Marks of the Healthy Church Intro

Introduction

If I asked you what the vital components of a healthy church are, what would you say? Would it have something to do with the programs we offer to care for our members? Would it be the size of our children's ministry? Would it have something to do with the style of music we play for congregational singing? Is it based on the version of Scripture we use or don’t use?

When you think about our church, do you think it is healthy? At gut level this might might not be a question that takes you very long to answer. But, I believe that we as a church need more than just a gut level assessment, and any good assessment comes comparing to a standard. So, for the next nine weeks, we are going to discuss what a healthy church looks like.

The Scriptures give us a clear picture of a healthy church. That picture is found in Acts 2:40–47 “And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Big IDEA "A healthy church anchors itself in God’s Word, thrives by the power of the Spirit, and overflows in love for one another."

1. The Word Drives Growth

Acts 2:41–42 “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayer

The book of Acts in the New Testaments history book.

Todays passage comes right now heels of a couple large events in the life the the church.

Being that Jesus had given his disciples there final directive before His ascension into heaven. Act 1. he tells them that they are to wait until the Spirit of God falls upon them, then they will be given the power necessary to be Gods witnesses in the world.

We see the day of Pentecost, where the Apostles are filled with the Holy Spirit, we see Peter preach with authority and power. The Apostles are filled with Holy Spirit and they speak in different languages so that the people in the crowd hear the gospel. And they see 3000 people come to faith in Christ.

So immediately we see a church established.

The Gospel was proclaimed They devoted themselves. The word "devoted" means to persist in, to continue steadfastly, or to remain constantly attentive. It is a strong, active, ongoing word—not passive interest or occasional participation.

To be a church you must be devoted to major things. The Word of God and the people of God. Now there are alot of thing that flow out of that, but in its most basic and crude form. It is that the Word of God and the people of God.

The health of a church is determined by what the church is steadfastly investing in. We see at the very origin of the church that it was devoted to 4 particular things: the Apostles' doctrine (teaching), fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. What the first church was invested in gives us a clear understanding of what we, as a church today, should be invested in.

Apostles' Doctrine or Teaching: The notes in the ESV Study Bible tell us that the apostles’ teaching “would have included Jesus’ earthly teaching plus what he taught the apostles in his 40 days of resurrection appearances.”

Jude 1:3: “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”

devotion prompted them to be Bapitized and assocate with the work that God was doing.

These first Christians were devoted above all else to the Word of God. The health of a church is determined by its proximity to the Word. The closer we stay to God’s Word, the healthier we will become both corporately and individually.

Fellowship: When we think about fellowship, we often think about game nights, dinners, "BBQ Battles," or "Muffin Mayhem." However, viewing fellowship only as social time is a narrow understanding of the biblical definition. Biblical fellowship is far richer than friendship; it is a Spirit-created, gospel-shaped sharing of life that flows out of conversion.

David Mathis defines it this way: “Christian fellowship — our holy commonality of sharing in one Savior, through one Spirit, as one body.” He goes on to say, “Fellowship, at its best, is comprised of deeply committed relationships, that is, covenant allegiance through thick and thin, through pain and inconvenience and awkwardness and annoyance.” 

When we think about fellowship, we should think about the "one anothers": admonishing, bearing burdens, and loving one another. This is corpurate function of the church.

Lastly we see them committed to the breaking of Bread and to Prayer. These I believe are the things the church does outside of the church. This is spending time together in a very specific and pointed way.

And the church grew!

2. Awe and Unity as a result of the Word.

Acts 2:43–44: “And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common.”

In this first church, we see amazing things happen: awe, wonders, signs, and radical commonality. Have you ever had an "awe" moment? A moment where you were so caught up in what was in front of you that the world stood still?

This awe was unique because it was ongoing and conveyed a certain weight regarding what God was doing. It was a keen awareness of God's presence. The word awe here is the word Phobos. It is the word that we get Phobia from. In the context that it is used here we see that it conveys awe around the holiness of God. Fear like Isaiah and wonder- I don’t deserve to be here but grateful that I am here. There were "wonders" (acts that astonish) and "signs" (acts that point beyond themselves to God’s truth). These wonders included tongues, Peter’s Spirit-fueled preaching, and the conversion of 3,000 souls.

However, perhaps the greatest "awe" was that the people had everything in common. The work of the Spirit caused a vibrant environment where they dwelled in unity. Anytime you get a large group of people aimed at the same goal without infighting, it is an act of the Holy Spirit. This unity began with their immersion in the Word of God.

This amazing work in that first church drew the people of God together. When the church is awestruck by God, it functions in amazing ways.

3. awe brings Generosity and a Growing Community

Acts 2:45–47: “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

From this work of the Spirit and the Word, we see the church live in deep generosity. They cared for the needs of those around them and prioritized community. They had an awareness of what was going on in the lives of the people around them and the worked diligently to make sure that physical needs of there brothers and sisters where taken care of.

Not only that, they prioritized hospitality and community.

They spent time together. They had people in their homes, they went to worship together.

The had glad and joy filled hearts and they where praising God. When the people of God are committed to the Word of God and to each other, God overwhelms them with gladness and joy and praise. It flow from them. We see that the church is excited. And when the church is excited, the church is diligent. And through what was going on in the church Gospel impact was made in the community.

Acts 2:40-47 The Church in Seed Form

We look at this passage not as a rigid checklist or a program to copy, but as a picture of spiritual health. Acts 2:42–47 shows the church at its healthiest—not because it was large or impressive, but because it was shaped by God’s Word and Spirit. Every major feature of a healthy church is present here, even if in an early, "infantile" form.

Connecting Acts 2 to the "9 Marks"

Over the next nine weeks, we aren't introducing anything new. We are simply giving clear biblical language to what Scripture already shows us here:

Apostles' Teaching: The foundation of Expositional Preaching and Biblical Theology.

Repentance and Baptism: A Biblical Understanding of the Gospel and Conversion.

Bold Witness: Biblical Evangelism.

Covenant Fellowship: Church Membership and Discipleship.

Awe and Holiness: The roots of Church Discipline and Accountability.

The Work of the Apostles: The importance of Biblical Church Leadership.

"Ultimately, the health of this church doesn’t depend on our programs, our music, or even our best efforts. It depends on our proximity to Jesus. The first church was healthy because they were CAPTIVATED with the Savior who died for them and the Spirit who lived in them.

As we study these '9 Marks' together, let’s remember that we don't strive for health to earn God's favor; we strive for health because we have already received it in Christ.

Let’s go from this place devoted ponder how we might as church be more commited to His Word, dependent on His Spirit and then connected to his people.