Most Successful Church In History
Acts 2:42-47
Lessons From The Early Church
What does a successful church look like?
What qualifies church as successful?
Before I began I want to look at the first word of verse 42, “THEY”
This is those that got saved plus all the apostle. Those who got saved and then baptized in verse 41 and who showed genuineness of their faith. Despite hate, ridicule they suffered, they remained faithful.
That is a mark of genuine salvation
John 8:31—“if you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine”
On the other hand John writes in 1 John 2:19—“they went out from us, but they were not really of us, for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us”
The idea that the church should be composed of saved individuals seems obvious. Sadly, however, many churches today are made up largely of unsaved individuals. Some churches even try to design their church where non-Christians can feel comfortable. This cannot be the goal in a church that is devoted to holiness and righteousness in all areas of life.
I want us to invite our lost friends and families. I want them to come in and feel welcomed, I want them to feel like they can come in and sit down and be a part of the service. To take part in fellowships and children’s activities and youth activities. But they should not feel comfortable in the setting, they should not feel comfortable for long. All that we do in worship should make them uncomfortable with their spiritual condition. They should feel the presence of God and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit because this church is devoted to the Word of God and to sharing it with the lost.
I never want us to be successful in the world’s eyes I want this church to be successful in God’s eyes. I believe that if we look at this first church we will see what makes a successful church.
Acts 2:42-47
1) They Were Steadfast In Their Practice-Vs. 42
a) Continued in the apostles teaching
1) The content for the church is clearly to be revealed truth.
2) God designed the church to be a place where His Word is proclaimed and explained
3) A commitment to the apostle’s teaching is foundational to the growth and spiritual health of every church
4) 1 Peter 2:2—“like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation”
5) Romans 12:2—“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect”
6) Paul writing to Timothy and Titus reflected to these two pastors the priority of preaching the Word at least 6 different times
7) We should count it a wasted day when we do not learn something new from the Word of God
8) These people sat under the teaching from the ones who wrote the very words that we read today
9) Scripture is food for the believers
10) I pray we are never like Hosea says in 4:6—“my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge”
b) Continued in fellowship
1) Fellowship is the spiritual duty of believers
2) It is here that we help to stimulate each other to holiness and faithfulness
3) When you read the NT and you come across “one another”, like in Rom. 12:10—“be devoted to one another in brotherly love”
4) The “one another” means fellowship.
5) Fellowship is partnership or sharing. Those who receive Christ become partners with Him and with all other believers
6) For a Christian to fail to participate in the life of a local church is inexcusable.
7) In fact those who choose to isolate themselves are disobedient to a direct command in Scripture
8) Hebrews 10:24-25—“and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
9) You ought to be excited to come into the fellowship
10) Ill-well I guess we have to go to church again, it is our duty, let us look good for the other
c) Continued in the breaking of bread
1) This is a reference to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper
2) In the Lord’s Supper all believers meet on common ground at the foot of the cross.
3) Since we are all sinners saved by grace
4) The Lord’s Supper acknowledges the wondrous work of the Lord on the cross
5) The Lord’s Supper is a time of self-examination and purging of sin, thus purifying the church
d) Continued in prayer
1) Church what is the most important ministry a church can have
2) “PRAYER”
3) John 14:13-14—“whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
4) This here is not individual prayer
5) But the cooperate prayer that we offer up.
6) This first fellowship knew the critical importance of pursing prayer.
7) Sadly, prayer is easily neglected
8)
2) They Were Miraculous In Their Product-Vs. 43
a) In awe of the wonders and signs
b) In this time there were many miracles done along with the preaching of the Gospel
c) This was done to confirm that they were the ones sent by God
d) Today we confirm the truth when we compare the teaching and preaching with God’s revelation in Scripture
3) They Were Practical In Their Love-Vs. 44-45
a) Now before you decide to take these verses out of the context
b) These verses do not mean that we should all move to a compound and live together
c) These verses were also not an early form of socialism
d) They did not at any point sell everything and pool their resources into a common pot
e) Because if you look at verse 46 they went from house to house
f) In Greek when it talks about selling it is a type of verb that means a continual past action
g) Also when you look at the story Ananias and Sapphira the selling of the property was voluntary
h) But what they did do was give
i) Oh no, the pastor is going to start talking about giving
j) That’s right
k) The early church they gave to help carry out the work
l) Did you know that God speaks more about giving than anything else
m) Giving is an about being faithful to return to God what He has given to us
n) God’s word tells us to bring a tithe or tenth into the store house
o) Are you giving a tenth?
p) I cannot afford to give!!
q) You cannot afford not to give.
r) Maybe you are giving but it is not a tenth
s) Begin to move toward giving
t) Pastor do you give
u) You bet
v)
4) They Were United In Their Participation-Vs. 46a
a) Day by day they met to fellowship together
b) They went into the temple, Vs. 3:1, most likely to witness
c) They were together in “with one mind”
d) Are we united in our participation
e) When it comes to participation, sometimes we get settled in our ways
f) We get comfortable with the size of our church, or the size of our class or where we sit
g) Or whatever it is
h) Church we ought to never get comfortable in the place where we are.
i)
j) Bad word in churches—“we have never done it that way before” or “we have always do it this way and we do not want to change”
k) .
5) They Were Joyful In Their Fellowship-Vs. 46b
a) There was unity with joy in doctrine, fellowship, prayers, possessions, church attendance, focus and purpose
b) There ministered daily
c)
6) There Was Praise In Their Heart-Vs. 47a
a) Hebrews 13:15—“Through Him (CHRIST) then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”
b)
c) The mission and responsibility of the church includes both the proclamation of the Gospel and its demonstration
d) We need to demonstrate
7) There Were Additions To Their Fellowship-Vs. 47b
a) The most successful area a church can ever do is to see people added to the church
b) Facts about evangelism
c) Did you that within the SBC it takes about 40 people to witness in order for us to see one person to come to Christ
d) If we were to freeze the population right now
e) No one dies, and no one born
f) It would take 4,000 years to see the entire world come to Christ
g) We, us right here need to do a better job
h) We need to intentionally reach this community for Christ
i) Last week I gave you some numbers to write down and to try to figure out what they represent
j) 474=1,196
k) 3,532=8,890
l) So there are over 8000 people living in this area. We live in the Bible belt
m) We live in a county where there are churches within a stone’s throw of each other
n) But I want you to listen to this
o) 57% of the people with in a three mile radius of this very spot have either little or no involvement in faith
p) Not church but faith
q) 57% have little or no need for God
r) We need to be reaching these homes
s) Every member is a missionary
t) Every home is a mission outpost
u) And our church should be a mission sending church
v) Luke 14:23—“Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled”
w) Working the state convention, we are going to begin intentionally reaching these homes in our area for the Gospel.
x) We are going to target these homes and share the love of Christ with them
y) As I said earlier the disciples started going to the places where the people were sharing the Gospel, they went into the temple
z) Philip going to Samaria
aa) We have to take the Gospel
bb) Matthew 28—“go into all the world, making disciples”
cc) Sharing the Gospel
dd) The days of opening the church doors and saying come on in have past
ee) We need to begin to look at our ministries
ff) What do we have in place for our children, that as we reach young families, that they want to come
gg) What do we have in place for our youth, so that families with teens, that they want to come
hh) What do we have in place for median adults, whose kids are grow or have grandkids, that they want to come
ii) What do we have in place of our seniors, that they want to come
jj) I am praying that God would give us land
