AUTHENTIC NEW TESTAMENT COMMUNITY
Acts 2:41-47
Pray - Read
There are many intriguing things that catch my eye, many clever ideas that engage my mind, many well thought through presentations that grab my ear. Very few of them, if any, will change my thinking or affect my living. Much to my shame I have often been attracted to novelties rather than to great things. Novelties will come and go and leave no noticeable change once they have passed. However, every now and then I find myself face to face with Almighty God over a season, and He breathes life, speaks truth, infuses power into a thing, or opens a whole new horizon of truth that I had looked at without seeing, or speaks to a hunger I have and in so doing turns it into a passion. And when I get up off the floor I discover that I have been so dramatically changed by that encounter with God that life will not, can not, will not ever be the same again. I find myself there this morning.
I have a passion, a longing, a deep life thirst that God has infused into my heart for authentic New Testament community. And I believe that the same is true for many of you this morning. As I have spoken with many believers from many different church gatherings over the last few years, I have become aware within them, and indeed within my own life, of a growing hunger for more of God, for more of His truth, for more of His power, for more of His life. There is a growing dissatisfaction within the Body of Christ, as there is within my own life, that all may not be right.
There is something wrong when the church is meant to be a place of joy, trust and forgiveness, but for many it has become a place of pain, loneliness and rejection.
There is something wrong when love, that is meant to be the hallmark of the believer’s life, becomes so very hard to see.
There is something wrong when people are leaving the church to find God.
There is something wrong when the very simple patterns of wholesome biblical community become complicated by the complex hierarchy of man-made structure, and the impotent endeavors of human effort.
Call me naive if you will, but I still believe it is possible to:
discover authentic New Testament community
experience the genuine spontaneous life of Christ as they did in Bible times
build an environment where we are not judgmental or critical, but where we recognize that it is a joy to embrace one another in our weaknesses, to submit to one another’s strengths, and to partner with one another as we maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace
love like Christ loved, to love without holding back because of the fear of pain, without keeping my distance for fear of rejection
join our faith together and see the power of God, power to forgive, power to heal, power to work miracles, power to raise the dead. There is so much more of God that we do not yet know.
I still believe in authentic New Testament community that is the experience and expression of the life and love of Jesus Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I cannot stand here and tell you that I know the way from what we have to what we long to enjoy, from where we are to where we want to be. To be honest, I cannot even tell you exactly what it will look like when we do get there. But I know for me, that what I have had over my 28 years as a child of God has still left me hungry for more. What I have studied in the Word of God over 5 years of seminary education and 15 years of full time ministry has left me hungry for more. The passion that God has placed in my heart and that seems to be insatiable has left me hungry for more - and I know that the same is true for many, many of you. So I want to join with you as together we journey with God, as together we go deeper with God, as together we discover the heart of God for us, for you, for me, for now.
I do not want us simply to go where we have gone, to do what we have done. That’s one of the amazing things abut people. When they are free to do as they please, they generally try to imitate others. That’s not what we are looking for.
I want with all my heart to know authentic New Testament community - and that’s what I want to talk with you about this morning - Authentic New Testament community.
We all know that the word ‘community’ is a compound - that is - it is made up of more than one word. It literally means ‘with unity’. What is unity?
The Demonstration of Unity is the Demonstration of Christ
John 17:23 "I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me."
Integrity is a function of character, not conduct.
Integrity is not an event, it is a result - it is like a crop you harvest from your sowing - in your own life and in the lives of others.
Church is a function of demonstration not declaration.
Ministry is a function of initiating, not imitating.
Simon sought to purchase that authority - Acts 8:18 - the sons of Sceva tried to get it through imitation and copying the patters (Acts 19:14). Many try to get it through the books they read and the people they follow. Authority is not bought and it is not imitated. It is not learned and it is not taught. Rather, it is divinely inspired and graciously granted. The authority of God can only be found in sacrificial love, deliberate obedience, and bold faith.
The Expression of Unity is the Expression of Love
Colossians 3:14 "Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity."
The Place of Unity is the Place of Blessing
Psalm 133:1-3 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever."
What is Mt. Hermon? It is a landmark mountain the reaches 9,200 feet above the Mediterranean, it is one of the most conspicuous mountains in Palestine - its modern day name is ‘ebel-esh-Sheikh’ - ‘the chief mountain’. They tell me that whatever part of Palestine you are in, if you look north you will see Mt. Hermon. God intended for one of the primary marks of the child of God must be unity. God intended that no matter where you are when you look at the Body of Christ, you should see love, you should see relationship, you should see unity. My precious brothers and sisters, I fear we have lost something of that in our perspective. We have become sectarian in our thinking and divisive in our practices. The problem is not out there - it is in here. And in order for me to know something different in the outworking of the church, I must see something different in the in-working of the Holy Spirit. If change is to come, it is to come here. If wholeness is to be found, it is to be found here. If you try to find unity out there, you will discover it a very rare commodity, a very hard thing to encounter. But I would suggest to you that if we start with unity here (in our hearts) we will find it on every corner, in every home, in any place where the name of Jesus is called upon.
I believe in the Body of Christ - it may not be perfect, but it is the best thing we have. It may not always act right, but it is the Bride of my Savior, and I honor the Body of Christ in all its various expressions. There will be Christians in heaven that were in different denominations to the ones you and I were a part of. There will be Christians in heaven who were Presbyterians and who were Baptist, and who were Methodists and who were Pentecostals and Episcopalians and Charismatics and Catholics and Seventh Day Adventists, there will be Christians from the World Wide Church of God in heaven and there will be people in heaven who never darkened the doors of a church. I am not endorsing all that these groups or people do - any more than I am saying we have got it all together or get it all right, but I am recognizing that the Body of Christ is a whole lot bigger than the limitations of my perspective. Now understand that to be a part of the Body of Christ you must be born again of the Holy Spirit, you must be saved by trusting Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. But I submit to you that genuine salvation experiences take place way beyond the narrow parameters of my thinking, and outside the very small circles of my experience.
No wonder the Bible exhorts us to "[be] diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph. 4:3) You lose unity and you lose a lot more than unity. There is a sense in which if you break from fellowship with your brother or sister, you break from fellowship with God. You lose unity and you loose the demonstration of Christ, the expression of love and the place of extravagant blessing. I do not know about you, but that is a little to expensive for my blood.
I believe in unity because I believe in community. I believe in community because it is only in community that we can experience the full intention of God’s creative design for this world - for why, even God Himself dwells in eternal community. When He said in the beginning, "Let Us . . ." He was referring to the triune God who dwells in eternal community. "Let Us make man in our image" - my friend, there is no doubt in my mind that part of the image of God is the need for essential community, and part of the design of God is the undeniable need for community. That is why something is you says ‘Yes’ when somebody speaks community language. That is why it feels so good to be affirmed and to be loved. That’s why you feel like a million dollars when somebody sees the good in you, and tells you - that’s community. I have shared this with some of you before - indulge me if you will. We have a word in Africa that is ‘ubuntu’ - ubuntu says that I can only know myself as I see myself through your eyes - so the closer you stand, the better I can know myself. That is authentic New Testament community. I had somebody say to me this week as we spoke about His People Community Church, I need somebody in life to scratch my back". That is community.
His People Community Church - the essence of who we are must be community. That’s what our Mission Statement says:- "Meeting Needs - Touching Hearts, Sharing Christ - Changing Lives".
This morning I want to share three things with you that relate to unity, three things that relate to authentic New Testament community. Community is a word that describes both the essence of as well as the result of effective relationships. Now I do not need to remind you that relationship is a function of conviction, not convenience. If you and I are going to walk in effective relationships, it is going to cost, it is going to take a change of thinking, it is going to require that we go about relationships in a whole new way.
1. Relationship Find Its Deepest Joy in a Principle Commitment to Unity
Acts 2:42, 44-46
Ephesians 4:11-16 "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."
What is the very first thing Paul addresses in his letter to the church at Corinth? Unity.
1 Corinthians 1:10 "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment."
There place of agreement is the place of unity and the pace of unity is the place of authority. The place of disagreement is the place of disunity and the place of disunity is the place of vulnerability. In your disagreement is satan given a foot hold that become a stronghold that becomes a death-hold.
If you want joy in your relationships, where at home, church or work, seek unity.
David and Jonathan
Relationship find its deepest joy in a principle commitment to unity
2. Relationship Reaches Its Greatest Potential in an Environment Where Ministry Takes Place.
Acts 2:42, 43, 45,
Prayer -
David and Jonathan
Relationship find its deepest joy in a principle commitment to unity
Relationship reaches its greatest potential in an environment where ministry takes place.
3. Relationship Discovers Its Highest Good in an Atmosphere of Trust, Forgiveness and Mutual Edification
Acts 2:44
Trust - Forgiveness - Mutual edification.
