{"id":18498,"date":"2018-10-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-21T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/ecclesiology-039\/"},"modified":"2018-10-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-10-21T05:00:00","slug":"ecclesiology-039","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/ecclesiology-039\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecclesiology 039"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[89],"series_event":[484],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18498","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-acts","series_event-ecclesiology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Ecclesiology 039","sermon_date":"20181021","sermon_month":"10","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":6142,"sermon_slides":6143,"sermon_mp3":6148,"sermon_id":"10211881129","series_or_event":484,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":89,"chapter_and_verse":"2:41-47","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nEcclesiology 39, Spiritual Gifts 17\n\n10-21-18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 39\n\nThank you for the fall weather, I\u2019m particularly excited today, Father, as we\u2019re going to be involved in a baptism this afternoon so I just ask for Your guidance and superintendence on that and the teaching of Your Word this morning.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give You all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026. Amen!\n\nGood morning you all.\u00a0 If you could locate Acts 2, the Book of Acts, chapter 2, and verse 41.\u00a0 We\u2019re continuing on with our study on Ecclesiology; emerging from that category is the purposes of the church, and part of that discussion involves spiritual gifts.\u00a0 So I looked back on my lesson and I couldn\u2019t believe this was true, maybe you guys can validate this, we spent 17 lessons on spiritual gifts, is that right.\u00a0 That\u2019s what the number said, so we\u2019re finished with spiritual gifts, I hope we\u2019re not finished with spiritual gifts, hopefully we\u2019ve just started on spiritual gifts in daily life but we\u2019re finished teaching on spiritual gifts.\n\nSo we\u2019re moving away from the purposes of the church and we\u2019re moving into the activities of the church.\u00a0 In other words, when the church gets together what exactly is it supposed to be doing?\u00a0 And when the Holy Spirit is in charge of a body what activities will be naturally raised up in that body?\u00a0 So this takes us to Acts 2 and we\u2019re going to be spending our time this morning on verses 41-47.\u00a0 This, of course, Acts 2 is the day of what?\u00a0 Pentecost.\u00a0 And if\u00a0 you back up from verse 41 and you go back to verses 5-13 you\u2019re going to see a lot of different people assembled there on the day of Pentecost from different parts of the world.\u00a0 And every name that\u2019s mentioned there in verses 5-13 I have there on my map.\n\nAnd what were all these people doing assembled in Jerusalem from these different parts of the known world on the day of Pentecost?\u00a0\u00a0 Well, all these people were Jewish so the Jews had been, ever since the Babylonian captivity, most of the Jews in Israel at this time but some had been pushed out their homeland into surrounding regions, meeting in synagogues.\u00a0 And they were good students of the Book of Leviticus, which is part of Hebrew Bible, Leviticus 23.\u00a0 Leviticus 23 gives the feast days that Israel is to celebrate.\u00a0 And one of those feast days is the day of Pentecost.\u00a0 And it\u2019s commanded of Jews to show up in Jerusalem for that particular feast to celebrate Pentecost.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So that\u2019s what all of this collection of nationalities is doing in Jerusalem at this particular time.\n\nExcept this time around the Holy Spirit had sort of a surprise for them and we read about that surprise, it\u2019s the birthday of the church, and then following the birthday of the church you have \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the first church meeting.\u00a0 The very first church meeting in all of church history takes place here in Acts 2.\u00a0 So that birthday and that first meeting shows us what a church is supposed to be.\u00a0 It shows us that when the Holy Spirit gets ahold of something here are the activities the Holy Spirit will raise up.\u00a0 So as I\u2019m reading these verses to you make your own mental list of things you see the Holy Spirit doing.\n\nNotice, if you will, Acts 2, starting at verse 41.\u00a0 It says, \u201cSo then, those who had received his word were baptized<\/u>;\u201d you should underline that, \u201cand that day there were added about three thousand souls.\u00a0 So this is following Peter\u2019s sermon on the Day of Pentecost and it\u2019s given to all of these Jews from remote parts of the known world meeting in Jerusalem.\u00a0 So you\u2019ve got three thousand converts, three thousand Jews just changed their mind about who Jesus is.\u00a0 They went from being Christ-rejecting Jews to Christ-accepting Jews.\u00a0 Certainly not the majority in the nation of Israel but a small remnant of 3,000 people.\u00a0 And it says there in verse 42, \u201cThey were continually devoting themselves to\u201d so this is what they did, and notice the word \u201cdevotion,\u201d this is what the first church singularly gave themselves to.\u00a0 \u201cThey were continually devoting themselves to\u201d the what? \u201cthe apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer<\/u>.\u00a0 [43] Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.\u00a0 [44] \u00a0\u201cAnd all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; [45] and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.\u201d\u00a0 [46] \u201cDay by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread<\/u> from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, [47] praising God<\/u> and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding<\/u> to their number day by day those who were being saved.\u201d\n\nSo what has just happened here on the day of Pentecost is spectacular.\u00a0 Peter has preached his message, he has called the nation of Israel to repent for having rejected their own Messiah and having turned Him over to the Romans for execution.\u00a0 And now that Jesus has ascended the day of Pentecost is in existence, you\u2019ve got Jews from all over the known world meeting there and Peter calls that group to repentance and he\u2019s got three thousand converts.\u00a0 That\u2019s quite an altar call, wouldn\u2019t you say?\n\nIt says, verse 41, \u201cthat day there were added about three thousand souls,\u201d this is the beginning of the church.\u00a0 So what did these three thousand people do?\u00a0 Well, they had their first church meeting; the first church meeting is described in verses 42-47 and it tells us what their priorities were because verse 42 says, \u201cThey were continually\u201d not when they felt like it but \u201ccontinually devoting themselves\u201d meaning this is what they purposed to do in a church meeting, \u201cthey were continually devoting themselves to\u201d and then we have a laundry list of church activities.\u00a0 So we might be able to categorize these different ways, my list I\u2019ve got seven things the church is doing right out of the gate.\n\nAnd I believe that when you\u2019re looking for a church these are the seven things you ought to look for to see if the Holy Spirit is really in control of said group that you\u2019re thinking of affiliating yourself with and fellowshipping with. When the Holy Spirit gets control of any church you\u2019re automatically going to see these seven things coming into existence.\u00a0 So those become the priorities of the church, these become what we would call the activities that should take place in any local church.\n\nSo what are those activities?\u00a0 The first thing, they gave themselves to was to apostolic doctrine.\u00a0 Doctrine is number one on the list.\u00a0 Why do we believe that?\u00a0 Because verse 42 says, \u201cThey were continually devoting themselves to\u201d the what? \u201cthe apostles' teaching\u201d or doctrine.\u00a0 Now the word \u201cdoctrine\u201d in Greek is the word \u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c7\u03ae (didach\u00e9) which simply means instruction.\u00a0 And God is interested in instructing us on how to live the Christian life.\u00a0 Amen.\u00a0 And this concept of instruction, people think it\u2019s unique to us but the false religions have their point of instruction too.\u00a0 1 Timothy 4:1 says, \u201cIn the last days people will follow doctrines of demons,\u201d doctrines are teachings, so no matter who you align yourself with there\u2019s going to be a set of teachings and you want your teachings to be from the apostles.\n\nAnd so you\u2019ll notice that doctrine is the very first thing mentioned on the list because if you understand doctrine you know how to do everything else on the list, going all the way through verse 47.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have doctrine as a priority you don\u2019t know how to live the Christian life, you don\u2019t know what a church meeting is supposed to be.\n\nNow why did these people need doctrine?\u00a0 Because when you go back to verses 37-38 they had just repented.\u00a0 Repentance means to change your mind.\u00a0 So this is the result of Peter\u2019s sermon.\u00a0 It says, \u201c[Acts 2:37, \u201cNow when they heard this,<\/em> they were pierced to the heart,\u201d I think they probably came to faith at that point, \u201cand said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?\u2019\u201d [38] Peter said<\/em> to them, \u201cRepent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.\u201d\u00a0 And there\u2019s a lot of complexity in that verse that I don\u2019t have time to unpack but \u201cRepent \u2026 and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.\u201d\n\nSo what had happened is these people had repented, metanoe\u014d<\/em>, means literally to change\u00a0 your mind.\u00a0 What had they changed their mind about?\u00a0 They had changed their mind about what Israel just did with Jesus.\u00a0 Israel nationally had rejected Jesus.\u00a0 Peter, on the day of Pentecost, has all of these Jews assembled there in Jerusalem to celebrate that feast.\u00a0 He calls them to repentance, he calls them to change their mind and basically what he\u2019s saying is I want you to change your mind about who Jesus is; go from being a Christ-rejecting Jew to a Christ-accepting Jew.\n\nSo these people changed their minds about all of the just like that.\u00a0 [Andy snaps his fingers]\u00a0 And consequently they were saved.\u00a0 So if your mind has been changed authentically you have to know how to live the new life, right?\u00a0 So Peter says well just go home and read your New Testament and figure it out.\u00a0 NO, you don\u2019t have a New Testament yet. So these are people that they\u2019re completely and totally dependent on the writers of the New Testament which hadn\u2019t produced the New Testament\u00a0 yet, and these are the who?\u00a0 The apostles.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why there\u2019s such a priority and then sticking around longer than they had planned on staying in Jerusalem, to learn truth and to learn doctrine because how do you live the new way of life that you\u2019ve just changed your mind to unless you receive teaching and instruction?\n\nAnd so what\u00a0 you have in Christianity is a priority [can't understand word] related to perpetual instruction because unless there\u2019s instruction we don\u2019t know how to change our minds, and the Bible bases a HUGE priority on instruction.\u00a0 I wish we had time to look at all these verses but jot down 1 Timothy 4:13, and you\u2019ll see it.\u00a0 Jot down 2 Timothy 3:15-4:2 and you\u2019ll see it.\u00a0 And in fact, when you get into the epistles, which are given to govern the life of a church, instructions, there\u2019s a huge emphasis on teaching.\n\nDan Wallace says, \u201cBy my count, there are twenty-seven explicit commands given in the body of this letter. In 27 words Paul tells pastors what to focus on. You have to be blind to miss the thrust of Paul's instructions here, because eighteen<\/em> of those commands--fully two-thirds<\/em>--have to do with the ministry of the Word<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>[Daniel Wallace, \u201cCrisis of the Word: A Message to Pastors or Would-be Pastors,\u201d Conservative Theological Journal<\/em> 1, no. 2 (August 1997): 108.]\n\nAnd this concept of teaching doctrine is what is in perpetual attack today.\u00a0 I\u2019ve rounded up a few quotes, I don\u2019t think you have these on\u00a0 your handout because I did these at the last minute but I just want to demonstrate how frequently everybody today is denigrating and marginalizing the study of doctrine in the local church.\u00a0 It\u2019s the exact opposite priority that you find in Scripture.\n\nOne emergent church writer says, \u201cAt Solomon\u2019s porch,\u201d an emergent church, \u201csermons are not primarily about my extracting truth from the Bible to apply to people\u2019s lives<\/u><\/em>\u2026So our sermons are not lessons that precisely define belief<\/u><\/em> so much as they are stories that welcome our hopes and ideas and participation\u201d (Italics added).\u00a0 [Doug Pagitt, cited in Oakland, 41-42.]\u00a0 So my question is well what in the world are\u00a0 you doing then if you\u2019re doing those things.\n\nAnother writer says, \u201cIt isn\u2019t<\/u><\/em> about clever apologetics or careful exegetical or expository preaching<\/u><\/em>\u2026Emerging generations are hungering to experience\u00a0 God in worship\u201d (Italics added).\u00a0 [Dan Kimball, The Emerging Church<\/em>, 116]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s about experiences this writer says, exactly the opposite of what you find here in Acts 2.\n\nOne writer says, the current generation wants to know less about God.\u00a0 They would rather experience God.\u00a0 [Leonard Sweet, Soul Tsunami<\/em>, 420]\u00a0 Well, if you\u2019re going based on your experiences how do you know you\u2019re worshipping the right God because the devil can give experiences, can\u2019t he.\u00a0 But notice in all these citations it\u2019s always doctrine and the study of doctrine and the study of the Bible which has always been criticized by post-modernists.\n\nAnother writer says, \u201c\u2026something beyond a belief system or doctrinal array<\/u><\/em> or even a practice. I mean an attitude\u2013an attitude toward God and our neighbor and our mission that is passionate<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy<\/em>, 117-18.]\n\nHere\u2019s a collection of things you hear out there, \u201cDon\u2019t give me doctrine, just give me Jesus.\u201d \u00a0Well, the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses will give you Jesus too.\u00a0 How do you know that their Jesus is the right one or the wrong one.\u00a0 Doctrine alerts\u00a0 you to that. \u201cWhat really matters is Christ not creed.\u201d \u00a0\u201cDevotion is important and not doctrine.\u201d \u00a0\u201cWhat counts is our behavior, and not our beliefs.\u201d\u00a0 [Most of these slogans were originally accumulated in Henry Holloman, \u201cProlegomena, Bibliology, and Theology (Part 1)\u201d (unpublished class notes in TTH511 Theology I, Talbot Theological Seminary, Spring 1998), 9.]\u00a0 Well, let me say this, you can\u2019t have proper behavior until you have proper beliefs.\n\nAnd isn\u2019t Rick Warren great?\u00a0 I mean, don\u2019t we all need to be doing the Forty Days of Purpose.\u00a0 I mean, I was in the Dallas area and virtually every Bible church I went to they were doing \u201cThe Purpose Driven Life, The Purpose Driven Church, Forty Days of Purpose, the Daniel Diet<\/em>.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never been able to figure out the Daniel Diet by the way, because if I\u2019m reading Daniel 1 it looks to me like the three Hebrew youths are gaining weight.\u00a0 Have\u00a0 you noticed that?\u00a0 Because it says after they went through the Lord\u2019s diet they were heavier afterwards than before.\u00a0 So how in the world are we getting a Daniel diet out of Daniel 1.\u00a0 I thought the purpose of a diet was to lose weight, amen!\u00a0 And the reason Sugar Land Bible Church is never going to (as long as I\u2019m here anyway) is never going to promote Rick Warren, ever, because almost every page you turn in Rick Warren\u2019s book is some kind of denigration of doctrine, the study of it.\n\nSo if you were to read his Purpose Driven Life<\/em> you would see these quotes:\u00a0 \u201cGod won\u2019t ask you about your religious background or doctrinal views<\/u><\/em>.\u201d \u00a0He said, \u00a0\u201cJesus said our love for each other - not our doctrinal beliefs<\/u><\/em> - is our greatest witness to the world.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Well, excuse me, unless you understand Christology you don\u2019t even know how to love somebody else.\u00a0 He goes on and he says, \u201cToday many assume that spiritual maturity is measured by the amount of biblical information and doctrine you know<\/u><\/em>.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 [Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life <\/em>34, 124, 183]\u00a0\u00a0 The Bible is far more than a doctrinal guidebook<\/u><\/em>.\u201d He says, \u201cThe last thing<\/u><\/em> many believers need today is to go to another Bible study<\/u><\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s the last thing they need to do?\u00a0 I personally think it\u2019s the first thing they need to do.\u00a0 \u201cThey already know far more than they are putting into practice.\u201d\u00a0 Now this one I think is funny, maybe\u00a0 you guys will like this one: \u201cMy pastor has been in Daniel\u2019s seventy weeks longer than Daniel was!\u201d [Rick Warren Purpose Driven Life<\/em> 186, 231; Purpose Driven Church<\/em> 300]\n\nAnd I can\u2019t touch that, our Daniel series lasted sixty-three weeks, not quite seventy weeks.\u00a0 But what I want you to see is the spirit in all this literature; it\u2019s always the denigration of doctrine.\u00a0 Now at a certain point I kind of understand what they\u2019re saying because they\u2019re saying that doctrine is not the end game and it\u2019s not.\u00a0 Doctrine is to lead to wisdom which is practice and you see that in the rest of Acts 2.\u00a0 But here\u2019s the reality of the situation folks\u2014doctrine, all it means is teaching.\u00a0 Doctrine is not the enemy, doctrine is your friend because when you learn it God expects us to apply it and as we apply it we can live out the Christian life, something that\u2019s an impossibility without the teaching of God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 And this is what\u2019s missing in all of this literature that I\u2019m quoting.\n\nYou may have heard of Steve Furtick of Elevation Church.\u00a0 Here\u2019s one of his recent posts.\u00a0 He says: \u201cWe don\u2019t teach from books of the Bible because it gets in the way of evangelism.\u00a0 We don\u2019t offer different kinds of Bible studies because it gets in the way of evangelism.\u00a0 We don\u2019t teach doctrine because it gets in the way of evangelism.\u00a0 If\u00a0 you want to be fed God\u2019s Word or have the Bible explained to you then you are a fat lazy Christian and you need to shut up and get to work,\u201d love the Christlikeness there, \u201cor you need to leave this church because we ONLY do evangelism.\u201d\u00a0 [Larry \u201cSteven\u201d Furtick is the lead pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. \u00a0Wikipedia.\u00a0 Education, North Greenville University], Southern Baptist Theological Seminary]\n\nSo you see what\u2019s being confused here is the purpose of the church.\u00a0 If the whole purpose of the church is for the unbelievers to get them saved then it\u2019s no longer a church anymore.\u00a0 Church is not for unbelievers, it\u2019s to equip believers to be witnesses in their spheres of influence.\u00a0 And that\u2019s how to really increase the influence of the church because all of you have unsaved people in\u00a0 your life this week that I will never ever reach or see and don\u2019t even know.\u00a0 But if I\u2019m able to equip you through the teaching of God\u2019s Word to be a good witness in the work place, or in the family, then you see just by looking at it by principles and numbers and multiplication the church has way more influence that way than to get every single unsaved person you know to get into the building.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 And pastors are losing sight of what their priority is, to equip the what?\u00a0 The saints.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ephesians 4:11-12.\u00a0 [Ephesians 4:11, \u201cAnd He gave some as<\/em> apostles, and some as<\/em> prophets, and some as<\/em> evangelists, and some as<\/em> pastors and teachers, [12] for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;\u201d] So the very first thing the early church gave themselves to was doctrine; that\u2019s step one, because if you don\u2019t have doctrine you can\u2019t do anything else, having their minds just been changed about who Jesus is.\n\nBut notice it doesn\u2019t stop with doctrine, they began to practice other things and so the second thing they gave themselves to was the ordinances.\u00a0 And we have a whole teaching coming up in Ecclesiology on the ordinances and the Lord has given to the church two ordinances.\u00a0 The first one is in verse 41, it says, \u201cSo then those who received His Word were\u201d what? \u201cbaptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls were added.\u201d\u00a0 [Acts 2:41]\n\nBaptism is part of the great commission because Jesus said, \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations,\u201d what\u2019s the next clause, \u201cbaptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 [Matthew 28:19] And if you come today at 4:00 o\u2019clock we\u2019re going to be baptizing seven people and baptism doesn\u2019t save anybody but it\u2019s an outward confession of an inward reality in front of witnesses.\u00a0 So guess what we need?\u00a0 We need witnesses.\u00a0 So if you could all come and be witnesses, and this is an exciting step of faith in the lives of these seven people, we would love to have you.\u00a0 But you\u2019ll notice that the first ordinance that God has given to the church is baptism.\n\nOrdinance number two is the Lord\u2019s table because if you look at verse 42 of Acts 2, see all my ideas here I\u2019m getting right out of verses 42-47.\u00a0 It says very specifically there that they were breaking bread.\u00a0 And then as\u00a0 you go down to verse 46 it says the second time, \u201cand breaking bread from house to house.\u201d\n\n[Acts 2:42, \u201cThey were continually devoting themselves to the apostles\u2019 teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.\u201d\u00a0 43]\u00a0 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. [44] And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; [45] and they began<\/em> selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. [46] Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, [47] praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.\u201d]\n\nOrdinance number two is communion or the Lord\u2019s table which, like baptism, has no saving power but it contributes to our worship experience by reminding us what Jesus has done for us.\u00a0 Because didn\u2019t Jesus say in the Upper Room, Luke 22:19-20, \u201cDo this in remembrance of Me.\u201d\u00a0 [Luke 22:19, \u201cAnd when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, \u2018This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.\u2019\u201d]\n\nSo the second church activity that they gave themselves to, in addition to learning apostolic doctrine, was baptism.\u00a0 And then there in verse 42 you find a third thing that they were doing, they were giving themselves to prayer.\u00a0 It says, \u201cThey were continually devoting themselves to the apostles\u2019 teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So these three thousand converts apparently were people that believed in individual prayer and they believed in corporate prayer.\u00a0 And so if the Holy Spirit is doing anything in a group you\u2019ll start to see bodies raised up where the emphasis is on prayer.\u00a0 When Peter himself got thrown in jail what did the early church do?\u00a0 They all got mad and wrote letters to their city councilman\u2026. NO, not that there\u2019s anything wrong with writing letters to politicians but it says here, \u201cSo Peter was kept in prison but prayer for him was being made fervently<\/u> by the church, which started in Acts 2 in Jerusalem.\n\nOther parts of the Bible which talk about prayer, you might want to jot down 1 Timothy 1:1-2, Ephesians 6:18-20, and James 5:16, which says the prayer of a righteous man is what?\u00a0 Powerful and effective.\n\n[1 Timothy 1:1-2, \u00a0\u201cPaul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,\u00a0\u00a0 [2] To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ephesians 6:18-20, \u201cWith all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, [19] and pray<\/em> on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, [20] for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming<\/em> it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. James 5:16b, \u201cThe effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.\u201d]\n\nSo activity number three was prayer.\u00a0 And the list doesn\u2019t start there because we discover that these people didn\u2019t just sit, soak and sour, but they were interested in the unsaved world around them.\u00a0 Now here\u2019s the difference with Steve Furtick and Rick Warren and all these people.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t allowing the values of the unsaved word to dictate what was happening in the church.\u00a0 That\u2019s what the modern day church growth movement is trying to do, you develop a church for the unsaved.\u00a0 There is no such teaching in the Bible for such a doctrine.\u00a0 If you want to do that you don\u2019t call it a church, you call it a crowd and you put it under the category of crusade evangelism. But that isn\u2019t church; church is for the Christian.\u00a0 Church exists to equip the Christian.\u00a0 But what happens in a lot of the assemblies is the focus sort of gets internalized but we get completely preoccupied with ourselves and we forget that there\u2019s a world out there that\u2019s on their way to hell.\n\nSo what you discover here is these were folks that kept sight of both things, the teaching from the apostles but the unsaved world around them and they were clearly evolved in evangelism because if you go down to verse 47 look at what it says here. \u201cThe LORD was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.\u201d\u00a0 [Acts 2:47]\n\nOf course the great commission is \u201cGo therefore and make\u201d what? \u201cdisciples of all\u201d Houstonians, no, \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations.\u00a0 [Matthew 28:19, \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.\u201d]\u00a0 So that\u2019s why we have missions moments, a missions committee, a missions budget, because we\u2019re trying not to lose sight of all the nations around us, which is a mandate for the church.\n\nAnd quite frankly this verse here has become one of my favorite verses verse 47 because it says who was adding to the church?\u00a0 \u201cThe LORD,\u201d it doesn\u2019t say the pastors were adding to the church through their slick marketing campaigns. It says the Lord was adding to their number and this is very important to understand in pastoral ministry, is God has never called elders or pastors to build the church.\u00a0 In fact, if you start trying to build the church you find yourself competing with who?\u00a0 With God because Jesus, in Matthew 16:18 said, \u201cI will build My church.\u201d\u00a0 [Matthew 16:18, \u201cI also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.\u201d]\u00a0 Notice it\u2019s His church, not our church, and He\u2019s the architect of it and the builder of it.\n\nSo the Lord never wants us to build His church; He wants to use us perhaps in the construction process but the actual construction of the Church was never something that God assigned to elders or pastors or any spiritual leader.\u00a0 It\u2019s what God Himself is doing.\u00a0 And it\u2019s very clear that that\u2019s what\u2019s happening here in verse 47 because it says the Lord added \u201cto their number day by day.\u201d\u00a0 Now every shepherd, every pastor goes through frustration because they always, myself included, try to step out and build God\u2019s church.\u00a0 And as you\u2019re trying to build God\u2019s church what you\u2019ll discover is\u00a0 you\u2019re going to be very frustrated because you\u2019ve shifted onto your shoulders a burden which God never intended for you to carry.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why Matthew 16:18 is a very significant verse to me personally, as is Acts 2:47, the Lord added to their number.\n\nAs is Zechariah 4:6, now this is not a church age passage, it has to do with the construction of the temple in the postexilic era.\u00a0 The temple was destroyed brick by brick.\u00a0 [Zechariah 4:6, \u201cThen he said to me, \"This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts.\u201d]\u00a0 And so when Israel came back out of the seventy year captivity they had to rebuild this temple which was no easy task because the older guys could remember the Solomonic temple and its glory that Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed seventy years earlier.\u00a0 And so think of the frustration that you would have trying to rebuild what was once glorious.\u00a0 And so Zechariah was raised\u00a0 up to motivate Israel during this difficult postexilic time period.\u00a0 And Zechariah, chapter 4 and verse 6 says, \u201c'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts.\u201d\u00a0 Amen to that?\n\nAnd this is the point that the Lord was adding and it\u2019s also the point of Jesus saying I will build.\u00a0 I mean, the building is going to get done, it\u2019s just a matter of are we going to let the Lord use us as individuals or not; that\u2019s to be determined because a lot of times we quench the Spirit because we try to do the work of God through human flesh.\u00a0 But you see here that this group never lost sight of the evangelism opportunities that the Lord was bringing to them.\n\nNow let me give you a sermon illustration here, an application from the Sea of Galilee, which is up north, sometimes called the Sea of Liberia\u2019s, and the Dead Sea which is down south.\u00a0 The Sea of Galilee up north is teaming with life, vegetables, I don\u2019t know, greenery, fish, all of these kinds of things.\u00a0 But the Dead Sea down south is called the Dead Sea because everything in the sea is dead.\u00a0 In fact, when you go to Israel, and I hope you do before the millennial kingdom comes, because once the millennial kingdom comes you won\u2019t be able to do this anymore.\u00a0 You can go to the Dead Sea down south and actually float in the Dead Sea.\u00a0 And I thought I would be the first person to sink but I was buoyed up there nicely because of the salt content which kills everything buoys you right to the top.\u00a0 So there we are happily floating there in the Dead Sea.\u00a0 And in fact, it\u2019s sort of interesting along the coast there they have life guards and I\u2019m always wondering what do these guys do, I mean, no one can drown, no one can sink, so in my retirement\u00a0 years when I\u2019m looking for a cushy job I\u2019m thinking of applying for a lifeguard in the Dead Sea.\u00a0 I could just read the paper all day.\n\nBut \u00a0here is a question that I have for you.\u00a0 Why is it that everything in the Dead Sea dies but the Sea of Galilee is alive?\u00a0 Have you ever asked yourself that?\u00a0 And here\u2019s basically the answer: the Sea of Galilee has an inflow of a river coming into it and an outflow.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have that with the Dead Sea, it only has an inflow.\u00a0 So do you see the spiritual illustration here?\u00a0 The illustration is if you have an inflow of truth into your life and an outlet through evangelism or a ministry whereby you can disseminate that trust what you\u2019ll have is life, spiritual life, like the Sea of Galilee.\n\nIf you are, on the other hand, one of these types of people that just takes in, and there\u2019s a time to take in, but there\u2019s no evangelism, there\u2019s no urgency for the lost, there\u2019s no real ministry that you have, you can expect\u00a0 your spiritual life to wither away just like life withers away in the Dead Sea.\u00a0\u00a0 And I like to use this example of Disneyworld; have you guys ever been there?\u00a0 Disneyworld is kind of our modern day Mecca, we all make\u00a0 pilgrimages there, every so many years and we walk around the park three times, how many times can you see Disneyworld or Disneyland when you\u2019re 52\u00a0 years old and have seen it all before.\u00a0 I mean, how many times can you ride Space Mountain and be excited about that?\u00a0 I mean, it\u2019s fun but it\u2019s sort of like yeah, I\u2019ve done all this before.\n\nBut you see, when you\u2019re with your little girl who\u2019s never seen any of this stuff and you\u2019re watching it through a child\u2019s eyes it\u2019s very exciting because you\u2019re remembering what it was first like for you when you visited that theme park for the very first time.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 And that\u2019s the value of new converts in a church.\u00a0 A lot of people will say ah, ecclesiology, I\u2019ve heard all that before, the Book of Revelation, I\u2019ve heard all that before, but here\u2019s the reality\u2014when you\u2019re around someone that\u2019s never heard it, its intoxicating because they\u2019re excited about it and you\u2019re remembering your first love for those things, when you first heard them for the very first time.\u00a0 So evangelize or fossilize is sort of a good rule of thumb to follow.\u00a0 So you\u2019ll notice that the early church they never lost sight of evangelism.\n\nThere is a fifth thing they gave themselves to and that\u2019s to worship; they started to worship the Lord and where am I getting that from?\u00a0 It says, \u201cpraising God,\u201d right there in verse 47, \u201cpraising God<\/u> and having favor with all the people.\u201d \u00a0So these were people of worship; they were worshippers.\u00a0 What is worship?\u00a0 Worship is a response to truth; that\u2019s what worship is.\u00a0 Worship does not exist to get us all into a fight about what our favorite song is.\u00a0 And a lot of the worship wars that break out in the church of Jesus Christ, and there were many of them in the Dallas area when I was there, it really comes down to one generation wants it one way, another generation wants it a different way.\u00a0 Believe me, I\u2019m in favor of songs that are biblically accurate and there\u2019s a lot of songs we sing in Christianity today that are not biblically accurate.\u00a0 But you see the worship wars break out and what it is, really what it comes down to is it\u2019s self-centeredness.\u00a0 It\u2019s a generational war around people\u2019s preferences.\n\nNow I\u2019m in favor of biblically accurate worship; I\u2019m in favor of worshipping done right but to me part of what\u2019s so disconcerting about the worship wars is the whole battle is taken away from that focus and it turns into my personal preferences not being met.\u00a0 So the younger generation wants it this way, the older generation wants it that way, so here\u2019s what we\u2019ll do, we\u2019re going to have two different services, one for the younger people, one for the older people.\u00a0 And what have we just done?\u00a0 We\u2019ve just divided the body of Christ because weren\u2019t these people meeting in one accord?\u00a0 It\u2019s a unity of heart and mind.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think they were all worried about what musical instruments are we going to use, and are going to capture generation A or generation B?\u00a0 They just couldn\u2019t believe what they heard from Peter, that their nation had it wrong, Peter and the apostles had it right. They changed their minds about who Jesus was.\u00a0 They were justified before God in a nano\u00adsecond and they couldn\u2019t even contain themselves.\u00a0 They just wanted to worship and wanted to publicly praise the Lord.\n\nJot these verses down: Ephesians 5:19 talks about worship as does Colossians 3:16.\u00a0 [Ephesians 5:19, \u201cspeaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 Colossians 3:16, \u201cLet the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.\u201d]\n\nNow there\u2019s a lot of definitions of worship floating around out there.\u00a0 Let me just give you what I think is the simplest definition and the most biblically accurate.\u00a0 Worship is a response to truth.\u00a0 That\u2019s what worship is.\u00a0 Because they had truth, didn\u2019t they, verse 42, apostolic doctrine, and that lead to worship, verse 47.\u00a0 That\u2019s what worship is, it\u2019s a response to truth.\u00a0 As we travel through the Book of\u00a0 Revelation, particularly when we get to Revelation 4 and 5 and we are as determined as I am going to finish chapter 3 today, some of you don\u2019t believe me, \u201cyou\u2019re going to cover three verses in a whole sermon?\u201d\u00a0 Yes I am!\u00a0 I\u2019m going to force myself to do it at gunpoint.\u00a0 [Laughs]\u00a0 Someone is worshipful already as I said that.\n\nBut worship is a response to truth because in Revelation 4 and 5 we\u2019re going to be transported to the heavenly scene where worship is really done right in heaven and you\u2019re going to see what worship is.\u00a0 Worship is not a battle over preferences, it\u2019s not about my liver-quiver of the day.\u00a0 It\u2019s not about does this church over here give me the\u2026 I call it the liver-quiver, the goosebumps on the neck.\u00a0 It\u2019s about seeing Jesus as Creator and Redeemer.\u00a0 Creator\u2014Revelation 4; Redeemer, Revelation 5. And as He is unveiled in that sense the only thing heaven can do, which would include the church and the angels and the four living creatures, is just explode in worship.\u00a0 That\u2019s what worship is, it\u2019s the response to truth.\n\nAnd so my pet heresy is I think within modern day evangelicalism we\u2019ve got it backwards.\u00a0 We have songs before the sermon and the thinking is we have to prepare the way for the sermon.\u00a0 That\u2019s how people think. We\u2019ve got to get people in the right mood to sit and endure the sermon I guess is what they\u2019re saying.\u00a0 I think the whole thing is backwards because the sermon is a proclamation of truth; worship should be a response to truth.\u00a0 I sort of think we ought to be doing our singing after the sermon. And we do a closing song after the sermon and I\u2019m not going to push that, that\u2019s just my pet heresy.\u00a0 But what\u00a0 you see here is the early church gave themselves to worship.\n\nAnd there is a sixth thing the early church gave themselves to was benevolence.\u00a0 Look at what it says in verses 44 and 45. It says, \u201cAnd all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;\u201d now folks, this is not communism and I say that because liberation theology, which is galloping all the way through South America and is 90 miles off the shore in Havana Cuba, and obviously is very much on the rise today because of the activities of Putin and so forth.\u00a0 The strategy of communism is to teach liberation theology in the churches.\u00a0 Communists want to infiltrate the churches not necessarily to make you a communist but to desensitize you to the evils\u00a0 of communism.\u00a0 That\u2019s all they\u2019re trying to do and they know that if they can take pulpits and teach a version of Christianity that mixes the Bible with communism, the technical name for it is liber\u00adation theology, they can desensitize a population to the evils of communism and they can get that population to more readily accept communism.\n\nAnd you can go right back to the \u00a0House on Un-American Activity, it was thoroughly investigated and thoroughly documented if anybody wants to see the research, that the communists for the most part had targeted and by and large taken over the Methodist church, sections of it and what they targeted was the seminaries because if you can corrupt the minds of the preachers you can corrupt the congregation.\u00a0 And so there\u2019s a lot of people today teaching liberation theology.\u00a0 I call them\u2026 the term for them is useful idiots which is not a pejorative it\u2019s a term that has an actual meaning.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re willingly allowing your pulpit to be used to promote the doctrine of communism and you don\u2019t even know it,\u00a0 you\u2019re just teaching a brand of theology called liberation theology.\u00a0 Liberation theology loves this verse here because it says they \u201chad all things in common,\u201d that\u2019s got to be communism, right.\u00a0 [Acts 2:44, \u201cAnd all those who had believed were together and had all things in common.\u201d]\n\nWell, do you see the government involved here at all?\u00a0 I mean, is the government, which is what communism teaches, coming in and redistributing the wealth?\u00a0 I don\u2019t see the government involved here at all.\u00a0 I see what\u2019s happening is compassionate capitalism; the Bible is pro ownership of private property because two of the commandments are don\u2019t covet and don\u2019t steal which are protecting private property.\u00a0 The Bible is not anti private property.\u00a0 What was happening here is people were touched by the Holy Spirit for purpose of benevolence and they voluntarily gave of their resources.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t coerced the way communism through its mandatory redistribution of wealth teaches it.\n\nIn fact, here is the verse that the liberation theologians will never show you. They will never show you Acts chapter 5, which comes after Acts 2, right?\u00a0 Verses 3 and 4, \u201cBut Peter said, \u201cAnanias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some<\/em> of the price of the land?\u201d\u00a0 Ananias and Sapphira were killed because they sold property and they said they were going to give it all to the church and they didn\u2019t; they kept back part of the proceeds for themselves.\u00a0 And so people say aha, see God is pro-communist, He killed those people because they hung onto their property, they didn\u2019t share it with the masses.\u00a0 And they\u2019ll never give you verse 4, where Peter says, \u201cWhile it remained unsold,<\/em> did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control?\u201d\n\nIn other words, you could do whatever you wanted with your property.\u00a0 But here\u2019s what you did that displeased the Lord, you lied to everybody.\u00a0 That\u2019s the sin, they\u2019ve lied to the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 Their sin wasn\u2019t private property, their sin was they sold it and they told everybody we\u2019ve given it all to the church when in fact they hadn\u2019t.\u00a0 And Peter is very clear here, while it was unsold you could just do whatever you wanted with it.\u00a0 That\u2019s not communism.\u00a0 This is compassion in capitalism because the Bible says the Lord loves a cheerful giver.\u00a0 On April 15th<\/sup> are you cheerful?\u00a0 That\u2019s not my most cheerful time of the\u00a0 year because God is into touching people\u2019s hearts privately and they become generous with their goods.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s not coerced, it\u2019s not forced, it\u2019s not mandatory, the government is not involved.\u00a0 But the early church was involved in this form of benevolence.\u00a0\u00a0 And it says, [45] \u201cand they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now why did they do that?\u00a0 Who was Peter\u2019s audience?\u00a0 Out of towners from the known world.\u00a0 They had planned to enter town (Jerusalem), celebrate Pentecost, and go back home.\u00a0 They only had resources for a short stay.\n\nSo what had just happened to these people?\u00a0 Their minds had just been changed, they needed new doctrine, they couldn\u2019t go back home and they couldn\u2019t read the New Testament because it wasn\u2019t written yet and where else can they learn the new truth from?\u00a0 From who?\u00a0 Apostles!\u00a0 Where are the apostles?\u00a0 Jerusalem, so they had to stick around.\u00a0 Now you\u2019ve got an economic problem; you\u2019ve got a bunch of unemployed people. So what happened is the Lord began to touch the hearts of individual Jerusalem church saints and they began to volitionally liquidate their assets to have cash on hand to help the out of towners.\u00a0 You see that?\u00a0 And that\u2019s why God raised up benevolence in the early church.\n\nI wish we had time to look at all these verses but jot down Acts 6:1-7, you\u2019ll see benevolence there.\u00a0 1 Timothy 5:3-16, benevolence, what do you do with people in the church that have a difficult economic time?\u00a0 What do you do with widows?\u00a0 I mean, does every widow get support.\u00a0 You\u2019d be shocked at how specific the Bible is on that.\u00a0 I Timothy 5:3-16; Acts 6:1-10.\n\n[Acts 6:1-7, \u201cNow at this time while the disciples were increasing in number,<\/em> a complaint arose on to the ministry of the word.\u201d [5] The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. [6] And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.\u00a0 [7] The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.\u00a0 [8] And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. [9]But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including<\/em> both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. [10] But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.\u201d]\n\n1 Timothy 5:3-16, \u201cHonor widows who are widows indeed; [4] but if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God. [5] Now she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day. \u00a0[6] But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives. [7] Prescribe these things as well, so that they may be above reproach. [8] But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the part of the Hellenistic Jews<\/em> against the native<\/em> Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.<\/em> [2] So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, \u201cIt is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. [3] \u201cTherefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. [4] \u201cBut we will devote ourselves to prayer and faith and is worse than an unbeliever. [9] A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been<\/em> the wife of one man, [10] having a reputation for good works; and<\/em> if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints\u2019 feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and<\/em> if she has devoted herself to every good work. [11] But refuse to put<\/em> younger widows on the list,<\/em> for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, [12] thus<\/em> incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge. [13] At the same time they also learn to be<\/em> idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busy\u00adbodies, talking about things not proper to mention.<\/em> [14] Therefore, I want younger widows<\/em> to get married, bear children, keep house, and<\/em> give the enemy no occasion for reproach; [15] for some have already turned aside to follow Satan. [16] If any woman who is a believer has dependent<\/em> widows, she must assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are widows indeed.\u201d]\n\nAnd also jot down Galatians 6:10 which says, \u201cSo then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of\u201d what? \u201cthe household of the faith.\u201d\u00a0 Benevolence.\u00a0 So the sixth thing the early church gave themselves to was benevolence.\u00a0 And then there\u2019s a seventh thing they did and with this our list is finished and we\u2019ll stop.\u00a0 The seventh thing they did was fellowship and the Greek word for fellowship is \u03ba\u03bf\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03af\u03b1 [koinonia].\n\nAnd where do you see fellowship?\u00a0 You see it there in Acts 2:42, \u201cThey were\u00a0continually devoting themselves to the apostles\u2019 teaching and to\u201d what? \u201c fellowship,\u201d \u03ba\u03bf\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03af\u03b1, what were they fellowshipping around, the commonality that they all had that Jesus was who He claimed to be, that they\u2019d all just changed their minds on.\u00a0 Now look at this, \u201cthey were taking their meals\u201d what? together.\u00a0 And then it says, verse 47, \u201cpraising God and having favor with\u201d what? \u201call the people.\u201d So you have fellowship being raised up here.\u00a0 Now notice in verse 46 there\u2019s two kinds of fellowship, large group fellowship, small group fellowship.\u00a0 Large group is in verse 46, it says, \u201cDay by day continuing with one mind in the\u201d what? \u201ctemple,\u201d that\u2019s about three thousand people, \u201cfellowshipping together in the temple as a large group, and then they had smaller groups because it says, \u201cand breaking bread from house to house, [they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart.]\u201d\n\nSo we kind of have a little bit of that here, don\u2019t we.\u00a0 We have regular church meetings, then we have fellowship groups and then we have men\u2019s groups and then we have women\u2019s groups and we have opportunities to fellowship in smaller groups. And you can see that the Holy Spirit would be in that because He was doing that in the very first church meeting from the beginning; large groups, small groups, corporate fellowship, small group fellowship.\n\nAnd there\u2019s a tremendous attitude out there that is very disturbing to me where people look at church today as optional.\u00a0 And I\u2019m wondering how much we\u2019ve contributed to that by making everything so online and accessible where people say well, I\u2019m just going to stay in my pajamas and catch it on line as if a sermon is the height of what church is. Church is a lot more than just a didactic teaching; it\u2019s comradery with those of like mind.\n\nHebrews 10:25 is very clear, where it says, \u201cnot forsaking your own assembling together,\u201d watch this, \u201cas is the habit of some, [but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.\u201d]\u00a0 Now we fully get it but that some people don\u2019t have a church for whatever reason and we want our outreach to go to them but we\u2019re also very clear that if you have a church within your vicinity and you say well, it\u2019s not a perfect church, well if it is a perfect church then you shouldn\u2019t join it because it won\u2019t be perfect any more.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0 There are no perfect churches because have in them people; people have a sin nature, so you if you have a church without a problem you have not people in the church.\u00a0 And if you have a church with no people then you\u2019ve got another problem because that\u2019s not a church, it\u2019s just a building or a room.\u00a0 So everybody says they\u2019re looking for the perfect church.\n\nSugar Land Bible Church is not utopia Bible Church.\u00a0 Now the online people think it is because they don\u2019t even know us, that\u2019s why they think that.\u00a0 But if they hung around here for a while they\u2019d figure it out pretty quick.\u00a0 This is not Utopia Bible Church.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to get your feelings hurt in church, people are going to step on your toes, someone is going to say something unkind because all of us are beset by the sin nature.\u00a0 And yet we\u2019re called to overlook these differences of opinion around the commonality of Jesus Christ.\n\nI would put church like this, if I can use this illustration, it\u2019s like a campfire. Remember when you went camping and\u00a0 Smoky the Bear told you not to start a forest fire?\u00a0 And you have a problem because your campfire is still smoldering and you want to go home.\u00a0 How do you get rid of the campfire as fast as possible (other than throw water on the fire).\u00a0 You take the coals and you separate them; if they\u2019re separated they go out faster apart than they do together.\u00a0 See the illustration.\u00a0 That\u2019s what church is.\u00a0 This is why the devil is trying to get you to be down on church, hate church, I\u2019m not in favor of organized religion people say, I just want to worship God under this tree over here.\u00a0 The reality of the situation is that is a satanic lie because he knows that if he can disassociate you from God\u2019s people your energy in the Christian life will quickly disappear.\n\nSo if you\u2019re looking for a church, what should see in that church.\u00a0 Verses 41-47 gives you the seven things that the Holy Spirit will raise up in some form or substance in any body: doctrinal ordinances, prayer, evangelism, worship, benevolence and fellowship.\u00a0 And the next time I am with you we\u2019re going to be going into church government; how do you govern a church.\u00a0 Who makes final decisions in a church?\u00a0 Is it mobocracy, because after all in the United States it\u2019s one man, one vote, right?\u00a0 So is it a majority opinion, is it a poll, is it congregational led, or is there some kind of papacy or bishop or denomination that we\u2019re to be submitted to outside of Sugar Land Bible Church.\u00a0 So we\u2019ll get into the subject of government.\u00a0 And then once you understand the true nature of government then you\u2019ll start to understand why there\u2019s such a premium on how leaders are selected.\u00a0 It\u2019s called officers.\u00a0 And we\u2019ll be talking about that.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t