Vision for the Mission

Jeremy Robinson

Stand Alone • Sermon • Submitted a year ago

Acts 2:41–47

Service

Church Fellowship and Unity

Vision

Church

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Notes

Transcript

Focus

You know those people that seem like they have a hundred different hobbies going on at the same time.

I know a guy who works a full time job working 50 plus hours a week, who on the side makes homemade hot sauces and craft tonics and sodas.

He is also really into riding bikes, even in the dead of winter.

And I am sure there are lots of other hobbies and interests I have no clue about.

Some of you are like that, and though I am not jealous, there is a feeling I some times get that I just might be missing out on something really cool.

But there are just 24 hours in a day and a 1/3 of those are spend sleeping.

We all have to decide how we are going to spend the hours we have even if we can’t do all the things we think we might want to do.

What is it we are going to FOCUS on rather than being pulled in all kinds of directions, even if they are GOOD directions?

These are value decisions.

What we spend out time, energy, money, and attention on reveal what we value most.

The same hold in Church.

What we value will ultimately determine the direction we go and how we will spend our limited time, resources, and energy.

There are A LOT of really great things we COULD do as a church, many things that we HAVE DONE as a church.

But most everyone of us here today would agree, time is a commodity we often run short on.

The questions I want to attempt to answer for us today are:

Who are we and what are we doing?

We as a church family build out mission and purpose around 4Ls and those 4Ls are what we seek to ground EVERYTHING we do as a church in.

Living, Learning, Loving, Leading are the guiding principles of our church that set the purpose for existence and the vision we pursue.

I want to spend the first part of my sermon this morning examining Acts 2:41-47, showing how our 4L mission is grounded in the God’s design for His Church.

We are a defined by our mission and our mission determines our activity.

Then I want to spend a few minutes talking about how we can practically live out these mission principles as a church family.

Principles, not a Blueprint

The end of Acts 2 isn’t a blueprint for the ideal church.

It wasn’t Luke’s intention, nor God’s intention, for us to BE the church in Acts.

This passage comes after one of the most pivotal moments in the history of the Church (and really the whole world).

The day of Pentecost was the day God’s Spirit took of residence in the hearts of those who had come to know Christ.

Right after the Holy Spirit enters the believers, Peter stands up and begins to preach what seems to be the very first sermon in God’s newly established Church.

Peter preaches this powerful message and then Acts 2:37 says the people were “pierced to the heart” and asked Peter “What would we do then?”

Peter calls them to repent and trust in Jesus and then to be baptized.

This first sermon resulted in 3000 people trusting in Jesus and following Him in baptism.

So at the end of chapter 2, Luke gives us a snapshot of what this newly formed Church family looked like.

How did they spend their time? How did they relate with one another? What were their values?

Thought Acts 2:41-47 isn’t a blueprint for all churches, what we do find are principles of what it means to be the Church in Act 2:41-47.

Every church that has ever and will ever exist should be shaped by the principles we see in this passage, among other passages as well.

And these principles are the roots of our 4L mission/vision.

Acts 2:41–47 CSB

41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

CONTEXT - LIVING in Community

One thing becomes very clear in this passage, community was an essential part of who the early church was.

Everything that is mentioned in the passage happened within the community of the saints.

They prayed together, studied together, ate together, served together, worshipped together, and gave together.

What is so profound about this passage is that living in community, doing life together, wasn’t something that happened several years or generations down the road.

No, the result of people coming to know Jesus as Lord and receiving the Holy Spirit was that they joined in the community of faith.

The whole idea that someone could be a Christian and not be in community with other Christians was a ludicrous idea in the early church.

When persecution was almost a guarantee, a new believer couldn’t afford to not gather around those new brothers and sisters in the faith.

Community isn’t a new value in the church.

Many of you grew up in church and remember when it seemed you were at the church building more than you were at your own house.

But that isn’t church today as we are pulled in so many directions by all the activities that are open to us today.

But the importance of community hasn’t and will never change in the lives of believers.

We are designed for and called to community.

It is the context for our mission, meaning:

What we do as a church happens in community with one another.

We serve, we study, we give, we worship, we mourn, we rejoice, we evangelize…all in the context of community.

So when we ask the question “Who are we?” the first answer is “We are a group of Christ followers seeking to LIVE out our faith IN COMMUNITY.”

So every things we DO ought to be guided by that value and ought to foster that principle.

CONTENT - LEARNING to Follow

The very first thing mentioned that this new community of saints did together was “they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching.”

The content of their mission was the Word of God (for them that was the ones Jesus had called and empowered to lead the early church. They were writing the bible as the Spirit spoke through them.

I have watched a couple of YouTube videos about the daily life of an elite athlete.

It is crazy to see how much intentionality goes into every aspect of their day.

Their workouts, their schedules, and, perhaps most importantly, their diets.

Every meal is planned, measured, and timed with intentionality and purpose.

What they feed themselves with matters more than almost anything else they do.

Like an elite athlete, what we consume as a follower of Jesus is vital to health and growth of our faith.

The purpose is not to become an elite Christian, but rather to be an adequately fed Christian.

Most of us in the room are malnourished Christians AT BEST.

Some of us here, if we are willing to admit it, are likely starving, potentially only getting one serving of God’s Word every week.

And often times it might seem that that meal is hard for us to swallow or difficult to digest.

This is where the analogy needs to end ;)

What we see in the early church was a profound hunger for God’s Word and a deep devotion to knowing and consuming it.

In Acts 6 we see the Apostles raise up some people from within the church family to take care of the needs of the congregation in order that they may stay committed to the teaching of the Word of God.

You might hear this and think, “I know I am supposed to read and study the bible, but I just don’t understand what it says, and really don’t even know where to start.”

I totally get that, and have been in that very same position when I became a Christian.

That is the very reason God gave us community, so we don’t have to figure out the Bible by ourselves.

After the book of Acts, we have a large collection of letters, written by different men, but all written to the churches that started those early years follow the resurrection of Jesus.

And each of those letters were written to the churches as a whole to be read, studied, discussed, and followed by the whole church in the context of community.

Even the letters written to individuals were intended to be read publically and discussed by the whole church.

Who are we?

We are a group of believers seeking to LIVE out our faith IN COMMUNITY, LEARN TOGETHER what it means to Love God and Follow Jesus.

So what we decide to do as a church family ought to come from our commitment to LEARNING more about Jesus and how to follow His ways as we LIVE in community together.

CULTURE - LOVING One another & Others

Perhaps the most shocking description of the early church in this passage is in 2:44-45

Acts 2:44–45 CSB

44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need.

That sounds crazy in our culture doesn’t it?

We live in a consumeristic culture that makes personal satisfaction the guiding principle for life.

What can I find, buy, or experience that will satisfy me for the moment?

As consumers then, we often look at Church in the same way we look at cereal at the grocery store or vacation spots for Spring Break.

Do I enjoy it? Does it serve my needs? Am I satisfied by it?

The culture of the early church pushed against the lure toward consumerism.

Rather than asking “What do I get out of this?” they were asking “how can I help?”

The culture of our community must be guided by loving service toward one another and others, and not by what serves our needs or desires most.

I have shared this story before, but I believe it is the most profoundly helpful way to illustrate the heart a believer ought to seek.

We had a couple visit our church one Sunday after we had went through a hard season as a church (a few families had moved a way).

They came one Sunday and it seemed like we had made some good connections, but they didn’t come back the next week.

I found out they had went to our sister church across the river. I was bummed, but happy for the other church.

Then they came back to our church the next week and the weeks that followed.

One day, several weeks after they continued to attend and get involved, I had breakfast with the husband.

I asked him, “Why did you guys decide to be a part of this church?”

He gave 2 reasons: 1) They liked how I preached and that I didn’t shy away from challenging passages. and 2) because we needed them.

It might sound a bit prideful, but it really wasn’t.

They understood that church wasn’t about BEING SERVED, but about SERVING.

We are not to be consumers, but contributors.

As we seek to LIVE in community and LEARN the ways of Jesus, the guiding principle of our culture is LOVING, sacrificial service to one another and others.

COMMITMENT - LEADING People to Jesus

The passage begins and ends with people coming to know Jesus.

Acts 2:41 CSB

41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

Acts 2:47 CSB

47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Jesus defines the purpose of the Church (ALL CHURCHES) in Matthew 28:18-20.

We are to be a going people that makes disciples as we are going.

The life these early believers in Acts 2 lived was contagious.

Everyday God brought new people into the family through the witness of His people.

Maybe it was a neighbor, a friend, a family member, or a coworker.

Or maybe it was a stranger on the street that stopped and asked for directions, a shop owner they were buying bread from, or some other random person.

What they said and how they lived made an impact on those around. them.

The commitment of a believer in Jesus isn’t to show up on Sunday, give your money, and try to read the bible a few times a week.

No, the commitment of a believer in Jesus is a commitment to live your life in a way that leads others to Jesus.

In your family, at school, at work, at a ball game, in a restaurant, at Walmart…and everywhere else we might go.

We are not here to build a building that is bigger or better than anyone else.

We are not about having the coolest or trendiest church around.

We are about making the name of Jesus known in this place.

We are about seeing people’s lives changed as they give their lives to Jesus.

Getting Practical

LIVING in Community

What does this look like for us/you?

Being here on Sunday mornings. (Heb 10:24-25)

Being a part of a small group.

We have called them a lot of things, but they are all the same.

Find people you can walk with who can encourage and strengthen your faith and you can do the same for them.

LEARNING to Follow

What does this look like for us/you?

Be here on Sunday mornings.

Find a small group to discussion the things we study together.

Find some folks to read the bible with (D-Groups)

These aren’t the only ways, but if we don’t find ways to be fed, we won’t grow.

There is no promise that it will be easy, fun, and engaging every week, but God will bless our commitment and obedience.

LOVING OTHERS

What does this look like for us/you?

Find a place to serve and COMMIT.

Figure out where the needs are.

Join a small group and serve together.

Don’t over-complicate service. It doesn’t have to fit your giftedness or feel good.

We just need to serve.

LEADING people to JESUS

What does this look like for us/you?

Seeing every where you go and all that you do as an opportunity to represent Jesus.

We are missionaries everywhere we go.

Practically, we have a card that you got on your way in today.

We want you to fill it out with 3 names to pray for about inviting them to Easter services in April.

Not Christians who go to another church, but people who do not know Jesus or at least aren’t going to church regularly.

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