A New Year’s Resolution That Means Something
Text: Acts 2:42-47
Introduction
1. Illustration: At the beginning of a new year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers’ new year’s resolutions on the bulletin board.
As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. "Why weren’t my resolutions posted?" She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions.
Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded. This teacher’s first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the New Year.
2. Illustration: Here are a few less-serious resolutions:
a. “I have resolved to live in my own little world, because at least they know me here.”
b. “I have resolved to stay married, because it is so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.”
c. “I have resolved to not make any resolutions, because nobody is perfect. I’m a nobody, therefore I’m perfect.”
3. What is a resolution anyway? Well according to Webster’s Dictionary, a resolution is, "the act of determining" to do something.
4. Okay, where am I headed with this? Read Acts 2:42-47.
Proposition: We need to make a resolution to be more like the early Church.
Transition: Let us look at the Church’s resolution.
I. The Church’s Resolution (42)
A. The Apostle’s Doctrine
1. Luke tells us that they early Church "continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine..."
2. The verb translated "continued steadfastly" (proskartereo) is a common one that connotes a steadfast and single-minded fidelity to a certain course of action.
a. The early church made a conscious decision to be devoted to the things mentioned in this verse.
b. They made the decision that these were things that were important to their spiritual growth, and therefore, determined to be committed to those things.
c. Illustration: A chicken and a pig were walking past a church building one day when they noticed the Sunday morning sermon posted on the outside bulletin board, "Helping the Poor." They walked away when the chicken suddenly came across with a suggestion. "Brother pig, why don’t we give all the poor people a nice breakfast of ham and eggs?" The pig thought a moment and replied, "That’s all right for you to say because for you it is only a contribution, but for me, it’s total commitment!"
3. One of the things they were committed to was the apostle’s doctrine.
a. The apostles were called upon not only to witness to the world but also to teach the Christian family - New International Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM
b. The apostles, the eyewitnesses of all Jesus had done, would be the ones whom the Holy Spirit would remind of the crucial truths by which the church would be directed for centuries to come.
c. From the beginning the early church was devoted to hearing, studying, and learning what the apostles had to teach.
4. Just as the early church was devoted to Scripture, so we too need to be devoted to Scripture.
a. We need to be devoted reading the word.
b. We need to be devoted to hearing the word.
c. We need to be devoted to studying the word.
d. We need to be devoted to studying the word.
B. Fellowship
1. Another thing that Luke tells us they made a commitment to was fellowship.
2. The fellowship (koinonia) means association and close relationships.
a. This was more than just getting together, certainly more than just a religious meeting.
b. It involved sharing goods, having meals together, and praying together.
3. It also carried with it the idea of partnership.
a. Phil. 1:5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,
b. Not only did they develop a relationship with the Lord, but also a close, honest, warm, redeeming relationship with one another.
c. Their commitment was not just a commitment to the Lord, but it was also a commitment to one another.
4. We have come a long way in learning what that means this past year.
a. More and more people have come to the realization that if I want the church to progress and move forward then I have to step forward and do my part.
b. Many more have echoed the words of Isaiah "Here I am Lord, send me!"
c. However, we need to continue to be committed to the fellowship.
C. Breaking of Bread
1. Another thing that the early Church was committed to was the breaking of bread.
2. This refers to communion services that were celebrated in remembrance of Jesus and patterned after the Last Supper, which Jesus had eaten with his disciples before his death.
3. This again is another thing that Jesus commanded his disciples to do after He was gone.
4. 1 Cor. 11:23-24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
5. Once again, this is something that the church today needs to be committed to.
a. It should not be an optional thing for us, but something that has true meaning and importance.
b. In this church, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the first Sunday night of each month along with corporate prayer, which is another thing we should be committed to.
D. Prayer
1. In the early church, prayer was clearly a high priority and an important part of their life together.
2. In Acts, where there is much prayer, there is much activity of the Holy Spirit; and where there is much activity of the Holy Spirit there is much prayer (SFLSB, 1670).
3. Illustration: If I should neglect prayer but a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith. Martin Luther
4. If these great men and women of faith needed to pray, then who are we to neglect prayer?
5. Prayer changes:
a. Circumstances
b. Outcomes
c. Us
Transition: What did these resolutions cause the church to do?
II. The Church’s Response (43-45)
A. Then: Signs and Wonders
1. Luke tells us that the result of their resolution was that "fear came upon every soul..."
2. Fear (phobias) does not mean terror or fright. It means...
a. A godly fear, a fear of God, of His displeasure and judgment.
b. A holy sense of God’s presence.
c. A consciousness that God is working.
d. A reverence for God and for what is happening.
e. A sense of awe and wonder.
3. Notice that this affected not just those inside the church, but also those outside of the church.
a. "Every soul" here refers both to the believers and to outsiders who saw and heard what was happening in the church. (Fernando, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Acts, 122).
b. These people could sense that God was at work.
c. If we are resolved to practice what the early Church practiced people will take notice, especially if we are as devoted to them as they were.
4. This awe was partly caused by the many miraculous signs and wonders performed by the apostles, for Luke tells us that "many wonders and signs were done through the apostles."
• The "wonders" (terata) were fabulous miracles that evoked awe in those who saw them.
• The Greek here seems to indicate a secondary agency, in other words, they done by the Holy Spirit through the apostles.
• The language also indicates that these miracles were not temporary, but continued to happen.
• Later God gave miracles through many others, including ordinary disciples who were not apostles.
5. Because the Church was devoted to these things it caused them to act according to their devotion to God, and the Holy Spirit moved in their midst.
a. If we draw closer to God, He will draw closer to us.
b. If we draw closer to God, we will draw closer to one another.
c. If we draw closer to God and one another, the Spirit will move and people will take notice.
B. Now: Unity
1. This closeness to God and one another casued unity in the Church.
2. Luke says that "Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common..."
a. Believers were so near the cross and the resurrection and so filled with the Spirit, that for a while selfishness was swallowed up in love. - New International Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM
b. This means they were together in the same place because they were of the same call, mind, and purpose.
c. It does not mean just being in the same location and place.
d. They would not have been together unless they had been of the same spirit and purpose.
3. Illustration: There can be union without unity: tie two cats together by their tails and throw them over a clothesline. There you will have union, but certainly not unity!
4. Why was their such unity in the early Church? It was because of their resolution to be committed to the things of God.
a. They had unity because they did what the word of God told them to do.
b. They had unity because they were committed to one another.
c. They had unity because committed to prayer.
5. If we want what they had, then we are going to have to do what they did.
a. Commit ourselves to the word.
b. Commit ourselves to one another.
c. Commit ourselves to prayer.
Transition: If we do what they did, then we will get what they got.
III. The Church’s Result (46-47)
A. The Lord Added to the Church
1. So what are the results of the Church’s resolutions?
2. First, Luke says, "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple..."
a. The phrase one accord means to be one in spirit and purpose.
b. The word is used only eleven times in Scripture, ten of those times are found in Acts.
c. There was no agenda other than God’s agenda.
3. Believers were gathering both at the Temple, and in homes to celebrate the Lord’s Supper and, presumably, for fellowship, the sharing of needs, and prayer.
a. There were no arguments or disagreements.
b. There was no gripping or complaining.
c. There was just the love that comes from knowing Jesus.
4. Also, notice what was in their hearts. Luke says "and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart..."
a. We see here one of the repeated themes of the book of Acts: joy.
b. Note their attitude was gladness, joy, and rejoicing. They were more than glad to worship and minister as the Lord had instructed.
5. Two final statements reveal two significant results of the presence of this regularly meeting, money-sharing, miracle-working, Bible-studying, God-praising group: "having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."
a. The watching community was favorably impressed (the believers were enjoying the goodwill of all the people).
b. The watching community was coming to faith (and each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved).
c. Notice that the emphasis both in English and in Greek is that the Lord added to their number.
d. However, we must also see that the Lord added to their number as a result of what they were doing.
e. The increase (47) was the natural result of the spiritual state of the church. (New International Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM)
f. The Lord added to their number, yes, but He was did so because they were doing what He told them to do!
B. If We Grow the Church Grows
1. Illustration: Church growth expert, George Barna found that prayer was the foundational ministry of rapidly growing churches in America. He wrote: “The call to prayer [in these churches] was the battle cry of the congregation: it rallied the troops. These people understood the power of prayer. They actively and consistently included prayer in their services, in their events, their meetings and their personal ministries.”
2. Thing that we need to understand is that as we grow the church will grow. As we dovote ourselves to:
a. Prayer
b. Reading and studying the Word
c. Growing closer to the Lord
d. Involvement in ministry
e. The church will grow
3. That type of activity creates an atmosphere that people want to be involved in.
4. People want to go to a church were people are seriously seeking and desiring the things of God.
Transition: As we resolve to commit ourselves to the things of God, the church we grow.
Conclusion
1. In thinking about New Year’s resolutions, we need to look at the early church.
a. They resolved to devote themselves to the things of God.
b. They responded by continuing in the ministry of Jesus.
c. They saw the result of the Spirit moving in their midst and people being saved.
2. What is our New Year’s resolution? I believe it should be to devote ourselves to:
a. Prayer
b. Reading and studying the Word
c. Involving ourselves in the ministry of the Church
1. If we do what they did, we’ll get what they got!
