Acts 04_32-37 Spirit-Filled Church

Read Acts 4:31-37 – A cartoon shows a people walking out of a church. One says to another, “That was our contemporary service. Next is our traditional service following by a classical service and a casual service with sports emphasis.” No wonder we’re confused about what church is all about! Well, this morning, we have another version to consider. How about a Spirit-filled church? Where God reigns and the Spirit leads. What’s that look like!

After the first persecution of P&J, the church gathered to pray and all were “filled with the HS.” So right away, we see a Spirit-filled church is characterized by prayer. Prayer first, middle and end. Always prayer.

The results that follow provide a pattern for our own little portion of God’s church worldwide. We see that Spirit-filled believers are characterized by their Words and by their Works.

Characterized by Their Words

Many things define Spirit-filled words – words that are encouraging rather than critical; truthful rather than hedging; kind rather than harsh; helpful rather than complaining. Harsh, judgmental words are not Spirit-driven. But the words Luke highlights here even deeper meaning. They 31d) “continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” 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.” Look. Spirit-filled people speak God’s Word – the good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus. They do it boldly, even where it’s not popular. And they do it graciously – not harshly.

We often quote St. Francis of Assissi who may or may not have said, “Share the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.” But the truth is, words are necessary. Moral actions without words don’t mean much. Someone asks, “How do you stay sane with the chaos in your life?” Instead of saying, “Yeah, it’s difficult,” how about, “Jesus keeps me sane.” “Oh, really? How does that work?” And you’re soon presenting the gospel. Someone asks, “Why church?” “Bc I love Jesus.” Simple! It can be inviting a person to church or Bible study – helping a friend in need, and in Jesus’ name. Giving a tract or book. Can we do that boldly?

Boldness comes from the indwelling HS and knowing the results are His to produce; ours is but to get Christ into the conversation. Boldness also comes from knowing the facts: why Jesus could die for others (His perfect live, and divine nature); knowing the evidence for His resurrection (empty tomb, eyewitness testimony, especially from women, changed lives of skeptics, etc.) These increase confidence and get conversations started.

Another bold step? When people have problems – ask if you can pray for them. They’ll never say no. So just a short prayer can speak of the living Jesus. In Radical, David Platt tells of meeting 2 brothers in India, Anil and Hari – living in an area of extreme poverty where Christ is almost unknown. Anil is a school admin; Hari a chicken farmer. They love their jobs but wanted others to know Jesus. They decided to go to an unreached village, walk into town and say to the 1st person they met, “We are here in the name of Jesus, and we would like to pray for you.” Crazy?! Maybe. But at the 1st village they entered, a man approached, and Anil began: "I am here in the name of Jesus…" Before he finished, the man interrupted and said, "Jesus? I’ve heard a little of him. Can you tell me more?" Could they?! Within a few weeks, 20 people came to faith in Christ. Within 3 years, 350 churches were planted in 350 villages – bc two Spirit-filled men gave “testimony to the resurrection of the LJ and great grace was upon them all.” It’s not always that easy. But as we pray for HS boldness, the results may shock us as well.

Characterized by Their Works

But it’s not just words. The presence of the Spirit is also seen in the extraordinary, unworldly love He places in Spirit-filled hearts.

A. They Were Unified – They were “of one heart and soul” --among thousands of people? How sweet this fellowship must have been! There was an unbreakable bond there around their relationship with Christ.

That doesn’t mean they agreed on everything. Often we define unity as all having common opinions. Everyone out of the same mold, like the Stepford wives. But that is not the picture. Real unity has great diversity. What makes unity beautiful is not that everyone looks alike and thinks alike; what makes unity beautiful is when people from widely diverse backgrounds with highly divergent interests, abilities, personalities and resources are working together toward one common goal – becoming like Christ and sharing Him with the world! That’s unity. Diverse people headed the same direction!

A sign outside a school in Ipswich, NH read, “You are unique – just like everyone else.” Funny, yes. But it expresses a great truth. We are all unique. There’s never been another You! Yet the beauty of the Xn faith is how God molds all great diversity into unity of people having “one heart and one soul.” I want to be a part of that. And we can. The Spirit within is never at odds with Himself, so the more we give up control to Him, the more He will lead us in our own diverse way to be one with the great whole – the body of Christ.

That’s not easy. We all think our way is best. But here are our orders: Phil 2:2-4: “complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3) Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4) Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” That’s our orders. Not insist on your own way bc you’re right, but consider the rights and interests of others first. Hard, yes, but so worth it.

Imagine hitting a tennis ball. Think how all body parts function together to do that? Yet each does something different to make it all work. The brain analyzes angles and extrapolates speed and distance. The eyes zero in on the target. The arm positions the racket, and the legs rush to the spot. Then in one coordinated effort, you strike the ball. Different functions – one end goal. But if the arms say, “Not today,” or the lungs refuse to expand or the feet say, “We’re going to the pool”, you’re done! There’s no beauty in the parts doing their own thing. Neither in the body of Christ. But when it’s “one heart and one soul,” we picture the Trinity working in perfect harmony. The privilege of being unified is staggering when you think about it.

And notice the result: the leaders are serving the people, not lording it over them. And the people are trusting the leaders, not trying to set them straight. The leaders have made a plan for meeting a need. The people come with their offerings – not taking them individually to those in need but laying gifts 35) “at the apostles’ feet,” who then distribute it in an equitable fashion. Inspiring stuff! This is unity at its best. And this exemplifies the trust and love between the persons of the Godhead in a way that brings ultimate glory to God.

Can we give up some rights for the sake of unity? Can we subordinate our interests to the good of the whole? Can we gloss over insensitive comments for the sake of being of one heart and soul? The beauty of our witness and, incidentally, the reward or loss thereof before our Father in heaven, depends on how we answer those questions. Spirit-filled people have unity of purpose in the diversity of their skills, and it is magnificent to behold. Magnificent.

B. They Were Unselfish – The generosity of the early church was really staggering. 32b) “And no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. . . . 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.” Amazing!

Xn communism? No. The sale of property was voluntary. Peter tells Ananias in 5:4: “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal?” Property rights were not banished. In 5:42 the apostles taught every day “from house to house” indicating private ownership. Acts 2:45 clarifies: “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” This was voluntary Xn charity, not dictatorial Xn communism.

Willingness to share shows Xn commitment, and that was never on display more than in these first days. Wealthy people were willingly selling assets to the point that “there was not a needy person among them.” Incredible generosity. While their property remained their own, they considered it available to the community at large as need arose. Incredible generosity.

This was in the days before government subsidies. If you ran out of money, that was it. Widows and orphans were particularly vulnerable as there was no recourse except the charity of others. We can be thankful for the public assistance available to us and take advantage of that as the need arises. But when the need exceeds available help, we must be standing by. Jas 1:27: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.” That’s not a house call. That means we are available to help in any way we can, with labor, money or whatever to ease the burden of those who help themselves. That should define us.

I love that our young people lead the way in our church with their service projects, and our adults as well, with meal deliveries, benevolent fund and other means of helping as we know the need, but we must always be checking. Can we honestly say, “There was not a needy person among us?”

The exception is someone who could help themselves but won’t. II Thess 3:10-12: “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11) For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12) Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.” We’re not here to support the lazy and idle. But where a real need exists, Spirit-filled people engage! Our generosity should be so marked that the world remarks, “What in the world got into those people?” And our answer is, “The HS, that’s who?” Excessive generosity is the norm for Spirit-filled people; let’s make it’s our norm.

John Wesley had three rules for money. 1. Gain all you can – by which he meant be industrious in work. 2. Save all you can – by which he meant save as opposed to spending on luxuries and trivialities. He’d be pained to see how we spend today. He said, “Lay out nothing to gratify the pride of life, to gain the admiration or praise of men.” 3. Give all you can – by which he meant, God’s given to you to help those in need. To stockpilers he said, “You may as well throw your money into the sea…. Not to use it, is effectually to throw it away.” The reason for gaining and saving is to give at the proper time and place. Wesley made a fortune in his lifetime, but he practiced what he preached – living frugally and giving most of it away. Great challenge to us.

C. They Were Uplifting – At the end of this passage, Luke introduces Barnabas. We’re going to hear a lot more about him. Real name – Joseph, but nicknamed Barnabas – son of encouragement. Isn’t that a great name? Wouldn’t you like to be known as The Encourager? So much more edifying that “The Terminator”, or “The Dictator.” The Encourager. Barnabas was that. In Acts 9 we’ll see him standing up for the new convert, Paul, when everyone else is scared of him. In Acts 11, he’s sent to pastor new converts in Antioch. He brings Paul out of obscurity to minister with him there, and, in Acts 13, goes with Paul on his first missionary journey. Barnabas’ cousin, John Mark, goes but gets cold feet and quits. When it’s time for another mission trip Barnabas wants Mark along, but Paul doesn’t want a quitter. Yet God uses it for good – sending two teams instead of one – Paul and Silas, and Barnabas, The Encourager, takes Mark, who later earns Paul’s great respect.

That’s the character of this man – a Levite who sells a field and brings in the money – another way of encouraging. Levites were helpers of the priests who were not allowed to own land of their own, but Barnabas is from Cyprus, and perhaps owned land outside of Israel. In any case, he had it, but sold it to meet the needs of others. A Spirit-filled man. Spirit-filled people are not critics; they are encouragers. They light fires of inspiration rather than conflict.

Martin Luther was a faithful servant – a leader. But he said this about church, “In church when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way through.” God help us to be those who help kindle that fire in each other – respecting, encouraging, urging each other on to ever greater heights of service and devotion. That’s the Spirit at work in us.

Conc – Temecula, CA is prime wine country. Someone driving thru once saw a beautiful vine so perfect it looked fake. It abounded with huge clusters of luscious grapes. Underneath these vines, somebody had painted on a wooden board the words, "Abide in me and you will bear much fruit." In contrast, on the other side of the road stood a lonely, withered branch. Lifeless, leaves dead, looking pathetic -- useful for nothing. It had a sign also: "Apart from me you can do nothing." Great illustration. We don’t need new and better methods; we need more prayer, and more HS. We need change that can’t be explained in natural terms, but only in terms of the power of the HS. It’s all up to us whether we would be fruitful, or doing nothing. Let’s pray.

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