Hope is Restored When the Risen Savior is Revealed as Christ - Acts 2:42-47
When We Come Back: Part 1
Acts 2:42-47 – April 26, 2020
Any day now. Any day now, we won’t have to close our doors. All signs point to the slow down of the disease. The measures being taken are working. Though the disease is still out there, our healthcare system is less and less likely to be overwhelmed. We’ve been patient so far. We can be patient still.
But as we wait for that day to come, we want to remember why we gather at all. We can start to take this family for granted. And especially now. After six Sundays of watching church online, you might have started thinking, “Wow! You mean I could’ve just been watching church at home in my pajamas this whole time!” You might even half-jokingly say, “I don’t ever need to go back.”
Today and next week, God is going to remind us why we don’t just go it alone on our road toward heaven. He’s going to prepare us for when we come back.
I. We’ll gather around the apostles’ teaching.
Jesus called the apostles to be his witnesses. His time on earth was limited. He came for one very specific purpose. Live a perfect life. Die an innocent death. Rise from the dead. He came to win the victory over death. After he won the victory, his mission was over. He ascended back into heaven. He left the mission of spreading the good news to his apostles and their students.
The apostles got right to it. Ten days after Jesus’ ascension, the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. They immediately began to preach. The Holy Spirit even allowed them to perform signs and wonders to confirm their message was true. He used their message to bring 3,000 people to faith in Jesus in one day! 3,000 people! And these new believers were devoted to the apostles’ teaching. They gathered to hear the apostles tell them about Jesus. The faith the Holy Spirit put in their hearts led them to want to hear more about this good news. To hear again how all the sins, all the guilt, all the shame, all the fear they had were wiped out by Jesus’ death on the cross. Even though, as Peter put it on Pentecost, they crucified Jesus with their actions, God made him both Lord and Messiah. Through Jesus, God promised to forgive them.
The apostles’ teaching is what brought you into God's family. Just as they were commanded to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” you were baptized in God's name for the forgiveness of your sins. You have learned what Jesus’ work means for your life. It means your enemies are defeated. The devil can’t accuse you; your guilt is gone. Sin can’t control you; Christ lives in you. Death can’t claim you; eternal life is yours.
Right now, with all the restrictions in place, people are watching church online more than ever. There’s all kinds of preachers out there, pastors with convincing messages, many who stick to the apostles’ teaching. There are churches out there with high production values and eye-catching graphics.
But be careful! Stick to the apostles’ teaching. Though there are many who preach from Scripture, there are also many who do not. Preachers who add their own words to God's Word. Who interpret it to fit their own opinions or shape their message around attracting viewers instead of preaching God's truth. Who either intentionally or even unintentionally lead people away from Jesus. You know hearing about Jesus is more important than hearing what you want to hear.
When we gather together again, we will continue to gather around the apostles’ teaching. Why? Because it’s through that teaching, the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we receive life in his name. Though others’ teachings may tell us what we want to hear, Jesus tells us what we need to hear. That though we still sin, we are still forgiven. That though we may not find peace in earthly things, we have heavenly peace. That though we struggle to follow God's will instead of our own, Jesus promises his Holy Spirit to help us. This is why we gather around the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.
II. We’ll share with our family.
The believers Luke writes about also devote themselves to fellowship. The word Luke uses there is the word for community and for sharing. Not only did they gather to hear the apostles’ teaching, they shared with each other, with their fellow believers.
Look at what Luke writes about them, “All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.” Can you imagine that happening today?
Luke writes about them again in Acts 4, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”
Luke isn’t promoting a certain economic system that’s become a dirty word to some and an idol to others. He’s simply describing the family bond the first Christians had with each other. Isn’t what they’re doing what a family does?
The members of a family really do share everything, don’t they? Mom and dad don’t make the kids pay rent even though only their names are on the deed to the house. If the parents don’t share something with their kids, it’s for their kids’ own good. Mom’s not going to let her 12-year-old son drive her car. Dad’s not going to let his 2-year-old daughter use the oven. But, in general, the family shares with each other. A family looks out for each other. A family loves each other.
The Bible calls believers a family, too. Paul says in his letter to the Galatians, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Are you concerned about what’s happening with your family right now? Have you checked in? How far are you willing to go to help your fellow brother or sister in Christ?
Right now, there isn’t a lot of need for you to sell your house to help your fellow Christians. Probably not even your car. And those are things you need. But what about the things you want? You might cancel your Netflix subscription because you can’t afford it anymore, but would you cancel it to give that $108 you were going to spend this year to a fellow Christian in need? You might stop going out to eat so often if it’s getting too expensive for you, but would you save money on your own food so you could provide food for others? To save money you might start only buying the clothes you need instead of the clothes you want, but would you do that so you could give clothes to those who need them?
The point of these examples isn’t that you immediately cancel Netflix, never eat out again, and strictly limit your clothes budget. The point is to ask ourselves, “Am I willing to help out my family of believers if it means I actually have to sacrifice something?” Maybe the answer is found in the family. When big brother doesn’t want little brother to play with his toys. When sisters don’t want to share clothes. Many times our answer to the question, when we really start to think about it, is, “No, I’m not willing.” Or, to put it as simply as big brother to little brother, “You can’t have it. It’s mine.” Or, to put it even more simply, it’s selfishness.
The human heart is naturally quite selfish. It has to learn to share. My son Nicholas is an only child right now, but when he does play with other kids, he does take toys from them. If they take a toy from him, he wants it back. He still has to learn to share. Now, you don’t have to be a Christian to learn to share. There are many generous people out there, like Warren Buffet for example, who don’t believe in God. But, as Christians, we have even more reason to share.
Selfishness comes from the idea that I have to have everything I want. If it’s in my reach, it’s mine. If I want to do it, I will. If I use what I have for someone else, there won’t be enough for me. Selfishness is at the core of sin; it’s at the center of our natural relationship with God. By nature, we were God's enemies. We wanted to go our own way. We didn’t want God telling us what to do. We didn’t want him to be able to hold his providing for us over our heads where he could say, “My house, my rules.”
But Jesus came to destroy your selfishness. He destroyed it with his own selflessness. He selflessly left his throne in heaven. He lived a life down here even though he’s God. He gave up his own life on the cross so that you wouldn’t have to. Now, he’s brought you back into God's family. By faith in him, you want to live under God's house and obey his rules. You want to follow his way. You aren’t his enemy anymore. You’re his forgiven child.
And you’re not an only child. You have innumerable brothers and sisters in Christ. People, who just like you, have been brought to faith in Jesus, to love each other. To be with each other. To share with each other.
As Paul said in Galatians, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” He’s not discouraging doing good to people outside of the family. But the Holy Spirit is encouraging you to be especially concerned about your family. And you can only be concerned about this family because you’ve been made part of this family, God's family, by faith in your Brother Jesus.
III. We’ll gather with our family.
Not only do we share with our family. We gather with them. Many of you gather with your families on birthdays and holidays. Unfortunately, some of you come from broken families. You don’t get together anymore. But you long to have a family to share those special times with.
The first Christians loved to be together. Luke even records that “every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” Every day! Society has changed since then. Schedules have become less flexible. We can’t necessarily get together as a group every day.
Yes, it’s true that you can watch church online and receive the same faith-strengthening Word as in person. But you’re missing something. The book of Hebrews talks about it. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
What you’re missing out on is one of the benefits of being part of God's family. It’s that encouragement that comes from people who really know you, who see you week in and week out, who even care about you. It’s not just encouraging words written by a preacher halfway across the country who doesn’t even know you exist. Your brothers and sisters who gather here around the apostles’ teaching share words and encouragements from that teaching that are meant for you personally.
This is why Jesus brings us together. He brings me to you and you to me so that we can walk on this road toward heaven together. When one of us starts walking off the road, the other brings them back. When one of us is hurting, the other wraps their arm around them. When one of us rejoices in God's blessings, the other rejoices with them.
Next week, we’ll continue to look at the wonderful blessings God gives us as we gather together. We’ll continue to get ourselves ready for that day however soon it will be. Soon we will gather together again. And when we do, we’ll gather around the apostles’ teaching, learning from them just like the first Christians did about our Savior Jesus. We’ll join together in fellowship, sharing our lives with each other. Though we’ll return to our own homes each Sunday, we’ll walk together toward our heavenly home with Jesus.
