One Heart and Soul
Notes
Transcript
The Early Church
The Early Church
Today, God willing, we will look at the early church book of Acts.
As we look at the Church of Jesus Christ, there are three things that I have chosen to look at.
When we hear the word church, what comes into our minds?
The Church of Jesus Christ cannot be a church without the Spirit of God within it.
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The Coming of the Holy Spirit
Churches
2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
You see Jesus said that this would happen, He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem.
Remember the church is not a building, but the people within the building. Jesus said that He and the Father and the Holy Spirit would reside within His disciple.
The Church of Jesus Christ cannot be a church without the Spirit of God within it.
Remember the church is not a building, but the people within the building. Jesus said that He and the Father and the Holy Spirit would reside within His disciple.
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Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
Paul tells us that we are the Temple of the Living God
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16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
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19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
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16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
A side note, we can see the trinity shinning through these passages as well.
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27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
So we can start to see that the Church of Jesus Christ cannot be the Church without the Spirit of God.
2. With the Spirit of God being in the Church, we will be transformed from the people of our birth or from our flesh, to the people God wants us to be.
Take Peter for example. He went from a man who would deny Jesus 3 times, to a man of boldness for the Lord. If you think this was his doing your crazy. This was the work of the Spirit of God in him.
Lets look at Peters first sermon after the Holy Spirit comes. You know the story. Some of the people in the crowds thought that they were drunk, but Peter speaks boldly to them.
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Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
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17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Later in Chapter 3 Peter and John heal a lame beggar in the name of Jesus Christ as they are going into the physical temple which of course draws a crowd and Peter doesn’t hold back but lets them have it with both barrels.
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“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
After this they are brought before the council in Chapter 4. This was not just any council this was the same people that had Jesus taken to Pilate.
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
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37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. But we see that Peter and John both speaking to them with boldness and the council threatens them and lets them go.
What a change the Spirit of God gave these men.
They went from leaving the Lord to die by himself to boldly preaching the word of God to any that would listen.
So we now know that the Church of Jesus Christ cannot be a church without the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God will change us.
3. The last thing that I want us to get out of the sermon today can be found in
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They Had Everything in Common
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
The third thing is, in the Church of Jesus Christ the Spirit of God will give us one heart and soul (if we listen to Him) for the needs of the church which are the people.
God gave grace to the early Church. The early church was working towards fulfilling the command of the Lord that there would be no poor among them.
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4 But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess—
Look at v. 33-34 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them.
To give with a joyful heart, is to have grace given to you by the Spirit of God. To have the Word of God preached to you, is to have grace given to you by the Spirit of God. To be a Church that has one heart and soul as to have everything in common is to have grace given to you by the Spirit of God.
Are we starting to see a theme here.
The Church of Jesus Christ cannot be a church without the Spirit of God within it.
2. With the Spirit of God being in the Church, we will be transformed from the people of our birth or from our flesh, to the people God wants us to be.
3. in the Church of Jesus Christ the Spirit of God will give us one heart and soul for the needs of the church which are the people.
It is all about God’s Spirit in the Church. Do you want a church that is like the early Church, then look to God and ask Him for His grace to be pored out upon us through His Spirit.
36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Do you think Barnabas was joyful when he did this? yes he was, and not because he was thinking look at me and what I am doing. look how much I have given. That was grace pored out on Barnabas to give with a joyful hart to meet the needs of Gods people.
In the next chapter we see the story of Ananias and Sapphira. What a contrast from the grace of God pored out on Barnabas to give and that of Ananias and Sapphira to give to boast themselves to the church. It cost them there lives. To try and deceive the Holy Spirit to bring gain to yourself is a scary thing.
Verse 5:11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
Don’t give to boast yourself, God doesn't want that offering. It doesn’t say how much money Ananias and Sapphira gave, it might have been a significant amount. it only says that they sold the property and kept back some for themselves. That in its self wasn’t wrong, but to try and lie to the Holy Spirit to build you credit among your peers. May that never be with us.
You might be here right now thinking, “i don’t have a lot to give, I barely have enough to get by. That’s okay! God doesn't need your money. There are ways to give and build up your brothers and sisters without money. The church has needs. There are classes to teach, nurseries to watch over, there is encouragement and prayer to give. there is cleaning to do at times. If you don’t know how to serve the body, ask God for his grace to show you, because it is a gift from God to be able to help and encourage His people.
There are ways to give and build up your brothers and sisters without money. The church has needs. There are classes to teach, nurseries to watch over, there is encouragement and prayer to give. there is cleaning to do at times. If you don’t know how to serve the body, ask God for his grace to show you, because it is a gift from God to be able to help and encourage His people.
To be able to come up and teach, and not get proud about what i am doing. That is a gift from the Spirit of God, and in no way have I earned that in any way. I want God to be glorified and not myself. I want to see Gods people grow in the Him, and that is a gift to you as Gods people.
Its all about God. Its all about Grace.