BACKGROUND:
This first report of the newborn church describes early church worship in the first decade of the church. The three thousand new believers joined with the other believers. That is, they gathered with others of like mind and faith. Devoted themselves implies that they were regularly, continually persisting in the activities that follow. These activities form a practical map for not only the day-old church but for any church of any age.
The apostles’ teaching was central to the content of what was to be studied. From the beginning the early church was devoted to hearing, studying, and learning what the apostles had to teach.
Sharing in the Lord’s Supper refers to communion services that were celebrated in remembrance of Jesus and patterned after the Last Supper, which Jesus had eaten with his disciples before his death.
Books about church planting, church health, and church growth are popular. Seminars about the church abound, with pastors and church boards eager to copy the techniques of a successful pastor or a fast-growing congregation. The following paragraph is a snapshot of the church a few days old. At Pentecost, after the coming of the Holy Spirit, the gathering of 120 exploded! In one day three thousand people came to faith in Christ. Now what do they do? This handful of verses provides a concise summary of what the early church was about; it provides a model that can be applied to the modern church, as well.
People were filled with awe, as they saw the hand of God at work. This awe was partly caused by the many miraculous signs and wonders performed by the apostles. The “wonders” were fabulous miracles that evoked awe in those who saw them. The “miraculous signs” were given to authenticate the message and the messenger, pointing observers toward a divine source of the miracle or a divine truth. Here these signs and wonders authenticated the apostles’ message, identifying it as divine truth.
Of the thousands of Jews who had made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Pentecost, many may have come as early as Passover (fifty days earlier). Now they were extending their stay in Jerusalem even longer to learn the basics of this newfound Christian faith. Many would likely need financial or physical help from those who lived in Jerusalem to be able to remain this long. When a need arose, believers would sell their possessions to help those in need. This practice of sharing everything they had was likely a response to that specific need.
With these words this marvelous chapter comes to a close. Luke pointed out the everyday nature of the church’s meetings. Believers were gathering both at the Temple (that is, in large groups, possibly for apostolic teaching) and in homes to celebrate the Lord’s Supper and, presumably, for fellowship, the sharing of needs, and prayer.
The early church was marked by joy. Two final statements reveal two significant results of the presence of this regularly meeting, money-sharing, miracle-working, Bible-studying, God-praising group: The watching community was favorably impressed (the believers were enjoying the goodwill of all the people).
The watching community was coming to faith (and each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved). These are two measurable results of any church that is living like the early church. Note, too, that the credit for the salvation of souls is not given to Peter’s preaching, the apostles’ miracles, or the Spirit’s manifestations—it was the Lord who was adding to their number daily.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
#8. WE MUST MOVE OUT WITH GOD’S MISSION
The people of this first church had a call. They remembered the Great commission “Go! Go into all the world and make disciples!” That’s the very first thing they were told in Acts. “Wait for the Holy Spirit and then when He comes and you’re given His power, you’ll go be witnesses.” They initially started sharing the faith and the church at Jerusalem started getting bigger and bigger. But God had never said, I want just the church in Jerusalem to be big. He said, I want you to go not to just Jerusalem but Samaria and to Judea and to the uttermost parts of the world.
But they didn’t do it. They didn’t spread the gospel. So God has to bring a little pressure to get them to spread. You know how He taught them to take the message to the whole world? Persecution. He brought persecution to the church and notice what happened. “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church of Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered through Judea and Samaria.” Notice that: the pastors stayed home but all the people were scattered into Judea and Samaria. Why? Because that’s where He wanted them to go. Where they went they gossiped the gospel. They shared the good news. V. 4 “Those that had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”
We’ve got to get out of the church buildings and into the market place. Most Christians do absolutely nothing for Jesus Christ outside of the four walls of the church. It doesn’t relate. Like Christianity is just something to do on Sunday, something to do in a building. A lot of churches rate your spirituality by how many meetings you attend. If you come Sunday morning you’re a good Christian. You come Sunday night you’re a super Christian. You come to Midweek Prayer Service you’re a spiritual giant.
I’ve often wondered if you cut out all the meetings what would be left for most Christianity? Jesus never said, “I came that you might have meetings.” He said, “I’ve come that you might have life.” Where is life lived? In the market place and in the family.
The reason why most Christians don’t share their faith with anybody is because they don’t know any unbelievers on a close basis. They spend all their time with believers. They’re so busy down at the church building or in so many Christian meetings they don’t have time to just stay home and have a bar-b-que with your neighbor. Or somebody from work. Or somebody from Little League. Or somebody from Kiwannas. Or somebody from aerobics. Or somebody from school. Meeting those people.
We are called to be salt and light. Have you noticed how many parables of the Bible deal with penetration? Salt penetrates meat. Light penetrates darkness. A key penetrates a door. Leaven penetrates bread. Christians are called to penetrate society. What good is salt in a salt shaker? No good. We’re to get out there among unbelievers. The great reversal: Jesus said, “Go and tell.” We’ve reversed it to “Come and hear.” That’s the great reversal. We have to meet people on neutral ground. Start where people are and not where we want them to be.
The problem is that the longer you’re a Christian, the fewer non-believers you usually know. You spend more of your time with believers. You must intentionally say, “God, help me develop a friendship with an unbeliever.” Do that intentionally. “Help me to develop a friendship with an unbeliever so that I can share the good news.”
In Korea, many of you might not be able to join a church there. One of the requirements for membership in most Korean churches is you have to have won somebody else to Christ first. You have to bring them with you. When you come to join the church, you’re asked, “You say you love the Lord. Who have you told about Him?” The only promise of power in the New Testament is Acts 1:8 “You will receive power to be witnesses.” Not to sit and soak and sour. But to move out for mission.
I believe that anybody can be won to Christ if you just discover the key to his or her heart. Out there every person is an island. You establish a beachhead on their life by meeting a need. You as a believer, must first look around at the people in your life and say, “Who do I even have contact with that’s an unbeliever?” If you don’t have any contact, you can’t share the good news with them. Once you’ve decided who it is, write their names down and start praying, “Lord, help me to see what’s the key to their heart.” It may be a problem with their kids. It may be loneliness. It may be a bankruptcy or unemployment. It may be stress on the job. It may be a question about a friend who died. Everybody has a hidden hurt. Count on it. Everybody. When you find that hurt and you begin in love to share Jesus Christ and how He can meet that hurt, you will build a bridge into their life and Christ can walk across and enter his life. That’s what God’s calling you to do. Scatter us.
My prayer is that God will not have to bring persecution on Church of the Valley to get us to spread out. But that we will intentionally see. It’s not enough to say “I’m going to heaven” but my family and friends and everybody else needs Christ too.
Listen folks, you can sing in heaven. You can pray in heaven. You can read the Bible in heaven. You can worship in heaven. You can fellowship with other believers in heaven. You can have fun in heaven. But two things you cannot do in heaven. One of them is sin. And the other is share your faith with an unbeliever. Witness. God did not leave us here to sin. But He left us here to tell other people about Christ and to tell them of the good news so that they might go to heaven.
We will be the New Testament church when we do these things. We magnify the vision of God. We pray like they prayed. We be filled with the Spirit and we be generous with each other. But when we move out in mission, that is the calling of the core that you are part of. Bob Pierce used to say, “Lord, let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.” The problem today is we let our hearts be broken by trivia. Somebody lost the lottery, or whatever. What counts is the folks who will pass into eternity in the next 24 hours. That ought to motivate us. I am a believer and I know I’m going to heaven. Nothing can take that away from me. But between now and when I go to heaven, I want to take as many people with me as possible. I hope you’ll commit to that same thing.
I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
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