United Utopia Series

Acts 4:32-4:37

The United Utopia

Introduction

A. When I started really working on this message this week, I had a difficult time

B. The more I read about it the more I was confused

C. I look at book and stuff on the internet about it and either it really didn’t relate to the passage, or it just seemed ridiculous

D. So I thought and thought and thought and thought

E. Then I finally understood the passage, which we will be talking about today

F. So I begin to construct today’s message, and sometimes I write it and then think of a title, but this time I came up with a title right away, ultimately I decided it did not fit

G. The original Title was “Is God a Communist?’

H. The more I worked on it, the more today’s title made sense

I. The United Utopia

J. The utopian society

K. Utopia means a ideal commonwealth

L. When we read this section we think the New Testament Church are the luckiest people ever to live on this earth

M. There experiencing what we all want to experience, they are experiencing Utopia

N. You read this, no one was poor, or hungry, everyone was getting along

O. There were all friends, the Lord was giving them an extra heaping of grace

P. That is what we all want

Q. Boy aren’t they lucky?

R. Was it luck?

S. Or was it hard word?

T. Today we are going to look at the First Church

U. We are going to look at the

a. Reason for being United

b. The Results of being United

c. And The Realities of being United

I. (32) The Reason for being United

A. Explanation

1. This is a loaded verse

2. There are some very interesting phrases in here that we must look at

3. The fist thing we notice is that it says “all the believers”

a) It does not say all the citizens of community

b) This was only the believers

4. The 2nd phrase is of “one in heart in mind

a) That is such a good place to start

b) They all had the same goal they all had the same drive

c) They wanted to see people grow closer to Christ

d) Now that does not eliminate all conflicts, but when you are united, on the same page with one another, then it is not a matter of what we should do it is a matter of how we should do it

5. “They shared everything they had”

a) Does this mean they shared their wives? NO! Wives are not a possession are they?

b) Rather they let their fellow believers use what they had

(1) Let them borrow tools

(2) Let them use their pool

(3) Offered them a ride into town when someone camel was too sick

B. Application

6. So how does this all apply to our lives 2000 years later?

7. That what we need

8. We need that unity

9. Nothing turns people off on church quicker then fighting

10. People come to church to get away from all the fighting that occurs at their work all week long

11. To go to a church and experience more fighting, what the point of going to church then?

12. To become one in heard and mind!

13. We must work at that

14. How do we do that?

15. We have to be aiming for the same thing.

16. Our aim is to reach those who need the Doctor

17. That aim should unite us, should make us of one heart and mind

18. We know the what we are doing

19. How to do it? That can be debated without disrupting unity

C. Illustration

20. In the fall we will be having a 40 days on purpose campaign

21. Guess what? I can not do it

22. Guess what? The elders can not do it

23. Guess what? The Board of Ministries can not do it

24. Guess what? Despite the fact that they can do just about anything, our deaconess can not do it

25. How are we going to do it?

26. Everyone Unified!

27. I added up our “resources” in my head, we have enough

28. “But we are too small! We not big enough to do this or that”

29. Bologna! I know what we have, I know what passions we have, what skills and abilities, I know what talents, I know what gifts we have

30. I added them up, we got it folks

31. It is going to all of us stepping up in a unified voiced, sharing what we got

32. Open your house

33. Volunteer to coordinate various functions

34. Recruit people to come

35. And a whole lot more