Sermon Tone Analysis

One heart and soul...

32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.

33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.”

The believers had prayed and God’s Spirit had filled them and given them new power.

The church that depends on believers praying will know the blessing of the Holy Spirit in its ministry.

How can we tell when a local church is really filled with the Spirit of God and the Spirit of generosity ?

Well just go back to to the record of the first filling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and compared your observations

, “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 were being saved.”

God commands us to give and be generous – but more importantly, He shows us how and what being generous means.

God gave us everything we have: the world, our lives, and Jesus.

And God shows us His unfailing generosity in the giving of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Please consider what Paul says to us in

,“ What then shall we say to these things?

If God if for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

So if God has given us His only Son, Jesus, what would He ever hold back from us! God bestows His blessings without discrimination, without being a respecter of persons, what He had done for others, He will do the same for any of us His children.

The followers of Jesus are children of God, and they should manifest the family likeness by doing good to all, even to those who deserve the opposite.

When a person becomes a Christian, they become industrious, trustworthy and prosperous.

Now, if that person when they get all that they can and hoards it all and does not give all they can.

I have more hope for Judas Iscariot than for that person!

For they have betrayed Christ as well.

If a church is truly filled with the Spirit of God there are three characteristics that will always stand out!

First, teaches that a Spirit -filled church is a unified church.

It is a church that has a God-given spiritual unity, not a man-made organizational uniformity.

The church of Jesus Christ is an organism not a organization.

It is a organism because it is alive and growing.

Of course we understand that a organism must be organized because to the lack of the organization of an organism will cause it to die.

Yet, we must guard against the church losing its spiritual life and ministry to the institutional issues of church and allow the Holy Spirit of God to reign.

Secondly, a Spirit-filled church must be a generous church, a church that ensures that the storehouse remains full, that all of the needs of the church are met, and that all the needs of those in the body are fulfilled.The more you give, the more comes back to you, because God is the greatest giver in the universe, and He won’t let you out-give Him.

Go ahead and test Him.

See what happens.

Give, and it will be given to you.

Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.

For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.

Thirdly, a Spirit-church is always being multiplied, because the Lord will daily add new believers to the church.

Evangelism will not just be the work of a chosen few, but the daily delight and ministry of the whole congregation.

In the early church, each member sought to become an effective witness for Jesus Christ, no matter where they happen to be.

This is what allowed the church to go from 120 at Pentecost to over 5,000 in such as short time.

This morning we are going to look at one aspect of the evidence of the unity of the church which was their sacrifice in giving, their sharing in all that they had with one another, and their sacred understand of Christian generosity.

They were able to do this things because all that believed were of one heart and one soul.

All that believed had one heart and soul... and they had everything in common.

All that believed had one heart and soul... and testify to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

All that believed had one heart and soul... and there we not a needy person among them.

The question this morning is really simple, do you believe?

Let us pray...

All who believed had one heart and soul... and they had everything in common.

, “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.”

When we look at this passage we see a compelling, convicting, and clear message that if we are believers, then we should have one heart, a heart that beats for God and the things of God.

A heart that is attracted to truth and the pursuit of truth, and a heart that is generous to a fault.

We should also have a soul that is unified with Christ, unified with each other and unified in our desired to give our all for the God that gave us His Son to give His life for all for us.

Giving our all means giving our all through a solid understanding and faith in the knowledge that we can never out-give God.

Charles Spurgeon once said this and I can testify that it is a true statement, “In all of my years of service to my Lord, I have discovered a truth that has never failed and has never been compromised.

That truth is that it is beyond the realm of possibilities that one has the ability to out give God.

Even if I give the whole of my worth to Him, He will find a way to give back to me much more than I gave.”

So we see here that the congregation of those who believed had grown so rapidly that they were no longer even numbered.

He we see that the starting growth was the direct result of the action recorded in verse 31, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

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The unity of the believers who were of one heart and soul through their great generosity towards one another really gave a powerful witness to what Jesus says in

, By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Jesus also in His high-priestly prayer, Jesus prayed in

, “21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.22

The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

Here we find the basis of their having everything in common, they all had one heart and soul, they all believed, their belief gave them the desire and the freedom to shared all that they had.

They were free indeed, free to the point that they no longer felt that they must hoard and look out for themselves,

, “2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.4

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,”

They were free because of the message of Christ and they now believed that He was their provision, that He was the planter of their harvest and if they shared it was fine because He had plenty and would repay any sacrifice that they made.

, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.7

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.8

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.9

As it is written, "He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.11

You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.12

For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.”

We see a parable in that should give us great pause and that we should paid much attention.

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” ().

The idea of “to whom much is given, much will be required” is that we are held responsible for what we have.

If we are blessed with talents, wealth, knowledge, time, and the like, it is expected that we use these well to glorify God and benefit others, yes, so, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

In context, Jesus had just told a parable about being ready for His return.

His disciple Peter asked if the parable was for just them or for everyone.

Jesus replied with another parable in which He defines the “faithful and wise manager” as one who gives out food and other allowances “at the proper time.”

When the master returns and finds the faithful servant managing his resources well, he “puts him in charge of all his possessions” If we are faith in a little we will also be faithful in much.

Listen, we have been entrusted with certain things, and faithfulness requires that we manage those things wisely and unselfishly, Jesus continued the parable with a contrast:

“Suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk.

The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.

He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows” ().

The unfaithful servant that mismanages the master’s resources does it to satiate their own greed, and Jesus warns that judgment is certain for that servant.

The Lord then summarizes the point of the parable with these words: “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more” (verse 48, ESV).

It is easy to assume that only wealthy people have been “given much,” but, in truth, we have all been given much ().

We have been granted the abundant grace of God (; ; ; ), the Word of God, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit (; ; ).

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” ().

We should also not assume that the less we know about God and His gifts, the less we’ll have to do.

As evident in Jesus’ parable, we are held responsible to know our master’s will.

God has plainly shown us what He requires.

God gives us resources such as finances and time, talents such as culinary skills or musical ability, and spiritual gifts such as encouragement or teaching.