Being the Church
Acts 2:43-47
March 18, 2011am
Every time we end one of our church services,
I like to tell you, “Let’s go be the church”.
That statement isn’t original with me, I heard another pastor say it,
But when I did, I was instantly convinced he was right.
Church is not something we do.
Church is what we are.
It’s really not about doing church, it’s about being the church.
And yet for many the concept of church
Never moves into that personal realm.
For many today church is just something they do.
• They attend the building at certain times…
• They attend meetings at certain times…
• They might even serve on committees or boards…
And church is merely something they put on their calendar
As another activity that they have to do.
But that is a far cry from what Christ envisioned
When He said that He would build His church.
He wasn’t talking about a BUILDING, He was talking about a BODY
1 Corinthians 12:12 “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.”
1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”
And this concept was meant to change the way we function.
I don’t just go to church, I am the church.
I am a part of Christ’s body.
When Paul wrote to Timothy:
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”
He was not talking about how to act when you come to this building,
He was saying that there is a way to live because we are the church.
And as the church we are “the pillar and support of the truth”,
And that requires that we each live our lives a certain way.
The letters we call “epistles” speak of the expectation of the church
But they were not letters written to give guidelines for times to meet,
Or songs to sing, or how often one should have deacon’s meeting.
The epistles were written to show the people of the church
How they are supposed to live.
This has always been the goal.
A storm could come tonight and wipe out our building…
But we would still be the church.
And so it is imperative that you and I begin to learn what that means.
We could talk about doing church and debate for hours
How long a service should last and what should be included in it.
But that is really minor.
What we want to know is now to be the church.
And while the epistles give us EXHORTATION,
The book of Acts gives us an EXAMPLE.
It all started back on that day of Pentecost.
Peter preached a bold and confrontational gospel message
And about 3,000 souls were added.
And Luke even mentioned their initial life change.
Acts 2:42 “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
That was the initial change that occurred.
That was how the church started.
And we love to see the simplicity of what they were about.
• They were devoted to God’s Word
• They were devoted to each other
• They were devoted to the Lord’s Supper
• They were devoted to prayer
That was the start of a great church.
Now, beginning in verse 43 we see how they continued.
We know how they started, but let’s see how they continued.
And verse 43 says, “Everyone kept…”
As if to say what began at Pentecost didn’t taper off.
This was a radical new church.
And then we see a short list of the things that made them tick.
And of course one of the first things that sticks with us
When we read this text is the result.
(47) “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
But let me make sure and clarify something at the outset of this sermon.
Many have read this text and assumed
That because they had a great response at the end,
Then this must be a step by step guide of how to get that same response.
WRONG
We are reminded again, that they didn’t do anything that caused this.
Luke said, “the Lord was adding”
God was doing this.
This is not a passage where we learn how to grow a church.
This is a passage where we learn how God grew His church.
This was a place where God was at work through His people,
Not a place where these people were working for God.
And there is a difference, perhaps it is the difference
Between doing church and being the church.
NOW THAT BEING SAID, we are interested in what they were doing.
We are interested in what made them tick.
They do give us a great example.
And as we talked about last Sunday night
I love their example because they were not spoiled by traditions.
Certainly not all tradition is bad, Paul even tells some
To hold to the traditions that he handed down to them.
But all know the problems with statements like
“We’ve never done it that way before”.
This church never dealt with that, for they had never done any of it before.
They had no manual…
They had no traditions…
They didn’t even have a building…
They couldn’t print a bulletin…
They were free to be the church that the Spirit of God led them to be,
They weren’t limited by traditions or expectations of other churches.
This was all new ground for them
And in that we find an innocence and purity
That almost every believer I have ever known finds so inviting
And as we study this text,
I want us to see that the greatness of this church
Was not in their experience or intelligence or ability,
But in their dependence upon a truly awesome God.
They didn’t do church
• They weren’t capable
• They weren’t smart enough
• They weren’t strong enough
• They weren’t rich enough
• They weren’t experienced enough
• They didn’t even have some other church to market
They didn’t do church because they couldn’t do church
Instead they were the church
And as such, they let God work through them,
And that is what I want you to see.
I want to show you four things about this early church.
#1 SUPERNATURAL POWER
Acts 2:43
Back in Acts chapter 1 we found the disciples
Specifically being promised that power was on its way.
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Jesus promised that when the Holy Spirit came,
He would come with power.
And that is certainly how He entered the scene.
With the sound of a mighty rushing wind
And with what appeared to be tongues of fire.
And it is His power that we clearly see at work here in the early church.
“Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe”
“awe” there translates PHOBOS
It is the same word for the response after the death of Ananias and Sapphira.
It is reverential awe.
It is holy fear.
It is more than being amazed and it is not the same as being afraid,
It is being keenly aware of God’s powerful presence.
To put in modern language, “They were continually blown away by God and overwhelmed with the reality of who He is.”
WHY?
“many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.”
The people were blown away
Because God was putting His power on display.
The apostles were clearly equipped
With what is commonly referred to as the “sign” gifts.
(all can’t today, but they certainly could)
They healed the sick, they raised the dead,
They demonstrated the power of Christ.
They had supernatural power.
Hebrews 2:1-4 “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”
They had power and its purpose
Was to accomplish the effect of astounding people.
It was meant to give credit to their preaching.
The early church had power.
And sadly that is one of the striking differences
Between the early church and the modern church.
I’m not suggesting that we should be having healings and resurrections
And things of that sort (especially not if those gifts are in fact gone).
But the Holy Spirit is still here.
He is still indwelling and filling believers.
And He should still be powerfully at work.
Today one would ask,
• Where is the boldness?
• Where is the courage?
• Where is the conviction?
• Why is the church so weak, and carnal, and superficial?
Where is the congregation that is living totally beyond themselves to such an extent that God is showing up in powerful ways?
When we walk in our own strength, we only accomplish pathetic results and we are anything but blown away.
But when we trust God and let His strength work through us,
The things He accomplishes literally fills us with “awe”.
And I speak this first hand as God has demonstrated this in our church.
(Of which I bear testimony)
The deadline to sign up for Mission Sanyati was February 12th,
And that is when fundraising began.
We knew funds were a mountain too big for us
And so we were forced to pray.
(And not just us, but many of you as well)
At times we even felt convicted for pushing too hard in our own strength
And not just relying on God enough and were led back to simply trust Him
Here we are now March 18th, (35 days later)
And not even counting the giving that came this morning
The balance in the mission fund is over $54,000.
That is over $1500 a day!
If you would have told us on February 12th that this is what was required,
We would have said it was impossible, there is no way for us to “DO” that.
But then again we aren’t supposed to “DO” church,
We are supposed to “BE” the church.
Our minds were especially blown
• On a Tuesday when a woman who isn’t even a member of the church handed
over 4 gold coins worth $6700,
• And we didn’t even get to celebrate that a full 24 hours before a church
member came in and laid down a check for $8000.
“Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe”
And it is opened my eyes to understand
That this is how church is supposed to operate.
I don’t want to just do things that we can accomplish in our own strength,
I want to listen to God’s leading and attempt the impossible,
So that when God accomplishes it by His power
We feel that same “sense of awe”
The early church had that.
They walked by faith and trusted God to such an extent
That He literally blew their minds with His supernatural power.
Supernatural Power
#2 SACRIFICIAL LOVE
Acts 2:44-45
To call it “sacrificial love” is a bit redundant
Since all love by definition is sacrificial.
And there is no doubt that is what they had going on here.
“And all those who had believed were together”
That may not seem like much, but it does relate
That these people were committed to one another.
A massive congregation stayed in Jerusalem after Pentecost,
But they didn’t stay because they like the climate.
They stayed because they liked the fellowship.
They loved each other and they wanted to be together.
“and had all things in common;”
Now that is starting to push the envelope a little.
Some people come from out of town for the feast of weeks,
They get saved and now they want to stay.
But they are out of food, they are out of money.
And yet those who live in Jerusalem have said,
“Make yourself at home” and they meant it.
• If there’s food in the fridge feel free to eat it.
• If there’s a car in the garage, feel free to drive it.
• If there’s a dog in the back yard, feel free to pet it.
• (If there’s a lawn to enjoy, feel free to mow it.)
No one hoarded their surplus.
No one was stingy.
They were willing to let their extra bread feed a hungry brother.
Now that in itself is amazing, but what they did next will blow your mind.
(45) “and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”
They started out inviting a person to stay…
They escalated to sharing their food when the person ran out…
But eventually they both ran out
And then this church became sacrificial.
They started selling property
And using it to support their brothers and sisters in Christ.
IS THAT NOT MIND BLOWING?
Do you know why?
Because they were living beyond themselves.
They were not doing church, they were being the church.
And God’s grace was in full evident force!
It once again illustrates the importance
Of letting God’s Spirit flow through you.
This church had amazing love!
But it wasn’t their own love in their own strength.
It was God’s love poured into them and poured out of them!
Romans 5:5 “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
These people let God’s Spirit love through them.
And the effect of that love gives us just as much a sense of “awe”
As the signs and wonders do.
This church loved with God’s sacrificial love!
We want to be a church like that.
This is the flip side of that mission giving I was telling you about earlier.
On one hand we are blown away by the provision of God.
On the other hand we are extremely humbled by the tremendous love shown through the generosity of our church family.
I told you about the two big gifts, but we have had so many gifts from so many people that we also stand in “awe” of the love of others.
We had one boy in our church come and give $100 dollars
That he had been given for a present, another boy gave $20.
That is humbling, but it is sacrificial love!
That is how the church is supposed to operate,
It is certainly how the early church did.
Supernatural Power, Sacrificial Love
#3 SINCERE TESTIMONY
Acts 2:46-47a
What I mean by sincere testimony is that
Not only did they “say” the right things, they lived the right way.
“Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple”
WHAT DOES THAT REFERENCE?
It speaks of the message they proclaimed.
Their testimony, their doctrine was unified.
They were all in agreement with what needed to be shared.
They all knew that repentance followed by faith in the resurrected Jesus was the message, and they all stayed on message.
Today we are cursed by all the deviations of the gospel
(something that eventually came to affect the early church as well)
• One church preaches repentance, another enables them to sin.
• One church preaches denial of self, the other offers your best life now.
• One church preaches sacrifice for God, the other preaches begging blessing
• One church preaches judgment, another preaches that hell isn’t real
It’s no wonder the world is confused.
The early church didn’t have that.
They were of “one mind”
But that is just their message, look at how they lived.
“and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,”
In short, their unity wasn’t a put on.
They really did get along.
They really did love each other.
They really did want to be around each other.
It was never hard to find one of the members of the church,
Because they were always together.
John 17:20-23 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”
The point of Jesus is that their unity and love for one another
Will be a natural attraction to the world.
When people outside the church see how much
People inside the church love each other, it is a natural draw.
(47a) “praising God and having favor with all the people.”
This was another area of their sincerity.
God constantly received all the credit for what happened.
• There was no preacher trying to use his flock to pad his resume.
• There was no politician trying to attend church to gain votes.
• There was no activist trying to use the church to push his agenda.
These people met because they loved
And their purpose was to praise God.
And because they were so real and so genuine and so sincere
They also had “favor with all the people.”
Now we know that persecution is coming,
But the point is here that people did not see through them.
Even people who were not in the church could see
That there was something genuinely different about them.
And again their unity and devotion blow our minds.
We very seldom see a unified church today…
We very seldom see a church that fond of each other…
We very seldom see a church so genuine the world can’t find hypocrisy…
BUT THEY WERE THAT WAY
BECAUSE THEY LIVED BEYOND THEMSELVES.
They trusted God and they praised God and it was real.
It wasn’t a sham.
It wasn’t a program.
It wasn’t a performance.
They didn’t do church, they were the church!
They were redeemed people, Filled with God’s Spirit,
Filled with God’s love, Walking in God’s truth,
And the world recognized them as different.
DON’T YOU WANT TO BE A CHURCH LIKE THAT?
• I don’t want to be some powerless body that accomplishes next to nothing because we always do it in our own strength.
• I don’t want to be some selfish body that would rather the needy brother move on, than see me have to sacrifice to keep him around.
• I don’t want to be some hypocritical body that talks a good game, but anyone who looks at us knows better.
But that’s what happens when you do church without being the church.
We don’t want to do church, we want to be the church.
Supernatural Power, Sacrificial Love, Sincere Testimony
#4 STEADY GROWTH
Acts 2:47b
“And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
They weren’t growing their church, God was.
God is sovereign over the growth of His church.
God is the One who saves.
Paul said:
1 Corinthians 3:5-7 “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.”
God was doing it because the people
Allowed themselves to be used by Him.
• They weren’t just going through the motions of past traditions…
• They weren’t just recognizing their limits and living within their means…
• They weren’t focused on all they could do in their own strength…
And we are guilty of doing all of that.
• We dictate our practices by the way we’ve always done it before…
• We dictate our ministries by if our budget can afford it…
• We dictate our ability by if we think we can realistically do it…
But not that church.
• They didn’t have any tradition to go on…
• They didn’t even have money let alone a budget…
• They didn’t have any strength and ability, they were being trained by
untrained men…
And yet God used them mightily to grow His church.
They weren’t doing church, they were being the church.
They were being the conduit by which God could touch the world.
They let Him use their lives.
And that is what we want.
It’s not about what we do, it’s about who we are.
We are the Spirit-filled Church of God!
And when we focus on letting Him work through us
We might just find ourselves in “awe” of God as well!
Let me encourage you as well as myself
To not just focus on doing church the way we know to do it,
But focus on being the church.
To be the actual hands and feet of Jesus.
To be those used by God to change the world.
Step beyond yourself,
Trust beyond your ability
And stand back and let God blow your mind.
That is church as it was meant to be.
