1. Introduction
a. We had a wonderful revival last week – Bro. Joe Wright delivered to us the message God gave Him specifically for this congregation, for this community, and for this time
b. But, as after almost any revival, God’s people tend to lose the “spark” revival brought--because, despite our fresh zeal, we lose the focus and single-mindedness we had when a revival preacher was holding our hand
c. So tonight I’d like to look at the events in the early church after the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and see what cues we can take from that event and apply to our own current context
d. Background (summary of Acts 3:1-4:22)
1) Bro. Joe left off in his Sunday morning account at the end of Acts 2–
a) the establishing of the church in sound doctrine,
b) their attitudes and actions of this church toward their community (and the attractiveness–or at least the novelty–this spirit-outbreak caused),
c) and their selfless embracing of each other
2) In the beginning of Acts 3, Paul and John meet a lame beggar whom they heal
3) This event causes quite the commotion, and Peter takes the opportunity to remind the onlookers that this was done through the power of Jesus’ name
4) In Acts 4, Peter and John are arrested and imprisoned overnight by the priests, captain of the temple, and Sadducees to (unsuccessfully) prevent any of this “resurrection talk” from getting out into the public chatter
5) They make their case before the Sanhedrin (“rulers, elders, and scribes”), Annas the ex-high priest, and Caiaphas the new high priest, explaining how they weren’t the first people being harassed by this bunch for doing something good
6) The Sanhedrin decide to let the two men go (so as not to fan the flame), but in the face of the obvious, and in desperation to save face, they tell them to shut up about Jesus––which, of course, Peter and John utterly refuse to do
7) Peter and John come back to the new church and tell them everything that happened
8) The church leaders pray not for safety, but for boldness, power to heal, and other signs and wonders (to materially manifest the power of the Holy Spirit)
9) ...who shook the place where they they were meeting as a “seal of approval,” emboldening the early church to continue in their current plan of attack
2. Scripture: Acts 4:32-37?
32Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3. What Shall We Do With Revival?
a. We SHALL Manifest Commonality (v. 32) – “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.”
1) In the previous passage, a prayer lifted to God acknowledged His ownership (by virtue of being Creator) of “the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them”
2) This was already mentioned back in 2:44-47: they treated “their own” property as if it belonged to the whole church, and items flowed liberally among them
3) Assets were liquidated to facilitate redistribution––this is the only instance in human history that this economic practice works. Communism assumes the same thing, but fails for missing the key component: The Holy Spirit
4) James is pretty explicit when he describes this as one of the key manifestations of a regenerate life
James 2:14-17: ?14“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
a) It is a hard theology, but saving faith is, by definition, a living faith––that’s how the early church understood it
b) If your faith is dead, according to James, it is illegitimate.
c) Do you have to give all your stuff away to be saved? Not necessarily;
i. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13 that’s a meaningless gesture without love
ii. Paul encouraged, not required, generosity from the poor Macedonian church to the afflicted Jerusalem church––and was surprised at their liberality
iii. Paul prioritizes taking care of your own family?1 Timothy 5:8 – “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
iv. Paul mandates “pulling one’s own weight” in 2 Thess. 3:6-12
d) But we DO have to regard “our stuff” as belonging to a needy brother or sister; we want to hold to this qualifying notion that “people should be responsible”––that’s the American self-investor in us, but that is NOT Scriptural, it’s probably an excuse to continue in the sin of hoarding
- You may feel this is prying or unreasonable; I’m just trying to draw out the truth that seems pretty plain in Scripture: if we are not our own, how can any of our stuff be our own?
5) How we regard “our stuff” is a barometer of our true condition––it does not in and of itself qualify our salvation (we don’t have to give stuff away to get saved), but it does indicate the legitimacy of the faith in us?
Luke 18:18-23--18”And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”? 19And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’”? 21And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”? 22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.”
a) Jesus mentions five of the six commandments that refer to how we treat other people–”Love our neighbor as ourselves”
b) He does not even mention the first four commandments (no other gods before me, no carved images, no taking of God’s name in vain, remember the Sabbath)––he attacks this man’s disqualifier right where it is
c) This is not because how we regard God is not as important, but for most of us, we lie to ourselves if we think we can please God with lip service in church but don’t acknowledge His lordship over our secular life
b. We SHALL Manifest Grace (v. 33) – “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.”
1) This is another reference to the apostolic calling: in 1:22, during the selection of Matthias as an apostolic replacement for Judas Iscariot, a qualification was that the appointee had to have been witness to Jesus’ ministry in its entirety––Joseph Barsabbas (Justus) and Matthias
2) It is interesting that, rather than commit to some long, drawn-out prayer vigil to select this replacement, in their simplicity they assumed God’s sovereignty could be relied upon to speak even in the drawing of straws––which Matthias won
3) So twelve men are roaming about in Jerusalem preaching with the authority the church had asked for in v. 29; God responds by granting what Luke calls here “grace,” which means in this context, “favor”:
a) Favor from the people outside the church––because of the believers’ love and unity, the common people were impressed (cf. 2:47)
b) Favor from God, who was granting blessing
4) If we believe the message we are called to report, we must assume that the Good News of the gospel is a grace from God to anyone who hears it and responds to it––and “how shall they hear without a preacher”?
5) Finally, when did God stop authorizing His ambassadors with great power? Is He running low these days, or is it reasonable to understand that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, that emboldened Peter in the Temple, and converted three thousand souls in a day, might still be available to us today?
c. We SHALL Manifest Stewardship (vv. 34-37) – “There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.”
1) In putting skin on the bones of their prayer a few verses earlier, the members of the early church follow up by actually selling their property off, then contributing the money to the church at the apostles’ discretion
2) In turn, wealth was effectively redistributed to those who had genuine need; it is safe to assume, for those worried about it, that this redistribution was done among those whose own personal manifestation of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit was apparent (not the phonies––see the next few chapter about Ananias and Sapphira)
3) Case study: Barnabas
a) a Levite, which as the priestly tribe received no allotment of land when the Israelites moved into Canaan
b) The OT actually prohibited Levites from owning property in Israel (Numbers 18:20, 24; Deuteronomy 10:9), but either:
i. That law was no longer in force, or
ii. The property sold was in Cyprus, which would not be subject to that legal stipulation––it is interesting that Barnabas’ Cyprian heritage is mentioned, and gives us reason to consider this possibility
4. Conclusion
a. All of this seems to point to stuff “we’re already doing”––we already give to missions, we already give to local charities, we already give to food banks, we already give to the Cooperative Program, etc.
b. The point isn’t really even about what we give, or how much we give––genuine, self-replicating (continual) revival is:
1) Awareness of who and Whose we are
2) Demonstrated as legitimate by how we treat each other in the body of Christ, with genuine affection (not polite toleration)
3) Sound familiar? “Love the Lord your God, and your neighbor as yourself”
c. I submit that, whatever we’re doing, it’s not legitimate––it’s not even perceived as legitimate––or people would be knocking down our doors to get in
d. Why is it not legitimate? Because we, as American churchmen and women, do not do what we do out of genuine love for each other and the cause of Christ (1 Cor. 13:1-3)––I believe we do it out of guilt
e. So we’ve had revival.... now what? Now…LOVE EACH OTHER
1) Don’t be so arrogant as to think you can sit in judgment over another believer––you are, I promise, no better than they are, and your opinion is just as worthless as theirs
2) Show some genuine affection, not just polite acknowledgement––demonstrate to every person here that you encounter that YOU ARE GLAD THEY ARE HERE AND THAT YOU GET TO SERVE GOD WITH THEM
3) Realize that the “stuff” you’ve been entrusted with isn’t yours for personal advancement, it’s God’s tool in your hands to bless His church (which will, in His plan, stimulate growth)––so get over giving “your” tithes and offerings: THEY ARE HIS TITHES AND OFFERINGS to bless His people
f. If we do these three things, I believe visitation programs and community outreach will not be our problem––our love will be infectious and irrepressible. SPACE will be our problem!
