April 24, 2016
Morning Service

Acts 2:1-8 And in the fulfilling of the day of Pentecost, they were all with one accord in one place.  (2)  And suddenly a sound came out of the heaven as borne along by the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  (3)  And tongues as of fire appeared to them, being distributed; and it sat upon each of them.  (4)  And they were all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  (5)  And dwelling at Jerusalem there were Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven.  (6)  But this sound occurring, the multitude came together and were confounded, because they each heard them speaking in his own dialect.  (7)  And they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, are not these who speak all Galileans?  (8)  And how do we each hear in our own dialect in which we were born?”

·         This was the first of many signs and miracles that occurred to bring attention to the fact that God was on the move.  The great many people that were gathered in Jerusalem for the Pentecost Feast all heard the disciples speaking in their native dialect.  This certainly got their attention and gave Peter the opportunity to step forward as the true leader that he was and preach the first gospel message to this Jewish crowd.

·         With the guidance and conviction of the Holy Spirit, Peter opened their understanding to who this Jesus, that they had crucified, really was.

 

Acts 2:36-39 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.  (37)  And hearing this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Men, brothers, what shall we do?”  (38)  Then Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ to remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  (39)  For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call.

·         This is exactly what happened in our fellowship a couple of weeks ago.  A group of people came to the realization that they needed to take a step of faith and deepen their relationship with Christ.  We instructed them the same thing Peter did in his first sermon; “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ to remission of sin and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

·         Verse 39 tells us that the promise was good on day 1 of the church and is still good today.  This is how we enter into our covenant with God; not Abraham’s, not Moses’, but OURS!

·         So knowing that what was true then is also true now, let’s look at what happened next and see if we are continuing to follow their example.

 

Acts 2:41-47 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. And the same day there were added about three thousand souls.  (42)  And they were continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and in fellowship and in the breaking of the loaves, and in prayers.  (43)  And fear came on every soul. And many wonders and miracles took place through the apostles.  (44)  And all who believed were together and had all things common.  (45)  And they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.  (46)  And continuing with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they shared food with gladness and simplicity of heart,  (47)  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

·         Verse 42 tells us that they “continued steadfastly” in studying, fellowship, communion and prayer.  They established what we now call the church.  Over the years it has evolved into what we have today.  We meet 3 times a week for Bible study, fellowship and united prayer.  We also continue their practice of partaking of the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week (Acts 20:7).  It worked then, it still works now.

·         Verse 43 speaks of the signs and miracles that were done that created a reverence and awe in their worship.  We still see miracles today, just not on that grand of scale.  I also believe our reverence and awe of God have dropped a notch as well, shame on us.  We still serve the same God, yet we have all become a bit complacent in this area. 

·         Do you realize the privilege it is to meet together in His Name, to pray to the Creator of the universe, to commune with Him at the Lord’s Supper, and to be called His sons, daughters and even His friends?  We not only are allowed to serve our God, but we can have a personal relationship with Him!

·         Verses 45-47 speak of the depth of their faith.  They all treated each other as family and when there was a need they took care of it.  Each person placing great value on others above themselves, loving their neighbor as themselves (Gal. 5:13-14).

·         How are we doing in this area?  Are we perhaps losing our focus of what community really means and conforming to the world’s view of putting ourselves first?  I’m not asking you to sell all you have and give it to the church, but I do want us to examine our perspective on the giving of our time and money to the church and to our neighbors.  It is love that should define us as Christ followers; do we love others as we should?  Remembering that love is an action verb.

·         Finally, from Verses 46-47 we see the believers’ attitude about life.  “They continued in one accord (united), with gladness and simplicity of heart praising God and finding favor with man.”

·         How are we doing here?  Do we feel united, a part of something bigger than ourselves?  Is there joy and simplicity in your serving God, or does it always seem such a struggle to find time for Him and when we do there is no joy?  Is your heart full of praise and your lips singing along?

·         If you are struggling in these areas, I encourage you to pray earnestly about it and make the necessary changes in your life to prioritize God above other activities in your life.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.

·         We can choose to put Him first and in so doing we will naturally bring the unity, joy, simplicity and praise back into our lives.

 

Lord, please restore unity, joy, simplicity and praise for You back into our lives.