Whose Church is This?

What should the church look like? What is your view of the church?

Intro

Who owns your home?

Who owns your car?

As long as you are paying on it the bank does.

Now who owns the church?

We should view the church like our home.

How many of us expect the church to reflect the things we want and like?

The first thing we should recognize as we study Acts is this is the building up of the Church and that the church belongs to Jesus, the risen and ascended Christ.

Martyn Lloyd Jones:

Authentic Christianity Chapter 1: Christianity—The Only Hope

Some people say it ought to be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. That is quite wrong. It is Jesus who dominates.

Authentic Christianity Chapter 1: Christianity—The Only Hope

Some people say it ought to be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. That is quite wrong. It is Jesus who dominates.

Before we can understand what is happening in real time and space, we must realize who is in control of all things, Jesus.

This world is not in the hands of the politicians; it is in the hands of this living Jesus, this risen Christ. This is the message: God the eternal Father, the Creator, the Owner of all things, has handed over the business of this world and its redemption to His Son. And He has “all power … in heaven and in earth.”

Lloyd-Jones, M. (2000). Christianity—The Only Hope. In Authentic Christianity (1st U.S. ed., Vol. 1, p. 16). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Jesus is over all things especially his church.

What should the church look like? What should we look like then?

Do your expectations of the church, this church, line up with the church established by Jesus and governed by him?

Drama

We are witnessing the beginnings of the church. We will look at the foundations of the church and see how Christ builds on his church.

Disciples gather

12-120

Deal with the issue of Judas

Betrayed Jesus and is dead

need a replacement

Peter leads this as the Rock on whom Jesus will build His church

The church is the work of a risen and ascended Jesus

Mission is spreading a message of reconciliation

Doctrine

four truths:

Christ’s Church is a visible church

Made up of people

Some are elect - disciples

Some are not - Judas

God uses both for his glory

disciples

Judas

Christ’s church focuses on Scripture

A people with a biblical worldview

sees fulfilment in what God said in His Word

understands it as a means of God’s grace now

teaching and instruction

practical living in the world

Martyn Lloyd Jones

Authentic Christianity Chapter 1: Christianity—The Only Hope

The message of Christianity is not about improving the world, but about changing people in spite of the world, preparing them for the glory that is yet to come. This Jesus is active and acting to that end, and He will go on until all the redeemed are gathered in, and then He will return, and the final judgment will take place, and His kingdom will stretch from shore to shore.

120 people gathered for Peter’s Sermon

emphasis on the preaching of God’s Word

practicing biblical truths

Peter’s point is that the Holy Spirit was the author of what was written concerning David

David wrote as inspired by the HS

Christ’s Church is full of witnesses

A people who witness what Christ has accomplished

in History as recorded in Scripture

and what he is doing in the lives of them today

conversion experience

other moments where God has revealed himself

all of these are a way to witness

a message of reconciliation

Authentic Christianity Chapter 1: Christianity—The Only Hope

Do you realize now that the essence of Christianity is not that it calls you to do something, but rather that it tells you what Jesus came into the world to do for you?

Christ’s church is a praying church

Trusting in God’s providence

chose a man based off of God’s wisdom not mans

trusted in God’s involvement in the life of the church

Jesus Kingdom who is actively redeeming a world to himself

Trusted in the fact that God answers prayer

The lot fell to Matthias

He became an apostle appointed by God

Jesus himself taught us how important prayer was:

He would often retreat to the mountains to pray, teaching his disciples to pray, what to say. Showing them the importance of prayer. teaching them that prayer was a drawing close o God.

He even prayed so fervently that he sweat blood and one time his face shone and clothes shined white.

He taught them to pray for the growth of the church and during this interadvent period to pray persistently as they awaited his return.

We should be a praying people as Jesus does.

Doxology

There is no doubt that a person who is within the church can fall away from the things of God and even be lost. Judas, who was a part of ministry was a part of the visible church but never the invisible church.

So too can a church look on the outside like a church, but of does not have Christ as it’s head and seek to be faithful to the things of Jesus, fall away.

Seven churches in Revelation:

Actual churches that represent the whole of the invisible church throughout this time of waiting on Christ’s return.

Ephesus - loss of it’s first love. (Jesus)

Smyrna - A church under persecution

Pergamum - Hold teachings of others who are not Jesus

Thyatira - tolerate Jezebel a prophetess who is leading them toward sexual immorality and idolatry

Sardis - dead church

Philadelphia - The faithful church which Jesus gives an open door.

Laodicea - Lukewarm

“To the one who conquers”

We must be a church of people who submit to all things Jesus:

Scripture, being a witness, and praying

This is what a faithful church should be focusing on and doing.

Let us be a faithful church to our Lord Jesus Christ,

“through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.