Back to the Beginning: It’s All Different!
Most of you know that I’m a pretty big sports fan. I enjoy playing and watching just about anything, but if I had to pick just one sport, my passion is definitely football. I love to watch football. I love to go out in the backyard and throw the ball around with my son. It’s much more fun now that he can actually catch the ball. A dad can only bounce a football off of his son’s face so many times before you start to feel bad. Most of you also know that I am a Browns fan. For those of you who don’t follow football, let me just clue you in here. The Browns are quite possibly the worst team in all of sports. They are the Hamburger Helper in a league of steaks! They would lose to about any decent college football team. Despite that, I love em. I know that all of you Bills fans can relate, but it’s hard to be a Browns fan. It’s even harder to be a Browns fan in New York State.
During my teen years in Syracuse, I felt like a fish out of water. I had moved from Ohio where I would watch the Brown and Orange play every week. Now, I was stuck in the land of the Bills and Jets and Giants. I was miserable. At school, all of the kids had Starter Jackets, they were the “in” thing. A Starter jacket is a team jacket and no one in the school had the Browns, including me because the colors aren’t exactly flattering. I felt out of place. This continued when I went to Houghton for my freshmen year. Again, I was the only enlightened soul among the many students there. I got a call from a friend of mine who was in school in Cleveland and he had tickets to the Browns game and wanted to know if I could go. I had never been to an NFL game, so it took me less than a second to decide that one, of course I wanted to go! I made the 4 hour drive to Cleveland, I hadn’t been back in a very long time. When we got to the game, I remember one overwhelming feeling, I felt like I belonged. After years of not having anyone else that shared my passion, here I was among 80,000 people of like mind. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a professional sports game, but there is a bond and a unity among those cheering for the home team. I was high fiving old ladies and having conversations with guys I’d never met in line for a drink. It didn’t matter where we came from or what our background was, we had something in common and that put everyone on the same page. I felt like I belonged and I liked it and wanted to go back.
If sports can do that, a meaningless pastime in the grand scheme of things, if sports can bond us and bring us together. If it can force us to concentrate on what we share and have in common instead of on our differences, how much more should we see that kind of kinship and bonding take place when our common focus, that thing that we have in common, that thing that is our passion, is Christ? Sometimes I think that a sporting event is more like the way church is supposed to be than most of our churches today. (besides the beer and cussing and stuff!) At a game, we celebrate together, we cheer together, we encourage one another, we console each other when things go wrong, we feel connected and a part of something and when we leave, we always want more. When is the last time that described church for you? What we see now, across the world, are weak, dying, churches, full of believers who say they want to impact the world but take no steps and make no effort in that direction. For many churches, there services more closely resemble a funeral than a celebration. The fellowship of believers, the gathering of the saints, the coming together of God’s people to learn and grow and do life together should be an exciting thing! But for many of us, the thought of church and the reality of church is just the opposite. In this place, here at Beartown Road, I want to be a ministry where people walk in and feel like they belong. Where they feel loved and cared for and have the opportunity to care for others and where they feel like they are a part of something, side by side with others who are on board with the same thing, the advancement of God’s Kingdom here on Earth.
There is a fundamental need in all of us to feel as though we are a part of something. We want to feel that we are loved and accepted and that we belong. If you asked most people what they want most out of their church, this would be the answer. A place to belong. We were made to do this together, side by side. Imagine a place where everyone is cared for but is also involved in caring for others. Imagine a place where all of your needs are met, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Imagine a place where you share the same desires and goals with everyone around you. Imagine a place where seeing the Hand of God move in supernatural ways was a daily occurrence. Imagine a gathering of people worshipping with one voice, planning with one mind, and caring with one heart. Imagine a place where you long to spend every moment you possibly can with people you love and who love you. Imagine a place where everyone feels like they belong. Sounds kind of like heaven doesn’t it?
This place was meant to exist on Earth, it is what God’s Church was created to be and is called to become. In the coming weeks we are going to go back to the basics, back to the beginning and look at the formation of the early church in the book of Acts. We’re going to take a look at what it was that set this group of Christians apart and what moved them from individuals to a community of like-minded believers. You are going to hear that word, community, a lot over the coming weeks. I firmly believe that before we can reach people out there, we need to understand what it means to be a community in here. And when we become a community in here, those out there are going to see the difference that God makes in our lives and be drawn to that.
As we look at this first church we are going to see what it was that set them apart and what it was that put them in position to see God move and work in truly miraculous ways that cannot be explained in human terms. We’re going to look at the way that they worshipped, the way that they fellowshipped, the way that they prayed and grew, the way that they served and cared for each other, and at the results that God brought about and the reputation that this group of believers enjoyed in the community they lived in. These are the people and this is the church that turned the world upside down. The God they served is the same one that we serve today and He still wants to bless and grow His church today, that hasn’t changed. The church has changed and its time to go back, to get back to the basics and see what God can do through us.
Here is a brief description of that first church: Read Acts 2:42-47
This is the ideal! This is the model. We’re really going to begin our look at the characteristics of this church next week. This week I want to give you some background that leads us up to the verses that we just read. This church was different because of what Christ had provided on the cross for those men and women and for us. The book of Acts is written by Luke and is a companion book to His Gospel. The whole name of the book is the Acts of the Apostles and it is an account of the spread of the Gospel message through God’s faithful servants. In the early churches these two books would have circulated together, kind of as a part 1 and part 2 of the same work. It wasn’t until much later that the book of Luke was identified and set apart as a gospel. Acts picks up right where Luke ends with a little bit of overlap. Luke ends with the command of Christ to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit and the ascension of Jesus into heaven. Acts picks up in the same spot, again with a command to wait, to not try and do anything alone, but to wait upon God’s Spirit and then begin the work. We also see the ascension of Christ and the promise of His return in like manner.
AC 1:10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
So, they’ve just seen their resurrected Lord and Master return to His Father and they are chomping at the bit to let everyone know that Jesus had returned, He’d come back and He would return again. They weren’t crazy, they hadn’t wasted their life following Him. The temptation would have been to run from there and spread the word, and the time for that would come, but they obeyed. I would love to preach a sermon here, and I will someday, about the wisdom in waiting on the Spirit before we move ahead. That’s what they did. Luke says they stayed together, continually praising God, Acts tells us that they returned to Jerusalem and stayed together in prayer. They obeyed the command to stay put and wait. What happened next revealed the vast difference between the way it was, and the way it was going to be, the way it was meant to be.
We read throughout the OT that following God was hard work. Because of the sinfulness of man, that choice that Adam and Eve made to rebel against God, there was an impassable chasm between a Holy God and His sinful people. God set apart a few, who He would use as a mouthpiece. Men like Moses, Elijah, Ezekiel, and others. But for the vast majority, God was distant, unapproachable, and unreachable. Their lives were filled with guilt and the practices associated with trying to relieve that guilt. There was the complex law to follow and the even more complex system of sacrifices to offer when that law was broken. God could be served and feared, but not really known. The relationship that He had enjoyed in the garden with Adam and Eve, the relationship that He had created man to enjoy, was a distant memory. Many men served God more out of fear and obligation than love and relationship.
This sounds nothing like the church that we just read about. What happened? What changed? Between the OT accounts of Israel and the way that they related to God and the Book of Acts, you have the gospels. What happened? Jesus happened. A price was paid, the people were freed, and nothing would ever be the same again. As we look at the background and the events preceding the description of the early church, I want to look at three key areas that had changed that brought us from the way it was, to the way it ought to be.
What Changed?:
I. The Presence
I’ve already mentioned that God was inaccessible to the common man during the OT times. He chose to dwell symbolically in the Ark of the Covenant. This gave the finite minds of the people something that they could recognize and understand, it was a symbol of the presence of God. Only the priests could approach it, and that was only once a year, and there was a huge list of things that they had to do to prepare themselves to be in God’s presence. If someone other than the priests approached it or touched it, they paid immediately with their life. Then Christ came and when He died on the cross and paid for our sins, God’s presence could be loosed in the lives of His people. The Holy was reconciled to the Unholy through the blood of a perfect and spotless lamb, Jesus Christ. Apart from the cross and salvation itself, I don’t think that there is a more significant Truth taught in Scripture than what Mark tells us in:
MK 15:37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.MK 15:38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The curtain was what separated God from the people. It represented access to God and when Christ breathed His last, the curtain was torn and the presence of God was available to all.
I had a teen who was arrested a few years ago when I was still in Ohio, this seems to be a trend! For a week I visited him in prison. Our conversations were short and the time was frustrating because there was a glass partition between us. I couldn’t give Him a hug or have any contact with him as a result of his sin, his crime. It was impossible to have any real and meaningful relationship with him because of the barrier between us. I went in to get him after a week, when bail had been paid and it was a whole different experience. I got there and I could hug him and put my arm around him and comfort him. The price had been paid for his freedom and what had been separating us was removed. That’s an overly simplified picture of what happened when Christ died for us. The price was paid and the barrier was removed and the presence of God was unleashed in our lives, we could feel Him and touch Him for the first time. The way that God has chosen to make His presence known to us is through His Spirit. The Spirit is a part of the triune God-Head, One God, who exists and relates to us in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each part equally God but different in the role they play in our lives.
The Spirit is literally God’s presence in us and it’s in Acts 2, that we see the arrival of what was promised. Read 2:1-4
Notice here that the Spirit didn’t come gently or quietly, it came in power and it filled that place, the whole house. Picture the flood of 72 and the way the water rushed in, nothing could stop it and it found its way into every little nook and cranny. That is the way God’s Spirit arrived. It came to rest on each of them and immediately empowered them for ministry.
Christ had promised the arrival of the Spirit throughout His ministry
John 16:7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
Jesus said that it was better for the apostles that He was leaving. On the surface that seems like an odd comment. How could it possible be better? They had walked and talked with God. He had been with them for three years and they had witnessed His resurrection, surely they would be better off with Him there. But there was something better. With the arrival of the Spirit at Pentecost, the relationship between God and man took a step further. These men went from walking with God, literally in the form of Jesus Christ, to being indwelt with the same Holy God in the form of the Spirit. How often do we think about what it would have been like to walk with Jesus and to see Him and to listen to Him. The reality is that we have something better! Jesus, Himself, says it. He says that He left so that we could have this Spirit. Literally Christ in us, alive in us, leading, guiding, empowering, in a way that nothing else can come close to. Jesus promised that the Spirit would play a vital role in the lives of believers: We’re told that the Spirit will:
1) Give Life (John 6:63)
2) Give Power (Luke 4:14)
3) Counsel (John 16:7)
4) Reveal (John 16:7-11)
5) Intercede (Romans 8:26)
6) Convicts (John 16:7-11)
7) Assurance of Salvation (Romans 8:16)
8) Teach (John 14:26)
9) Guide (John 16:13)
10) Bring Unity (Philippians 2:1-2)
We see evidence of all of these things in the early church. So, the first thing that changed and gave us this vibrant Acts 2 church was the presence of God. He went from inaccessible to indwelling, coming in like a flood and flowing to every part of the life of the believer. Those who were far away have been brought near and can now approach God’s throne with the confidence of one who has God’s Spirit dwelling inside of them.
The Presence changed and when the presence changed, we see the second aspect that changed, the People.
II. The People
When the Spirit comes, the apostles begin to speak in other tongues. Notice though, that this was not a bunch of men standing around and jabbering in unintelligible languages. When the Spirit equipped them it was for a specific purpose, there was a reason. The men moved out into the streets and people began to gather around. And an interesting thing happened.
Read 5-13
They weren’t drunk! The Spirit gave the apostles the ability to speak in languages that were known languages but that they had never learned or spoken before and as a result of that, a large crowd gathered. Peter stood up with the rest of the apostles, raised his voice and with great power and authority preached the word! He held nothing back, when he spoke of the crucifixion, he openly told the crowd that they had killed Jesus, the Son of God. The message concludes with these verses:
AC 2:40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The Spirit accompanied the message with power and hearts and lives were changed and its these people, these 3000 that make up the core of that first church that changed the world. The people were changed and there is no greater example of that than the apostles themselves. Let me take you back a few short months earlier. Jesus had just been arrested and do you remember the reaction of these same men? These men that are boldly addressing a crowd, when the Pharisees and leaders would have still been very motivated to put an end to all of this nonsense about Jesus, these men are the same ones who ran and scattered, leaving Jesus on His own at the time of his death. This same Peter, who was the spokesman for the group, the fiery and bold preacher, denied knowing Christ to a servant girl who had identified him as a disciple. Only the Spirit of God, only the knowledge that Jesus had indeed risen could have brought about the change we see here. These men have turned from a group of spineless wimps to a united force that would endure beatings, prison, ridicule, and even death to deliver the message that they were charged with.
It’s the presence of God in their lives and the change we see in these men and in the ones who heard their message and believed that jump started the early church.
Finally, we see one more thing that had changed that set the stage for the church to grow and prosper as it did.
III. The Process.
Read through the book of Leviticus and see what the process of religion entailed for the Jewish people. You were saved and reconciled to God by the way that you lived, by your obedience to the law. When you failed to uphold a part of that law, you were forgiven by a series of sacrifices and purification rituals. You had access to God only through His chosen prophets and priests. The process of trying to draw near to God was an all but impossible task.
Then, through great personal cost to Him, Jesus gave us an easy button. Have you seen those Staples commercials where there is a problem in the office and someone hits the easy button and everything is taken care of? Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, He took all of the complex and complicated tasks of obedience and sacrifice and replaced them with one simple idea: Believe in Him and He has already taken care of the details. He has already taken care of the penalty, already paid the price. When the people heard Peter’s preaching they asked what they had to do, how could they be saved? The once endless list of regulations had been made easy:
AC 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."
Repent and be baptized in Jesus name. Believe and accept the forgiveness that he offers. The process had been boiled down to faith and forgiveness. Repentance: the inward change. Baptism: the outer testimony so that men could see the change. And with the simplification of the process and the availability of God’s presence, the doors were open for all to receive salvation. Jews and non-Jews alike. God was available to the Gentiles prior to Christ’s death and resurrection but they had to become subject to the same laws and rules as the Jews, that included circumcision! I would think that you wouldn’t win over a whole lot of people with that rule in there. Now, all that mattered was the circumcision of the heart, the inner change, that aspect that we talked about a moment ago. Yielding to God’s Spirit and living a changed life in boldness and power through His name. What was once costly was now free, what was once complicated was now easy, what was once exclusive was now all-inclusive. The process was changed. The rules were different. The doors had been flung wide open for all to enter. And in they came, drawn by the Truth of the message, by the love of their Father and the sacrifice of His Son, and changed by the Spirit that flowed freely and filled each of them.
These are the changes that set the stage for the church that we are going to be studying for the next couple of months. The presence changed, the people changed, and the process changed. I hope that as we have gone through this today, you recognize the fact that all of these still apply to us today. If we are to be a ministry and a church that goes beyond these walls and reaches out with the same impact and the same power as this early church, we’ve got to be a Spirit-filled people. We’ve got to be a people whose lives are marked by change and we’ve got be a people who boldly proclaim the process of salvation that Christ has provided for us. There’s no need to make it more difficult than it is! Believe in faith and accept the forgiveness. That’s where it starts. God hasn’t changed. The same God that provided the power and the supernatural for the early church will work His power through us as we learn what it means to go beyond being a congregation and we become a community.
