WHAT CHARACTERIZE THE CHURCH?
Act 2:41-47
Good News Christian Fellowship
BUCAS, Daraga Albay
February 4, 2007
Introduction
In Acts 2:1-13, Luke recorded the coming of the Holy Spirit. This is one of the most phenomenal and important events in all history. This is the event of glorious celebration, a day when people were to heap praise and thanksgiving upon God.
Also Luke recorded the preaching of the gospel by Peter to a great multitude on the day of Pentecost. Peter simply told them the wondrous story of redemption and grace by Christ, and proclaimed the glorious exaltation of Christ as Lord and King of the universe.
And three thousand people were converted and added to the church.
Now, here in chapter 2:42-47, Luke shows us activities practiced by the early church. This is shows us the traits that characterized the lives of Christian.
In this sermon, based on our text, I will preach to you traits that characterized the church:
• A worshiping community
• A learning congregation
• A caring flock
• A reaching body
These are things which should be of great interest and concern to every believer. They are matters about which every local church needs to be informed and well established.
I. A WORSHIPING COMMUNITY
After being baptized (v. 41) the first task for these new members of the body of Christ was learning how to worship.
Notice the words “continually devoting.” It means to be constantly diligent; to persevere constantly. A person does not quit, back off, fade away, and slip back. He continues on steadfastly.
When they gathered, their meeting beamed with intense devotion. As they assembled for prayer and fellowship, the Lord God remained the focus. The early church come together to worship on a regular schedule, a practice commanded and commended by the Apostles.
In Hebrew, the writer exhorts us not to neglect of assembling ourselves together, as it was the habit of some (Hebrew 10:25)
What is worship then?
Authors Ronald Allen and Gordon Borror shine a light on what worship is: “Worship is an active response to God whereby we declare His worth. . Worship is not simply mood; it is a response. Worship is not just a feeling; it is a declaration… “
So, worship is a human response to divine revelation. Worship begins with our eyes fixed on the holy Lord of heaven. When we come to church for worships, we should be looking for God. Our hearts should attuned to His heart, our souls open to drink in His glory. And when it happens, God is pleased, for He seeks genuine worshippers (John 4:23).
Worshiping God in His holiness and majesty helps us to see ourselves as we truly are – sinful and in need of a Savior. We praise God, confess our sins, and evaluate our lives as He speaks to our hearts. So we must listen to the message of God through the sermons.
II A LEARNING CONGREGATION
Observe verse 2 again. The early Christian devoted themselves not only worshiping God, they also learned His word. They continually devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching. The new believers mentioned gained knowledge and maturity as they sat under the apostles’ teaching. They received a solid diet of healthy spiritual food.
It is the obligation of the church to nurture those who are believers and build them up to maturity in the faith. Paul said, “Present every man mature in Christ.” (Col. 1:28)
Lord Jesus Christ commanded to teach new believers “to observe all I had commanded you” (Matt. 28:20)
The apostles considered the ministry of God’s word so important that they delegated other duties to ensure unobstructed teaching (Acts 6:1-6)
We can’t stay strong without this spiritual sustenance. If there’s no teaching, we’re simply having a picnic or a party. Without solid instruction, we’re fellowship gathering, not a church!
God gave the church a gifted persons “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the fullness of Christ” (Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem )
We read in 2timothy 4:1-4,”I charge you in the presence of god and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort , be unfailing in patience and in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound doctrine, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers who suit in own likings, and they will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths.’
That’s how important the ministry of the word. Starving sheep lack spiritual strength for daily living, and they are easy prey for cults.
So, in our fellowship we don’t water down the teaching of the scriptures. We first impart doctrinal truth to His children and then to grant them an understanding of this truth that will in turn regulate their conduct.
So, the early church were constant hearers of the word of God and held fast the form of sound words they had received from them; and stood fast in the faith of the Gospel.
III A CARING FLOCK (vv. 44-45)
These early Christians gathered not only to worship and learn, but to be with one another, to care for and share with one another. They kept up the communion of saints. They continued in fellowship. These early believers blended their lives together with a sense of closeness, oneness, and harmony.
Like them, the Good News Christian Fellowship:
• Share word of encouragement
• We minister to them by offering our money and resources to those in need.
• We offer comfort
• We offer confessions
• We share our joy, grief, and triumph
Fellowship, then, is genuine Christianity freely shared among God’s family members. It’s hard to think of how many Christians today are missing that kind of closeness.
And the fellowship of believers in a local church is vital to their spiritual welfare. Your spiritual growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ is in many ways dependent upon your relationship to and fellowship with the body of Christ. Believers need the fellowship of other believers. We need the encouragement of our brethren. We need the strength of our brethren. We need one another. The first signs of apostasy are usually seen in the neglect of the assembly of God’s saints (Heb. 10:24-29).
God’s people are a family. And the members of God’s family are committed to one another.
1. I pray for my family.
2. I support my family.
3. I serve my family.
4. I speak well of my family.
5. I promote my family.
6. I enjoy the company of my family.
Note verse 45. “And they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”
What a sacrifice! Believers were selling land and personal belonging, then channeling the proceeds to… people.
Not that this was intended for an example to be a constant binding rule, as if all Christians in all places and ages were bound to sell their estates, and give away the money in charity. But it shows here the sacrificial giving of the brethren. They gave beyond they can give. The same qualities the Macedonians shows to the Corinthians brethren (2Cor. 8)
This was a very commendable instance of their raisedness to give more, their love to their brethren, their compassion to the poor, and their great zeal for the encouraging of Christianity, and the nursing of it in its infancy. The apostles left all to follow Christ, and were to give themselves wholly to the word and prayer, and something must be done for their maintenance.
Sometimes the best thing we can give is ourselves. Who can assign a peso value to the tears we shed for someone else loss?
Koinonia. It happens when God’s people come together in the spirit of sharing, when full hands and hearts share with empty ones. Then the body of Christ is strengthened.
IV. A REACHING FLOCK (v. 46-47)
“And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47b) Is it any wonder that God blessed the Jerusalem church with growth? Christians there offered love and acceptance. They modeled vulnerability, compassion, caring, and giving. They radiated winsomeness and joy.
Theologian Millard Erickson writes, “The call to evangelize is a command Having accepted Jesus as Lord, the disciples had brought themselves under his rule and obligated to do whatever he asked. For he had said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15); “he who has my commandments and keep them, he it is who loves me” (v.21a); and “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:14). If the disciples truly loved their Lord, they would carry out his call to evangelize. It was not an optional matter to them.” (Christian Theology, pp1052)
As believers expressed the reality of Christ to a watching world, the ranks of the converted swelled. The early church was a reaching body. They modeled expression –
Therefore, if the church is to faithful to the Lord and bring joy to his heart,
• It must be engaged in bringing the gospel to the people.
1. This involves going to people whom we like and people whom we may by nature tend to like.
2. It extend to those who are unlike us. And it goes beyond our immediate sphere of contact and influence.
• The church must work in all of these areas. If it does not, it will become spiritually ill, for it will be attempting to function in a way its Lord never intended.
However, brethren we have to remember we are concerned with the gospel of the kingdom. This is not about easy- believism. “Personal evangelism is concerned with the gospel of the kingdom. It will not offer cheap grace. Salvation must not be made sound easy. The hard sayings of Jesus will not be hidden. The revolutionary implication of being a part of God’s new community which demands an entirely new way of life now must be a part of the proclamation.’ (Personal Evangelism Today,pp19 by G. William Schweer)
Application
1. God is worthy of our worship, regardless of the blessing He bestows or withholds. His character alone suffices to draw praise from His people. Do you ever stop to respond in worship?
2.Take a moment to think about what God has done for you recently.
3. Is God’s word making difference in your life? Are you getting diet of the Scriptures, savoring the truth, digesting it, displaying its benefits?
4. Do you display the generous spirit demonstrated by the early church? Do we sacrificially give, even beyond our means? Do we share our blessing towards others?
5. Do we initiate the discussion of spiritual things to others?
