What if somebody asked you, “Are you Pentecostal?”
“Do you mean do I belong to the Pentecostal Church?”
No… I mean, are you Pentecostal?”
“Are you asking if I am charismatic?”
No… I mean, are you Pentecostal?”
“Do you want to know if I speak in tongues?”
No… I mean, are you Pentecostal?”
In frustration you might respond, “I don’t know what your question is then!”
Then I would say, “Well, obviously, you are not Pentecostal!”
Christians generally come to one of two conclusions when they hear the word “Pentecostal”:
1. They immediately think of the charismatic denomination – the Pentecostal Church.
2. Or, they think of it as a noun - it represents a date, a place, an event in the history of the church. It’s simply a memory, an item, something back there somewhere.
But I want to offer another outlook:
3. We should understand it as an adjective. In that case, I believe every church should be a Pentecostal Church! I would like OUR church to be a Pentecostal church! (Hopefully, by the end of this message, you will want it too.)
History:
The Church began nearly 2000 years ago during the festival called Pentecost. In Israel, the word “Pentecost” was Greek for the Hebrew Feast of Weeks. It was so named because it was celebrated 50 days after the First Fruits.
When the church began, it was exciting and exuberant. New and wonderful things were happening. The book of Acts records the birthday of the church, and the healthy qualities it displayed.
Call for Caution:
Before I proceed in my message, I want to mention that the book of Acts is one of the most misunderstood books in the Bible. It is so misused and misapplied in many churches today.
To avoid these pitfalls, we need to remember these things:
· The book of Acts is a fantastic book. It is full of incredible stories of the Holy Spirit’s power – miracles, signs and wonders. As in the ushering in of the Old Covenant under Moses was accompanied by fantastic signs from heaven, so too is the ushering in of the New Covenant under Jesus Christ and His apostles. It was necessary to have these fantastic events in the early days so as to validate the new Christian movement as having been wrought by God and not simply by zealous men.
· The book of Acts is a transitional book. It records the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. A sharp line of distinction can be drawn between the ending of the old and the beginning of the new at the cross. But it must be remembered that it takes time for such a change to take place in human experience. Acts records this time frame. (i.e. transition from adolescence to adulthood)
· The book of Acts is a historical book. It DESCRIBES the beginnings of the church. It does not necessarily PRESCRIBE how churches are to operate today. Unlike Romans, I Corinthians, or Titus. (We’ll see a good example of this in today’s message…)
But there are some transcendent principles that we can glean from the practice of the early church and apply to ourselves today.
· I want to share with you four marks of a healthy church. These four marks were very evident in the earliest church, and I believe that they can be evident today.
Our message this morning focuses on the events that happened shortly after Peter preached his first public sermon on the day of Pentecost. The results were nothing short of amazing. People came together as a church – a healthy church.
(READ v. 42)
What does the term, translated in the NASB "continually devoting themselves," or in the KJV "continued steadfast," mean in v. 42?
See how it is translated in two other verses:
· Mark 3:9 - "a ship should stand ready."
· Acts 10:7 - "who were in constant attendance" (NAS).
Continuing steadfast means "standing ready in constant attendance." It is not haphazard but deliberate and constant devotion.
Mark #1: A Continual Devotion to Instruction
Instruction in the truths of Scripture is of utmost importance. Without it, people become very wishy-washy in their thinking in relation to spiritual matters.
If we don’t continually devote ourselves to the Instruction of the truths of Scripture:
· We can drift into thinking emotions are the ultimate source of truth
· We can drift into thinking human reason is the ultimate source of truth
· We can drift into thinking experiences are the ultimate source of truth
· We can drift into thinking church tradition is the ultimate source of truth
· We can drift into thinking other religions are the ultimate source of truth
· We can drift into thinking dreams and visions are the ultimate sources of truth
· We can drift into thinking there is no ultimate source of truth at all!
We can see the importance of good Biblical instruction in the church:
In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.(1 Tim 4:6)
The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Tim 2:2)
There are so many false teachers out there…
For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. (Titus 1:10-11)
And people have a natural bent toward listening to these false teachers…
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Tim 4:3-4)
Illustration: Foggy theology
A.W. Tozer once said, “We have gotten accustomed to the blurred puffs of gray fog that pass for doctrine in churches and expect nothing better. From some previously unimpeachable sources are now coming vague statements consisting of a milky admixture of Scripture, science, and human sentiment that is true to none of its ingredients because each one works to cancel the others out.
Little by little Christians these days are being brainwashed. One evidence is that increasing numbers of them are becoming ashamed to be found unequivocally on the side of truth. They say they believe, but their beliefs have been so diluted as to be impossible of clear definition. Moral power has always accompanied definite beliefs. Great saints have always been dogmatic. We need a return to a gentle dogmatism that smiles while it stands stubborn and firm on the Word of God that lives and abides forever.”
· Result? – They grew Downwardly with Understanding (Acts 15)
(ie. We will become firmly rooted with doctrinal truth – “down” isn’t necessarily bad!!!)
We don’t see the results of this here in this context, but we certainly do in Chapter 15. An issue arose over whether Gentiles needed to be circumcised according the custom of Moses, in order to be saved. The matter was taken to a council held in the Jerusalem church.
There, the apostles, along with the elders and the whole Jerusalem church decided against this Pharisaical, legalistic measure.
Because they had matured in their understanding of the apostle’s teaching bore fruit and kept the young church held together by grace.
APPLICATION:
I want to encourage you to involve yourself in the study of the Scriptures. The early church wasn’t doing something that we can’t do today. They continually devoted themselves to the apostle’s teachings. These teachings are found in the Bible.
· Sunday school
· Wednesday evening Bible study
· Personal Bible study
· Small group Bible study
Theology is important!!!
Mark #2: A Continual Devotion to Fellowship
What does the N. T. word "fellowship" mean? It has a much greater meaning than an after-church get together or a social activity. What we call fellowship may or may not include what is meant in the N. T.
Typically, we think of fellowship as a pot-luck dinner. That it can be, but it is more…
The Greek word is koinonia, which elsewhere in the Bible it is also translated, “Sharing, communion, partnership, or participation.”
We as Christians come from all walks of life. We come from every tribe and every nation around this world. We have what might seem as irreconcilable differences to everyone on the outside. But despite all of our differences, we have:
· A unity of mind
· A unity of purpose
· A unity of praise
· A unity of love
· A unity of compassion
· A unity of power
· A unity of faith
· A unity of Spirit
…be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph 4:3-6)
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. (Phil 2:1-2)
What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)
We have a fellowship amongst Christians that the world cannot know or understand!
Illustration: Dying Embers
D.L. Moody once called on a leading citizen in Chicago to persuade him to accept Christ. They were seated in the man’s parlor. It was winter and coal was burning in the fireplace. The man objected that he could be just as good a Christian outside the church as in it. Moody said nothing, but stepped to the fireplace, took the tongs, picked a blazing coal from the fire and set it off by itself. In silence the two watched it smolder and go out. “I see,” said the man.
To be a healthy church, there must be fellowship amongst its members.
· Result? - They grew Inwardly with Charity (vv. 44-45)
(i.e. helping each other out in their needs.)
This was not pure communism – this was pure compassion.
There were people in Jerusalem from all over the Middle East for the feast of Passover. Many of them became Christians here and wanted to stay along longer than they had first expected. Many needs arose – food, clothes, shelter, tools, money, etc.
These new Christians displayed the purest sense of care for the needs of their new brothers and sisters in the faith.
NOTE: If we were to take the book of Acts as a prescription for how the church should operate today, we would need to enforce communal living! (Isn’t it convenient how people take some Scriptures as commands that suit their liking, but leave others alone?)
This is not a command for communal living. But the principle is crystal clear and for all generations of the church: As we fellowship with one another, we will grow inwardly toward our group with charity. We will care for each other’s needs as they arise.
Illustration: Loneliness
Chuck Swindoll once described an ad in a Kansas newspaper which read, "I will listen to you talk for 30 minutes without comment for $5.00."
Swindoll went on to say, “Sounds like a hoax, doesn’t it? But the person was serious. Did anybody call? You bet. It wasn’t long before this individual was receiving 10 to 20 calls a day. The pain of loneliness was so sharp that some were willing to try anything for a half hour of companionship."
· 30% of Americans say that they have experienced long periods of painful loneliness.
· Since 1970 the number of married people has increased by 19% but the number of singles has increased by over 85%.
· 70% of Americans don’t know their neighbors.
· Life in the city is harsher, meaner and lonelier than anyone can remember.
· Internet chat rooms, where the lonely can log on to fill the space in their lives without the risk of real relationships, are booming. But technology designed to make life easier makes it lonelier.
Many people know loneliness, but no one in the church should have to experience it.
APPLICATION:
How do we cultivate true Christian fellowship?
Visitation service projects – building, cleaning, working together
Phone calls prayer gatherings
E-mail BBQ on the lawn
Dinner together Game nights
Church Pot-lucks Go fishing or a ball game together
Bottom line: do things together just as a family would do things together.
The church is a family. We are brothers and sisters in the royal family with God as our Father. We should love each other. Care for one another. Spend time with one another. Help each other. These statements describe the earliest Christians. Do they describe you? Do they describe our church? They should, this is something that the world does not have. The relationship you have with other Christians should be something special. It should be something that the world envies.
Mark #3: A Continual Devotion to Worship
This is the vertical relationship between ourselves and God.
· Breaking of Bread
Generally, communion was at the conclusion of a fellowship meal held together.
There is no command on how often to have communion, but that it should be observed on a regular basis. Again, historically speaking, it seems quite likely that the early church had communion nearly every day of the week (“Day by day…” v. 46). What newness of faith!
· Prayer
Prayer is definitely a discipline. It’s much easier to become excited about a building project, or a fellowship meal, or a children’s carnival than it is to become excited about gathering for prayer.
But prayer is a fundamental building block to a healthy church.
When God’s people pray with sincerity, great things start to happen.
· Result? - They grew Upwardly with Awe (v. 43)
Note: Purposes of signs and wonders in Acts. Explain Heb. 2:3-4.
How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. (Heb 2:3-4)
The purpose of all the signs and wonders in the early church was to confirm/validate/testify to everyone that the church was a work of God and that He was with them in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Do you remember what your Christian life was when you first put your faith in Jesus?
I remember how excited and full of energy I was. I am still excited, but it is tempered with more maturity. But I miss those days of boundless praise, when it felt like I was just walking on air everyday.
We can regain a sense of Godly reverence and awe when we continually devote ourselves to worshiping our God. When true worship happens, it doesn’t matter where you are, what time it is, or what pressures are bearing down on you in the world – The corporate environment of awe can be so refreshing and powerful to the soul.
Illustration: Failed to Kneel
Deeply immersed in meditation during a church service, Italian poet Dante Alighieri failed to kneel at the appropriate moment. His enemies hurried to the bishop and demanded that Dante be punished for his sacrilege. Dante defended himself by saying, “If those who accuse me had had their eyes and minds on God, as I had, they too would have failed to notice events around them, and they most certainly would not have noticed what I was doing.”
That is getting lost in worship –"standing ready in constant attendance" of worship.
APPLICATION:
We can regain a sense of godly reverence and awe, but it doesn’t come automatically. Neither can we fake it. It must genuinely come by means of worshiping in spirit and in truth.
Some Christians get these out of balance – too much spirit and no truth, or all truth, but no spirit.
But when we honor God in truth and yield our spirits to Him, He brings back a sense of awe that we perhaps haven’t experienced since we first became Christians.
Practical suggestions:
· Prepare yourself before coming to church. Pause and pray for an openness of spirit before you come. Turn off the radio on the drive to church…
· Be ready for communion. We celebrate it on the first Sunday of the month.
· Be considerate of others preparing for worship. Try not to be too loud when you come into the sanctuary.
· I want to encourage everyone to sit a little closer to the front - "standing ready in constant attendance."
· Bring your Bible to church, and carefully follow along in the text.
· Take notes during the message and meditate over the passage later in the day.
· Resolve to attend our weekly prayer group on Wed. evenings.
· When you sing, sing as though choirs of angels surround you. (They are!)
· Incorporate a verse of Scripture in your prayer time so that you may commit it to memory.
Mark #4: A Continual Devotion to Evangelism
A healthy church is going to be committed to sharing the good news of salvation with a lost and dying world.
It doesn’t do much good to sit on the only message of salvation for this dying world. It’s got to be proclaimed!
You could tell that this early church was committed to evangelism…
· Result? - They grew Outwardly with Numbers (vv. 40-41, 47)
We simply don’t see those kinds of numbers coming into a church by the day. This wasn’t just a hodge-podge throw-together party of a handful of zealous men… No, it is quite apparent that the Spirit of God was sending an immediate and powerful message from the very beginning that was His doing.
APPLICATION:
This would apply to supporting:
· Personal evangelism – work associates, friends, strangers, relatives – this is US!!!
· At-Home Missions – Georgetown Pregnancy Center, Campus Crusade, Ken & Judy Wooten at Ft. Hood.
· Foreign Missions – Missionaries on the front lines of the gospel sharing with different people groups in different cultures with different languages – like the Dahlins of Venezuela.
We’ve got a great story to tell – and it’s a life-changing story with eternal results.
GOSPEL INVITATION
(READ vv. 36-38)
Note: the confusion over baptism. It is not for the forgiveness of sins, but because of the forgiveness of sins.
"Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" (Acts 10:47)
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8-9)
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. (I Cor 1:17)
Will you make the most important decision in your life and believe in Jesus Christ today?
Will you make an effort to share the good news with somebody this week… today?
Conclusion:
What are the 4 Marks of a Healthy Church?
They are a Continual Devotion to:
· Instruction - Grow Downwardly with Understanding
· Fellowship - Grow Inwardly with Charity
· Worship - Grow Upwardly with Awe
· Evangelism - Grow Outwardly with Numbers
Balance! – It is essential that there be a balance of these four areas. If a church focuses only on one or two, they will be lopsided and miss some key ingredients in being a healthy functioning church that God richly blesses.
Our Mission statement:
“We at the Georgetown Evangelical Free Church seek to establish a church that glorifies God, builds up the church to maturity through Biblical instruction and fellowship, and reaches the lost world for Jesus Christ.”
So let me end this message the same way I began it,
“Are you Pentecostal?”
Oh, I hope so! I know I want to be!
