The Point of Church
The Book of Acts • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsWhat is the point of church? Why do we go to church? What should the church be doing? Today we will dive into those questions and more!
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Transcript
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August 7th 2022
Series: The Book of Acts
Sermon Title: The Point of Church
Topic: Journey through the book of Acts.
Key Passages: Acts 8
Sermon Blurb: What is the point of church? Why do we go to church? What should the church be doing? Today we will dive into those questions and more!
Sermon:
Well, hello everyone!
Family Moment
Today we actually will backtrack a bit in our journey through the book of Acts, then walk forward a little, kind of like we did last week.
If you have your Bible with you…open it back up to Acts 8
If you are new or newer to family church we are so happy you are here today!
Let me catch you up.
We are on a journey through one of the books in our Bibles called Acts.
The book of Acts is a GREAT one for churches to study because it is all about how the early church operated right after Jesus launched it!
PAUSE
Last week we spent time talking about this guy in Acts called Saul.
And I would encourage you if you missed that message to please go listen to it later today!
Saul was a guy who thought he was a SUPER Godly man doing all the right things and like we saw last week he was heading the WRONG direction in life!
And let me encourage you….
If you are heading the wrong direction in life today….
It is NOT too late!
Jesus can forgive you of anything and turn your life around.
Just like we saw with Saul….
But today….we will read about Saul again and then I want to rewind and remind you of the Point of Church.
PAUSE
Anyone want to be honest…
Anyone ever wondered….what is the point of church?
Why do we go to church?
What should the church be doing?
Anyone????
Well the good news is today we will dive into those questions and more!
Acts 8 Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
PAUSE
We are not going to focus on Saul today because we spent all of last Sunday on him.
I want us to focus on something else in this passage today.
Let’s read this again….and I want to then ask you a question.
I am going to underline and BOLD some words….
Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
Leave that on the screens for a bit.
Let me ask some questions and if you know just shout out the answer….
When they are talking about this….where are they?
(let them respond) answer - Jerusalem.
Ok…..who remembers where Jesus told the church to go and witness for him in Acts 1? Who remembers
(let them respond)
Let me show you the answer to that question….
Flip back to Acts 1….
Acts 1: 1-9 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
If you are new today, you can go on the website we preached on why we can have confidence in Jesus’ resurrection because he appeared to so many people!
Just go to our website and look for the series Resurrection Eyewitnesses.
Let’s keep reading…..
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
Does anyone see something interesting that ties to what we are reading today in Acts 8?
Anyone?
Let me go slowly here so we can all see this! Go back to verse 4
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
Ok so Jesus said say in Jerusalem where they are right now in Acts 8.
But the GIFT Jesus talks about here….
The sending of the Holy Spirit happened in Acts chapter 2.
Stick with me…..
So they were to STAY….UNTIL the Holy Spirit came….which happened in Acts two and now we are in Acts 8….
And let me explain why this matters and how it applies to all of you in the room today….
Drop down to verse 8 of Acts 1…..
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Does anyone see any correlation to Acts 8 now?
PAUSE
Let me keep unpeeling this onion….
If you dive into the timeline of the book of Acts you will see most scholars will say Acts 1 happened in the Spring of AD 33.
So Jesus said in Spring…
Hey, church….here is what I want you to do.
I want you to enjoy Spring here as the church.
I want you to stay here and wait until I send you my Spirit the Holy Spirit.
Then once I send you my Spirit I want you to GO and witness for me in Jerusalem right where you are now!
But I ALSO want you to go to Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth then and witness for me.
Jesus said that in Spring….
Then Jesus returned to heaven….
PAUSE
Most scholars would say Acts 8 was around the end of the year AD 33.
So, what does that mean church? Come on work with me!
It means the did ¼ of what Jesus asked them to do.
They did an AWESOME job reaching their local community for Jesus!
They didn’t want to go to Judea….because Judea would take time and money to travel to.
Judea was not an easy trip for them.
They did not want to invest their time and money going there.
They didn’t want to leave their hometown to live in another place.
They didn’t want to do it…..and didn’t.
They didn’t want to go to Judea….because Judea to them would be like us saying today I want you to go into a Muslim community and reach them for Jesus.
People RADICALLY different from you and reach them for Jesus.
Go stay among people who view the world TOTALLY different from you!
GO live among people who hate you.
They didn’t want to do it…..and didn’t.
PAUSE
Do you see it church?????
PAUSE
Here is the point church….write this down….
Jesus said the point of the church is to reach people for Jesus.
And don’t miss this!
They did!
They were reaching people for Jesus.
But they did not want to leave their comfort zone.
They didn’t want to leave their church.
They didn’t want to leave their hometown.
They wanted to stay in their bubble.
They wanted to follow Jesus…..just not fully…..
They wanted to follow Jesus….they just did not want to change….
PAUSE
One of the smartest people of all time even said that, Einstein said this (Einstein Pic)
Albert was right…and it is odd to me how often we find ourselves doing the same things over and over and expect to get somewhere else!
I know a lot of people that hate being broke, but they keep spending more money than they make.
I know a lot of people that hate being overweight, but they never work out.
I know a lot of people that hate not knowing more about the Bible, but rarely read the Bible.
Can I get an amen if you know someone like that….
Someone who talks about how they want something different but they do nothing to make it happen?
You can even raise your spouse’s hand right now if that is them….
Right, we all know people that love to talk about how they want some part of their life to be different….
But then they won’t do anything to change and make it happen.
I am really hoping that we are seeing something as we walk through the book of Acts…..
That God sometimes has to force change into His church and His people…..because we resist Him…
We have seen really good Godly people resisting God in almost every chapter of Acts….
But have you noticed they have never beat God….
So hopefully by the end of this series, it will sink into all of us and we will all follow God in every area of our life and stop fighting Him!
PAUSE
Here is the sad reality we see in this passage….write this down
Sometimes God has to FORCE his church to follow.
Repeat
PAUSE
Let me paint a picture of what God has to do to us sometimes to accept change by talking to you about one of the most majestic birds, Eagles.
Eagle Pic
Eagles go to great care to build a nest high atop a tall sturdy tree.
They find strong branches to weave together their nest.
They filled in the spaces with grass, moss, cornstalks and other strong fibers.
To make the nest even more comfortable for their babies they pull out their own feathers and place them around the best.
They do this to keep their babies from sharp sticks that could hurt them.
So, the baby eagles have a nice comfortable place to live while they are completely cared for by their parents.
The baby eagles do nothing, but sit in the nest and wait for their parents to bring them food.
The parents go off and eat food and come back and then regurgitate up the partially digested food for their babies.
PAUSE
Do you see the correlation to church and us?
God helped our forefathers build this nice comfy church.
Our forefathers wanted you to be comfy so they even padded the seats you sit in just like the eagles do for their future babies.
You sit in a nice, comfy, safe place.
You come here week in and week out and what happens?
All week the pastors digesting the word of God and then I regurgitate it up for you…. Just like a good Eagle mother.
Maybe next time you see Pastor (fill in another pastor’s name) you call them Eagle Mother!!!!
Just to see how he reacts!
LAUGH!!!!!
PAUSE
But the day comes when the eaglets need to learn to fly like their parents…..
The day comes when all of you need to leave the church and live like Jesus….
In order to learn to fly they need to leave the nice, big comfy nest they have been accustomed to.
So, the mama eagle knows that the eaglets will not survive if they don’t learn to fly.
So, what does she do?
She begins to make the nest uncomfortable by taking the soft feathers out of the nest.
She changes the environment to encourage them to GET OUT!
If that does not move them out the mother will beat her wings and scare them to the edge of the nest!
If they still do not get out……She will push them over the edge and let them fall!!!!
She will force them to use their wings and fly.
PAUSE
But there is a problem!!!
Baby eagles have never used their wings….
So, they flap and fall and it doesn’t work!
So, mama swoops under her falling eaglet and catches them on her back, and soars upward into the sky.
PAUSE
The eaglet feels safe once again…mamma has them….
But then without warning the mother will flip over or dive downward causing the eaglet to lose his grip and free fall again!
Panic ensues in this baby eagle again because it is being forced out of safety again and into the real world….
The mama continues to allow her baby to fall and flap and then takes him back up again and again until he learns how to fly!
PAUSE
If mama eagle would not have made her eaglets uncomfortable her babies may have never left the comfort of their nest….
The babies would never become the strong majestic birds they were designed to be if they were not FORCED to change…..
LONG PAUSE….let it get awkward….
Do you see the correlation to this passage?
Do you see the correlation to our spiritual life?
PAUSE
The point of being a disciple of Jesus, as defined by Jesus, was to go and make more disciples.
Never once did you see Jesus tell his disciples to just sit in their nest of safety and learn from other people their whole life.
Never once in the Bible do we read the GOAL of our Christian life is to come to church one day a week and warm up a chair….
maybe serve now and again….
maybe to throw some money in the offering when we REALLY like the message.
That is NOWHERE in the Bible…..
PAUSE
Let’s be real church……and I love you all….but let’s be real…..
If we are honest as we become more comfortable in life….
As we get financially set….
As we land a good job…..
As we have kids….
As we get established in life….
The less we want to change….because consistency feels good!
That is why we say…. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
Things are working…..
Things are going well….
So why change….
Right?
Come on I know this is a lot of us!!!!
PAUSE
The early church thought the same thing…
They wanted to stay in their comfort zone…..
But Jesus issued to EVERY follower in Acts 1:8…lets read it again
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Look at this map of Acts 1:8….
So far in our study of Acts, we have seen exciting things happen in Jerusalem and it all started right after God sent the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
It all began when all the people were gathered together seeking God and God poured out His Spirit to live inside all people that believed in God.
As a result of God’s Spirit dwelling inside the people, they could not contain God, so they were telling everyone about Jesus….
So, people were coming to know Jesus left and right!
Don’t forget we have celebrated the church has grown to THOUSANDS of people already!!!!
God has said grown over and over!!!
EVERYTHING is NOT broken….
PAUSE
Jerusalem was a comfortable nest for the believers.
The problem was Jesus said go BEYOND Jerusalem….
But things were going so good why leave!!!!
Look at the map….they were called to go BEYOND….
Because people were coming to know Jesus left and right the established church formally…..
Since they did that the Jewish church got hostile because they were losing people to this NEW kind of Jesus church!!
So, the good Jewish church going folks of that time started trying to stop people from believing in Jesus.
Who remembers some of the things we have seen the religious leaders do to try and get them to stop teaching in the Name of Jesus already in the book of Acts?
Ya….. they put Christians in jail!
They beat Christians!
They commanded Christians not to speak in the Name of Jesus!
More recently we saw them take even more drastic measures to try to silence the message of Good News.
Who remembers what happened when Stephen stood before the Sanhedrin and spoke God’s Words to them?
Ya….they stoned him to death!!
But Stephen didn’t die fearful of God’s enemies; WHY?
Because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, so he was courageous even unto death!
As other believers saw their beloved friend killed for his faith in Jesus, he left them an example that they too could be courageous for Jesus.
PAUSE
Being thrown in jail….being beaten…was like having the feathers plucked out of the nest making life a little less comfortable.
The nudge to not forget we are called to go BEYOND home….
When Stephen was stoned to death it was like the Mama eagle pushing her eaglet out of the nest!
PAUSE
God knew that there were people outside of Jerusalem that needed to hear the Good News about Jesus.
It was PAST time for the believers to leave the comfort of Jerusalem and go to other places and reach them for Jesus!
PAUSE
But even after Stephen was killed….they didn’t go…..
They still didn’t learn!!!
Hence Acts 8 where we see….lets read it again…..
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
God had to push them out of the nest because they were not going!
PAUSE
Just like some of you today…..
You do not want to follow God and there is some pain….
Maybe some hardship going on in your life….
And you do NOT like it….
But maybe God is using that to try and get your attention like we see right here!
PAUSE
The believers here were not going out into the world of their own desires….
Something had to come and FORCE them into towns throughout Judea and Samaria.
This time of persecution forced the believers to move in the directions of Jesus’ instructions in Acts 1:8.
This persecution brought discomfort and drove the believers out of Jerusalem so they could share the Good News with others in surrounding territories.
But the question is….will they????
Will the church do what it was designed to do?
Will they…..will we…..remainded focused on leading people toward Jesus….
Let’s see…let’s see what these regular believers in Jesus did as they were scattered.
Verse 4
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
Those who were scattered would be all the believers!!!
All the REGULAR people were preaching!
All the REGULAR people were leading people to God!
This was NOT the preachers who were preaching!!!!
Let me close with this because I want you all to see it and then we will close….
Go back to Acts 8:1
1 On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
Do you see it church!
ALL the LEADERS stayed!
ALL the Apostles stayed!
So the people preaching in verse 4 were NOT the apostles!
The people preaching in verse 4 were NOT people like me!
The people preaching in verse 4 is who church????
You….
All of you…..
Let’s go back to our main point today……
Jesus said the point of the church is to reach people for Jesus.
Who is the church?
All of you…
Not me…
We are ALL the church….
I want you to see something right here.
These believers weren’t running scared from the persecution of their enemies, they were being obedient to Jesus’ command to go and share the Good News of Jesus!
As they were being scattered they spread the good news of Jesus!
And because they were about the work of God more people came to know Jesus!
Which leads us to our Life Application today…
Life Application: How are you doing at sharing the Good News about Jesus in your daily life in REALITY? If you are doing well, help others learn how to be like you. If you struggle, ask God to help you be bold.
Let’s Pray…..