From Acts[1]
As preached at Rolling Hills Church on 17 Oct 2010
What does a church look like when it is built on truth and relationships? I think we can get a picture of that from the book of Acts. It looks like a church on mission empowered by God. Acts is a narrative of the establishment of the early church. It is Luke's continuation of His gospel; the first about the story of Christ on earth, the second – Acts – about the work of Christ through the Holy Spirit through the Church. Acts is more about God than about the church; and a healthy church is more about God than about itself, isn't it!
Acts 1:1-8
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,
2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Prayer.
I want to make some observations from Acts that I believe stand firm in the Epistles to the church as well. When a church is built on truth and relationships…
Mission is clear and central. Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
This church knew what they had to do. When a church has a mission that is clear and agreed on, so much difficult is avoided from within. It still comes from without, but at least the church is largely unified and focused on the work! Their mission – take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Our mission? It's the same. It motivates the church to see people come to faith in Christ and grow and reproduce!
When a church is built on truth and relationships…
Holy Spirit power is required. Wait here in Jerusalem, Jesus said. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. We are in the same boat; we need the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do; our work is simple obedience! We share the gospel, but He brings to life dead sinners, convicts of sin, draws women to Christ, and saves them. We need His power to even speak, read, or discuss the message of Christ!
When a church is built on truth and relationships…
Gospel truth is the focus. This is both in the church and out of it. Christ is preached to the lost and to the saved. In fact, speeches and sermons are a full one-third of the book of Acts![2] The church's central message in Acts is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The entire gospel was preached; He IS the Messiah, Salvation is in Him alone; He died due to and for our sins, and God raised Him from the dead. We are witnesses of these things. Church, gospel truth must be central to us today; we can't get away from this into mini-kingdom building, program-generated excitement, or any other fad the church sees coming. Listen; we must be built on the rock of the gospel truth! Let me say this for us to consider; a reading of Acts shows that gospel evangelism appears to come easier when the church is persecuted. It is certainly more consistent. What is our persecution level compared to theirs? What is our evangelism output level?
When a church is built on truth and relationships…
Prayer is essential and frequent. Prayers are not avoided in Luke's records, but rather they are focused on. It was the work they did while waiting on God (Acts 1:14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, Acts 13 praying when called to mission), and it was the work they did after they were persecuted. It was intercession for the lost (Acts 7), it was begging for power to stand firm in the gospel (Acts 4), and it was praise for God's good mercies in saving the lost (Acts 15).
When a church is built on truth and relationships…
Fellowship is truth-based. Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. This is all through the book that love grows when people grow in the gospel. Jew/Gentile barriers were taken down with truth and with love. Here's what happens when people believe Christ and become part of the church; Christ unites different people in love. Paul loved Barnabas the godly Jewish man, and he loved Timothy, the godly half-Jew, and he loved the Ephesian elders who were Gentiles. Why? Jesus Christ. Fellowship was based on truth, and love grew from that truth being central in the lives of the church. Love was evident and growing, and it was based on the gospel. Acts 2:44-45 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. This wasn't planned or commanded; it was a natural response to those in need that they knew and loved.
When a church is built on truth and relationships…
Trouble is coming. False teachers mixing the gospel with Judaism, persecution from the threatened dead religions, financial people who see loss due to faith, sickness and death, people falling away… it's coming. How do we prepare for it? Knowing it's coming is half the battle, isn't it? Thus the value of weather forecasts! We can know a hurricane is coming, or that conditions are right for a tornado. We can see a blizzard coming across the northern plains toward us, so we can prepare for it. We can't avoid it, but we can prepare for it. But we can safely prepare for such trouble by considering what we've already seen today…
Stay on mission: preach, teach, and share the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray much and often. Remain devoted to Bible truth. Remain in fellowship based on truth.
What does a church look like when it is built on truth and relationships? It looks like a church on mission empowered by God. Our mission is to magnify God, mature in our faith, and multiply believers, small groups and churches. We won't accomplish this alone, and we can't accomplish it half-heartedly. We must be devoted to God, the work, and each other. Let's pray for God to re-focus us on our work. As we begin to go through Jonah next week, evangelism will come up; let's prepare for God to use us more in our communities.
[1] All Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved
[2] Page 213 of Baker Exegetical Commentary on Acts, by Darrell L. Bock. Published by Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, © 2007 by Darrell L. Bock.
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