The Church of Jesus Christ: Mission (2)

Oh, what high and holy privilege Once again to gather here In the name of our Lord Jesus As we see His Day draw near May we join in joyful reverence With thanksgiving, faith, and love As He welcomes in His people To the throne of grace above

6 Components of a Healthy Church

1. Preaching and Teaching of the Word of God

Acts 2:42 “42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching ….

2. Practicing the Ordinances

A. Believer’s Baptism

Acts 2:41 “41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized…

B. The Lord’s Supper

Acts 2:42 “42 They were continually devoting themselves……to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

3. Meeting Together in Unity

Acts 2:42–47

The third component of healthy churches is a steadfastness to continually meet together.

Before we look at this passage in Acts 2, look with me at the context leading up to Pentecost.

Acts 1:13–15 “13 When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. 15 At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together)

Also chapter 2:1

Acts 2:1 “1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.”

Now it is natural to assume then that as the Holy Spirit fell, the community that existed during the ministry of Jesus, and after his resurrection, would continue on and grow rapidly. Acts 2:41-47 reveals that growing number that remained together.

Notice with me a three particular phrases mentioned in these verses…

v. 42- They were continually devoting themselves…to fellowship

All the components listed in v 42 were listed with the assembly in mind. There is no isolation here. This is the church gathered and practicing the healthy components of church ministry. This is not private devotion, this is public community.

Koinonia is the GK term for fellowship and it speaks of togetherness physically and union spiritually. You cannot have fellowship when you are apart bodily from one another for extended periods of time. Your fellowship is broken when we do not gather. We all for a time experienced a broken fellowship during COVID when we did not gather. There were missing pieces in our spiritual lives. Why?

True Community begins with a Spiritual Union rooted in Jesus Christ

True Koinonia, fellowship, is rooted in the idea that our fellowship chiefly is with God the Father, Son, and Spirit. We are in relationship and fellowship with him like previously in the garden of Eden before sin entered the world. Christ has brought reconciliation and peace with God. We join others in our union with God through Christ and are thus united to one another in fellowship. Its a spiritual connection.

1 John 1:3 “3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

Jerry Bridges writes regarding community;

a relationship that consisted of sharing together the very life of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They understood that they had entered this relationship by faith in Jesus Christ, not by joining an organization. And they realized that their fellowship with God logically brought them into fellowship with one another. Through their union with Christ, they were formed into a spiritually organic community. They were living stones being built into a spiritual house

Bridges, Jerry. True Community: The Biblical Practice of Koinonia (Function). Kindle Edition.

You cannot have biblical fellowship if you are present together bodily but disconnected and in discord spiritually.

True Community means the Visible Church cannot have Spiritual Disconnection

When unbelievers exist in the visible church there is a supernatural discontinuity with those who are believers.

2 Corinthians 6:14 “14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?”

There can always be fellowship with darkness and darkness. Sin begats sin and I experienced this in my unbelieving college revelry days. Ungodly activity always seeks companionship because it longs for true community. True companionship is found in Christ. Fake community settles for cheap companionship that seeks to please self and its fleshly desires. True community seeks the good and the needs of others first.

True Community menas the Visible Church cannot have Spiritual Discord

Our spiritual union starts with believers gathered together but it continues when believers are not divided in sin. The divided church is a church that has taken its eyes off of Jesus’ goal for the church and it has adjusted to its own fleshly goals instead. Our spiritual union requires us to annihilate sin that exists in our lives so that the body is not diseased from ignored immorality.

Churches operate week by week in spiritual discord when they are not seeking peace and reconciliation with one another. Arguments lead to bitterness and backbiting. Bitterness leads to anger and unforgiveness. From there there often is usually recruitment and siding with one party or another. Factions in the body kill local assemblies.

Paul tells then Ephesians:

Ephesians 4:1–3 “1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

True unity comes when we live like Jesus among one another. We are not called to tolerate with one another. We are called to love one another. We sacrifice for others and their needs. We seek peace when disagreements arise, no matter how awkward they might be. Some of in here may be embittered at another to the complete surprise of those who are offended someone else. We must seek peace and reconciliation for the sake of the beauty of the bride of Christ and the glory of Its groom.

True Community means the church must physically be present consistently

v. 44- All who believed were together

There is such a necessary component to gather together with God’s people. We must gather together as God’s people for two reasons:

God created us for community

God commands us to community.

God Created Us for Community. From the beginning, it was not good that man “be alone…I must find a suitable helper.” Man was not meant to be alone. First, God gave Adam a spouse but then blessed him with a family. That family grew to a tribe and eventually a nation of people. God made us to be with other people…regardless how introverted you may consider yourself to be. Consider the efforts the corrupted world wants to isolate you from other people. Now consider the ramifications when you are constantly alone. It bears a heavy toll on your heart, your soul and your mind.

Dr Greg Gifford spoke in a podcast on loneliness and said often times our loneliness results from our

“worship of comfort (I don’t want to be inconvenienced to cultivate friendships) and worship of control( I don’t need people or I can only be around people who I like, appreciate, or who are like me).”

Jesus demonstrates not only that his mission included companionship with his disciples, but that many of those men had awkward and difficult personalities that Jesus endured for the sake of demonstrating community.

IT IS OF SPIRITUAL NECESSITY to be GATHERED TOGETHER WITH ONE ANOTHER IN THE CHURCH.

Secondly, God commands us to be in community.

Hebrews 10:24–25 “24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

Forsaking the assembly of the church is to neglect spiritual responsibilities to one another and the spiritual union we possess. Let me encourage you friends to firmly establish in your spiritual disciplines the gathering for worship on the Lord’s day. We have too many excuses that keep us from the assembly of God’s people. We allow emotions, exhaustion, and everything else to be prioritized over the gathered church.

WHY?

We have individualized our spiritual habits. It is our private devotions with the Lord, our private prayer to Him, our private struggles with sin. Some come to church to check boxes but not commune with the Lord and his saints. If there are distractions to regular commune with the gathered church, you must remove them. They are no different sinful temptation than that which leads to lust, discontentment, or idol worship.

When others areas of life come before gathering with the church, are we not like Cain offering something to God as an offering, but not offering our best?

I found this pretty humorous in relation to this topic..the absentee alphabet

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 678 The Absentee’s Alphabet

A is the Auntie who will come to tea; B is the Bed that won’t release me. C is the Car—we do need fresh air; D is the Dinner just Mom can prepare. E for Extremes—too high or too low; F for my Feelings—when they’re right, I go. G is the Garden much nearer God’s heart; H is my Husband, who won’t play his part.

I for Intruders who sit in my pew; J is for Jokes which tires me so much; L the old Language, it’s so out of touch; M is for Money, they always want more; N for New tunes I’ve not heard before. O is for Overtime, double on Sunday; P the Preparing I must do for Monday, Q the Queer noises that come from the choir; R is the Reverence they never inspire.

S is for Sermons, as dull as can be; T for the Television we really must see. U for Unfriendly, no welcome I find. V for the Voice of that woman behind. W is the Weather, too cold or too hot. X for Excuses, I’ve got such a lot. Y for the Yells from the kids left behind. Z is for Zeal, which is what I can’t find!

Now some may ask, Pastor, isn’t it pretty legalistic to require such a heavy yoke as church attendance? My answer is NO. he Lord commands the church to “not forsake the assembling”, it is pretty clear.

4. Meeting the Needs of Others

The fourth component of a healthy church is the physical and spiritual needs that the local body meets. It provides for the hurting and the suffering of this world for this type of care is the way that Jesus modeled for us in his ministry.

Service

We saw as Jesus showed compassion on the physical hurting and the needs of the people. We saw him feed the hungry, care for the abandoned and outcast, love the unloved, heal the sick. As the church our goal should be the same as the Lord Jesus when it comes to meeting physical needs.

Look with me at what Jesus taught in Matthew 25:35–40

“35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

Now Jesus is NOT stating that these benevolent and merciful works earned people a place in His kingdom. He is saying that those works of kindness actually were evidence that they belonged to the Kingdom. Those acts of kindness and mercy were done to the “least of these” who needed food, need clothes, needed help in whatever way physically. This is the what people of His kingdom do while in this world.

Fast forward to our passage and we see the same things in Acts 2:44

Acts 2:44–45 “44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”

Here the early church is pooling their resources in order to help those who had need in the community and in the church. It appears that Luke’s uses of “anyone” emphasizes that even unbelievers benefited from the generosity of the church.

Consider also that generosity comes with a price. It costs much to be a generous church. It requires the act of self-denial in order to care for the phyiscal needs of others around us. We can sacrifice our “ME” time, our $8 Starbuck Lattes, our latest TV/Movie subscriptions in order to buy someone a bag of groceries.

Something I learned when my dad passed away that really made me so proud to be his son. My mom shared that my dad would consistently tip the workers at his local fast food restaurants when he went through the drive through. He would offer some tidbit of advise for them about working hard and he would hand them some cash. I am sure he could have assumed in his mind how these people might “waste” his money on frivolous things but he didn’t. He just gave cheerfully to people who needed it more than himself. I know that honored the Lord because he did that and because no one ever knew about it from his own testimony. He didn’t post it on FB or instagram for any praise.

Consider how much of an opportunity we have as followers of Christ to reflect the benevolent character of God who gives good gifts to the “just and the unjust.” There is no prerequisite needed for kindness and being a servant to the world. People should not have to apply and get a background check for us to be kind and help them in any way possible.

When we serve others with kind acts and generous gifts, we often get an opportunity to share the life changing message of the gospel with them. But we have to slow down long enough to see their need, move obediently with the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and be willing to give sacrificially of our own surplus that we have been blessed with.

Prayer

The second aspect here is spiritual needs. We will look at evangelism and sharing the gospel next week, but chiefly, the church gathered for prayer.

Acts 1:14 “14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”

Jesus had just commanded them to gather and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. They knew the task that was set forth ahead of them that Jesus promised them. Their response was to pray. Pray for one another and pray for the mission set before them.

I have included prayer in this component because prayer must be Christ-centered prayer for His mission to be accomplished in us and in one another. Our prayers have a foundation of the mission of Christ to make his glory known and his eternal kingdom to come. That is the base layer of all our prayers as Jesus prayed,

Matthew 6:9–10 “9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”

As we pray according to the will of our Father, we ask Him to meet the spiritual needs of one another in prayer. Our prayers are Christ-centered supplications for the saints. We petition with purpose for sin to be repented of, families to be focused on Jesus, work to be done heartily to the Lord and not men. We pray for others to prosper in their faith in Christ in our local assemblies and across the world. We ask God’s provision on missionaries, on church planting, on gospel centrality local, nationally and globally.

When the church gathers in prayer, it creates a resounding chorus of dependance on the Lord to carry out his will among his people and in His world. It is depended on His power and rests in His purposes. Our supplications and pleas are simply a chorus of bleats from His flock as we rest in the leadership of the Chief Shepherds will and guidance.

As we learned at the end of Ephesians chapter 6 from Paul,

Ephesians 6:18 “18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,”

Consider the refrain from the Psalms,

Psalm 40:1 “1 I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.”

David tells us two vitally important truths here:

We must wait on the Lord to accomplish his purposes…

But while we wait, we can actively pray. David’s cries and pleadings to the Lord were active as he waited for God to work. He prayed and waited and trusted and hoped.

I say this because the early church waited on the promises from the Lord. Promises of his Spirit and the Kingdom of God that was promised to come. While they waited, they prayed in the Upper Room. As God began to move and work they prayed together as an assembled people. A unified voice to pleas for God to work.

When we gather friends, we are invited into the Throne room of our Father, to make pleas before him for ourselves and for one another. We have no reason to fear entering into HIs presence because Jesus has made a way of peace. We come before him, pleading for His will to be done, pleading for his kingdom to come…as individuals and in community. We brings requests for our brothers and sisters in need before him. We brings requests for our families before him. We bring requests about our nation and world before Him. Then we wait on Him!

We wait trusting that his answers will come according to his gracious and wise will. Our waiting is a building up of our trust in His goodness and his mercy. It dispels our self-gratification of instant answers and instant results.

The Spurgeon Study Bible: Notes Chapter 40

Do beggars not wait long for a small handout? Should I not be content to linger at mercy’s gate for such great gifts as I am craving? We do well to wait patiently until Jehovah’s time to help since we know that “as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him” (

In our service towards others, let us be merciful and self-giving. In our prayers for others, let us be bold and full of faith as we wait on the Lord. In our gathering together as God’s people, let us be relentless and consistent as God has joined us as one in Jesus Christ, His Son.

Let’s pray!