INTRO.- ILL.- The new preacher was getting concerned. He told one of his deacons that he’d noticed many of the church members had colds and were coughing during the services.
The deacon replied, "As time goes on, preacher, you’ll begin to realize all those coughs aren’t colds. THEY’RE TIME SIGNALS."
ILL.- Sammy said to Danny, “Do you know what it means when a preacher steps into the pulpit, removes his watch and places it on the pulpit?” Danny replied, “Yeah, it means nothing!”
Many times people are not happy with their church for one reason or another. It’s the preacher, the board, the music, the services, the programs, etc. Consequently, they complain a lot.
ILL.- Someone said, "He who knocks all the time has something wrong within, just like the automobile engine that knocks all the time."
If you are knocking others all the time there is something wrong with you. You have a valve problem. A heart-valve problem.
ILL.- Someone else said, "Criticizing others is a dangerous thing, not so much because you may make mistakes about them, but because you may be revealing the truth about yourself."
Brother and sisters, we may well show our own colors when we color others with criticism!
Phil. 2:14-15 "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation..."
Chronic complainers do not spread the gospel. They spread the gossip. Generally, they do nothing but spread hurt. They hurt themselves. They hurt those within the church and those outside the church.
They hurt themselves because whatever you sow, you also reap. If a person is going to be mean, grouchy and gripey, it will come back to bite them.
Chronic complainers also hurt the people within the church. Gripers are not encouragers. They are not builders. They are destroyers.
Rom. 14:19 "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."
We all need to be "lovers and not fighters." We need to do the best we can to promote peace and encourage one another in the faith.
ILL.- Someone in a certain preacher’s congregation pointed out several faults in him and his preaching. Instead of retaliating, or trying to defend himself, he looked at the woman and said, "If what you say is true, would you mind praying for me?"
Instead of picking and poking, we all need to be praying.
Chronic complainers also hurt the people outside the church. They hold up a banner, which reads: DON’T COME TO MY CHURCH. I DON’T LIKE IT AND YOU WOULDN’T LIKE IT EITHER! Consequently, they keep the good Word of God and the gospel from these people who need it badly!
Instead of being complainers, we need to be crusaders for Christ! We need to be commenders of the good! We need to be confirmers of the gospel!
I know this is "Super Sunday." It’s Super Bowl Sunday. It’s the New England Patriots against the Carolina Panthers! WHO IS GOING TO WIN? I don’t know and I’m not betting either. But I do know, however, that Jesus is going to win! He already has! And we are going to win too!
ILL.- A church billboard recently read: "Let’s meet at my house Sunday before the game. Signed, God." Good idea.
Go to church and then watch the Super Bowl. According to I Timothy 6:7 God has given us everything good for our enjoyment. It’s all right to enjoy football, but let us not forget the God who gives us all these good things.
The early church assembled every Lord’s Day to remember and honor the Lord. EVERY SUNDAY WAS SUPER SUNDAY TO THEM!
Did they have something that we don’t have? Could be. Let’s compare notes. Let’s compare churches. Some people say it’s not good to compare ourselves to others, but in this case, it might be very good! WE CAN LEARN FROM THE EARLY CHURCH!
PROP.- From the book of Acts let’s examine the early church to see what was so super about it. And perhaps we can learn some things.
1- A super surrender
2- A super fellowship
3- A super service
I. A SUPER SURRENDER
ILL.- A mother spanked her daughter and made her go to bed for her ill temper which she had demonstrated throughout the day. After she got in bed she said to her mother, "It’s a bad temper when it’s me, but when it’s you, it’s your nerves."
ILL.- Owen Wister, an old college friend of Theodore Roosevelt, was visiting him at the White House. Roosevelt’s daughter Alice kept running in and out of the room until Wister finally asked if there wasn’t something Roosevelt could do to control her. "Well," said the President, "I can do one of two things. I can be President of the United States or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both."
I’m sure that as parents we feel much like. We can do our work or we can try to control our children, but we have difficulty doing both. PARENTING IS NOT AN EASY TASK. Nor is heavenly parenting.
God is our heavenly Father and He has to deal with us, put up with us, and try to control us and tell us how to live our lives. Sometimes we don’t listen very well. And we don’t submit very well. ALL OF US ARE STUBBORN AND REBELLIOUS.
On the day of Pentecost when the Lord’s church actually started, Peter said these powerful and penetrating words.
Acts 2:38 Peter said, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
What happened after Peter said these words to the people? How did the people respond? Did they give Peter a hard time? Did they hassle him, saying, "We can’t do that and we won’t do that"?
"We want to do our own thing." "We will do this but in our own good time. Not now. Maybe later."
No, this is not how the people responded. They were convicted. They were humbled. They were submissive. They surrendered their lives to God and Christ.
Acts 2:41 "Those who accepted his message were baptized and about three thousand were added to their number that day." That’s what I call "Super surrender."
ILL.- Being the general director of the New York opera took a toll on Beverly Sills; she ballooned into obesity. "It made me sick to look at myself. I’d reached the point where I didn’t want to have my clothes made anymore. It was too embarrassing. So I ordered everything from catalogues."
Eventually Sills was forced to face the problem. "I woke up one day and realized I was really ill." She went to see a specialist. "He put me on the scales. They read 215 pounds. ’I cannot possibly weigh that much!’ I gasped. And the doctor said, ’Please look down. Are those two fat feet on the scale yours or mine?’" Beverly smiled. "Once I accepted the problem, I was on my way."
Most of us don’t like to admit error in life. We don’t mind pointing out some other person’s error, but certainly not our own. We all have a problem when it comes to admitting error and surrendering to the Lord.
ILL.- A lady went forward in church when the preacher offered an invitation for people to come up front and accept Christ as Savior. The preacher took her hand and said, “Do you want to accept Christ as your Savior?” “Yes,” she said. He replied, “Then please repeat this prayer after me: ‘Lord, I am a no-good sinner and I need you to save me…’” There was silence. Finally, the lady said, “I want Christ as my Savior, but I’m a good sinner.” The preacher said, “A good sinner! There is no such thing as a good sinner. Lady, you will have to take your seat. God can’t save you until you admit that you are a no-good sinner and in need to salvation.”
The lady stood there in silence. Finally, she broke down, “I’m so sorry. I do admit that I’m a no-good sinner and I need Christ to save me.” The preacher responded, “Great! Now God can do business with you.”
It is not easy to admit that we are no-good sinners and have fallen far short of the glory of God, but that’s what we must do in order for God to do business with us.
And that’s what the early church did. That’s what 3,000 people did! If our church is ever going to be what it should be in the eyes of the Lord we need to be "super surrendered" as well!
The way of the world is up, but the way of God is down. We have to go down before we can ever go up.
I Pet. 5:5-6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
If you haven’t surrendered to the Lord, you need to consider it. God is our heavenly Father. He loves us more than anyone. He lives for our good. He wants only good for us. He only tells us to do things that will help us. And we need to help Him by doing what He says.
Surrender is not bad when it comes to our Heavenly Father. It is one of the best things that we can do. The more we surrender to Him and do what he wants: baptism or whatever it is, the more He will bless us personally and congregationally.
II. A SUPER FELLOWSHIP
ILL.- At a Sunday School picnic, the minister was walking across a small bridge when suddenly he started sneezing. He sneezed so hard that his false teeth flew from his mouth and landed in the clear water below.
He was extremely embarrassed over the ordeal so he quickly removed his shoes and socks, rolled up his pant legs and started to wade in the water after his teeth.
About that time, a little gray-haired lady in the church showed up, carrying a picnic basket full of food. When she realized what had happened to the minister she quickly reached into her basket and pulled out a crispy fried chicken leg. She tied a piece of string to the chicken leg and tossed it into the water near the teeth. IMMEDIATELY, THE TEETH CLAMPED ONTO THE CHICKEN LEG AND WERE HAULED TO SAFETY.
Now I want to make something very clear: not all preachers like fried chicken, but this preacher does. HOWEVER I LEARNED TO LIKE FRIED CHICKEN LONG BEFORE I BECAME A PREACHER. And even though I do sneeze very hard, I don’t wear false teeth! I have a false hip, but not false teeth.
Acts 2:44-47 "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
The early church experienced a super fellowship. They cared about one another and they shared with one another. Some of the early Christians went so far as to sell their own possessions in order to help others. WHAT A RARE AND GRACIOUS THING TO DO!
We still see things like this being done in the Lord’s church. Christians sharing with one another, giving to one another and often, privately or without recognition.
ILL.- Many years ago I rolled a Plymouth Horizon while driving in southern Missouri. I was not hurt, but my car certainly was. It was nearly totaled. One of the elders of the church loaned me a used car that he had and not only that, but he also gave me $50 to put gas in it. AND HE DIDN’T HAVE TO DO THAT! He did it simply because he was my Christian brother, he had a heart to do it, and the ability to do it!
That’s a part of Christian fellowship!
ILL.- I remember when one of our families lost their home by fire while they were at church on Sunday morning. Someone came into our church services, people started whispering to one another, and suddenly men in our church jumped up and walked out of our services. I wondered, "What in the world is going on?" I was somewhat irritated with these men for leaving the worship service. Of course, I didn’t know the whole story. When I found out I was deeply humbled.
Our people responded to that family in a big way. They went to help put out the fire and afterward, they helped by providing clothing, money, and whatever else they could. That’s Christian fellowship! Sharing, caring, giving, helping, loving.
The early church also enjoyed one another’s company. They ate together. AND IN OUR BOOK, THAT’S REAL CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP! In most of our churches, it isn’t fellowship if it isn’t food! Right?
I have often felt that we Christians are at our best when we are sharing together around a meal table. Everybody is excited, having fun, enjoying themselves, yakking and laughing.
ILL.- Dr. Walter Wilson has the following story. He was visiting in a home and the members of the family were asked to quote Bible verses. One little girl quoted John 3:16 as follows: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have INTERNAL LIFE.”
Internal life is something that the early church had and we have it too. It’s called Christian fellowship, sharing, and love. Our churches have long had a history of good Christian fellowship.
Christian fellowship is one thing that makes the church very special! A super fellowship! Perhaps we could say that Christian fellowship is just a foretaste of heaven! A down payment on glory! An appetizer before the main course!
III. A SUPER SERVICE
ILL.- An employer said to a prospective employee, "How long did you work at your other job?" "Fifty-five years." Employer, "How old are you?" "Forty-five years old."
Employer, "How in the world could you work 55 years when you are only 45 years old?" "Overtime."
Brothers and sisters, did you ever work overtime at any job? More than likely you did some time in your life. The boss either asked you to or told you that you had to. Do you want to work overtime now? Not many do.
Col. 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."
I believe that these words can give new meaning to our work, regardless of what we do. Whenever we realize that we are serving the Lord in our work, whatever the work is, we will do a better job. WE WILL WORK HARDER, ETC. And perhaps even overtime.
The early Christians were workers. They were involved in a super work. And that work was evangelism! AND THEY EVEN WORKED AT IT OVERTIME!
Acts 8:1, 4 "On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered...." V. 4 "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went."
The early Christians were scattered because of persecution. But that didn’t stop them from witnessing for Christ. If anything, they stepped up their pace in witnessing for Christ.
Persecution didn’t bother them. It only motivated them to do more for Christ! PERHAPS THAT’S WE NEED. Some persecution, and then perhaps we will get with the program of witnessing for Christ.
The world has its own agenda and we should have ours.
ILL.- Many years ago at the Green Bay Packers’ training camp, coach Vince Lombardi strictly enforced the 11 pm curfew. He caught Max McGee sneaking out one night, and in the team meeting the following day he fined him $125, with the promise that the next episode would cost him $250. Max was caught again and was warned that the price for the next infraction would be $500.
Max, a shrewd Texan who loves life, doesn’t scare easily. Inevitably, there was another meeting. Lombardi was really shaking. “Max,” he yelled, “that’ll cost you $500, and if you go again, it’ll cost you a thousand.” The room was hushed. Lombardi simmered down and actually managed to grin a little. “Max,” he said, softly, “if you can find anything worth sneaking out for, for $1,000, call me and I’ll go with you.”
The world has its own agenda, which is seeking pleasure. Paul described the people of the last days as “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” in II Tim. 3:4. He said they “have a form of godliness but deny its power.”
The world’s agenda sounds good to most people, but it denies the existence of God and Christ and the fact that we are eternal beings. But the church believes in life after death.
Here is what the early church believed: Acts 4:12 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
The Lord Jesus Christ is the savior of the world! He is the only hope for all people of the world! We believe in Him and should be excited about preaching him and presenting him to others! That’s our work or service. That’s a super work that will produce a super church in the eyes of God!
CONCLUSION------------------------------------------
ILL.- Billy Graham said, "The church in America is faced with an amazing paradox. On the one hand more people are attending church than at any time in our history. Our budgets are larger than ever before. Yet never has the church lacked spiritual power as now in the face of staggering opportunity..."
Even though the church may have some negative features, I STILL BELIEVE IN HER! I believe that she is the greatest force at work in our world today!
Consequently, we need to do all we can to be involved in the work of the church. BECAUSE THE WORK OF THE CHURCH IS THE WORK OF CHRIST! Super Sunday. Super Team. Super Church. Be a part of her. Be a promoter.
