VITAL CONNECTIONS

VITAL CONNECTIONS Acts 2:42 With grateful acknowledgement of these sources of direction and inspiration: the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together; Larry Crabb, Connecting; John Stott, The Spirit, The Church and the World; Charles Swindoll, Strengthening Your Grip; Frank Tillapaugh, Releasing the Church; July 24, 2005 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, the last day of the festival, when thousands of multinationals were gathered downtown, that a very strange series of events took place, and a new community was born. Among the cacophony of hundreds of dialects and languages carrying on conversations, a couple of voices rose and gathered the attention of one little crowd after another. They were just a few religious fanatics ranting on, but there was also the unmistakable sound of an approaching storm. There was no wind, no rain, and not a cloud in the sky; but there was the sound of a wind. Soon the whole town was listening to them telling about Jesus. Unbelievably, what they were saying was crystal clear to everyone—and not just because miraculously they were all able to understand the speakers in their own languages, but there was an evident truth in what they said about the prophet Jesus. He had died at the hands of the religious aristocracy, but now He was alive. Within minutes conviction flooded the city square, and the hearts of every listener. Some three thousand responded in faith, interrupting the sermon and spilling hundreds into the public fountains where they were baptized into the name of the resurrected Lord, Jesus. These three thousand joined hands and hearts with the 120 original disciples, and the new community came into existence—the body of Christ, the community of the Spirit, the church. Doctor Luke recorded this magnificent Pentecost event, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, in the second chapter of the New Testament book of Acts. What happens in and through this beginning band of Christ-followers who were forgiven and filled with the Holy Spirit becomes the plot of the rest of the 28 chapters of the book. And how does Luke begin the rest of the story of the church? He has just finished writing the words and about three thousand were added to their number that day and he dips his quill in the ink and continues. Chapter 2, verse 42: They devoted themselves to the apostles; teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And with those few important words Luke summarizes what occupied the new believing community in the earliest, formative days of the church. In fact, the word he uses which we have translated as “devoted themselves” was also used to describe someone who was addicted. The picture we have here is of a group of 3,120 comrades in faith who were obsessed with these four unique behaviors. Verse 42 defines who they were by what they did; and as a result we have a cameo of the Spirit-filled church. And what they did was to connect with God, with spiritual leaders and with one another in vital ways through these activities. Let’s take a look at them and see what we can learn or re-learn about what the Spirit-filled church does to maintain its strength and vitality. First, they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching This means there was an intellectual pursuit of the Word of God through their leaders’ instruction. These people were not basking in some mystical experience, trusting in some feel-good, anti-intellectual emotion. They were certainly enjoying the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives, but they knew that faith must have solid moorings if it is to be solid and lasting. So they studied the scriptures getting fully acquainted with how Jesus fulfilled all the promises of the Old Testament. In many areas today the church tends to pit the “Spirit-filled” believers against the Word-oriented believers. And it is a shame. We are not to be “either-or”, but “both-and”. No one ever matured in Spirit or in truth who busied himself with accusing his brother of not being filled with the Spirit or not being astute enough in the Word. We need both—the Spirit and the Word affirm this essential balance. The plain fact is, Spirit-filled people are devoted to the apostles’ teaching and people who get the Word in them amplify their Spirit-fullness. What marks the biblical model of a Spirit-filled community of believers is that they are submitted to the authority of the Word of God. Further, they know that it is in and through the Word they will find spiritual nourishment, health and maturity. True believers long for the teaching of the scriptures; they crave pure spiritual milk, as Peter puts it (1 Peter 2:2), so that by it they may grow up in [their] salvation. You know, when people are really hungry for the Word of God, they rarely have time for fussing and fighting, murmuring and gossip? You see, it’s just not hard to tell the Spirit-filled church—they’re experiencing changed lives through the instruction and obedience of the Word. The Spirit-filled, first century church was a LEARNING Church! How did they do their Bible study in the first century? We don’t know exactly, but we do know that they heard the instruction of the apostles. Given the absence of sound systems and auditoriums, they probably divided up the Jerusalem congregation, maybe geographically, each apostle taking a couple of hundred. For there to be meaningful dialogue, question and answer time, and so on, they surely met in smaller groups for instruction and mutual ministry. Within weeks of Pentecost we find the believers meeting “from house to house” and gathering in small groups for instruction. The church at its best is vitally connected to Word. And sincere believers will always be searching out venues where they can be fed. Secondly, they devoted themselves to the fellowship The second vital connection of the Spirit-filled church is the fellowship. The New Testament Greek word used here is koinonia. It means simply, to have in common, and by extension, to work together in a common cause. Biblically, fellowship is two-dimensional—it is first with the Father, and then with the rest of His children. You cannot be in genuine fellowship with others if you are not in restored fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. They were devoted to the fellowship. What does that mean? God made us gregarious beings—He designed us to need others. Mamie made frequent trips to the branch post office. One day she confronted a long line of people who were waiting for service from the postal clerks. Mamie only needed stamps, so a helpful observer asked, “Why don’t you use the stamp machine? You can get all the stamps you need and you won’t have to stand in line.” Mamie said, “I know, but the machine can’t ask me about my arthritis.” People still need human contact. God knows how He made us, so when He created the redeemed community of the church He designed into it this commonality and unity. There are a lot of ways in which we are different, but as Christians we have some very fundamental things in common. We have all come to recognize our need of the Savior and have received Him through repentance and faith. We all who are Christians have God’s Holy Spirit resident within us who comforts us, leads us, gifts us, matures us and empowers us. All Christians have a common destination—to be with the Lord forever in heaven. These things make us closer than brothers and sisters. And the Lord graces us recipients of His love with the growing ability to love one another. This fellowship to which the Christians devoted themselves was a commitment to love each other, walking out the love of God in their relationships with each other. This is just as Jesus said it should be: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:12) But fellowship in the Bible is more than the good feeling of having such things in common. It is also our working together in the common cause. So the congregation of God’s people is not only a loving church, but a serving Church. These believers were learning the difficult art of putting one another ahead of themselves, meeting others needs before their own—being the new community of God! They were also committed to serving the purposes of God—reaching the surrounding world with the gospel of Christ. Neighbors, friends, co-workers, even strangers—the church saw all of them as someone to whom they owed ministry. They wasted no opportunity to meet needs, within and without the church family, as much as they were able (see  and 6). You see fellowship is much more than coffee and pie after the meeting. The Bible says that real fellowship is this: “The fellowship of the ministering to the saints” (2 Cor 8:4) as in sacrificial service and financial aid; fellowship in the gospel” (Phil 1:5); the privilege of knowing “the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming like him in His death” (Phil 3:10). Fellowship isn’t always pretty. In his book, My American Journey, Colin Powell wrote: On the speech circuit, I tell a story that goes to the heart of America’s longing. ABC correspondent Sam Donaldson was interviewing a young African-American soldier in a tank platoon on the eve of the battle in Desert Storm. Donaldson asked, "How do you think the battle will go? Are you afraid?" "We'll do okay. We're well trained. And I'm not afraid," the GI answered, gesturing toward his buddies around him. "I'm not afraid because I'm with my family." The other soldiers shouted, "Tell him again. He didn't hear you." The soldier repeated, "This is my family, and we'll take care of each other." That is the koinonia of the church. We are family and we take care of each other. We even take it in stride when we have to correct and rebuke one another, because we know it is done in love and our brothers and sisters want the best for us—and our best is always that we be conformed to the image of the Son of God. The people of God are strong for one another when the other is weak. We pray for each other, help each other, encourage each other, strengthen each other. That’s our fellowship in the Holy Spirit! General William Westmoreland was once reviewing a platoon of paratroopers in Vietnam. As he went down the line, he asked each of them a question: "How do you like jumping, son?" "Love it, sir!" was the first answer. "How do you like jumping?" he asked the next. "The greatest experience in my life, sir!" exclaimed the paratrooper. "How do you like jumping?" he asked the third. "I hate it, sir," he replied. "Then why do you do it?" asked Westmoreland. "Because I want to be around guys who love to jump, sir!" ‘Know what? I want to be around believers who love to love and love to serve! Thirdly, they devoted themselves to the breaking of bread There’s a third element of devotion here in the first church of Jerusalem: they devoted themselves to the breaking of bread. This is clearly a reference to shared meals—just a few verses down in chapter 2 Luke writes They broke bread together in their homes with glad and sincere hearts… Wow! That verse is pregnant with all kinds of beautiful things! Here again, they’re meeting with one another in their homes—small groups. And that wonderful, glorious phrase, “with glad and sincere hearts”! Sometime I’ll need to preach a whole sermon just on having “glad and sincere hearts.” Breaking bread with others was a colloquial term that meant to share a meal with them. That is so important in establishing genuine relationships, folks. But to the Christian community, “breaking bread” had a much more profound meaning than just eating—it was a clear reference to the communion. How much the apostles must have appreciated this sacramental time with one another as they recalled the words of Jesus at the Last Supper, This is my body…This cup is the new covenant in my blood…Do this in remembrance of me… [webmasters note Luke 22:19-20] For them communion was an act of pure worship. And they passed along that commandment to the new converts in this young church family; they had communicated clearly and carefully just how much it meant to remember the Lord in this way. We taught by Christian historians that the early church actually did share meals together and at an appropriate time during the meal they broke bread and shared the cup in remembrance of the Lord. So they mixed in a fresh and meaningful way their fellowship and their worship. One theologian wisely quipped, “Meaningful worship and meaningful meals are critical to any attempts at renewal, and one doesn't work well without the other. Never trust a Christian fellowship where Christians regularly worship together but don't like to eat together, or where they eat together but neglect worship.” The Spirit-filled church will devote itself to the regular breaking of bread in formal and informal settings. Fourth, they devoted themselves to prayer The fourth area of their devotion was prayer. Prayer is something Christians do as a matter of personal devotion to the Lord: prayers of praise and thanksgiving, petition and intercession. We want to dialogue with the God who loved and saved us. Prayer is a most natural and most essential aspect of our lives as believers. But in this case, Luke is probably not referring to personal and private prayer—he is referencing the fact that the Jerusalem believers devoted themselves to “the prayers”, which seems to refer to more formal or corporate prayers. Judging by the content of the New Testament’s teaching on prayer, these times of praying together included praise and thanksgiving, praying in mind and in spirit; prayers of intercession for leaders and those in authority, both in civil government—so they could live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (1 Timothy 2:2)—and in the church—as Paul put it in Colossians 4:3, And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message… Come to think of it, that sounds like a litany of the prayers offered in the prayer meeting here in this room yesterday afternoon. They also prayed for their witness in their communities and neighborhoods, praying as in Acts 4:29, enable [us] your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And they prayed for the sick to be healed as Jesus commanded His church to do. Prayer was a regular and central part of the church’s worship experience. Whether one or a dozen or everyone present verbalized the prayers aloud, all were engaged. That kind of praying with faith ignited zeal for sharing the gospel, sent missionaries forth, saw the church grow, shook buildings, brought miracles and will change the world! The early church was a praying church. The Spirit-filled church is marked by regular, avid corporate prayer. The world is lost without the gospel, millions are bound for Christless eternities, people are without hope and without God in the world, and we yawn as we pray for the kingdom. The announcement of a corporate prayer opportunity on Saturdays at 4:00 draws the attention and attendance of only a paltry few. I would suggest to this family of believers that the church that is not Spirit-filled will languish in prayer and the church that languishes in prayer will not walk in the Spirit’s fullness. That’s the cameo of the Spirit-filled church. It is a learning, loving, serving, worshipping and praying church. This is the will of God for the church. It is the will of God for you, as part of His church. You see, what’s good for the church……is good for the Christian. If you would walk in the fullness of the Spirit, you must be devoted to these things: 1. Learning from the Word of God. How is your Bible reading and study going? If you are not getting a steady diet of spiritual nourishment from the Word, which is the sword of the Spirit, you are dying of malnutrition—and the rest of your spiritual life is probably manifesting anemia, sluggishness and vulnerability to attack. I remind us all of Colossians 3:16 – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 2. Loving and serving in and through the body of Christ. Here’s a question: are you carrying your weight? If every other person in the church served with the dedication and commitment level that you evidence, where would the church be? Are you learning the mandatory art of loving others by engaging in relationships in the body of Christ? I hope you don’t see church as just a Sunday meeting. I hope your heart and commitment of loving service last all week long. 3. Worshipping. When you come to Celebration or worship in small groups is your heart in it? Have you let the meaning of the Lord’s table diminish to the level of empty tradition or a meaningless, perfunctory act? Are you actively and regularly honoring and praising the Lord with your lips and your life? If not, why not repent today and ask the Lord to restore to you the joy of His salvation? 4. Praying. We know it is the will of God that we pray continually, praying in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers, that we should keep on praying for all the saints, that we should pray for those in authority over us, that we should pray for the expansion of the kingdom, the salvation of lost people. But like the apostles in the garden, it’s just easier to sleep than to wait and watch in prayer. Let us change, in obedient response to the clear and uncomplicated Word this morning. Conclusion I want to conclude by bringing a practical exhortation to you about how you can find help and encouragement in these four areas. It is a method that was used in the first century church among the very believers we’ve been studying. It’s a method that underlies the entire history of the expansion and spiritual health of the church through the entire book of Acts and is latent in all the epistles of the New Testament. It has served Christian well through 20 centuries, bolstering the faith of believers, young and old, reaching the unsaved with the gospel and serving as the infrastructural backbone of the community of the Lord’s church. Small groups. You can call them cell groups, home groups, life groups, or whatever you want to call them, but know this: invariably, those who most consistently engage in these four areas of Christian maturity, those who most consistently are walking in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, those whose lives are being most rapidly conformed to the image of Christ, are those who are genuinely and meaningfully engaged with a group of Christian peers, meeting regularly and learning to be all that Christ calls them to be. On the contrary, those who have the most difficulty staying faithful in Bible study, who find it hardest to remain joyful in Christian service, who most find it laborious to attend and benefit from worship services, who most avoid real and edifying relationships, and whose prayer lives are far less than they want them to be—these almost without exception absent, excuse and rationalize themselves out of meaningful engagement with fellow believers in a small group setting. That ought to say something to us this morning. Small groups are the essential environment for the Spirit-filled church to remain Spirit-filled. It is there, far more than in a worship service of 100 or 10,000, where Christian nurture is fostered and fed. Why? Because in small groups a believer can get into relationships that take seriously such commands as love one another, prefer one another, forgive one another, honor one another, exhort one another, encourage one another, serve one another, pray for one another, and so on. There is nothing wrong, and everything right, with the large corporate assembly—the Bible affirms that strongly as well. Small groups are the essential environment for the Spirit-filled Christian. I am unabashedly urging you to participate in a small Christian group where you can find regular, meaningful, edifying and encouraging contact with just a few other believers. A great place to start, many have learned, is to get in on a new group as it forms. In just about six weeks our new line-up of Life Groups will begin. What an ideal time to do yourself the favor of getting in on this kind of vital connection. Don’t come looking for the perfect group. Every other person in your group is a sinner just like you with foibles and warts and needs. It takes effort and stamina to put up with others sometimes—just like it does for them in getting along with you. But—hear me well—it is precisely in this cauldron of discomfort where we grow the best. Because it’s where we learn to love the less than lovely and interact with maturity and the kinds of qualities that are the fruit of His Spirit. You know as well as I do that you never grow when you’re comfortable. It’s when we are being stretched and challenged that we grow strong in the spirit. Carmen Renee Berry's recent book, The Unauthorized Guide to Choosing a Church, was "inspired by her odyssey from the deeply conservative church of her childhood into the world of seekers and cynics, and back again." She eventually found that the very reason she withdrew from the church—her disappointment in church members who often failed to act as Christians—was what drew her back. She writes: I had overlooked one essential factor—that I am as finite and flawed as everyone else….When a friend committed suicide, I realized I could become too cynical, too lost, and too alone. I needed a church, a community of believers. I needed to live in my faith and visit my doubts. Something happens there that simply doesn't when you are alone in prayer or on the Internet. As much as I hate to admit it, my faith is enhanced and enlarged when in relationship to other less-than-perfect human beings. You need Christian relationships that will stretch and challenge and frustrate you. You need to spend some time with other believers who absolutely drive you crazy. Actually it won’t be all that bad—I’ve visited our groups and they’re all pretty easy-going groups. Of course, when you join them that may change! Here’s my point, in terms of a practical exhortation: Small groups are the essential environment for the Spirit-filled church, they are the essential environment for the Spirit-filled Christian. Small groups are the essential environment for a Spirit-filled . . . You!   [Back to Top]