A Spirit Filled Church

Historical events

If you could have been a part of any historical event, what would it have been?

I was not yet born when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon. But imagine if you could have been with him stepping onto the moon for the first time.

Or imagine if you could have been with the Wright brothers when they managed to do what must have seemed impossible - flying!

But if we’re really going to imagine some spectacular events in history, there are a lot of stories in the bible I would have loved to have been witness to.

Imagine if you were there when Moses parted the Red Sea.

Imagine if you witnessed Joshua leading the Israelites on a march around Jericho and then seen the towers crumble at the sound of the trumpets.

Imagine looking at the terror on the faces of the Philistines when David’s stone become lodged in the head of their hero, the giant Goliath.

Or we could go into the time of Jesus. How amazing would it have been to be part of the large crowd that was fed with just a few fish and a few loaves of bread.

Imagine the look on the face of the Pharisees when Jesus forgave the sins of a paralytic, and then proceeded to tell him to stand up and walk.

There are countless stories that we would love to have been a part of.

Pentecost

But there is another one which we might not think of as quickly, but I reckon would rate up there with the best of them.

Imagine being part of the crowd on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out on everyone.

A remarkable event

Imagine being a traveller who had come to Jerusalem because this is what you’re meant to do on the Feast of Weeks. But only to find that this trip was anything but usual.

You probably heard stories about the man called Jesus. He had been the talk of the town not that long ago. But that talk had changed it’s tone after what happened just before the previous feast - the feast of Passover.

People had been talking he might be the Messiah. But that talk came to a stop when Jesus hung on the cross.

There had been some rumours about him rising again - but to be honest, it was all just too confusing.

But now you are in Jerusalem again for Pentecost. You’re not even aware that a small band of his followers are tucked away in a room. At least, not until you started noticing a significant amount of commotion coming from a particular house.

It was something unlike anything that you’ve ever experienced.

There was what seemed like some weird weather thing happening - but unlike every other weather event you’ve eve witnessed, this one doesn’t match the weather of that particular day. It was like a violent wind - but it wasn’t a windy day.

Though you should be scared and logically you know you should run the other direction, yet something draws you near. And as you approach you catch a glimpse of those inside.

Again what you see is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

Was that a tongue of fire you could see on top of each person in the room?

You draw closer.

You start to hear sounds. The people inside are talking. But what language is it.

It’s strange because it wasn’t Hebrew, or Aramaic, or even Greek or Latin. But rather is was the indigenous language of all the surrounding nations.

It was all very confusing. But then the leader of this group came out and addressed the crowd.

A transformation

He spoke a powerful message. But if you can place yourself in that crowd, it was something more than just the words he spoke.

Whatever it was that was causing that strange scene inside that room, was starting to do something outside that house. Somehow, you’re no longer just a spectator. You become part of the strange phenomenon that is happening.

By the time this leader, who goes by the name Peter, finishes his talk, you feel completely different.

Whatever just happened, you now know with absolute certainty, that this man called Jesus who had been surrounded by rumours upon rumours - well you now know that he is alive and that he has changed everything.

It is like you have just been shaken awake. And it becomes clear that it wasn’t just you. Literally thousands of people have just had a similar experience.

There’s been a change in your heart. And you want to do something about it.

Now in this scenario there’s a further thing that is truly amazing. About three thousand people have something inside them say that the most natural thing for them to do is to be baptised.

A notion that wouldn’t even have occurred to them before. But there is this urging within them.

Imagine being part of this three thousand strong mass baptism.

This scenario is not about a reaction to an amazing speech - albeit, it was pretty special. Rather, this is the Spirit of God - the third member of the Trinity, being poured out on a mass gathering.

The resulting church

This is a mass transformation. And what results is truly incredible.

What results is a new expression of church. A gathering of God’s people.

It’s an expression that is a direct result of the Holy Spirit being active in the life of the believer.

In fact, I’m going to suggest that it becomes very much the definition of a Spirit Filled church.

Now today, we might bandy about such a description. The reality is that we’re probably more likely to label a church as being Spirit Filled if they have what we might describe as the more supernatural gifts. Things like, speaking in tongues and prophecy.

The reality is, however, while these may be expressions of the Spirit, I think a much better picture of a Spirit filled church is what we see pictured at the end of Acts 2, after this experience I just described.

Can this be our experience?

Now here’s the thing. We can try to imagine what it might like to be there.

We can dream about what such an experience would be like. But guess what?

While that exact experience is unique to that event, the same Spirit is alive and active today.

And we too can become a Spirit Filled church.

The question is: how do we do this?

Do we somehow just need to hope that maybe the Spirit might choose us?

If we just somehow dream about it enough, could it just become a reality?

Well, in some ways, when we look at the events I’ve just described, the Spirit did just descend on this crowd. That is to say that in some ways, being filled by the Spirit in this sort of way is not something we can manufacture, rather it’s God who ordains it.

But that being said, when we look at the picture of the church that we have painted for us at the end of Acts 2, we see the new believers being led to certain activities which I’m going to argue will cultivate a stronger connection with the Spirit.

You see, I want to argue that being a Spirit Filled church is far more than doing what we might call supernatural things, rather it is being aligned with the Spirit such that our lives take on the shape that God wants for us.

And it is as we do this, that we’ll see something remarkable. As I’ll explore shortly, we’ll start to see a community that resembles the shalom that God intended for this world.

There’s that word Shalom again — it God’s intended way for this world.

What does the church do

So let’s explore this picture starting at Acts 2:42. You see, this verse 42 give four things that the new believers devoted themselves to.

I’m not going to suggest that this is some sort of definitive list - I don’t think it was intended that way. Rather we’re getting a snap shot of how people who have been filled with the Spirit, continue to walk in this way - and I think there is some really useful things for us.

So let’s look at these four things...

Apostles Teaching

The first thing is that they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.

The direct equivalent for us today is devoting ourselves to the teaching of the Bible - because this is where we’ll find what the apostles were teaching.

Now I suspect that if I went around the room, I’d probably get a variety of reactions to this one.

For some, we hear teaching - and therefore study - and the idea of digging deeper into God’s Word just sounds great. For some, including myself, the idea of unpacking a verse of the Bible, learning about the historical context, exploring the idea in the original language, listening to other experts on the matter - all of that just sounds really fun.

However, I suspect for others, when you hear the word “teaching”, the first word that comes to mind is: boring!

The reality is that we are each wired differently, and being devoted to teaching is actually going to look different for each of us. It doesn’t mean you need to learn Greek and Hebrew and read lots of commentaries.

But yet for all of us, there is a sense in which we should be engaging our brain and think about this faith in which we profess.

While knowledge isn’t everything, digging deeper into the truths of the gospel can actually have an amazing effect.

One of those effects is being able to see the Spirit moving both in your own life and also in the world around us.

Regardless of whether you have an academic mindset or not, engaging with the truths of scripture should never be dry - it’s a way to bring us closer to the Spirit.

Fellowship

The next thing noted in verse 42, is then fellowship.

Now it can be very easy to miss the importance of fellowship. The practice of fellowship at its simplest level is really just being with fellow believers. But yet when believers meet together, I want to suggest that something quite profound is actually happening.

And that is because the people of God are being unified. We actually can get a glimpse of shalom.

Now, I’m well aware that in church fellowship, you’ll get conflict - shalom is broken. And this is sad when it happens. But yet even then, when we have believers together, we still get a glimpse of what it should be. But at it’s best, it is the most amazing experience.

Now on a practical level, fellowship has lots of benefits. We can encourage one another. We can provide accountability to one another. We can model faith to others. We grow together.

But don’t just treat it as a means to an end. Fellowship can actually be a glimpse into heaven. It is through fellowship that we so often see the Spirit move in really powerful ways.

Breaking of bread

The third item in the list is the breaking of bread. This is the practice that we observe through communion.

I think it’s very noteworthy that this practice is noted so prominently so early in the formation of the church. Remember, Jesus only initiated this practice some seven weeks prior to the Day of Pentecost. Yet, it’s become an important part.

One important observation about the practice of communion today, is that it’s something you will find in almost all Christian practices today. From one church to the next, you will find significant differences in the way it is practiced, yet the essence of it will remain the same. There will be breaking of bread, and drinking from the cup.

Again, there are a lot of practical aspects to this. It serves as a constant reminder to us. It centers our worship in the right way.

But again, like fellowship, I’d urge you away from thinking of this only as a means to an end. You see, it is actually a means of connecting ourselves with the Body of Christ.

It is in this body of Christ that we fully see the Spirit at His most powerful.

Prayer

The fourth item listed in verse 42 is then prayer.

Now often as believers, we can have a strange relationship with prayer.

We all know, in theory at least, that prayer is important. Yet it is so often the thing that gets forgotten when things get busy.

You don’t really need me to tell you what prayer is. You already know that it’s our communication with God.

I dare say you’ve probably experienced the power of prayer at times in your life. Many can testify of dramatic changes in health, relationships, finances, whatever… when prayer are made.

But what about the times in your life when things aren’t in crisis?

We can sometimes wonder - why isn’t God moving? But are we actually praying?

Ordinary

Now in many ways, the things I’ve just gone through are really very ordinary.

In some ways, I think if we were given more spectacular options, we might follow them. You know, if it said that you should attend a school of prophesy, or take lessons in speaking in tongues. But really these are things that may flow when you walk closely with the Spirit.

What happens

So what then happens when the Spirit moves?

Well, verse 43 says that everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

When the Spirit moves, amazing things happen. Exactly what that will be, is not up to us - but we can be assured that God is powerful and he will work for the good of those who love him.

Togetherness

But something extraordinary happens in this community, and we have it described for us in verses 44 and 45.

It says: Acts 2:44-45

Acts 2:44–45 NIV (Anglicised, 2011)

All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

I mentioned the word shalom before - well, this is shalom in practice. There is a unity among the people.

Now one thing that needs to be made clear here. It becomes clear later in the book of Acts that the selling and giving was completely voluntary. Nobody was being forced to do anything.

But when the Spirit is moving powerfully in your life, you see things differently. Your priorities change. Your perspective on what is important changes.

And sometimes, you may just do something which to the world seems like craziness.

You often see this in the lives of missionaries, who give up so much to take the gospel to other cultures.

But I want to suggest today, don’t start with how can I be bold and do something radical for God. This would be to get things around the wrong way.

Rather, start with thinking about - how can I draw close to God? How can I allow the Spirit to enter my life. Because as you allow the Spirit to enter, it is He that will guide you in what you should be doing. Your job then is to be obedient.

Continuing the practice

From verse 46, we then see how these practices are made firm patterns in their lives.

You see, the reality is that we can become very fickle people.

Every so often I get on a bit of a fitness craze. To be honest, it probably happens a few times a year. Often its running - and so for a month or so, I’ll get really keen at running. I’ll run multiple times a week, and things will seem to be going really well.

But then inevitiably, something will happen to disrupt my rhythm. And my fitness craze will come to a screeching halt.

How often can this happen as we try to draw close to God. We try to get our lives in a rhythm. We’ll meet with others. We’ll read our bibles. We’ll get some sort of quiet time happening where we can practice praying. Things will go really well for a little while.

But then something happens. You get sick. Or you get busy. Or whatever… and then a month or two passes and you realise you’ve hardly opened your bible, your prayer time has all but been abandoned, and you’re rarely meeting up with others.

We need to work hard to get over those bumps. Maybe talk with another strong Christian friend and ask if they might keep you accountable. Maybe even ask if they would read the Bible with you, or be a prayer partner with you.

You see, the reality is that this journey was not meant to be taken alone.

We’re meant to do this together.

In the picture of this early church, they are breaking bread in peoples homes. They are eating together. They are praying God and enjoying the favour of all the people.

This is not hard work - but it is something that we need to be deliberate about.

And how does the passage end?

“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved”.

Now I would caution that there can be some dangers when we focus too strongly on numbers. A focus on numbers of people being saved can lead to a focus on getting people over the line and then forgetting about them.

Rather, I would suggest that this outcome is the natural consequence of a walking closely with the Spirit.

As we walk closely with him, let him be the guide. Then we will naturally see lives being changed.

Conclusion

It is exicting to think about what it would be like when the Spirit moves powerfully through a community.

But so often we can think that we can somehow make this happen through some clever strategy. Having a strategy has merit, but really, looking at this early church, I want to suggest that just getting the basics right should be the first thing of concern.

We should be devoting ourselves to the teaching of the Bible.

Seeking out fellowship.

Taking part in communion.

And committing ourselves to a life of prayer.

If we do this, we will see something spectacular - even if it isn’t thousands of people in our community coming to the Lord. We will see the Spirit transforming us into his likeness and changing the way we see the world.

And what could be better then this?

So let me pray...