The Centrality of the Community
Moving Ahead Together, Part 3
September 19, 2004
NIV Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 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, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Last week, I stated that there is no such thing in the Christian life as maintenance only movement - forward or backward. There is no way getting around that reality. It follows that as a church or a community of faith we are not created for maintenance either, we are created for movement.
Let’s read the text together.
We see in this text a radical devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ and community life, which we will be describing in this series. This community life is evidence of the Spirit working in their midst and our midst – a radical devotion to Christ, Awe of God, selling personal property to help others out, meeting daily for fellowship and worship that flows out of glad and joyful hearts, favor of the community, and the Lord bringing people to himself. This devotion is an issue for many of us. There is a lack of passion for God that moves us to act – witness, giving, desire for community, God, prayer, etc.
God ought to be the greatest object of our attention and affection. The more valuable something is the more it demands our attention. God is of infinite value and the sacrifice he gave is of infinite value therefore he demands that he have our attention.
Fellowship: We Incorporate God’s Family into our Fellowship
1. I must orient my life around a person - Jesus
ESV 1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life- 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us- 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
Fellowship has its roots in what we have in common or share in common. So for the Christian our fellowship revolves around what we share in Christ. Fellowship is life giving when it flows out of life we receive from Christ. If we have no life then we have nothing to offer. I want us to be a life giving church. Unless you have life, you cannot impart life. So is Jesus your source of life or is it something else?
NIV John 6:35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
NIV John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
NIV John 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
NIV John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
NIV John 12:25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
When Christians are united with Christ his life is imparted to us. Our nature is changed, our appetites are changed, our desires are changed. I had two different conversations this week about peoples frustrations with what the bible describes the Christian life and what they see in the church. I said that maybe many people are not Christians. Christians are not people who see Jesus as one aspect of life, like school, or work, or family. For the Christian Jesus is their life. Read the book of Acts and if you do not sense something lacking in your life then something is wrong. If you read a statement like Paul’s that says to life is Christ and to die is gain and that does not resonate with your heart then maybe you are not a Christian. The NT describes Christians as obsessed with Christ, consumed with Christ; their lives were oriented around Christ.
The centrality of fellowship with Christ and other Christians is life. If you are getting life as you are looking to Jesus as your source of life (faith) then that same faith overflows or spills out towards others in life giving. I.e. filled. We have the opportunity to give life or give death because our words are going to give life or death. i.e. issues with me; other church.
If you want life you need to live the resurrection principle – from death comes life. When you die to yourself, your time, your treasures, talents, then God pours his life into you. To the extent that you do that is the extent you will have life.
2. I must orient my life around a purpose – the Gospel
ESV Philippians 1:3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Fellowship revolves around a purpose, the gospel. The word partnership here is the Greek word koinonia. So these thousands of people have been come to know, be filled and relish in the infinite value of what God has done in the person of Christ so their lives are oriented not around: work, family, etc but around Christ and his cause – the gospel. Not the apostles, not the pastors, not the leaders, every normal, Christian was devoted to the fellowship. Paul communicates it another way. NIV Acts 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-- the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. Paul says his life is worth nothing – not worth living if he cannot testify of the awesomeness of the gospel of grace. How would you finish that sentence: I consider my life nothing, if only I may . . .?
IGO illustration – I am praying that God will give us that kind of holy ambition.
Orientating their lives around the gospel also demonstrated itself in radical perspective on personal property. If anyone had a need, they sold something to give to that need. Their attitude was what right did I have to own something when my brother or sister had a real need. Read the NT and you see that people gave to support missionaries, support needy churches, support the ministry of the church, and support ministry projects. The gospel of the kingdom was of such importance and value to them that their right to personal property or goods or funds was secondary to the needs of the community, called the church.
3. I must orient my life around a people – the Church
They were devoted to the fellowship (v. 42). Fellowship is described as: all the believers were together and had everything in common (v. 44); every day they continued to meet in the temple courts (v. 46); they broke bread in their homes and at together (v. 46). The early church was devoted to family, no; devoted to jobs, no; devoted to fishing, no; devoted to toys, no. They were devoted to the fellowship. They verb form is present active tense – regular, continuing part of life.
Devoted to the fellowship – meeting with each other for stirring up love and good deeds. When you embrace the gospel, you embrace community – for life. ESV Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
How do you stoke the embers of my heart to ward love and good deeds, holding fast to the profession – meet with others who will challenge me and love me so much that they will not let me stay the same. God has ordained or set in place that love hinges on our willingness to meet with each other and encourage each other and stir up each other. Purpose of small groups is to keep our love hot, not warm or cold but hot. Particularly with the warning – negative promise - NIV Matthew 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. We are going to start small groups in October. I want us to have all kinds of groups for all kinds of needs. We need to learn to play together as well as pray together. We are also going to start a Sunday school class prior to the service for the purpose of learning, more traditional worship, and fellowship.
Purpose Statement: To bring people to Jesus and membership in his family, develop them into Christlike maturity, and equip them for their ministry in the church and their life mission in the world, in order to magnify God’s name.
