Sept 8, 2019 - Morning Service

But all the house of Industry real therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ. This Jesus whom you crucified. Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles Brothers. What should we do and Peter said to them repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the Forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the holy spirit for the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off everyone whom the Lord Our God calls to himself. With many other words, he bore witness and continue to exert them saying save yourself from this crooked generation. So those who received his word were baptized and there were added that day about three thousand Souls. praise God

Thank you Paul.

Now this morning we're going to like I said, we're going to leave the Book of Luke for this morning will be back tonight. By the way, we're being chapter 18 if you want to look at that. Well, before we continue this has been a baptism Sunday. Let's congratulate all those who got baptized baptized today. Can we do that?

I'm going to ask them all to stand in the back as we dismiss this morning. So if you want to give them a personal congratulation, please do that as well. So what I'd like to do today is for us to consider this text in Acts Vector. We're going to go a little further than Paul red in just a moment. Let me turn to it now. but I'm Paul has at this point in the text has just completed the very first sermon that was preached by the Christian church. After Jesus went back to Heaven. It was on the day of Pentecost and it was amazing. The sermon was amazing. The response was amazing. It says that over 3,000 people accepted Christ. They were baptized that day Peter has been sharing to a Jewish audience the story of Jesus the Jesus who came to Earth who was there long promised Messiah and the Maasai of all people the savior of all people in but yet rather than receive their bisaya Peter went on to say that the Jews because of sin and we're all Sinners by the way, not just the Jews not because of their sin. They rejected their Messiah and they caused him to be crucified but Peter goes on and he says that that that was all part of

Grand Plan of Salvation that he came infected died for Sinners to die for sin and he did it for us. In fact, look at verses 36 through 38 again. It says let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucify now when they heard this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles Brothers. What shall we do? And Peter said to them repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the Forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit know today as we go on here keep your Bibles open. I want to focus on the answer to the question that was posed by the congregation that listen to Peter sermon that day. We just read it. They heard the sermon they were cut to the heart and the thing they said is what shall we do? And I want to focus on the answers to that the come right out of scripture. The first answer is repent. Isn't that what Peter said first repents thousands and that you'd congregation. It says we're cut to the heart. They recognize their sin. They saw their need so they repented they sincerely confessed their sin and turn to Jesus as their Messiah as their savior as their lord. In other words. They became Christians. They became sincere followers of Jesus Christ, you know, repentance repentance is not just regret. It's not just feeling sorry for the bad things the things that we've done that's part of it, but the reason I say that that's not what repentance is it because that it's just right there and verse 37. It said that they had already been cut to the heart. Okay. They already felt that kind of sorrow and now when I ask what she Do Peter says repent? It would be pretty odd for Peter to tell them to do something that they were already doing. Right? So repentance is more than just feeling sorry for even even regretting your sin. It means following through on that conviction and turning around until repentance is it's a reversal of the direction of your life toward Christ. That's repentance toward God. It's turning from sin to Jesus by faith. It doesn't mean you live perfectly now, but it does mean that the course of your life has been irrevocably and decisively altered because you've repented you've turned that's what repentance is and that's the first answer to the question. What shall we do repent? But after repentance and verse 38, the next thing it says is be baptized. Look at it with me be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for baptism fits in today. Here. We are about 2,000 years after the first sermon and four people were baptized for the same reason that those 3000 were baptized on day one. In fact after this service still be another church coming in and they're going to have five more people get baptized. So they'll be at least nine in this building this morning. I imagine that if you went all around the world, there might be three thousand today that are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. But that's irrelevant. because be baptized comes after repentance the first fruit or action of the Christian Life. Once you become a Christian by repenting and turning to Jesus is baptism baptism. Like I said before is going public with your face. Your faith in Jesus. Jesus wants every man every woman every boy and every girl who has turned from sin to follow Jesus to publicly identify themselves as followers through the active baptism baptism. God could have picked I suppose you know God is God he could pick anything he wants he picked baptism. He could have picked some other way to do this to identify with Jesus to publicly identify. He could have said we're special clothing. He could have said put a nose ring in your nose. So can I put a cross around your neck? Where is Christian t-shirt or where are get a tattoo now in our in our culture, that would probably be very popular ones that I wouldn't it but he chose baptism. Why did he choose baptism never thought about that? I've given that some thought. Well, I think the answer is this because baptism is a beautiful picture of what happens to a person who in faith and trust turns from send to Christ for their salvation explained a little bit fact. I need you to help me little bit. I want to read a verse somewhere else. It's 2nd Corinthians 5:17. Someone knows that verse raise your hand if you know that verse and we'll quote it for us. Okay, I didn't say Wolk order for a Stihl for the first one with you quote that verse for 2nd Corinthians 5:17.

Yep, little more the old has gone.

Amen, therefore it perfect gift for kleinhans. I was great. I put them on the spot and he came through if anyone is in Christ. He is a new creation. The old has gone on are passed away and behold the new has come you say that's what baptism pictures baptism pictures death passed away. The old has passed away and it baptism pictures of death burial and Resurrection the new creation. We are New Creations in Christ. That's what happens to us when we repent believe and we are saved. Baptism is a word but the actual word literally means to dip or to immerse something and figuratively the meaning is to identify with something. They both kind of come into play when we use the word baptism see the word baptizo or baptism was commonly used in this new testament times for the in the industry that would die or color cloth or wolf. Okay, if a cloth maker wanted red cloth, they would dip or immerse or baptized. The kloth Innovative die, right and when they pulled the cloth out of the dye it was different. No, it was still the same cloth. Right but it was different the. I had so identified with the cloth that even though it was the same cloth. It was forever changed by the. It was the same but it wasn't the same.

If you have believed in Jesus Christ, and you're sitting in this room this morning, if you don't believe in Jesus Christ, you've received him as your savior that has already happened to you. You are a new creation. The old has passed away and behold. The new has come God for the Holy Spirit has entered into your life. Okay, and he's so identified with you and with you and with you and with me who have turned our lives to Christ. He's so identified with us that we're still ourselves. But we're all so different. New spiritual life has begun that will never gets knocked out. Isn't that great? That's amazing. That's the good news of the gospel for all of us. And that's what baptism picture it says your old self when it came to Christ and repentance and Faith was buried and it and it died. So the picture baptism is someone is buried in the water symbolically. It's a picture and they're raised to New Life That's why I say that when I baptize them. Okay, but not only did where they buried and died but a new self kind of colored with God's presence in spirit was born You are now a new creation. That's why God chose the public active of a baptism as the symbol because they pictures what happened in us when we believe in Jesus Christ. It's it's awesome.

Now what I'm going to keep going back to that now what well the first two now what sort of this some of you perhaps in this congregation this morning need to come to Jesus Christ and trust and faith cuz that's the first step and have your sins removed and get this new life that baptism pictures. That's what you may need to do this morning. I hope you'll do that. If you haven't done it, it's a great gift and you don't have you don't know how much time you have to receive it and accept it you have today so do it today. That's the first now what and then for some of you who have done that. The next step is baptism. And so it's time perhaps for you to get in the water. And declare your faith publicly.

So what we're not done yet? I want to use this passage to ask the same question again. Okay, after turning to Christ in faith and baptism the question is not what should we do? Okay, I think the narrative after this if you go back to your Bible after this shows us what was important to those very early Christians and nothing has really changed is still important for us today. I'd like maybe before I go any further to say I hope each one of you decide to write down.

Maybe there's one thing that I that is shared from God's word this morning. That should be your now. What now? What should I do? Okay, so make this personal and I shared to already maybe it's one of those to believe in Jesus that have their sin forgiven. That's the most important one or two be baptized. That's an important. One two, I'm going to share three more that come out of the tech that follows and maybe by the end God will show you that this is your now what this morning? Think about it that way I think this narrative shows us what needs to happen. So we're going to look at verse 42. In fact, I'm going to put it on the screen and I'm going I asked you to help me this morning by let's read this together. Okay out loud. Okay. Now what and here's what they did ready and they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers now that I believe is actually unfolded in the following verse. That's so we're going to go ahead and read some more verses in a minute. Let's read it together right now and then I'm just going to make a few brief comments about these verses that we just read verse 43 through 47. Can you can you see that? Okay, let's read it and all came upon every soul and Many Wonders and signs are being done through the Fossils and all believed were together and had all things in common and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to our call as any had need. And day by day. Is there more? Yeah and day-by-day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. They receive 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 were being safe. Thank you. You did a good job. Okay, I'd ask you to plug yourself, but that's kind of dumb, right? Okay. Three things. I think we could kind of draw out of this section that I think are really key. Now. What's that the early Christians did and we are really due to the first is this they worshiped together. That's kind of focused on the togethers here cuz they're altogether thinks. Okay. This is all kind of a part of true Christian fellowship and you kind of see it here in this passage. I mean they were together weren't they they were attending the temple together. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching together and they worship and praise God together, you know, which is what we're doing today right here. Okay. This was all part of Fellowship. I don't talk about that a little more later. I'll leave that the fellowship and but let's start with worship. They worship together. They valued the worship of God as Believers in Jesus. They value the worship of the God who loved them and save them and change them. It was it was one of the priorities of their lives and it's one of the themes of all redeemed people wherever they are. It's one of the themes it's always there and it's right through the Bible. I mean if I'm just a couple examples writing the book of Acts in I mentioned it in the baptistery Paul and Silas were in the Philippian jail. And if you read that passage, they were worshiping the Lord sitting in their chains in the middle of that jail before the earthquake happen worship intro as it says that the people intro as when they were visited by the Apostle Paul, they were worshipping and they actually worship Him late into the night so that even some people fell asleep and fell out the window. I thought I don't recommend that I don't think that happened at the back-to-school bash. Did it? No one fell off the monkey fall out a window here. You're fine, right? Okay, it was upstairs there the bottom line whenever people whenever transform people whenever baptized Believers and Jesus met together. They would meet together in big groups or small groups to worship God. Okay. They wanted that they didn't just have to do that. They needed that they wanted to do that, you know, and they needed that it was a priority that they had set in their lives and we find out all The New Testament in Hebrews 10 24 and 25. It reminds us. Let us consider how to stir one another up there being together to love and good works.

but encouraging one another And at the center of what they were doing according to the scripture, we just read was the apostles teaching. We find the apostles teaching right here. We've got it right here in the Bible. We've got it today. We need to privately and corporately here and and and take in the word of God into our lives. It's not only for church on Sunday, but it's her everyday of Our Lives the apostles teaching and they kept meeting together. You knows. It said that not just because they needed it for their continued growth and they did need that for their continued growth. And so do we But also listen to this also because they were continuing something that begin with on the day of baptism. They were going public with their face and they were continuing to go public with their faith. They were publicly declaring day-by-day week-by-week. You know that their faith in God and in Jesus Christ was one of the most important things in their life, you know, what Jesus they were saying has priority in my life. He comes first, you know sleeping in Day trips beaches second place Jesus first place. He comes first. I worship God first. You say it's true that our actions speak a lot louder than our words. Christianity is not a private faith never was still is it? Okay doesn't mean we're obnoxious about our faith, but it's not a private thing. We have a commission to go to all the world and and ask his disciples and declare the good news. We do that with our words and we do that with our action. We publicly profess our faith and baptism because we want the world to know that we are believers and followers of Jesus Christ so they can know him too and when we publicly declare our faith by worshipping God as a priority by making it a priority in our life in our family we continue to make a statement to the world. A world that does not know God.

But on the other hand when we say that we're Christians and followers of Jesus, but people don't see any priority in our lives that were followers of Jesus. What kind of message do you think that gives? God cares about wants us to be a witness to

it starts with worship.

That goes on I mean their service calls a lot of things, but it starts with worship. So the scripture says here right after they let you know the summary statement. It says they kept meeting together. You need to be involved. In a church, some of you don't live around here. You need to be involved in a church near you. Okay, if this is not the right church for you. That's okay find the right Church find a church B involve worship. God be his worshippers. Don't neglect this. That's the first thing I get out of this. What should we do worship God be worshippers regular worshippers. But let's ask the question again. What shall we do? And here's another thing they did that comes out of this passage. We just read they generously shared their resources. I mean, it's really hard to miss that in the text. We read right, you know, when they got together verse 44 and 45. They had all things in common. They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. They did enjoy the good news of Jesus meant so much to them that they generously gave her the resources in his name. Now. I'm not going to dwell on giving today this kind of thing much except to say that this is another part of the unfolding of the Devotion to fellowship and verse 42. That's that summary statement verse 42 and they and them You know Fellowship is kind of a thing that we need to at least explore a little bit this morning. We have a lot of images that come to our minds when we think of Fellowship, right? We think of I think generally we think of Fellowship in the eye in the sense of simple togetherness, you know, like eating donuts and drinking coffee and talking to one another and that's part of it. By the way. It's not it's not missing from it, but most of our images of fellowship if they just sent around the idea of simple togetherness are wrong or at least they're not complete their tame and maybe someone would say they're lame. I don't know but I wrote down the word Fellowship in Greek is the word Koinonia and it's it's built on the root meaning that Word Fellowship quite a name has the root meaning of having things in common or sharing that's what the word Koinonia mean sharing and we find it here. They shared with one another that's the word Queen. Okay, in fact kind of interesting this idea of sharing and common having in common the Bible the New Testament is written in Greek originally and there were kind of too kind of levels of Greek in the community that the rich people and the the thinkers, you know that you know, the people who wrote books wrote in a in a formal Greek, but not everyone understood. The Bible is written in common Greek. Because it was meant for all people to understand wasn't written in that high. Lofty Greek It Was Written in the common Greek. That's what that word is koine Greek Koinonia Greek. It was it was the kind of it was something that was to be held in common among people and that's why the Bible was written in that. So this is a key word in the Bible. Luke is going to talk about times of eating and praying together. And those are things we usually call fellowship and it is but his first illustration is that a Believers having their things Koinonia in common with each other. They they were so bonded. That's here's the idea. They were so bonded to Christ into one another that if one of them was in need, The others didn't feel they had the right to live in prosperity without giving up something to help meet that need. That's what that's what we read in verse 44 and 45. So it's about this sounds like some sort of Socialism or communism or something. Will it's not that at all, you know, communism really boils down to this. What's yours is mine. You know, I want what's yours? But this isn't communism This is Love. What's mine is yours?

I want to help I want to be there for you. That's Koinonia. That's Fellowship. They gave generously as they were able that's biblical. Let's learn. That's the next let's learn to do this. Learn to give to God. And two others in the name of God. Give to your church. If you don't trust this church to give to tell me why but if you don't then go to another church and gives the gods there. Here's what I know. I know it's biblical. I know it's biblical. I know it's something that was key for further growth because why I think it's just because your money means more to you than almost anything else in your life, but perhaps your own life and your family, right? I mean most of us trade like a third of our life. Together and because it means alot to you, it means a lot to God why because you mean a lot to God. And here's the third now what let's go to the third this third thing early Christians did and it's also related to the idea of Fellowship again. And I'll just sum it up like this. They got together in small groups. Day by day, I'll read verse 46 and 47. Although we find it all the way through 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. This shows that togetherness was a precious thing to the Believers in the early church. They love to be together even at meals. Okay Christians have for each other when they stood in awe of what God did for them. You know, I think this is a great illustration of the really important need for small groups in our Christian lives, you know, they cherish both the large group of worship and praise and also gathering together in small groups when they gathered in the big group in the temple. They praise God and yes when they ate together in their homes. Luke says they also praised God These are not simply superficial, you know get-togethers where they talked about the weather or they talked about sport so they talked about their kids or even their church but not about Jesus. Wasn't that when they got in touch with each other. They got in touch with God.

You need small groups meeting together in your life. small groups with other followers of Jesus If let me just put it this way if this service right here is the only place where you get any Jesus in your life. I know for a fact that you're struggling right now and your spiritual life. Okay, you find it really hard to stay on the right track with God. Why because you don't have any back up in your life. You've kind of you've left the blinds your blind. You got a Blindside you need to start encouraging others and let others start encouraging you and that happens in smaller groups. And in our church, we have a small group Ministry on several of them. Probably. Our biggest one is our Sunday morning Sunday school, which is a Bible study for people of all ages children youth and adults, okay. You need to get committed to a group. small group like that And if Sunday school doesn't work, for some reason you can't do that. You still need this you still need it and we have other groups you can find or you can find them somewhere else or if you can't find one somewhere else. You need the form one. You need to take initiative and become part for my small group with some others find three or four or five other Christians in the same pan setting as you are and once a week start getting together checking up on one another encouraging one another and make sure you're all heading in the right direction with the Lord. Small groups really important. That's a great time for me to share this. Because here we are at the beginning of our church program for a New Year September. This is a great time for you to plug yourself into some small group experiences in Archer. Look at the announcement. Look at how many things were there for you to get involved? It? Don't just sit there. Okay, those are for us to grow at the benefit from they're not you're not doing it to benefit someone else when you get involved, although it. May you will be part of the benefits. Drawn out of it. Let me summarize.

Here's the now what's that come after baptism? They're up on the screen that they kept meeting together worship. They generously share the resources. They got together in small groups.

Which one are you writing down today of the five? I mentioned Counting. phaethon baptism here's the thing about these three up here. Think about it. None of those things can be done on your own. Garden create the church to create Christians to do it on their own. I'll get you can't do it alone. You need the body of Christ to do those things. They're together things. They're Fellowship. You know, what you need you need the church in that sense. You need to be the church in that sense for other people and we see it through the text you how it acts 2:41. It says those who received his word, you know after they were saved they receive Christ were baptized and they were added that day about three thousand souls. Okay. And then in verse 47 at the end of says in the Lord added to their number day by day those that were being spanked. I always found it interesting trying to read the Bible and think about what I expected should say or Woodside and then realized it doesn't and there's a reason for it and when I read verse 47 says in the Lord added to their number I always thought why doesn't it say and the Lord added to to Christ? As many as we're being saved day-by-day, you know, they became Christians they did but it it mentions to their number the to their number means the other Christian God link them in linking them to Christ through faith. He was linking them to other people right? It was because God knew how important it was that we say that the Christian experience is really lived out and its greatest fruitfulness in community, you know in Fellowship the Lord added to their number so that the Living Church on Earth that day those who are being saved. Because we need each other.

Now what let me conclude. Let me close by reminding you of the almost unbelievable. Good news in this text that I really haven't mentioned too much about. And that was really the point of the sermon and we just looked at the results of the sermon. Not that sermon about our our need and Jesus meeting that need really says it says that murderers of the Son of God can be forgiven of Awesome. Hey, I got some news for you. You did something wrong. You murdered the Son of God. We're in trouble. Don't worry. God has a way to forgive you. They could be forgiven and they could be not only forgiven but they could be given but the fruits that they can be given the Holy Spirit as a gift and being part of the nor life. That's what he said. That's really really really good news, isn't it? When Peter preached that that he preached to the murderers of the Son of God, you know, by the way, we all are part of that because we also have send and it was our send at altimate Lee put Jesus on the cross not just the physical people who did it, but it relates the both of them here. Is there anyone in this room and you could stand up if you would say this that you have done something worse than murdering God's only son. Anyone here? I didn't think so. We're all in the same boat.

You haven't done anything more heinous than to mail got sent to the Cross. No, of course, you didn't there's nothing worse than that. Meaning that nothing that you have also done in your own wife, including perhaps ignoring him for up to now in your life and just leaving a lot of your life or not thinking or saying whatever you might have said about him or even said against him in your life. None of that. Nothing need keep you from his love and forgiveness and Grace today.

The good news is that God is willing to cancel all and any of our deaths and then come and live in us and with us and guide us and changes and Empower us and that's great news.

It's a free gift to all who will repent. Google turn from darkness and turn to light turn to Christ call on the name of the Lord and Faith receive his forgiveness in the gift of his presence. You want to do that. Do today do it today? You can do that in just a minute or who's coming up to Lita Scott. Come on up. You can do that and come up front when I stand down on the in the front and say I want to give my life to Christ today. You can do that today. There's nothing holding you back. You couldn't do any worse than what well what we've all done. We've nailed Jesus to the Cross. He's ready to forgive it all. 2 today

And perhaps you've not followed up. Maybe you've done that you've not followed up on your profession of Faith with baptism. As you should have that's also something you can also recover from you know, even if it happened years ago and you've never been baptized believe me. It's not too late. You can do that. You can come up and share that that's something you want to do in the near future. We'll make arrangements for you to do that. Declare your faith in Jesus by baptism. Or maybe become a member of this church. I can't help you become a member of another church. That's where you should become a member, but go and become a member of another church if that's for God's calling you. Or get committed to small groups. You can do any of those today. With God tell him what you really need to do today. He'll help you need any help with that. We have a room called The Connection room as well and you can go back there and someone will be in there to help you. If you want to say I need more information about baptism go get your name will get back to you. Whatever it is will help you out. I need a group to go to they'll help you with that. Let's pray father. Now what? Now what shall we do? We've heard from you.

Help us to do what you've called us to do. That's all that matters for we ask it in Jesus name. Amen.