends them. So we better make an adjustment, not in our message but in our methods. But some of those who have advocated this have been honest. They said, when we adjust the method we really are adjusting the message. The simplicity that is here doesn't change. You'll note, the Lord was adding to their number day by day. The goal is not to see if I can be brilliant enough and learn enough methodologies that I can fill large auditoriums. What we are responsible to do is give forth the Word of God. Remember what Paul told the Corinthians? Some sow the seed of the Word of God, some water, some reap the results of the ministry of the Word of God. But God causes the growth. We need to be careful. I have to be satisfied with what God chooses to do. When Paul is driven out from some cities, arrested in other places, beaten in other places, that doesn't mean he is a failure. What he has to be is a faithful servant. He's been entrusted with the stewardship of the Word of God. He says, above all it is required of a steward that he be found faithful, not successful as the world views it. When he is found faithful he is successful in God's eyes.

So what we are about as a church is not to please as many people as we can, it's to be as faithful as we can. What does that entail? Giving out the message of Jesus Christ.
When we meet together, when we are about our activities we as the body of Christ in this place and as we spread out we have a message. It's a simple message, it doesn't change. And when we meet together what do we do then with those who have been saved? We are devoting ourselves to apostolic teaching because the church is the pillar and support of the truth. But the unbelievers won't want to come in if you're just studying the Bible. I don't doubt that a bit. Unless the Spirit of God is doing a work in a heart, why would they want to come and hear what God has to say? They have rejected Him, they do not want to hear what He has to say. What did Jesus say about __________? Why did they want to kill Him? Because I've told you the truth.

We've been through this many times as we begin a new year together as a church family. We don't want to go out with the idea we want people to dislike us, we want to go out with a proper attitude, a love for the lost. Remember we at one time were just like them. But you understand this is who we are. We are followers of Jesus Christ. When we meet together as a church it's to hear what God has said, to learn it so we can put it into practice because Jesus wants us to be taught to observe and do all things that He has told us, to take this truth into my life. You know the unbeliever comes in, he is the outsider, we have fellowship together with one another because we have fellowship with God and with His Son. They have no true fellowship with us. Doesn't mean I want to make them uncomfortable, I don't make them uncomfortable, they are uncomfortable because ................. Just like if I walked into a family gathering at Christmas I don't know anybody, nobody knows me, I'm an outsider, I don't belong, I'm not part of the family. But if the Spirit of God is working there is a drawing, a convicting. And we recognize that. So we don't adjust the church and say, if we do more entertainment, more unbelievers will come in. What do we say? We'll get them in whether the Spirit of God works on them or not. I mean, God can only do a work in a heart. I can't, you can't, no one else can. Only God can work in a heart, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. What we are called upon to do is be faithful and now as His people entrusted with His truth, we have this truth in earthen vessels so that whatever happens all the glory will go to God. Because we're just an earthen vessel. So we as a church, nothing has changed. I would hope that if Peter, John or any of these from the Day of Pentecost would come, as we've said before, they would look around and say, different building, different clothes, but I fit here, I belong here. They are studying what the apostles taught, they are people committed to Jesus Christ, they have a bond together, they come to the heavenly Father through the finished work of Jesus Christ in prayer and talk with Him. They come together in fear, they are in awe of the God that they now belong to and serve and worship. And that must characterize us in our ministry together today and every day that God gives us. I hope this coming year is the year He comes. If it's not, we'll be about His work until He comes. But as Paul said, now is our salvation nearer than when we first began. And we are one year closer now in January 2010 than we were in January 2009. So praise the Lord for that. He's coming again.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your grace. Thank you for the work you have done in our lives. Lord, it's good for us to reflect back, be reminded again and again that you did a work of grace, a work in our hearts and minds. The Spirit brought conviction and you in grace brought the message of Christ to us. And as a result we turned from our sin and placed our faith in your Son. Lord, you made us new, you brought us into relationship with yourself, you brought us into a relationship with other believers, you've joined us together as part of your church and the fellowship of a local church where we could encourage one another, teach one another, help one another, and be joined together in giving you honor. Thank you for the good year you've given us that has passed and Lord, we look forward to a good year ahead of us. May we be faithful in the simplicity and beauty of what you have called us to be as your church in this place. We pray in Christ's name, amen.