“We Are Family”
Acts 2:42-47
How many of you remember the song “We are Family”?
The question is what does a real model family look like?
Today’s society, dysfunctional families are the norm, not the exception.
There are families with absent parents, single parents, step-parents.
There are even “families” with 2 dads or 2 moms.
Is it any wonder our society is in such deep trouble when the family unit is breaking down at such a rapid pace?
Loneliness is so prevalent today that people are paying just for others to sit and listen to them!
30% of Americans say that they have experienced long periods of painful loneliness.
70% of Americans don’t know their neighbors.
Internet chat rooms are booming.
Bars are filled with lonely people looking for someone to listen.
But where is the family in all of this? Where is the togetherness?
Today, I’d like to show you the model family.
I’d like to talk to you about a different sort of family, a family that stays together, that shares together, that fellowships together.
It’s what a true family should be. It’s the Family of God.
And this family is the cure for loneliness.
The truth is, we are family. SVBC is a family. The Church of Christ is a family.
All throughout the NT, we see family words like “brothers” (over 130x in NT–Gospels)
So what does this Biblical family look like? Or rather, what should it look like?
There are lots of churches out there that are anything but a Biblical family.
Passage that best describes what a Biblical family should look like.
Ironically, this ideal model Church family is also the first Church family.
Turn to Acts 2:42-47.
Background
Acts is an amazing book that’s full of incredible accounts of the powerful and miraculous working of God.
It’s a Book that describes the birth and infancy of the NT Church.
It’s also a transitional book that shifts from Judaism proper to Christianity.
It’s also a historical book that describes the beginnings of the church.
Because the NT church is now established, some of the things that were prescribed in Acts are not applicable today (cf. other epistles).
Even so, this account in Acts 2 gives us a great model for our “family”.
You recall that Acts 1 Jesus ascends and the disciples wait for the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 2, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes powerfully open them, they speak in other languages and Peter stands up to preach and 3,000 people get saved!! (v. 41)
It literally was the birth of the Church!
And now, we get a glimpse of how that infant church became a family.
42THEY DEVOTED THEMSELVES TO THE APOSTLES’ TEACHING AND TO THE FELLOWSHIP, TO THE BREAKING OF BREAD AND TO PRAYER. 43EVERYONE WAS FILLED WITH AWE, AND MANY WONDERS AND MIRACULOUS SIGNS WERE DONE BY THE APOSTLES. 44ALL THE BELIEVERS WERE TOGETHER AND HAD EVERYTHING IN COMMON. 45SELLING THEIR POSSESSIONS AND GOODS, THEY GAVE TO ANYONE AS HE HAD NEED. 46EVERY DAY THEY CONTINUED TO MEET TOGETHER IN THE TEMPLE COURTS. THEY BROKE BREAD IN THEIR HOMES AND ATE TOGETHER WITH GLAD AND SINCERE HEARTS, 47PRAISING GOD AND ENJOYING THE FAVOR OF ALL THE PEOPLE. AND THE LORD ADDED TO THEIR NUMBER DAILY THOSE WHO WERE BEING SAVED.
Outline
This account is packed full of truths for us today.
It shows us what God’s Family should look like and what we should be doing.
We’re going to see six descriptions/characteristics of God’s Family.
In addition, we’re going to discover the five primary purposes of the Church.
Finally, we’re going to see eleven benefits of belonging to God’s Family.
I. God’s Family is serious about spiritual growth. v. 42
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
It literally means “standing ready in constant attendance”.
They were earnest, diligent, persistent, devoted.
(Amplified Bible) steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly.
It was deliberate and constant devotion.
They continually devoted themselves to two things; discipleship and fellowship.
The first and second purposes of the Church – discipleship and fellowship.
Not in any particular order of importance.
They were devoted to discipleship.
They didn’t have NT back then. Just eyewitnesses of Christ (?better).
The apostle’s teaching was an extension of Christ’s teaching.
These believers had a hunger for God’s Word.
One benefit of belonging to God’s family is spiritual growth.
They were also devoted to fellowship.
koinonia; partnership, participation, togetherness, family.
“to have in common”, “to share”, “to participate for a common cause”.
Notice it says “the fellowship”.
It wasn’t just a club that hung out together.
It wasn’t just a monthly pot-luck dinner or greeting time in Church.
There was a purpose for gathering. It was organized fellowship.
Kind of like “the family” (the Mafia) but with a good purpose.
When we gather for fellowship here, there is a purpose for it.
We are seeking to build each other up and encourage each other.
The fellowship here specifically involves breaking of bread and prayers (no “and” after fellowship).
But in a larger sense, this whole passage is about fellowship.
Everything they did and experienced came through fellowship, togetherness.
And their fellowship brought unity.
Phil. 2:1-2 IF YOU HAVE ANY ENCOURAGEMENT FROM BEING UNITED WITH CHRIST, IF ANY COMFORT FROM HIS LOVE, IF ANY FELLOWSHIP WITH THE SPIRIT, IF ANY TENDERNESS AND COMPASSION, 2THEN MAKE MY JOY COMPLETE BY BEING LIKE-MINDED, HAVING THE SAME LOVE, BEING ONE IN SPIRIT AND PURPOSE.
A second benefit of belonging is unity.
The breaking of bread could be either the Lord’s Supper or a simple meal.
It’s generally thought that the early disciples followed every meal with the Lord’s Supper (i.e., Agape or Love Feasts).
This was probably what led to abuses of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Cor. 11:20.
A third benefit of belonging is celebration of the ordinances (Lord’s Supper and baptism).
We celebrate often (next LS and baptism in 2 weeks – Sept. 16).
to the breaking of bread and to prayer - Lit. “the prayers” (poss. prayer services, cf. Acts 1:14, 3:1, 4:23).
Their prayers were purposeful, too.
A fourth benefit of belonging is corporate prayer.
II. God’s Family sees God at work. v. 43
43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
Awe - Reverential fear, wonder.
Lit. “Fear kept on coming to every soul” and “wonders and signs kept on coming through the apostles”.
The verb “kept on coming” actually appears as ook ends to v. 43.
The more wonders, the more fear/awe.
The reason for awe – wonders and signs that authenticated the message.
Remember, this was a brand new teaching. The church had just been born.
It was still wet all over.
Therefore, God needed to authenticate the Gospel to prove it was real.
That’s why Christ performed miracles – to authenticate His message.
Now that the Church has been established and we have God’s Word, there’s no need for signs and wonders.
But we still need to have a sense of awe and reverence over what God is doing.
The miracles He produces today are changed lives.
A fifth benefit of belonging is experiencing a changed life.
As God’s family, we see firsthand how God works in our midst to change lives.
III. God’s Family shares a sense of togetherness. V. 44
44All the believers were together and had everything in common.
All the believers – Here is the common element.
It’s faith and trust in God that unites us and makes us a family.
If you haven’t placed your complete trust in Christ, you will never fully experience the joy of belonging to God’s family.
Gospel ABC’s (covered recently in Mt. 7:13ff).
A sixth benefit of belonging is a common faith.
We are united in Christ. That’s a bond that is deeper than any earthly family.
Cf. Eph. 4:4-6 THERE IS ONE BODY AND ONE SPIRIT—JUST AS YOU WERE CALLED TO ONE HOPE WHEN YOU WERE CALLED—5ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM; 6ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, WHO IS OVER ALL AND THROUGH ALL AND IN ALL.
Common comes from the same word as fellowship (koinonia).
Christian fellowship implies a sense of sharing, of togetherness.
A seventh benefit of belonging is togetherness.
We at SVBC are first and foremost a family! This Church is a family, not a building.
We’re the family of God that happens to meets in the Susquehanna Valley.
And together, we can do so much more than separately.
Illus. When geese fly, they fly together in a V shape in order to help each other.
It creates an upward thrust that helps the bird behind.
In fact, scientists have discovered that the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.
When we are together, we can do so much more than when we’re alone.
We get where we’re going on each other’s thrust.
Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone.
When we fall out of formation with God’s family, we also feel the resistance pull us away from our fellowship with Christ.
Illus. 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 argued 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.
IV. God’s Family serves (takes care of) each other. V. 45
45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
They met each other’s needs.
This is a third Purpose of the Church – Ministry (cf. discipleship, fellowship).
They exercised hospitality and generosity.
They gave up their individual possessions for the sake of the family.
This doesn’t imply they were communists.
They just practiced communal living. It was voluntary.
The difference between a Christian and a communist is this: a communist says, “All yours is mine, ” while a Christian says, “ All mine is yours”.
Notice that they didn’t simply distribute everything evenly.
They gave as needs arose. They shared everything to meet needs.
Cf. Acts 4:32-35 ALL THE BELIEVERS WERE ONE IN HEART AND MIND. NO ONE CLAIMED THAT ANY OF HIS POSSESSIONS WAS HIS OWN, BUT THEY SHARED EVERYTHING THEY HAD. 33WITH GREAT POWER THE APOSTLES CONTINUED TO TESTIFY TO THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD JESUS, AND MUCH GRACE WAS UPON THEM ALL. 34THERE WERE NO NEEDY PERSONS AMONG THEM. FOR FROM TIME TO TIME THOSE WHO OWNED LANDS OR HOUSES SOLD THEM, BROUGHT THE MONEY FROM THE SALES 35AND PUT IT AT THE APOSTLES’ FEET, AND IT WAS DISTRIBUTED TO ANYONE AS HE HAD NEED.
Should we sell everything we have and distribute it around? Not necessarily.
This practice did not continue for long.
Stanley D. Toussaint (BKC) “The selling of property and the common possession of the proceeds may imply that the early church expected the Lord to return soon and establish His kingdom. This may explain why the practice was not continued.
We aren’t commanded to sell everything and join a commune.
But we are commanded to meet each other’s needs.
After all, we sacrifice for the sake of our family all the time.
It should be the same for God’s family.
We are responsible for helping our brothers and sisters in Christ.
An eighth benefit of belonging is having needs met.
Illus. When a goose gets sick or shot and falls out, two other geese will fall out with it and follow it down to help and protect it.
They will stay with the goose until it is either able to fly again or is dead, and then they launch out again to catch up with their group
V. God’s Family celebrates together. V. 46-47a
46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
Continued - Same word as in v. 42 (continuing steadfastly, devoted).
unanimously:—with one accord (mind), (togetherness).
Notice that they still met in the Temple – they weren’t kicked out of there yet.
This is a fourth Purpose of the Church – worship.
They met in the Temple for worship and they praised God with gladness and sincerity of heart.
They celebrated their new relationship via worship.
Breaking bread from house to house probably implies sharing their daily meals, but could again imply eating meals and sharing the Lord’s Supper.
They were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,
Guess what? Food and fellowship is Biblical!
Illus. A kindergarten class was asked to bring a symbol of their faith to class for "show and tell." The first child to show and tell said, "I am a Muslim and this my prayer rug." Another child stood up and said, "I am Jewish and this is my Star of David." A third child stood up to show and tell stating, "I am Catholic and this is my rosary." The next child stood up and said, "I am a Christian and this my casserole dish."
They had gladness and joy as they celebrated.
Luke mentions at least 12 other references to joy in the Church in Acts alone.
A ninth benefit of belonging is corporate celebration.
47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
Favor (charis); graciousness; gratitude: grace, joy.
God helped the Church get grounded by enjoying favor of the people.
This, unfortunately, didn’t last. We can now expect persecution.
Jn. 16:33 IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE. BUT TAKE HEART! I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.”
This implies a tenth benefit of belonging – strength through suffering.
VI. God’s Family sees growth. V. 47b
And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
“Kept on adding together”
Here’s the word “Together” again.
Here we have a fifth Purpose of the Church – evangelism/missions.
Because they were studying God’s Word together and fellowshipping together and serving each other and worshipping God together, God added to their number daily.
True Christian fellowship will attract people to Christ.
Illus. Bob Russell, in his book When God Builds a Church has said, "The church exploded in growth because the people loved being together. When you get a group of people together who genuinely believe something and who really enjoy each other, it’s such a contagious atmosphere that you can’t keep people away from it." [Howard Publishing, 2000, p. 199]
This new church grew because it was fulfilling God’s purposes for the Church.
It was acting like a family. It was demonstrating true Christian togetherness.
Notice that God brings the increase, not us.
We can bring people to Jesus and introduce them to Him, but He is the One Who calls them and adopts them into His family.
Col. 2:19 - … THE WHOLE BODY, SUPPORTED AND HELD TOGETHER BY ITS LIGAMENTS AND SINEWS, GROWS AS GOD CAUSES IT TO GROW.
This demonstrates a vital fact: a healthy church grows.
An eleventh benefit of belonging is spiritual health.
Illus. How do you get your kids to grow?
Not by commanding them to grow or by stretching them.
You get them to grow by feeding them and keeping them healthy.
SVBC is not going to grow simply by praying for growth or commanding us to.
It will grow by being healthy.
How do we become and stay healthy? By being balanced.
The human body needs to be in perfect balance in order to be healthy.
Our family at SVBC also needs to be balanced between the five purposes.
When we’re balanced/healthy, we can truly experience/enjoy all the benefits.
We’re going to spend the next 5 weeks looking at these purposes.
Conclusion
First and foremost, Susquehanna Valley Bible Church is a family.
We are a living, breathing organism, not a cold, business organization.
Illus. Charles E. Jefferson, in Leadership says, “A sharp distinction ought to be made between a church and an audience. An audience is a group of unrelated people drawn together by a short-lived attraction. An audience is a crowd. A church is a family. An audience is a gathering. A church is a fellowship. An audience is a heap of stones. A church is a temple.” Leadership, Vol. 11, no. 4.
We are family!
In order to grow as a family, we need to model ourselves after the early church.
We need to fulfill the Five Purposes that God has given us.
We need to display these six characteristics of a healthy church.
We need to take advantage of all the benefits of belonging to God’s family.
We need to act like the family of God by studying God’s Word together and fellowshipping together and praying together and serving together and worshipping together and growing together in Christ.
We’re not perfect – we have some work to do in some areas.
The Bottom Line is this: We’re family. We need each other.
The Church family is the ultimate cure for loneliness!
Heb. 10:24-25 says 24AND LET US CONSIDER HOW WE MAY SPUR ONE ANOTHER ON TOWARD LOVE AND GOOD DEEDS. 25LET US NOT GIVE UP MEETING TOGETHER, AS SOME ARE IN THE HABIT OF DOING, BUT LET US ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER—AND ALL THE MORE AS YOU SEE THE DAY APPROACHING.
So here’s the challenge. What about you?
Would you like to belong to and join God’s family?
Joining God’s family doesn’t mean joining SVBC.
You can join God’s family today by committing your life to Him (ABC).
And then, once you’ve joined God’s family, I encourage you to join our family here at SVBC and experience all the benefits of belonging.
Joining SVBC is really as simple as becoming a committed member of our family.
We’re family here. And more importantly, we’re part of God’s family; brothers and sisters living and growing together under the authority of our Heavenly Father.
We’re family. We need each other.
As we kick off a new season and a new chapter here at SVBC, let’s commit ourselves to living and acting as God’s children, seeking to fulfill His purposes for us and reaping the benefits of belonging to the “perfect” family, the family of God.
