January 11, 2004 Acts 2:42-47
“The Spirit-filled church”
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever noticed how much time and energy we as a society spend on being attractive to one another? To get an idea, it only takes a quick trip into Wal-Mart. One very large section is labeled beauty aids. There’s lipstick, other types of makeup, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Walk a few steps in the other direction, and you will come to the clothes section of the store. If clothes were simply about being modest and about protecting ourselves from the environment, we could all wear simple gray or white uniforms. But clothes come in all shapes, colors, sizes and designs. Why? To make us more attractive to one another. Attraction is when two objects are drawn together, and they resist being pulled apart - like magnets. Have you ever seen a guy and a girl at the mall or in a restaurant, and they’re sitting across from one another with their eyes glued on one another? It can be kind of sickening, but those two are attracted to one another. They have something that pulls them together and resists them being apart from one another.
Attraction not only works when you’re talking about the physical world. It works spiritually too. Something attracted you to Jesus. Something attracted you to this place. Do you want other people to be drawn to this place to join our group of believers? I know that you do.
In Acts 2:42-47, Luke tells us about the church at Jerusalem. (the order is not the same as the note sheet)
The church at Jerusalem attracted people
The church at Jerusalem was not a fluke – it is repeatable
The church at Jerusalem was a Spirit-filled church
It is because they were Spirit-filled that the Jerusalem church possessed certain characteristics which drew people to them. These same characteristics will draw people to our church. In this passage, there are 4 characteristics that must be true of New Life Baptist Fellowship in order for us to attract people to the Lord and to our church.
Let’s look at v. 42 to see what those practices are, and then we’ll look at v. 43-47 to see what each of those practices actually meant for that church on a day by day basis. [READ vs. 42]
1. We can attract people to New Life through the teaching of truth (v. 42, 43) – “apostles’ teaching”
One of the most popular shows of all time is “the X Files”. The subtitle or theme of the show is, “The truth is out there.” The basic plot is that the government is trying to hide the fact that planet earth has been visited by aliens. Two FBI agents work desperately in each episode to uncover the conspiracy which our gov’t has worked to build. Why is this show so popular? Part of it could be that it casts our gov’t as the enemy. Most people can identify with that idea. But I think that the most potent reason for its popularity is that people identify with the quest of the two FBI agents. They are always on the verge of discovering the truth, but just when they are about to grasp it, the truth is yanked away from them. I think a lot of people in our society feel like that. They are searching for the truth about the meaning of life, about how to be a good parent, about how to have peace, about how to find love. The problem is that they are searching in all the wrong places. We have the truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes unto the Father except by me.” (Jn. 14:6)
Part of the message of truth that we have to deliver to people is a message of God’s judgment. God’s judgment in itself is not an attractive truth. But it allows us to tell people that in spite of the way that God feels about their sin, He loves them so much that He sent His Son Jesus to pay a debt that they owed so that they could have eternal life. People in our society are used to the idea that they have to earn people’s acceptance and approval. You have to look right, play sports right, talk right, use money right, and drive the right car to make people accept you. But what about all those who don’t measure up? Who’s going to love and accept them? God says, “I will”. That’s a truth that people will be drawn to.
Luke also says that the apostles began to do signs and wonders. I found myself wondering why Luke would have included this. Then I remembered what Peter had said about Jesus back in vs. 22. It says there that God put His stamp of approval on Jesus and all that He did by doing signs and wonders through Him. The signs and wonders gave authority to Jesus’ words so that the people would listen to Him. I think that the same thing is going on here. The apostles didn’t do miracles to elevate themselves. God did miracles through them to show that they now carried His authority, and people had better listen to what they said.
Each Sunday morning, as I stand before you, how is it that you can place your faith in the words that I speak. I have never claimed to do any signs and wonders, and I doubt that I ever will. How can I speak with authority? The reason that I can speak with authority is because I do not speak my own words. As best I know how, and with the Holy Spirit’s enablement, I speak God’s Words. That’s why I preach the Bible and not my own ideas. It has God’s authority. It was confirmed by signs and wonders when it was first spoken. And it can still perform signs and wonders. Because it is truth, it can change people’s lives. Do you know what the most powerful tool of outreach that any church can possess is? It is lives that have been changed by the truth of God’s Word. When people see lives being changed, they will want to come to this place.
The apostles, under the authority of God, spoke God’s truth about man’s condition and God’s love. That truth drew people to Jesus, and it changed their lives.
2. We can attract people to New Life by caring for people. (vs. 42, 44-47) – “the fellowship”
Luke calls this second characteristic “fellowship”. I guess that’s another one of those words that the Bible and Christians use, but no one else does. If you were trying to explain “fellowship” to an unsaved person or to someone who had not spent much time in the church, how would you describe it? Would you describe it as that time after a service on Sunday that everyone gathers in the fellowship hall for something to eat? How about what men share as they watch the Sunday afternoon football games together? Or what women share when they go on shopping trips together? Fellowship could happen at any of those times, but none of them will inherently produce fellowship. Let’s take a look at what fellowship looked like there in that church.
A. THEY DID WHAT WAS NECESSARY TO MEET NEEDS. (VS. 44-45)
These people that they took what they had, sold it, and then used the money to help provide for the needs of the rest of the group. These people gave willingly because they had a concern for the needs of the people around them. They did not hold anything back because the other believers were so important to them. They were willing to risk their own well-being for the benefit of a friend.
B. THEY DISCOVERED ONE ANOTHERS’ NEEDS
The standard by which they distributed the funds was according to whoever had need. People can be pretty secretive about their needs. There’s something about us that prevents us from telling others when we are in trouble and could really use the help of a friend. I think that it has something to do with pride. Since that usually is the case, the only way that these people could determine who had a need was by getting to know one another real well. That required spending a lot of time together. There simply was no other way of discovering who had a need.
C. THEY ATE TOGETHER (VS. 46)
Believe it or not, food and fellowship DO have something to do with each other. Luke says in vs. 46 that they “ate together”. And they ate their food with gladness. They enjoyed themselves. They didn’t spend time worrying about whether the other person was impressed with how their house looked. They didn’t worry about whether the turkey was dry or whether the mashed potatoes were lumpy. They had fun.
They also ate with simplicity of heart. They didn’t have any hidden motives for inviting these people into their home. They weren’t out to close a business deal with them. They weren’t looking for a promotion. They weren’t looking to get into a country club. Their only motive for having these people into their home was to provide a meal for them and to get to know them.
Maybe you are here because someone invited you to our church home. Let me assure you that we eat here with gladness and simplicity of heart. We have fun here with one another. And we didn’t invite you here to get something out of you -- not your money, not your time, and not your influence. We simply want to provide a meal for you - a meal from God’s Word, and we want to get to know you so that we can help to meet your needs.
What I think was going on here is that the believers were inviting needy people into their homes to have them sit down at the dinner table with them and enjoy a meal together. As great as the idea of a food pantry where needy persons can come and get food for their family is, wouldn’t it be more Christlike to invite that family into our homes and fix a meal that we could all eat together? I know that sounds pretty radical and even scary. These people might stink up your house, or they might steal something. They might decide not to leave. Then what do you do?
Maybe you don’t have much opportunity to invite financially needy people into your home, but I can bet that you know some spiritually needy people that you could invite. There are people in your office, your neighborhood, your PTA, and other areas of contact that you know or at least have a good idea are lost and without Jesus. When is the last time that you had someone in your house for a meal that you feel reasonably sure is not a Christian, and that person was not family? There’s something about gathering around a table for food that makes people more comfortable with one another. Maybe it’s because everyone is an equal around the table. Maybe it’s because there doesn’t have to be constant conversation. You can spend some of your time eating so you don’t have to spend the whole time talking. Before long, someone tells a joke, and everyone is rolling on the floor, and you discover that you really like one another. Then when your belly is full, and you’ve had that last piece of apple pie, everyone begins to talk. You discover things about one another that you would have never known. You show them your wedding pictures, and you discover that both of them have been divorced. They see all the kids toys in the hallway, and you discover that their only child was killed by a drunk driver last year or that they have been trying for 7 years to have a child but have been unsuccessful.
But you say, “Chris, they might stink up the house! They smoke, or they use foul language! They might want to watch something on TV that I don’t think is exactly the most wholesome thing for me to watch! And by the way, Chris, wasn’t it just other believers that these people were inviting into their homes? Weren’t they just ministering to one another?” No, I don’t think so. It says in vs. 47 that the believers gained favor with all the people. I don’t think that would have happened by the unbelievers looking in from the outside and saying, “My, these believers are having such a great time together. Isn’t that just wonderful.” No, it happened by the believers pulling the unbelievers in through the ministry of fellowship. You remember what Jesus said to Zachaeus as the little man came down from the tree? He said, “I’m going to your house today.” Jesus said that the Pharisees accused Him of being a friend to tax collectors and sinners. (Luke 7:34) Jesus did not deny the charge. In fact, I think that He was glad that they could say that of Him. He wanted to be known as a friend to these people because that’s who He came to reach. (Luke 19:10)
Many of you have invited people from our community to come to our church. That’s great, and I hope that you continue to do that. But many of you have also voiced your discouragement over your inability to get them to come. Could it be that we are looking at people as potential converts not as potential friends? When we invite them to our church, they may subconsciously say, “Why should I come to your church home when you have never invited me to your family’s home? Why should I have to wait until after I become a Christian for me to become your friend?” Now I realize that it is not always possible to invite people into your home before you invite them to church. The clerk at the store would probably think you a little weird if out of the blue you invited him or her into your home for a meal. But the guy that you have worked for years and never invited into your home will probably never enter your church and get to know your Lord until he enters your home and gets to know you.
Fellowship is at least partially about getting to the point that I care so much for a person that I am willing to do whatever it takes to get to know that person and become their friend so that I can learn what their needs are and how I can most effectively meet those needs.
3. We can attract people to New Life through remembering Jesus’ death. (vs. 42, 46) – “breaking of bread”
The breaking of bread was to cause believers to always remember that their salvation was bought with the death of Jesus Christ. When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we do so not because it has any magical quality to it. It does not in any way add to our salvation. It is an act of obedience. What it does provide for us is a time for us to remember and ponder what Jesus did for us on the cross.
When you come to the Lord’s Supper and are faced with the sacrifice of Jesus, what thoughts go through your mind? What emotions do you feel? For me, I guess there are two main emotions -- humility and thankfulness. As I think about what Jesus did for me, I remember that the salvation I have received is not because I have earned it. I did not deserve God’s grace. He gave it simply because of His great love. Paul says in I Cor 11:28 that a man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. It’s the same attitude that David had when he said in Ps 139:23-24, “Search me O God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” I am humbled by the sacrifice that He made for me. That humility causes me to place myself at the feet of Jesus and admit to Him that I haven’t got it all together. I’m not perfect. I still need His cleansing and His forgiveness.
The second emotion that the Lord’s Supper provokes is a feeling of thankfulness. Thankfulness is closely tied to humility. The more you feel like you don’t deserve a gift, the more thankful for it you will be. When God gave me my wife, Tammy, I realized that there was no way that I could deserve such a beautiful, wonderful woman. And then when He gave me my kids, Victoria and Benjamin, there’s no way that I could express the thankfulness that I feel for a gift so undeserved. But of all the gifts that I have ever received, the one I deserved least was the gift of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus. So it is the gift that I am most thankful for.
How does the remembering of Jesus’ death through the Lord’s Supper make us attractive to people? It keeps us humble and thankful so that we might never become proud and haughty.
“A rider on horseback, many years ago, came across a squad of soldiers who were trying to move a heavy piece of timber. A corporal stood by, giving lordly orders to ‘heave’. But the piece of timber was a trifle too heavy for the squad.
“‘Why don’t you help them?’ asked the quiet man on the horse, addressing the important corporal.
“‘Me? Why, I’m a corporal, sir!’ Dismounting, the stranger carefully took his place with the soldiers.
“‘Now, all together, boys -- heave!’ he said. And the big piece of timber slid into place. The stranger mounted his horse and addressed the corporal.
“‘ The next time you have a piece of timber for your men to handle, corporal, send for the commander-in-chief.’
The horseman was George Washington.
People like that are attractive because they are rare. Humility and thankfulness keep us working together rather than causing us to be lords over one another.
4. We can attract people to New Life by focusing on God. (vs. 42, 47) – “prayer”
We have already seen that this group of believers spent a lot of time in prayer. They spent so much time in prayer that prayer became one of the main characteristics of their group. They recognized their complete dependence on God. According to verse 47 of Acts 2, the focus of their prayers was to praise God. They wanted to lift up His name and tell Him what they really thought of Him.
I went to a very intriguing funeral about a few years ago. The funeral was for a woman that I had never met -- Lorene Bryant. The person who was in charge of the funeral gave opportunity for people in the audience to stand up and tell what this woman had meant to them. One by one, people stood up and told some of the memories of Lorene. Some told stories of experiences that they had with Lorene. Others told of things that Lorene had done for them. Some told of Lorene’s character and what she had stood for. I never had the privilege of meeting Lorene, but by the end of that service, I wished that I had met her. The praises which I heard about her attracted me to her.
Our public prayers should be so full of praise toward God that what we say about Him causes others to want to get to know Him. When people listen to us pray and sing, what do they hear as the focus of our communication? Do they hear from us how great a God we serve, or do they hear us continually asking from God like we’re beggars who have never received a thing from God? A prayer that is continually asking from God is focused on the one doing the praying and on those that the person may be praying for. When you pray, ask yourself this question: would what I have to say about God in my prayer cause someone else to want to know more about the God I’m praying to? Do I praise God for how merciful, loving, faithful, kind, good, and holy He is? Do I tell Him how beautiful He is? Do I thank Him for saving me? Do I praise Him for the beauty of His creation? If so, as I repeat these words to God, people hear and will respond, “Man, this God of theirs sounds great! I think that I would like to get to know Him a little better.”
Let me make one thing clear. When I pray, I pray to God. I do not fashion my prayers to impress those who might be listening. As much as is possible, when I pray in public, I try to restrict my awareness that there are others listening to what I say. I’m not suggesting that any of us shape our prayers in view of the audience there. What I am saying is that when our lives, our minds, and our hearts are filled with the awesomeness of God and our life is focused on Him, then our prayers will speak of how great He is, will focus on Him, and will let others know what we think of Him. I hope our church is such that anyone can pray out loud without feeling that their prayers are seen as immature, or unspiritual.
Prayers that focus on God and lift Him up before people will attract those people to Him.
So far, I’ve told you that he teaching of truth, caring for people, remembering Jesus’ death, and focusing on God will attract people to the group of believers. But I haven’t provided you any proof to that method. Look down at the 2nd half of vs. 47 [READ] The cumulative result of all these characteristics was that people were attracted to God (“saved”) AND to the church (“added to their number”) Notice one more thing about these additions. It was the Lord who was adding people to the church. With all that this church had going for them, they could not save anyone. But when these people, under the leadership of the Spirit, had all the components in their proper place, then the Lord could use that to attract people to Himself. They added people every day.
INVITATION
Do you want to attract people to our church, our group of believers? I know that you do. Here’s the next step. If you don’t already know your neighbors, meet some of them this week. If you know them, invite a family into your home for dinner during the next week or so. What I ask is no easy matter. I’m not asking you to witness to them; I’m asking you to build a friendship.
Maybe you are here today, and you have never taken Jesus Christ as your Savior. But what you have seen of the people in this church and other believers in Jesus attracts you. Maybe you want to know more. Maybe you’re even ready to become a part of this group today. As we sing this morning, step out of your place, and come forward to where I stand. I’ll take the Bible, show you how you can have forgiveness and how you can become a part of this group today. Then you too will be a part of this truth-teaching, people-caring, Jesus-remembering, God-focused group of believers.
