From Vertical to Horizontal

Go Vertical to be Horizontal: Key phrase to focus on and remember Introduction • Good morning. • You guys are troopers making it here in this weather • Thank you for your commitment Second sermon: • I am excited to give our 2nd sermon in our series: Answers for the storms of life • Where we were learning how to go through times of crisis and keep our heads above water Before we begin, let’s review the goals we want to accomplish before the end of this series • To learn what the Bible has to say concerning life’s trials and times of Crisis • To learn ways to view our challenges from a new perspective, taking a different approach, that can lead to different outcomes • Using Biblical truth to equip us with successful strategies to move through the storms Last week: • Last week our phrase to remember was “Don’t Do, Just Come” • Which means coming to Jesus in all circumstances which includes the storms of life we face. • I call it going vertical to Christ • It’s the vertical relationship we have with God • We also learned that when we come to Jesus, He promises: • To give us rest in our present life and circumstances He also promises to give us Eternal rest – Our assurance that God has made us His ownand securesour eternal salvation • Last, He promises to walk with us through our storms giving us His strength and endurance to persevere with hope and peace The phrase we want to focus on and remember today is, “GO VERTICAL TO GO HORIZONTAL • We’re going to learn that our fellowship with God (the vertical) leads to our fellowship with each other (the horizontal). • These horizontal relationships are a powerfultool God gives us during trials when we come to Jesus Now it’s very important to know • That going Vertical is integral to the horizontalwhen coming to Christ • They are not separate from each other. First, the bigger picture that will put things in perceptive • Now before we look at these horizontal relationships • We must first define what the Biblical Church is - along with all its characteristics • We’re going to do this from a very broad perspective. • Think of it as a view from a 10,000 foot elevation • Now as we look at the Biblical church, it may seem like we are moving away from “Answers for the storms of life.” • But please bare with me because… • What we will be learing will build a fundamental foundation for us to confidently go to other believers in times of crisis So from this 10,000-foot view, the church is: • The Body of Christ with Jesus as the Head of the Church • And it’s universal in which we all belong and are united to each other • Regardless of where you live in the world Now there are some common misconceptions of what the church is: • Some people think it’s a building we go to every Sunday • Some may see it as an organization who wants your money • Or a group of self-righteous hypocrites that judge people. • Some see it as a bunch of different denominations who believe different things. Churches that are separate from other churches • Some people view the church as a place we go on Sundays to just check the box so we can please God • Or a place we go to receive lessons for life or information about the Bible • Now this is not to say that there aren’t church’s out there who do these things. Unfortunately there are • But they aren’t by definition a Biblical church The Biblical church is • A body of people who have come to faith inGod through Jesus who live life together in all its ups and downs while representing Jesus in the community. • Now to get more details regarding a Biblical church, we are going to answer 2 questions • But what makes a church a Biblical church? • And what are its characteristics? Biblical truth: Well rather than quoting a number of Bible verses, I’m going to summarize Scripture to help answer these questions • When we come to faith in Jesus, God adopts usas His sons and daughters. Because of God love, He brings us into His family. • This family is the Body of Christ, the church. It’s people not a building • And in His family, we are individually united to each other. Regardless of the local church service we attend • Think of it as a larger picture of your immediate family now. • As a family, we stir each other up, encourage each other in love and in good deeds. • We serve each other by supporting and contributing to the needs of others. • And we share one another’s burdens. Now the Bible has much more to say regarding Christ’s church. But remember we are looking from the 10,000 foot level. We will take a more in depth look at the Church in another series. Context: As we come to our text today, let’s go to the events that happened just before our Scripture focus • Picture yourself in a crowd of thousandsof people as a man steps up and begins to preach. • The man preaching is Peter, one of the apostles who followed Jesus during His 3 years of ministry on earth • We listen to Peter preach the Gospel of Christ shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus • And then we witness something amazing. 3000 people are saved that day all because they heard the Gospel proclaimed This sermon and the events we pictured ourselves in leads to the Scripture were focusing on today. Acts 2:42-47 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who nwere being saved. Exegesis • These versus give us a great description of life with the first group of believers. • So, let’s take an in-depth look at the life changing truths regarding the broad picture of the early church. • I want us to visualize life in the church as part of God’s design. • Also, to see the characteristics of the early church. • Because these characteristics are a powerful tool God gives us to help us through the tough times. I’m going to hammer on verse 42 because it’s the driving force behind the 5 verses that follow 📷 It starts with, “They devoted themselves to” • They: Refers to those who came to faith in Jesus • And the key action they took was “They Devoted themselves” • Now let’s not forget that the vertical precedes the horizontal. • Before they could devote themselves to each other, they first had to be devoted to God through Jesus. • The results of this devotion further explained in the verses 43-47 • The key point is as we devote ourselves to God, we receive a new heart and mind, the mind of Christ that values our devotion for the sake of others rather than ourselves. • The 4 areas in which they devoted themselves to: 1st, they devoted themselves to the Apostle’s teaching: - The Apostles were men Jesus chose to follow Him during His 3 year ministry on earth - These new believers were learning Biblical truth. - They were learning about Jesus’ life, His teachings, His commandments, and His promises - They were learning how to love God and love each other. • Learning from the Apostle’s teaching led to incredible life changing results • They were devoted to Fellowship: - This is more than just spending time together. - More than just meeting on a Sunday for an hour or two. - This fellowship can be described as: Unity, sharing a common purpose, and being of one heart and mind - Fellowship was supporting each other during the ups and downs of life - Being generous as they met each other’s needs In a nutshell, they were living life together • Breaking bread together was part of their devotion - This means they shared meals with each other on a regular basis, just like our immediate families do. - They also participated in the Lord’s Super, or communion to remember all that Christ has accomplished for them. - Now if you are unfamiliar with the Lord’s Super, don’t worry about it - We will be teaching on that very soon . • And last, they devoted themselves to Prayer: - This included individual prayer as well as praying with each other. - Prayer is essential in church life because a prayerful life is a relational life with Jesus • Now I know what some of you may be thinking. • What am I getting myself in to. This sounds like a cult or communism. • I assure you that this is not the case. • These believers did these things voluntarily. • They distributed their resources as the need arose because they wanted to, not because they were forced to. • They chose to do these things because of their new life in Jesus and all He had accomplished for them. • To put it another way it Originatedfrom the vertical and manifested itself in the horizontal

• As I said earlier, verses 43-47 explains in more detail what this devotion looked like. But for time’s sake, we are going to move to verses 46-47

• Maybe you would like to study these verses for homework next week

Verses 46-47

• Well, verses 46 and 47 describe the attitudes they had when devoting themselves in these 4 areas.

- They had glad and generous hearts

- And they praised God with thankfulness

- This is the reason for their voluntarily devotion

Now verse 47 has a very important

• Unbelievers were witnessing the devotion the church had for God and for each other

• The result was that the church found “favor with all the people”

• I believe they saw something they were longing for.

• Something I believe our community is longing for

• Well this led to the next result. The “Lord added to their number day by day”

• You see, Jesus never meant for His church to hide itself from the outside world

• Instead, He wants us to represent Him in our daily lives (Monday to Saturday) that will attract unbelievers to God

• We are God’s instrument to show Jesus to our community

Application and Conclusion

• So with all that said, why is this information importantwhen it comes to facing the storms of our personal life

• Well I’m going to begin to answer that question with a question.

• Can you imagine yourself as part of a church like this? How it could change your life, your families lives?

• Because when I read this Scripture, I see lives filled with hope, peace, and joy

• I see a church dedicated to God and each other.

• A group of people that we can go toin times of crisis sharing our struggles and the painful emotions rather than going at it alone

• People who are willing to be self-less with their time and resources

• This is part of God’s design of the church.

• We devote ourselves to the vertical to give us a heart for the horizontal.

• This is my vision for Thunder Basin.

• This is the vision God gave me for our community that I am wholeheartedly committed to.

• A body of believers that resemblesthe early church I just described.

Now, I am realistic.

• The vision for Thunder Basin isn’t for everyone. And that’s ok.

• There are other Biblical churches that may be a better fit.

• I am also very aware that these relationships don’t formovernight

• Everybody has their own comfort level as they connect with the church.

• People want to feel free to choose their own level of commitment and involvement without feeling pressured or forced to do something

• AND I GET IT

• So I want to share my story with you

• A few years back, Beth and I found a church we loved

• We loved the pastor and his teaching.

• We loved that it focused on the Bible.

• But the vision for that church is similar to our vision

• And this scared me because I’m an introvert. I spent many years going to this church coming in just a bit late and leaving as quick as I could so I didn’t have to talk with anyone

• You know what I’m talking about. You keep your head down trying to get out without making eye contact

• Basically walking around like a fugitive

• Now I didn’t know it at the time, but I longedfor this kind of connection with people

• And as time went by, I experienced God working in my life, experienced the love of Jesusand it changedmy heart and mind

• Now I’m still an introvert. I still find it difficult to talk with others. But what Jesus has done for me far outweighs any of my fears.

• So, if you long for these strong relationships but are intimidated by it, that’s ok.

• I find that the key is to not let it become an obstaclefor you.

• So if you long for these strong relationships but are intimidated by it, THAT’S OK

• Because you will connect at the pace God knows you’re comfortable with.

• Well personally, I am excited to see how God, not me, but how God will impact the lives of those who join our church family

• How God will use us to impact those yet to come to faith

• And how God will transform and impact our community as a whole.

LET’S GO VERTICAL TO GO HORIZONTAL

Prayer