Well, as I said last week, we took our time studying the theological realities of the church
as Paul expressed them to the church of Ephesus.
We were reminded that everything the church is and does is focused on the work of Jesus Christ
and that in the gospel, we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, reconciled to God by his grace,
and we are made members, eternal members of Christ's new kingdom people.
And Paul used three illustrations at the end of that passage, if you remember,
to describe this new kingdom people, these gospel people, what we call the church.
He said that we are citizens of God's kingdom, that we now all have the same passport.
We are members of God's family, that we all have the same father.
And that we are living stones of God's temple.
In other words, those who repent of their sin and follow Jesus are saved by God's grace
and then united together with God's people.
And those are the theological realities of who we are and what God has created us to be as his church.
And today, we begin looking at how these theological realities shape the identity and practice of the local church.
And of course, particularly how these realities should shape the identity and practice of Lakeside Bible Church.
And I think Acts chapter 2 is the perfect place for us to do just that.
The chapter begins, maybe if it's been a while since you've read it,
the chapter begins with the unique pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
This is about 50 days after Jesus' crucifixion.
It's only a few days following his ascension to heaven.
And as you recall, perhaps in your readings of the Gospel of John,
Jesus had promised his disciples that once he returned to his exalted place in heaven,
he would send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Helper,
who would come and would indwell them and would empower them and would teach them
and help them to recall all that Christ had taught them.
And this day of Pentecost, as it's recorded in Acts 2,
is that promised moment that Jesus had foretold.
And as a part of this, the apostles who were in Jerusalem at the time
were uniquely empowered by the Spirit to speak in languages that were unknown to them,
but known to the various ethnic communities represented in Jerusalem at the time.
And as you might expect, this caused quite a stir among the people,
which led Peter to preach perhaps the clearest gospel message
that you'll find anywhere in the New Testament.
Peter's inspired sermon, spirit-empowered sermon,
resulted in 3,000 people being saved.
Or as Paul would have said to the Ephesians,
3,000 people who were then redeemed by the blood of Jesus.
Now our purpose this morning is to examine what took place
after the conversion of these new Christians.
So the Spirit comes, Peter preaches,
the Lord pricks their hearts,
He regenerates 3,000 souls,
they trust Jesus by faith.
Now what?
That's what we want to focus on now.
And it's interesting.
They didn't simply continue their everyday lives
with only a shift in their religious affiliation.
That's not at all what took place in the lives of these people.
Their lives were transformed.
Immediately, they were united in fellowship
with all the other new Christians that had come to faith in that moment.
Now think about this.
In that moment,
ethnic people from outside of Israel have gathered in Jerusalem.
They have heard the apostles preaching the gospel,
speaking of Jesus in their own native tongue.
Now they have been pricked in their hearts
by the preaching of the gospel through Peter.
And now all of a sudden,
all of these people from different backgrounds
and different cultures,
Jews and Gentile alike,
are now united in fellowship together in Jerusalem.
It's amazing.
Just like that,
everything changes.
Their lives are transformed.
Totally.
Fellowship's actually an important word in this text.
We see it in verse 42.
They were devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching
and the fellowship.
The Bible doesn't describe God's people in this way
anywhere in the scriptures prior to Acts chapter 2.
Not even the gospels use this word for fellowship.
It appears for the first time at this moment.
And then the apostles regularly used it
in reference to the church.
And I want to tell you what the word is.
You probably already know it.
It is koinonia.
Koinonia.
And I want to give you a definition for it.
It means fellowship,
partnership,
the close association between persons,
emphasizing what is common between them.
That's a definition that a Greek scholar,
Bill Mounts, has given to us.
Fellowship,
partnership,
the close association of persons,
emphasizing what is common between them.
These people that have come to know Christ
are now this koinonia in Jerusalem.
Something that the apostles would continue to describe them as
over and over in the New Testament.
Let me give you just a couple of instances
where the apostles use this in other places.
1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 9.
Paul tells the Corinthians,
God is faithful
by whom you were called into the
koinonia,
fellowship,
partnership
of his son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Here he is writing to a local church
and he says,
God has been faithful
through the gospel.
He has called you into
koinonia.
Koinonia.
Not just any koinonia,
but the koinonia
of Jesus,
the son of God.
Paul continues many times
to use this word.
Notably,
he uses it
when he refers
to the Lord's Supper
in the same letter
to the church
at Corinth.
But the apostle John
also speaks of it.
1 John chapter 1
verse 3.
That which we have seen
and heard
we proclaim
also to you.
so that you too
may have
koinonia
with us.
And indeed,
our koinonia
is with the Father
and with his son,
Jesus Christ.
Do you see?
What brings people together
emphasizing
what is common
between them.
And whenever the apostles
used this term koinonia,
what they were referring to
is the church.
that as we have
koinonia
with Jesus Christ
in the gospel,
now all of a sudden
we have koinonia
with others
who have also
become one
with Christ
in the gospel.
And we think back
to Ephesians 2.
What is it that
the church
is made by
or made to be?
We are redeemed
by the blood of Christ,
then we are reconciled
by the peace of Christ.
We are reconciled
first to God
and in the process
of being reconciled
to God
through Christ,
we are reconciled
to one another
so that Christ
is making
his kingdom people
a koinonia.
You see,
this fellowship word,
this koinonia,
was not what
the apostles used
to describe
a church potluck
after the morning
worship service.
It wasn't merely
men as a term
for gathering
as if we're going
to go and have
fellowship together
after the service today.
That's not how
they used this.
They employed
the word
to indicate
a believer's
reconciled state
to God
and to other Christians.
And this is
what we are.
We are a partnership
together
that goes far deeper
than a simple choice
to worship
with a particular
group of people
at a particular place
on Sunday mornings.
We,
Lakeside Bible Church,
have koinonia
together
in the same way
that each of us
who are believers
have koinonia
with God
through Jesus Christ.
Now,
does that seem
like a relationship
that is to be
treated casually
and with a commitment
that is based
primarily on convenience?
Of course not.
Unfortunately,
that's actually
how many Christians
think about
their relationship
with the local church.
And what I want
to get across today
is this dynamic
of the fellowship
of believers.
believers,
the koinonia
of believers,
that because
of who we are
in Christ,
we have an identity
and a relationship
with one another
that is meaningful
and is deep
and is unlike
any other relationship
that we will have
in this life.
And I want to point out
the importance of it.
But of course,
before we can really
talk about that fellowship,
it would be necessary
for us to talk about
what it means
or how one might
become a part
of this koinonia.
We find that answer
in verse 41.
Let's read it together.
So those who received
his word
were baptized
and there were added
that day
about 3,000 souls.
So notice that
this fellowship
of believers,
the entrance into it
is expressed
in verse 41
by believers,
baptism.
Now, it's not that
the apostles were teaching
that baptism
was necessary
for salvation
or in some way
contributes
to our salvation.
They repeatedly
affirmed
in the scriptures
that salvation
is by grace alone,
through faith alone,
in Christ alone,
according to
the scriptures alone
and to the glory
of God alone.
That's unmistakable
in the scriptures
and it's undeniable
in the scriptures.
At no place
do the apostles
ever teach us,
do the Bible
ever teach us
that our baptism
is actually
what makes us
a believer.
But it's also true
that baptism
was so closely
related
to a person's
conversion
in the early church
that the apostles
did sometimes
use the terms
interchangeably
to refer
to a person's
conversion.
And here we see
that this represented
in this baptism
as these people
received the word
of the gospel
that Peter had preached
actually became
the entrance
into the kingdom.
Not the baptism
itself,
but the faith
that undergirded it,
the conversion
that was represented
by it.
So as Peter preached
the gospel
on the day of Pentecost,
the Holy Spirit
regenerated these people,
they believed
the gospel,
and then they were baptized
to publicly declare
their repentance
from sin
and conversion
to Jesus.
And notice
that only
these regenerate
baptized believers
were formally added
to the fellowship.
And there's an important
truth in this
for us.
You can't be a part
of a local church
without first being
a part
of the church.
Now you can play
the part
of a church member.
You can sign
the membership forms
and you can affiliate
with a particular
congregation.
You can do
all of those things,
but you can't truly
be a part
of the church
without being
a part
of the church,
without being
a believer,
without being
a Christian.
Someone who,
as Paul said,
has been redeemed
by the blood
of Christ
and reconciled
to God
through the peace
that Christ brings.
You cannot be
a part
of the fellowship
of believers
until you first
know Christ.
What do we see
is true
about the church,
even the local church,
in the way it was
formally recognized
in the scriptures?
It was only made up
of those who
were regenerate,
those who were
truly in Christ.
It wasn't only marked
by regenerate
partnership,
it was marked
by meaningful
partnership.
Belonging to the
people of God,
as we'll see
in the remaining
verses,
is something
that these Christians
took very seriously.
There's nothing
casual about their
life in the church.
It truly meant
something to them.
Even the fact
that someone
was keeping track
of these things
leads us to believe
that there was
even a formal
recognition
in some way,
even early on,
of who belonged
to the church
and who didn't.
The truth is,
the Bible knows
nothing of an
individual that
belongs to Christ
but doesn't belong
to his people.
Yet there are
so many Christians
who treat their
relationship with
the church as if
it doesn't really
matter.
I don't want to
say it's a mistake.
I would say
it's a sin.
Let's think about
it this way.
Chris and Ashley,
Lord willing,
this weekend
are going to stand
and covenant
together in
holy matrimony.
And it's an
exciting day
and everybody's
excited about it
and perhaps,
can you imagine
what Ashley would
think if Chris
came to her this
afternoon after lunch
and he said,
you know what,
sweetheart,
I've been thinking
and I just want
you to know
I love you so much
and I'm so
thankful for you.
All I want to do
is spend the rest
of my life with you
and I want to grow
with you
and I want to serve
you and I want to
be a part of what
you're doing
and I want you to
be a part of what
I'm doing
and I want us to
go at this thing
together.
But I've been
thinking,
I'm not really into
this whole marriage
covenant thing.
I mean,
is it really necessary?
I mean,
what difference
does a piece of
paper from the
state of North
Carolina really make
with our relationship?
I mean,
we're in love.
We're committed
to one another.
We don't need
the formalities.
In fact,
it might even
actually cause
some kind of
hindrance in our
relationship
and I don't want
to ruin a good
thing that we got
going.
So,
sweetheart,
I know you've
been planning the
wedding and you're
excited about this.
I just don't think
we need it.
I think we just
need to forget
about that and move
forward lest we
mess things up.
It's not really
that big a deal.
Of course,
Ashley's going to
say,
what does it matter
with you?
Of course,
it's a big deal.
Right?
We would all say,
yeah,
no,
Chris,
you're out of
your mind.
Of course,
this is a big
deal.
This covenant
means something.
It means something
as you make a
covenant with God
and you make a
covenant with
Ashley in the
process of this.
It's important.
There's a lot of
people who actually
view marriage that
way.
There's a lot of
Christians who view
the church that
way.
I don't mean to
say that the
covenant that you
make with a local
church is the same
as a covenant that
you make in
marriage.
It's not the
same, but that
doesn't mean that
the formal
partnership with a
local church is
insignificant.
And there's so
many people who
they go through
this life and
they think,
you know what,
I love my
church and as
far as I can
tell at this
point in my
life, this is
who I want to
identify with and
this is who I
want to serve the
Lord with and I
want to grow with,
but I don't think
I want to make
any kind of
formal commitments
to them.
I don't want to
make any kind of
public membership
statements or
anything like that.
Maybe that would
mess up a good
thing going.
Maybe that would
tie me in too
close.
I don't know.
But what we see
taking place here
in the fellowship
of believers in
Jerusalem was that
it was made up of
regenerate people,
but it was also
meaningful to them.
They took it
seriously.
And we see that
continuing through
the New Testament.
Now that we're on
the same page about
meaningful,
regenerate koinonia,
let's see what
marked the Christian
church at its
purest moment in
history.
What's abundantly
clear in this
passage is that
God's people are a
gathering people.
Hence the reason
I'm connecting this
particular text to
the value that we
would call gathered
worship.
When God's people
gather, what is it
that they do?
They worship,
they encourage,
they express
affection as they
build one another
up in Christ.
And when fulfilling
God's desires,
the local church
displays the glory
of God in such a
way that its kingdom
identity is
unmistakable to the
world around it.
God's people are a
faithful to the
Ephesians 2.
So the theological
affirmations of
Ephesians 2 are then
intended by God to
have practical
applications in the
ongoing life of the
church.
Now we're going to
spend the next four
weeks after today
diving into the
details of these
things that we're
going to just
mention briefly.
So if I hit on one
of these things this
morning and you
think I'd really
like, I think we
should probably spend
some more time on
that.
Chances are we're
going to spend more
time on that.
But there's no
reason for us to do
it today, okay?
So just come back
the next four Sundays
and you'll get your
feel, okay?
But let's just
briefly mention these
five spirit-filled
marks of the
fellowship of
believers, okay?
Number one,
gathered worship.
Gathered worship.
Look at verse 42.
They devoted
themselves to the
apostles' teaching
and the fellowship
to the breaking of
bread and the
prayers.
So verse 42
opens with a
statement regarding
the fledgling
church's passion
and commitment.
If you have a
New American
Standard Bible
with you today,
you'll see a
more literal
translation represented
where it could
literally be
translated, they
continually devoted
themselves.
It's a present
active participle.
It's the idea
that this wasn't
just something
that they did
on this day of
Pentecost, but
this was something
that was true of
these Christians
moving forward in
an ongoing way
in their Christian
lives.
The devotion of
these new Christians
was not a fire
that quickly burned
out.
It was a continual
devotion that marked
the ongoing state of
this fellowship in
Jerusalem.
And such is the
mark of a truly
regenerate
congregation.
The Holy Spirit
indwells his people.
He empowers
Christians so that
the fire of
devotion for God
and his people
is enduring.
And the things
to which the
Christians were
continually devoted
continues all the
way through the
end of verse 47.
But here in
verse 42,
the section
opens with
their devotion
to the formal
worship of the
congregation.
What was it
that these people
did?
What was their
main concern
when it came
to their
formal worship
of God
in Christ?
Four things
are listed here.
Number one,
Bible teaching.
And they
continually devoted
themselves to the
apostles'
teaching.
Now it's
important to
note that the
apostles'
teaching here
doesn't refer
to teaching
that originated
in the minds
of men.
These were
not contrived
doctrines of
men.
That's not
what this was.
What they
taught the
people was
the gospel
of Jesus
through the
written word
of God.
Jesus had
instructed these
apostles to
take his
message to
the world,
not their
own.
And his
message was
rooted in the
Old Testament
scriptures and
expressed in his
own teaching to
the disciples,
apostles, and
then especially
through his
crucifixion and
resurrection.
These early
Christians were
devoted continually
to the faithful
exposition of the
Bible and what
Jesus had taught
his disciples.
Now think of
Peter's sermon
here.
You can go back
and read it
later in Acts
chapter 2.
He begins with
an exposition of
the prophet Joel.
And he says this
that you are
witnessing today,
this pouring out
of the Holy
Spirit, this is
exactly what
Joel prophesied
and he goes
through and he
deals with it.
And then he
takes that Old
Testament scripture
and he connects
it directly to
the person and
work of Jesus
Christ, the
gospel.
And then as he
connects it to
the person and
work of Jesus,
he pulls in
parallel passages
in the Psalms that
help undergird the
truth that this
really is who
Jesus is.
He really is the
Son of God.
He really is the
Messiah.
And only if you
trust in him can
you know God and
be saved and be
forgiven.
What was Peter
doing in Acts 2?
He's preaching the
Bible.
He's not preaching
Peter's thoughts.
This wasn't Peter's
commentary on the
Christian life.
This was the
Bible Peter was
preaching.
And when they
gathered together
Sunday by Sunday
or even in some
cases, day by day,
what were these
people, these early
Christians committed
to?
They were committed
to Bible teaching.
And what does that
mean for us?
Well, over time,
these apostles were
inspired by God to
take this teaching
and to write it
down.
And it's what we
have in the pages of
the New Testament.
And when we gather
as a church,
especially in the
context of formal
worship, we must be
committed to,
continually devoted
to the faithful
preaching of the
Bible.
people, you
don't need my
thoughts.
My word will be
meaningless at the
end of the day.
What you need is
God's words.
What we need to
hunger for is not
the best wisdom that
Jared can impart to
you.
What we need to
hunger for is the
very words of God
that point us to the
person of Christ,
that tell us who we
are in him and
instruct us on what
we're to do in
relation to that.
Bible teaching.
Secondly, we'll talk
a lot more about that
next week.
Secondly, gathered
worship.
The actual
gathering.
This is the
koinonia word.
Look again at verse
42.
They devoted
themselves to the
apostles' teaching and
the fellowship.
Notice the definite
article there before
koinonia.
It's actually in the
Greek.
The koinonia,
making this an
explicit statement to
the gathered church
in this moment.
So what were they
committed to?
Bible teaching in
person with other
Christians.
That's what they
reflected on,
committed themselves to
in regards to their
formal worship.
And this is such an
important word for our
times.
because we have such
incredible wealth of
access to teaching
through modern forms of
media.
That's a blessing that
we are to rejoice in
God with, but it can
also be a curse on the
other end.
I've seen a, I think,
a disturbing trend
actually in recent years
where Christians are
passionate about Bible
teaching, they're
passionate about Bible
doctrine, but not in
the biblical practice
regarding the church.
Many are content to be
fed by their favorite
celebrity preachers
online, or they relish
the ability to kind of
roll out of bed at
9.55, grab their
coffee and sit on the
couch in their PJ so
that they can bring up
the live stream and at
least kind of halfway
hear what's going on at
the church down the
road for the day.
And I'm not trying to
be mean about this.
I'm trying to be really
serious about this
actually.
The COVID lockdowns
exacerbated this
extremely, in our area
especially.
I want to say that
though the Bible
teaching is the
backbone of Christian
living, it's wrong to
think of preaching as
the sum of gathered
worship.
It is a vital part of
our gathered worship.
But what many
Christians have done is
they've taken their
passion for teaching
and they've made that
the whole of their
Christian life and their
Christian worship.
So that the actual
gathering of God's
people doesn't really
matter to them as long
as they can hear the
message and they can hear
it from a faithful
preacher that is going to
that maybe have a style
that they prefer and
hit the things that
they like.
I think it was Dylan and
I a few weeks ago we're
having coffee and we were
talking about this dynamic
and in relation to and I
hear all the kids in there.
I love hearing the kids in
our church services.
I really do.
And I hear them in there
enjoying their time
together.
And Dylan and I were
talking about that dynamic
of you know sometimes it
feels like you know if I
got to go in this side
room what's the whole point
in coming and what we came
to the conclusion of in the
point of that conversation
is well if the only reason
you gathered with God's
people was just to hear me
preach then you'd be just
as well to sit at home.
But that's not the only
reason we gather today.
You're not here just to hear
me.
You're here to hear from the
Lord.
Of course that's vital to
what we're doing.
But there's a magnificent
part of being here knowing
that Dylan has made the
effort to be here.
Knowing that he's going to
end up having to go to
that side room at some
point.
That does something for me.
Something for me that I
would not experience and be
encouraged by if he didn't
come.
There is a significance to
the gathered people to the
koinonia.
There's a significance to
being here with Noel and
Raina where we get to hear
about God's gospel work
around the world.
That's something that you
cannot experience online in
the same way.
There is a uniqueness to the
passionate praise and
singing of God's people.
There was a commitment from
these new Christians to the
gathered church.
The corporate worship of the
church.
And I think it would be a sin
for us to count our online
preaching diets as a suitable
replacement for gathered worship
services with the church.
We need to take that seriously.
I think the early Christians
did.
Number three is the Lord's
Supper.
They devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching, the
fellowship, and to the
breaking of bread.
Sandwiched between these two
terms of formal worship, the
breaking of bread here is
certainly a reference to the
ordinance of the Lord's
Supper.
Paul, in his first letter to
the Corinthians, was the
first time that we see the
apostolic teaching of this.
But we see here that
Christians practiced it from the
very beginning.
Remember, Jesus instituted the
Lord's Supper with his
disciples and he commanded them
to regularly partake in it in
remembrance of the gospel.
And here, we find that those
disciples obeyed the Lord's
command.
In just a matter of days, after
Jesus has ascended back to
heaven, here is the church
faithfully, continually devoting
themselves to the observance of
the Lord's table.
I think that's important.
I love that we do it every month.
Sometimes I wonder if we should
actually be doing it more often
than that.
They were continually devoted to
it.
Number four, the prayers.
The prayers.
Here again, the definite article
is helpful to us.
It indicates that there was a
body of composed prayers
utilized in the regular worship
of the early church.
These probably included the
Psalms.
No doubt it included the
Psalms.
We have other examples in the
New Testament of doxologies and
benedictions that were commonly
used in the early church.
Bottom line, in a corporate
sense, God's people are a praying
people.
And corporate prayer was a vital
part of the gathered worship of
the early church.
Now here's the question.
How devoted are we to gathered worship?
I know it's a foolish question this
morning.
On a day with low attendance in our
church, you are here and you're
always here.
Even Shannon is here with a brand new
baby boy.
She's committed to the gathered worship
of the church.
So don't take this as a question that
that's saying, I don't think you are.
I know you are.
But it is helpful to be reminded of how
important it is.
Maybe another way to ask the question
is, what does it take for us to miss
the gathered worship?
I'm not saying that there's never a
reason to miss.
I'm saying, what does it take though?
Our priorities in worship as a church
match the priorities of the church in
Acts chapter 2.
That's an important question for us.
Gathered worship.
Number two, Holy Spirit power.
We're going to zoom through these last
few, okay?
Holy Spirit power.
Verse 43, and awe came upon every soul.
Many wonders and signs were being done
by the apostles, through the apostles.
Let me carefully point out the
conjunction in the middle of this verse.
Notice it.
Awe came upon every soul and many wonders
and signs were being done through the
apostles.
A casual reading, we would assume that the
awe that came upon every soul was only
concerned with the many wonders and signs
done through the apostles.
But that's not what Luke is saying here.
They certainly contributed to the awe that
was experienced by the church.
There's no doubt about that.
But Luke is describing two different demonstrative works of the
Holy Spirit.
There's the awe that came upon every soul.
And then there's the demonstration of the Holy Spirit's power
through the apostles as God affirmed the gospel through signs and
wonders.
Two different things are happening here.
And while the spirit-empowered signs of the apostle certainly contributed to this awe,
the fear of the Lord that overwhelmed them was rooted in the transformative power
of the spirit at conversion.
Now, this is an often forgotten mark of the fellowship of believers.
That is the power of the Holy Spirit at work by producing people who fear God and love Jesus
and obey the word.
So remember, we're thinking about the koinonia of believers.
If it starts with regenerate people, and we're not just calling everybody and anybody a Christian
that just mentions the name of Jesus.
We're talking about legitimately regenerate people as far as we can see.
And that is who has gathered as the church.
What will be evident is the Holy Spirit's power at work in leading us to fear God and to love Jesus
and to love one another and to serve him.
It is a transformative power that takes the life of a person who was an enemy of God and
not only reconciles them to God, but radically changes who they are and how they think and
their desires and the way that they live.
And we could go church by church, perhaps in our area even, and we could see lots of people
naming Jesus's name, but very little Holy Spirit power evidenced through the transformative
work of conversion.
And we step back and we wonder, where is the power in all of this?
And I think this is just another reason to emphasize the importance of regenerate partnership
in the local church.
If a church is not careful to practice biblical membership and discipline, it will inevitably
be filled with unbelievers who are utterly powerless regarding the Spirit of God.
will develop nothing more than a cultural Christianity that isn't very Christian.
You know, one of the marks of a true church is people who have the Holy Spirit of God resting
on their lives.
Not in an ecstatic way, but by the ordinary means of grace, God is transforming them and he
is sanctifying them.
And there's no doubt that something is going on in them that is unique.
And it may not be flashy and it may not be extreme, but something's working.
And we know what that thing is.
It's the Spirit of God through the gospel of God.
Holy Spirit of God.
That's not to diminish the awesomeness that would have come through these signs and wonders.
It's just to say that we don't need the signs and wonders to see the Holy Spirit at work in
our church.
Number three, loving care.
Loving care.
Verse 44, and all who believed were together and had all things in common.
They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any
had need.
It's amazing how the transformative power of the Spirit will so radically destroy our sense
of greed and selfishness and in its place put loving kindness.
That's exactly what was happening in Jerusalem.
These new Christians who've, some of them at one point were enemies even of one another,
are now sharing and having all things in common.
All things in common here carries the sense of being willing to share the blessings and
possessions that God has given you with those around you.
It would be akin to having, you know, Alice and Tom over to your house this week.
And in the process of that, they walk in and you say, I want you to make yourself at home.
Whatever you need, help yourself to it.
What's mine is yours.
Whatever you need while you're here.
It's that kind of idea.
They were together and they had all things in common.
Not that they put this big pot in the middle of the church.
They said, all right, everybody bring all your stuff.
We're going to distribute it evenly.
That's not what they were doing.
They were saying, what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine.
And whenever you have a need, you can help yourself to it.
Because this isn't for me.
This is a blessing of God and it's useful to us all.
But then they took it even further.
Serious financial crisis overwhelmed some of the people who belong to this fellowship of believers.
And instead of just saying, you know what, to the homeless man, I'm going to pray that God will provide you shelter.
And instead of just saying to the hungry man, I'm going to pray that God will send you food.
The spirit-filled Christians sacrifice their own goods to help meet the needs of others.
And you are so faithful at doing this.
I love this about our church.
That though we're just such a small church, you're always so willing to go above and beyond in your giving.
And I know that's exactly how it's going to work out with this Christmas project.
I know all of those things.
But it's good to be reminded in this text.
They routinely shed their excesses to meet the needs of those who were struggling.
It wasn't government ordered.
It wasn't church ordered.
It was the free generosity of God's people caring for one another.
A wonderful example of what we are to be for one another.
And it was all based in love.
They had experienced the loving kindness of Jesus.
And they were showing that loving kindness then in whatever way they could to one another.
Number four, routine togetherness.
Routine togetherness.
Verse 46.
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes.
They received their food with glad and generous hearts.
Praising God and having favor with all the people.
Most Christians these days only view their koinonia through the lens of formal worship.
That is the gatherings of the church on Sunday or perhaps in other events throughout the week.
Not the early Christians.
Their devotion to one another produced a togetherness that extended to every facet of their lives.
They genuinely lived as new kingdom people.
And we're going to deal with this in a lot more detail in a couple of weeks.
But we can't miss the fact that these Christians routinely built one another up in Christ as often as they could.
Day by day, we're told.
They were together.
And their interactions included worship, hospitality, praising God, spurring one another along in holiness.
And I'll say, if our engagement with the local church is limited to Sunday worship and occasional events,
we are surely going to be deficient regarding what God has called us to be as his people.
It should be normal for us to host one another in our homes.
It should be routine for us to go have coffee or lunch or breakfast together just for the purpose of being together
and talking about what the Lord's doing in our lives and praying together and encouraging one another.
That should be routine.
That should be something that happens all the time in our lives, not just in what we do on Sundays.
It's true discipleship.
True discipleship is accomplished when Christians get serious about their responsibility to help one another faithfully follow Jesus.
And of course, that happens on a Sunday.
Of course, that happens at Lakeside Connect.
But I'll tell you, the places that it's going to be most impactful is sitting at the coffee shop
or sitting in one another's living rooms or going out to the golf course like I'm going to do on Wednesday with Terry.
And I'm going to get embarrassed and he's going to encourage me through the process.
That's a part of what we do.
We're together, building one another up in Christ.
Finally, instinctive evangelism.
Instinctive evangelism.
Again, we'll talk about this in a lot of detail later on.
But look at verse 47.
The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
I don't think that it is a coincidence that Luke tacked this on at the very end of this series.
And I'm being very deliberate by referring to this evangelism as instinctive.
Because faithful evangelism will be the natural overflow of a life that is wholly devoted to Christ.
If we think of our evangelism mainly in terms of church programs, we will be involved as long as there's a church program.
But whenever there's not a church program, we probably won't do a lot of evangelism anymore.
The point here is that there was an instinctive, natural overflow because of all of these other things.
To which these faithful people were clearly demonstrating the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
They were routinely talking to others about the gospel.
They might not have been on a street corner with a microphone and a speaker.
But something about their lives and the overflow of that came natural evangelism.
And I think that's really what we're called to do.
To love Jesus so much.
And to be so committed as his new kingdom people.
That the way we talk about the Lord is really just an overflow of our faithfulness as Christians.
So then the fellowship of believers is that koinonia that grows organically.
Not because we've manipulated something in a service or created a particular mood that will encourage people to flood an altar or whatever it may be.
Programs and marketing are tools that we can use, but they will never be the reason for church growth.
Not when we think about regenerate church growth.
That only comes as God adds people through the faithful witness of his church.
The Lord added, such as should be saved.
And we need to trust that.
And then let the overflow of our lives be one that glorifies God.
Let's wrap it up.
Too many local churches, I think, appear in contrast to what we studied in Ephesians 2.
They appear more like divided kingdoms, dysfunctional families, desolate temples.
Characterized by infighting.
Without a focus on the gospel.
Not living in unity with one another, but maybe in struggles of power and style.
Part of this, I think, is because so many churches are largely composed of unbelievers
who have affiliated with a cultural form of Christianity that's not actually truly Christian.
Part of it, I think, is because Christians have failed to take their place in the fellowship of believers very seriously.
And I realize that Acts chapter 2 is what we would call a descriptive passage.
There's no formal commands here.
It's describing what this church was.
That's not irrelevant.
But someone may would confront us and say, well, that's just describing.
There's not really saying we have to do all these things.
So maybe it would be helpful for us to wrap up with Hebrews chapter 10,
where these things are expressed as a command.
Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 19.
I can't remember if I put it on the screen.
You can turn there if you want.
I'm going to read it.
Hebrews 10, beginning at verse 19.
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
that's the redemption through the gospel, through the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way that he has opened for us through the curtain,
that is through his flesh.
And since we have a great high priest over the house of God,
let us draw near with a true heart,
in full assurance of faith,
with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience,
and our bodies washed with pure water,
all of that's gospel focused.
And then he says,
let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.
For he who promised is faithful.
In other words, be continually devoted to something.
And that something being the gospel and the implications of it.
And let us consider how to stir one another up to love and to good works,
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.
Do you see the explicitness in this?
He says, here's what Jesus has done for us.
He has united us with God.
And undergirding this is the assumption that he's also united us together.
And then he also assumes that there is a temptation that we will have
to think a lot of Christ and actually very little of his people.
And he says, so let's not do that.
Let's seek to find ways to stir one another up.
And how are we doing that?
To love good works.
Not neglecting the gathering, the formal gathering,
but looking for more and more ways to do that as we see the day,
the day of judgment, the return of Christ coming near.
In other words, what is described for us in Acts chapter 2
is clearly demonstrated as command throughout the rest of the New Testament.
This is who we are in Christ.
This is what he's called us to be.
So let's be that.