God Grows His Church

Introduction

Turn with me in your Bibles to Acts 2:42, Acts 2:42. We are going to see God grow his church this morning. When Christ revealed His church to his disciples, He showed how his church would be built, It would be built upon the bedrock of confessing Jesus is the Christ. Matthew 16:16, 18 “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God...And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The church is built on those who profess that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God. Jesus is the rock of our salvation. There is no other foundational cornerstone. (1 Cor. 3:11; Eph. 2:20) But he doesn’t just want a foundation slab and nothing else to happen. He wants every Christian to grow in their faith after their profession of Faith. The apostle Peter likens every Christian to a living stone that makes up a spiritual house. (1 Peter 2:4-6)

Last week we saw at Peter’s sermon application that 3,000 people trusted Christ as Savior and were baptized and added to the church. The Jerusalem church now was full of new born again Christians.

How does a church with so many young Christians grow? I am talking about new believers regardless of their age. Maybe you are here and you feel like you don’t know the God of the Bible well. How do you grow as a Christian?

My friend this passage reveals practical principles for not only a healthy church, but a healthy Christian. God doesn’t intend us to be passive bumps on a log if we are going to be growing Christians, Christians that grow in relationship not only with God, but other believers. We must be actively obeying through dependence through dependence on the Holy Spirit. Paul states that we are to show the evidence we are saved by our works and God works in us to do his good pleasure. (Phil. 2:12-13) Today, I want to look at our responsibility in church growth.

Acts 2:42–47 “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

D. God works in his Church.

P. As Christians we ought to cooperate with God in his work in our church.

1. The Christians continue.

Acts 2:42 “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

Acts 2:46–47 “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people...”

Explain

Who continued? This is the second and third time this word is used in Acts. The first time it is in an extended prayer meeting. This time it is in the context of church growth in the sense of spiritual maturity.

The new converts with...

The 120 in the upper room

including the apostles

No restoration of biblical standards in worship or evangelism, spirituality or church growth is possible without a restoration of biblical preaching.

Dick Lucas

those newly added to the church.

Gladly received the word.

Have you gladly received the Word and are you following the Savior?

Don’t just be a happy fair weather friend.

Followed the Lord in believer’s baptism.

They made it public and possibly experienced shunning by family and friends.

How did they continue?

Daily interactions with their church family.

They were faithful to come and learn.

The were devoted. How would outsiders describe your commitment to church.

When Miss Claudia explained to one of her granddaughters that she goes to church three times a week she responded with: You must love Jesus a lot.

Do you come together with believers faithfully? Are you there for the church services you can make or do you make excuses of well they want too much of my time? These folks met daily, every day they were meeting.

One accord

They had a likeness of mind.

The believers had prayed with oneness of mind in Acts 1:14. God is blessing this church and this oneness of mind continues in their midst as they fellowship together in the Gospel.

Why do some churches get off in this area.

Their must be biblical teaching on the Word of God.

Their must be submission to the teaching on the part of God’s people.

Their must be a willingness by the local church to follow their Pastor as he follows Christ.

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”

1 Peter 5:1–3 “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.”

Praising God

As they daily come together it isn’t about constraint and expectations. It is about praising God. When we come to church, what is your motive for coming?

Accountability. That’s good, but that’s not best. You don’t want people to think the worst of you. Perhaps you are operating on the fear of man or habit. I think we should come to church habitually, but our commitment should lie deeper than that.

My friends. Again going to church to meet with other Christians is good. We need the fellowship of other believers, but you can get friends at any social club.

Your God, ultimately should be why you meet together for church. It is because of Christ we meet together. In Him alone lies are commonality. He it is that is the Savior. We meet together to praise our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” )

For what are you praising God this morning, this week?

I praise God for the safety for my Father-in-law who was in an accident this week.

My salvation in Jesus Christ.

Our church family and their faithfulness and the visitors God has brought our way.

Having favor

God gave them good favor for a while in the church as the church was established and became strong in Christ.

The people around them respected them.

We find this changes as the church continues to grow and that the religious leaders want them to stop preaching in Jesus name. Acts 4:18 “And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.”

In what did they continue? The apostles doctrine, 2) Fellowship, 3) breaking of bread, and 4) prayers.

The apostles doctrine

The apostles doctrine would have been comprised of what Jesus taught the Apostles during his earthly ministry. Matthew 28:20 “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

The Holy Spirit brought to their remembrance what Jesus taught John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

The Holy Spirit showed the apostles the future. John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

breaking of bread

Where: House to house

How:

Gladness

Singleness of heart

This is hospitality: Hospitality is a biblical and necessary quality in churches. I believe it is essential to a thriving church. Hospitality is cheerfully sharing of my food and provisions with others. We are given several biblical guidelines for hospitality.

Pursued Opportunity: Romans 12:13 “Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.”

Friendliness to strangers:

1 Timothy 3:2 “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;”

Titus 1:8 “But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;”

Not with complaining: 1 Peter 4:9 “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.”

To the least: Matthew 25:37-40

Some have argued this may have been observance of the Lord’s supper, but this is impossible to prove as the breaking of bread is used in a general sense most of the time.

It could refer to a meal that included the Lord’s table and a common meal.(cf. Acts 2:46; 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16; 11:23–25; Jude 12). Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 360.

prayers

This a reference to corporate prayers.

The habit of prayer is good, but the spirit of prayer is better.

Charles Spurgeon

The church was a praying church. We spoke of praying together successfully several months ago. I see the pattern here again. It begins with being obedient to Christ. Note again the believers were continuing in the apostles doctrine. That’s obedience.

They were of the same mind with other members as we find also in verse 46 even though the church has grown to several thousand.

They kept praying together. They were faithful in their normal Jewish worship of praying, but did so with a new worship of Jesus Christ.

Where did they continue

In the temple

The temple lasted to AD70.

It appears that the Jerusalem church didn’t see the need to separate from Judaism, but saw what Christ was the fulfillment of Judaism. They continued practicing their Jewish faith in the temple.

From house to house

They also shared fellowship with other believers on a more personal level in a smaller group setting.

This allowed for these believers to get to know other Christians in a more personal way.

Illustrate: The church continued

An avid sports fan continues to keep up with his favorite team and learn as much as he can about them. He watches the games and knows about his teams players.

The farmer or rancher knows his animals and must regularly move them about and make sure they have pasture and water and monitoring.

The gardener takes special care and notice of her plants. She weeds, fertilizes, waters, and harvests her garden.

So the Christian who is serious about his faith, goes to church faithfully, read, memorizes, and meditates on God’s Word the Bible. They keep in touch with other Christians throughout the week and at church.

Apply

Are you a continuing Christian? John 8:31–32 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Do you follow God’s commands are cultural dictates. On sexuality, anger, complaining, abortion, your time?

Are you biblically correct or politically correct. Do you know your Bible enough to know the difference?

A continuing Christian loves to

be with God’s people. Whether it is going to church or sharing a meal with fellow Christians. There is an enjoyment to be had being with fellow Christians.

They love learning and obeying God’s Word. It is not just a mere academic exercise. James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

Take the time to prayerfully examine your life. Do you just hear God’s Word or do you hear and obey God’s Word.

Breaking of Bread may refer in general to hospitality. It may also include celebration of a church meal concluding with communion as well. Do you have friends at church. Do you show yourself friendly. Proverbs 18:24 “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

Prayers - Do you come to church prayer meetings? Do you care about praying for others.

When you feel disinclined to pray, let it be a sign to you that prayer is doubly necessary! Pray for prayer! The Sealed Hand-A Winter Sermon, Volume 58, Sermon #3289 - Job 37:7

Charles Spurgeon

2. The whole City is concerned.

Acts 2:43 “And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.”

Explain

Fear came on every soul.

There is a respect for the church because of the Gospel message and the affirmation of that message through the signs and miracles of the apostles.

sign is a thing that causes awe and wonder.

Miracles - pointed to a divine truth.

There was a nervousness throughout all Jerusalem about what was happening in the church at Jerusalem.

Signs and miracles:

It may have been as the land of Canaan feared the Israelites when they came to claim the land. So the believers and non-believers alike feared God because of the great deeds done by the apostles.

For example, Acts 3:1-6 tells the story of Peter miraculously healing a lame man in the name of Jesus. In Acts 5:1-9 the Holy Spirit reveals to Peter that Ananias and Sapphira lie about how much they sold land for and die at his feet. Acts 5:15 tells the amazing miracles done by just the mere shadow of Peter passing by. Peter heals another lame man, Aeneas (Acts 9:38), he raises Dorcas to life (Acts 9:39-40); Peter’s miraculous deliverance from prison when Herod was planning on killing him the next day (Acts 12:1-11).

Many of these miracles and signs are not recorded for us in the Word of God, but they bore witness to that first generation of the church that the message was true. Now we have a the perfect word of God for us today and no longer need these supernatural miracles to affirm the message. (1 Cor. 13:10)

Argue

Why don’t we do signs and wonders as the apostles today?

Those were for a time to affirm the message of the messenger.

The apostles are said to have done many such signs. They were given by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 14:3 “Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.”

Illustrate:

Proverbs 21:11 “When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: And when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.”

Apply

We have the affirmed Word of God today preserved for us today. We don’t need to doubt the Bible. Instead we ought to fear God and keep his commandments.

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Do you have respect for God’s Word. Or, do you read it and forget it. If we will have fruitful lives for the glory of Christ we must take his Word seriously in our lives. Jeremiah 26:10 “When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house.”

Get a devotional from the back if you are new to reading your Bible.

Try reading a chapter from the Gospel of John a Day. Then move to Romans.

While we don’t have the many signs and miracles of the apostles before our eyes we do have the completed Word of God. Walk in it and let it dwell in your richly. Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

T. As a Christian continues in the faith and walks in the fear of God their will be a greater care for each other.

3. The Christians have mutual care.

Acts 2:44–45 “And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.”

Explain

They had all things common. That doesn’t mean they were forced to all share their stuff for the common good. Some have used this passage to teach a sort of “Christian communism” model. But this is not what the Bible teaches.

Those who had sold as they saw fit. The verb is imperfect. It shows an ongoing action that occurred as needs arose. The Christians were sensible to these needs as it appears that those who were at Pentecost visiting Jerusalem may have extended their stays to learn all they could from the apostles about Jesus and his teachings. Barnabas was one of those men who had land and sold it for the needs of those who had needs.

So maybe someone had an extra change of clothes they sold or few extra farm animals. Maybe they had a field they sold. These folks gave generously for the needs in their church.

They gave according to need. We have many people who are confused about needs and wants.

A want is a TV, phone, a fancy car, fast food, video games, etc.

A need would be clothing, basic food, and shelter. 1 Timothy 6:8 “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”

Argue

The seeming communal conditions should be a model today, right? No.

God created work before the fall of Adam into sin in Genesis 3. It is a gift of God to be exercised by every able body person. God’s Word lays out a six day work week with a day of rest the seventh day. (Exodus 20:11)

Paul was tough on those who didn’t work. 2 Thessalonians 3:10–12 “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”

What about those who cannot work?

God intended for family to care for family.

Your family: 1 Timothy 5:4 “But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.”

Years ago this was done by children taking care of their aging parents in their own homes.

Now, the concept of nursing homes as a money making venture is only something that has occurred with the advent of social security and more fully with medicaid. https://www.nextavenue.org/history-of-nursing-homes/

The bottom line is God expects children to care for their family, not the government.

Then if your had no family and you were a widow who was faithful and at least sixty your were cared for by your church family.

Illustrate:

I know of ladies in our church who make food for those who are sick, or hurting.

There are folks in our church who have reached out to meet the needs of those in our community.

We have faith promise to help meet the basic needs of our missionaries, so they may effectively reach people for Christ.

Apply

God wants us to be giving like this early church.

2 Corinthians 9:7 “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

Giving tithes to the church helps the church pay it bills, the pastor, sunday school materials.

There is also a benevolent fund you can choose to give to as well above tithes.

The people in Jerusalem were in a unique situation for a while. Sometimes there may be needs that someone has in our church family or community and we can be used of the Lord to help meet those needs. Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

4. God blesses the Church with daily conversions.

Acts 2:47 “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

Explain

God builds his church.

God uses the witness of his people to build the church.

God saves people.

1 John 2:2 “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

2 Peter 3:8–9 “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Argue

We are told to witness right? Yes. God has promised:

Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: It shall not return unto me void, But it shall accomplish that which I please, And it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

1 Corinthians 3:7 “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Psalm 119:130 “The entrance of thy words giveth light; It giveth understanding unto the simple.”

Psalm 119:50 “This is my comfort in my affliction: For thy word hath quickened me.”

Psalm 119:93 “I will never forget thy precepts: For with them thou hast quickened me.”

Illustrate:

Adam

Van contacts

Apply

What have you done with Jesus?

This verse is a reminder that I am just a worker in ripe harvest fields. God is the one who gives the increase. So be faithful. The church grew because God blessed it. But also in conjunction with their obedience to the apostles teaching, faithful church attendance, hospitality towards one another, and corporate prayers.

Conclusion

Lake Baptist Church must be a church that continues in the Word. We seek to be corporately, but it begins on the individual level. Will you choose to continue to follow and obey God’s Word.

Be concerned over your walk with God.

Be Caring about others.

Be confident God will build his church. You be faithful to continue going to church and live a disciplined Christian life. Be faithful to care for others and let your light shine. As you do God may see fit to help you win one and keep one this year.