Acts 4:32-35
“Welcome to Resurrection Central”
By: Rev. Kenneth Emerson Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
Many people are willing to accept Christianity as an explanation of life, but they are not yet prepared to accept it as a way of life.
It is clear—from a passage such as the one from Acts this morning---that Christianity has always been a way of life…a way from which certain explanations and inferences about life can be inevitably drawn.
“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. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.”
There is an inseparatable association between the apostles’ witness to the resurrection of Jesus and the life of the community.
It is as if the community itself was the demonstration of the Resurrection, like the corona of the sun.
In the Church the new power was at work, like the sun streaming through breaking clouds, not only to heal the sick but to transform self-centered individuals into self-sacrificing members of Christ’s Body.
It is of the utmost importance to notice this moral and spiritual change in the life of believers.
Every church is, at least potentially, a Resurrection Central…
…where into it come people who have been primarily concerned with their own affairs…
… and by it their horizons are changed.
They come to know the needs of other people.
They share what they have with those who have less or nothing at all.
Their own burdens are lessened as the shoulders of their brothers and sisters in Christ assume part of the weight.
And as a result, their own lives begin to throb with a new life…
…beside which…
…their old lives seem like a narrow and useless existence.
It has been the function of the Christian Church since the earliest days of its existence to help the individual find him or herself.
In this current day and age, when many people feel as if they do not ‘belong’ anywhere…
…when the breakdown of the family is so great…
…and when so many evil forces wrestle for our allegiance…
…it is very important for the Church of the Resurrected Lord to help individuals find themselves and be found by God by incorporating them into the life of the Christian Community.
Abraham, according to the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, “was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
In the same way…
…many men and woman are looking for a community in which they can find meaning for their lives…
…where they can live together with others—working toward a common goal---without the hatred and discord which is so prevalent in the world today.
There is no room for intellectual snobbery within the Church of Jesus Christ.
There is no room for social superiority, no place for racial intolerance…no room for any of that… especially when the sole purpose for one’s existence is to “testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus”….
In Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus is speaking to us: the Christian Church when He says: “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
We are to be “one in heart and mind…as we continue to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.”
Saint Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.”
The inner change that has taken place…and is taking place within those of us who have been born of God through faith in the resurrected Christ is the main reason that God joins us together with others.
It’s God’s plan that whatever grace we have received from Him will be communicated through us to those we come in contact with.
Through the way we relate to others in the world…God wants to use us to serve as a barrier to the sin and corruption that is in the world.
It is our very nature…as the Church of Jesus Christ to season---as salt does---whatever is around us.
The divine nature of the resurrection experience is to be spread to whatever we touch…
…as salt, we are called to allow ourselves to be poured out into every relationship we have, and into every life that we come in contact with.
We are to taste different than the world.
As a young person, I was surrounded—a great deal of the time by Christians who were centered on allowing the Love of God to be seen through them.
Therefore, even though I had not yet given my life to Christ, I knew what the followers of Christ tasted like.
One evening, while in college, a friend of mine and I were waiting for a city bus to take us downtown.
While we were waiting, a young woman (who was probably also a student) stopped her car and offered us a ride.
Although we did not have any conversation with her about her religious beliefs, I had a strong suspicion…due to her disposition, her gentleness, her words and her deeds that she was a Christian.
After she had stopped to drop us off at our destination, I turned to her and asked, “Are you a born again Christian?”
A bright smile overtook her face, “Why, yes” she beamed.
“I could tell,” I said.
As long as we are followers of Jesus Christ…
…As long as we are testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus…
…it is impossible for us to conceal it!
And any attempt to do so, is completely contrary to the plan of God for our lives.
It is impossible for any of us to truly be followers of Jesus Christ and hide it…
… “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”
As Christians, we are “the light of the world,” in regard to our outlook on life and our actions.
Christ ‘living in us’ makes us as noticeable as the sun in the middle of the sky.
Just as we cannot “go out of the world,” neither can we stay in it without being obvious to everyone as to Who it is we believe in.
Jesus has told us: that the most important commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength,” and that the second one is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
In 1st John, the Bible tells us: “Let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Love cannot be hidden anymore than light---especially when it radiates outward in action.
John Wesley once wrote: “People might as well try to hide a city as to hide a Christian. Indeed we can no more conceal a city set upon a hill, as hide a holy, devoted, and active lover of God and humankind.
It is futile to think that we can hide the light, unless we extinguish it.
It is impossible to keep our religion from being seen, unless we thrust it away!
It is certain that a secret, unobserved religion cannot be the religion of Jesus Christ.
Any religion that can be concealed is not genuine Christianity.”
In order to do the will of God we must obey His commands.
And what God asks of us is to believe in the One in Whom God sent…
…and if we are to believe in the One in Whom God sent…
…then we are going to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus…
…and in testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus there is great power!
It is the power of God to change the hearts, minds and lives of humankind.
It is the power of God to shine His light in the darkness of a sin-filled world…
…It is the power of love over hate…
…life over death…
…It is the power of God that believers in Christ can be “one in heart and mind”…
… it is the power of God that creates “the same mind in us that was in Christ Jesus.”
This is the Church of Jesus Christ…This is Resurrection Central!
This is the community through which God demonstrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This is the place where the sick are to be healed!
This is the place where self-centered individuals become self-sacrificing individuals!
Whether or not people will finally be lost or saved, God has specifically commanded us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.
Although God alone changes people’s hearts, God usually chooses to do this through human instruments.
Therefore, it is our responsibility to diligently do everything we can…as though we could change human hearts ourselves…
…Then, leave it to God to change them.
Jesus never stopped striving to do good, and neither should we…
…no matter what our successes or failures may be.
Our part is to do what God has commanded us to do.
The change in others lies in His hands.
As a “Resurrection Central” our single aim should be that everyone who sees our good works will “praise” our “Father in heaven”…and in doing so, become witnesses to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
Therefore, we must be ever willing to put aside all pettiness, gossip, slander, and all the other actions which come so natural to humankind…but stink of hate and the devil and cause the witness of the Church to be stifled!
We must be very sensitive to the feelings of others…and if we catch ourselves doing anything other than loving others…
…We must stop immediately. Repent. And then continue forward.
We are to desire nothing from others except for the salvation of their souls.
In all things, the practice of seeking God’s glory must be our ultimate aim.
And with this goal in mind, we are to keep our lives simple, open, and transparent as we allow God to make our love genuine…
…so that others can see the grace of God within us.
And although some people will harden their hearts, others will know that we have been with Jesus…
…and they too will turn to Him and testify to His resurrection!
Let us pray: Lord God, cause us to be amazed and humbled to the dust by “the love of God in Christ Jesus” our Lord! Enable us to let the whole stream of our thoughts, words, and actions flow from the deepest conviction that we stand on the edge of the great gulf of eternity. That we and everyone else are just ready to drop into eternity, either into everlasting glory or everlasting flames!
Help us to become meek. Let our souls be filled with kindness, gentleness, endurance, and patience toward everyone. And at the same time, let everything within us thirst for You, longing to awaken in Your likeness.
Help us to become lovers of God, and of all people. And in this Spirit, may we do and endure all things for the sake of testifying to the resurrection of Jesus. In Whose name and for Whose sake we pray. Amen.
