Page 97. Page 97 is due first, second, and last. I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love. I love to tell the story because I know it is true. It satisfies my longing, as nothing else can do. I love to tell the story, it will be my theme in glory. Tell the old, old story Of Jesus and his love I love to tell the story More wonderful it seems Than all the golden fantasies Of all our golden dreams I love to tell the story It did so much for me And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee I love to tell the story It will be my theme in glory to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love. I love to tell the story for those who know it best. Seem hungering and thirsty To hear it like the rest And when it seems a glory I'd sing the new, new song Twill be the old, old story ♪ That I have loved so long ♪ I love to tell the story ♪ Twill be my theme in glory ♪ To tell the old, old story ♪ Of Jesus and his love And you may be seated. The preachers are weary The singers are tired The church as we know it is losing its fire some are discouraged from bearing the load but we must determine to keep pressing on cause if just one more soul were to walk down the aisle It would be worth every struggle It would be worth every mile A lifetime of labor is still worth it all If it rescues just one more soul So preachers keep preaching, and singers go sing, laymen keep sharing that Jesus is King. The angels have gathered, they're surrounding the throne, and they'll start rejoicing. For just one more soul Cause if just one more soul Were to walk down the aisle It would be worth every struggle It would be worth every mile A lifetime of labor Is still worth it all If it rescues just one more soul Cause if just one more soul were to walk down the aisle It would be worth every struggle It would be worth every mile A lifetime of labor is still worth it all if it rescues just one more soul A lifetime of labor is still worth it all if it rescues just one more soul Praise the Lord. Good morning, church. We thank the Lord for giving us this opportunity and privilege to be with you this morning. We truly recognize that it is only by the grace of God why we are here. Actually, it's our first time in the US. And we came here with a purpose. And actually, we were invited to attend a missions conference. And we actually do not know what will happen after the missions conference, but we believe that it is God that brought us here. and he brought us here with a purpose, and actually it's a great privilege for us to be able to minister to you this morning and later in the afternoon. We thank Pastor Eccles, Pastor Derek, and Ma'am Sherry, and the members of Crimson Avenue Baptist Church for allowing us to visit you and that we may be able to present to you the ministry that God has entrusted to us in the Philippines. So without further ado, let us open our Bibles again in the book of Acts chapter 4. Let us proceed with our message this morning. Our congregational Bible reading is found in Acts chapter 4. Verse 32 to verse number 35. And I would like to read again the passage that was read earlier. And the Bible says, And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul. Neither said any of them that all of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common. and with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet, and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. Praise be to God for the reading of his word. Let us go to the Lord in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us this wonderful time and opportunity to worship you. We thank you for your mercy and grace and the great salvation that you have given us. Lord, I commit to you the message that we will study this morning coming from your word. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide us, lead us, and be upon us. continue to impress into our hearts the wonderful truths that are found in this text, and that we may be able not only to understand, but also to apply the truths in our lives. All of these things we ask in Jesus' mighty name. Amen and amen. I would like to begin our sermon with an illustration. And this illustration is about the tallest trees in the world. The tallest trees in the world is found in the United States of America. And it is in the northern part of California named the redwood trees, the giant. redwood trees, and they call it also the sequoia trees. And in fact, there is a national park in the northern part of California wherein there is a tree named General Sherman. So the redwood trees are considered to be the largest living things on earth. The average height is 200 to 240 feet, and sometimes they can reach a height of 300 feet. The giant redwood trees has a diameter of 15 to 20 feet. And what's amazing about these trees is that they can live up to 2,000 years. Truly, the giant redwood trees are an amazing sight. But there is a surprising fact about these giant redwood trees. Do you know that the giant redwood trees has a very shallow root system? The only way, they say, that the redwood trees are able to stand against the winds and the storms is because they grow in groves together. And their shallow roots actually are intertwined and interlocked with each other. In other words, the strength of the redwoods is found in their closeness and in their connection to one another. My brethren, the same is true of the church. The strength of the church is not found in the size of her budgets. It is not in the grandeur of the buildings. It is not found in the excellence of preaching or the abundance of the programs that we have. It is not what makes a church strong and successful. A church is successful because of our connection and closeness with our Savior and with our fellow saints. Amen. The church is not somewhere we go. It is something we are. And being a part of the church is not just going to a location. It is sharing in a life. And that life is the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. It is Christ in us and we being in Christ. That life in which the members of a church share is the community that truly defines what a church is. Here in this passage, at the closing of Acts chapter 4, we are given a glimpse into the community life of the early church. How this early church or early Christians lived and interacted together is a wonderful example of the type of community our church families should seek to be today. There was a preacher of yesteryears, he said, our greatest hindrance in the church is within our own ranks. Again, he said that our greatest hindrance in the church is within our own ranks. We cannot get to the goal for stumbling over our own team. The reason why we cannot reach the goal is because we are stumbling over our own team. So rather than stumbling over one another or striving against one another, the church that becomes a community such as we find in this passage will be a church where saints are blessed and the kingdom of God is being built. As we look at this text, there are some wonderful hallmarks about this early community of believers that ought to be seen and ought to be true in our church family as well. So this morning, the title of our message is the hallmarks of the early community of believers. The hallmarks of the early community of believers. So first of all, the first hallmark is their unusual mindset. Their unusual mindset. Many churches in our day are desperately trying to connect with the world or with the society and culture around them. Relevance has become their motto. And in an effort to be relevant, they are trying to make their churches more and more like the society in which they live. The mentality is that the church must mimic the world in order to reach it. And as a result, many services have become Hollywood style productions. And entertainment is the new evangelism. My brethren, it is interesting however, when we study the word of God in this passage, we find that the church is called to counter the culture and not to conform to it. The Bible says in Romans chapter 12 verse 1 and 2, I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God that he present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Verse 2 says, and be not conformed to this world, amen, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that he may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. The church is called to counter the culture and not be conformed to it. The Apostle Peter in his writing in 1 Peter 2 verse 9 says, we are a peculiar people. What does it mean? It means that we are unusual. We should be different. When we look to our text, one of the first things we note about this early community of believers is not how it fit with its culture, but rather how it stuck out from the culture. When we read verse 32, they find the whole mindset of the church on that day, during that day was unusual. It was unusual during that day and it is unusual even in our day. Look at verse number 32, it says, And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul. Neither said any of them that all of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common. I think I forgot to turn on my mic. Sorry, Brother Micah. Again it says, Now as we look at the uniqueness of this church and its mindset, I want us to notice a couple of things about the unusual mindset that they have. Letter A, They are unusual in their agreement. They are unusual in their agreement. The Bible tells us that within the first community of Christians, the whole multitudes which probably numbered close to 10,000, the Bible says they were of one heart and of one soul. They were of one heart and of one soul. The word translated heart speaks of emotions and desires. The word there, soul, speaks of the life or the mind. The idea is that all of these people shared a common passion and mentality. Though there was a diversity of people, there was unity of spirit. Amen? different people, from different places, from different backgrounds had come together, had agreed together about the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Just like us. While we are not all alike, but we are all aligned. Amen. While there was not uniformity, there was unity within the early community of believers. This group of people had gathered into a community and they were all agreed. How unusual is this community? This is unusual, brethren. Because our world is full of competing countries and conflicting views. War and strife fills the story of the human race. That is our human history. It is said that over the last 4,000 years of human history, there have been only 260 years of peace. So history has proven that when enough people gather together or come together, it is almost inevitable that someone is going to disagree, that a schism will arise, that there will be conflict, But in this passage, brethren, in Acts chapter 4, we see an unusual group of people who are unified in heart and soul. Amen. Their agreement is unusual in the midst of a world that so often disagrees. I believe that this characteristic must be seen in our church, in our lives as believers, in our lives as servants of God, because our unity is a powerful testimony. Amen. This was one of the prayer requests of the Lord Jesus Christ. In John chapter 17, in his high priestly prayer, he said in John 17 verse 21, that they may all be one, as now Father art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. Brethren, our unity is a powerful testimony and witness to the world. When we are united, the world sees it. And that is one factor that constrains them to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. Amen. The early church speaks to us today and reminds us that a peaceful, unified community of believers is a powerful testimony to a world in conflict. That is why we as Christians ought to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in bond of peace. They are unusual in their agreement. Secondly, they are unusual in their attitude. Verse 32 says, And I quote, neither said any of them that out of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common. Do you know that this is the second time in the book of Acts where we are told that the early church had all things in common. In the earlier passage, it is also found and it was said that they all believed and had all things in common. Now we see it again. Here we find the reason why these people were able to share with one another so willingly and completely. The reason why they were able to share what is theirs is because of their attitude. The Bible says, none of them said that what they possessed was their own. Isn't it strange? Isn't this unusual? It is a strange attitude to find among a group of people. Because nowadays, many people have their own self-interest. But in this passage, the early community of believers, self-interest had been put aside for something that these people viewed to be much more important. Amen. In the minds of these first church members, the kingdom of Christ and His church and the gospel is more important than the accumulation of possessions. When we were in California, I heard a preaching from a Filipino pastor who pastors in California. He said, he was preaching to our fellow Filipino brethren, and he said that, we are not here just to accumulate wealth. We are here in America to propagate the gospel, not only to preach the gospel, but also to propagate the gospel through supporting missions. And what an encouragement. Listen very carefully. In the minds of these first church members, the kingdom of God, the gospel is more important than their own self-interest. There was no object in their life that they would not part with or share with in order to further the cause of Christ or to help the church achieve His will. You know, we as human beings, we have a sinful nature. And we all know that because of our sinful nature, we are selfish. We are selfish. One of the earliest words we learn as a child is the word mine. That's mine. As early as being a toddler, we learn to lay claim what is ours and we defend it with our lives. Unfortunately, some people never move beyond that toddler selfishness. Still today, many people live every day to claim something else and to protect what they already have. However, When we realize the eternal implications of the gospel, and when we see the body of Christ as something infinitely more valuable than our self-interest, it should affect how we hold on to this world and the things that are in it. The mindset of the people in the church community should be different from the mindset of the selfish, sinful world in which we live. Amen. That is the first truth, their unusual mindset. Secondly, I would like to share to you their unchanging mission. Their unchanging mission. As we look at the first church in the book of Acts, it is not hard to make sense of their mission. It is not hard to see what their mission is. Verse 33 says, our text says, And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. While many churches in our day are changing directions and shifting priorities, the original community of believers speaks to us and reminds us that our mission in this world has not changed. Amen. So what is our unchanging mission? First of all, letter A, to proclaim the gospel that we have believed. To proclaim the gospel that we have believed. Again, our text says, and with great power the apostles continued to testify to the truth of Christ's resurrection. That is what our text says. And this they did in spite of the fact that they had been recently warned not to preach or teach about the name of Jesus. In Acts chapter 4 verse 18, it says that they were commanded not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus. But praise God, they did it anyway. They continued to preach the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in Acts chapter 4 verse 33, there is an interesting word in this text, and that is the word gave. The word gave. The Bible says, and with great power gave. This word, when translated, literally means to pay back. To pay back. It speaks of something that you are obligated to do. So in other words, the apostles and the early community of Christians were duty-bound to testify to their world about the fact that Jesus had been risen from the dead and that Jesus was the only hope for salvation of mankind. It means that they were duty-bound to preach the gospel. You know, when the Apostle Paul wrote about the implications of the gospel in the book of Romans chapter 1, he says, verse number 14, I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. What does it mean? When the Apostle Paul said that I am debtor, it means that he sees himself as someone who needs to pay back. He sees himself as someone who has an obligation to do. That is why in verse number 15 it says, So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. And then in verse 16 it says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe it, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Brethren, nothing has changed for the community of the church today. We have a ministry to perform and we have a message to preach. The church must continue to proclaim, to preach and propagate the good news, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Proclaiming the gospel of a risen Savior is not a choice. It is a command. It is God's charge for the church. It is not something that we might do. It is something that we must do. The church family that does not witness to the world about the truth of the gospel is a church that is failing to keep its obligations to its founder and head, the Lord Jesus Christ. Someone said, a church that does not give witness to the gospel, it claims to believe is like a restaurant that serves no food. It is like a hotel that has no beds, a hospital that offers no medicine, and an army that will not fight. Listen, when Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and left his church on earth, he left us with a mission. and the primary of which is the proclamation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Earlier, Pastor Resty told us that it was the Americans who first brought the gospel to the Philippines. You know, our family, actually we came from a Christian background. And our great-grandfather was actually one of the earliest preachers in the Philippines. And during that time, even during the colonial time when the Spanish invaded the Philippines, my great-grandfather was already preaching. He was already preaching the gospel. He was preaching the gospel in Tagalog, he was preaching the gospel in Spanish, and he was preaching the gospel in English. And may I remind you this morning, we are so thankful because the Lord brought us here. As I have said, it is only by the grace of God that we are here. And maybe this is a great opportunity for us to thank you, Americans, for bringing the gospel in the Philippines. I would like to encourage you that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Because back home in the Philippines, people are being saved. as we continue to preach the gospel, which is powerful unto salvation. There will be people who will truly believe and accept the Lord Jesus Christ. Even your mission support to the missionaries is not in vain. Every penny, every cent counts. And just imagine that if one soul, if one person receives the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says the angels in heaven are already rejoicing. So your labor is not in vain in the Lord. We have an unchanging mission. We must be fully convinced that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. People still needs to know that Jesus saves, that Jesus is the Son of God who was given by the Father. They need to know that Christ died for their sins on the cross of Calvary. He was buried and rose up again on the third day for the propitiation of sins. to appease the wrath of the Father, and for the salvation of those who will believe. That is the good news, my brethren. And everybody ought to know, we have an unchanging mission. We sing, proclaim it wherever you go. Proclaim it wherever you go, because souls are waiting, yearning for the message that you know, for the blessings that you know. Proclaim it wherever you go. We have an unchanging mission and we are so glad to find a church who has an unchanging mission. We are so glad to be able to visit your church and we know, like us, still believes in the mission. still believes in the power of God unto salvation, and that is the gospel. Secondly, what is our unchanging mission? Not only to proclaim the gospel that we have believed, number two, letter B, to portray the grace that we have received. To portray the grace that we have received. Verse 33 says, and great grace was upon them all. The question is, how did they know that grace was upon them all? Were they able to see God's grace in the lives of the people? Certainly. Definitely. The answer is that the grace of God was seen in their lives. Part of the power of the apostolic witness was the life of those who had been converted to Christ through that witness. One thing that was clear about this first community of believers was that all of them had been clearly touched by the grace of God. Amen. We usually sing a song, He Touched Me. Every person who was saved has that kind of experience. We have been touched by God. We have been touched by the grace of God. Amen. As the apostle preached about the power of the gospel, it was verified as lost people could see that God had truly done a great work in the lives of the people that made up this first church. Isn't this not still the mission of the church today? As we preach the gospel with our lips, we are to prove it with our lives as well. Amen. Matthew 5 16 reminds us and says let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven Philippians chapter 2 verse 15 says that he may be blameless and harmless the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom you shine as lights in the world the problem In our society and our problem today is that too many churches are declaring a message on Sunday that their members are not displaying on a Monday. The problem sometimes is not if the message is being declared. The problem is on how we are displaying the message that was preached to us. The mission of the church members has not changed since Christ founded the church in the first century. We are to proclaim the saving grace of God while portraying the same grace as we live our lives from day to day. Philippians 1.27 says, Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that they stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel." We ought to proclaim and live the gospel truth in Jesus' name. Their unchanging mission. And lastly, are you still there? The third point is the unselfishness of the members. The unselfishness of the members. Allow me to say this, but I am not pro-communism. It was said that when Karl Marx, in his communist doctrine, it was said that it was taken the foundational principle was taken from the early church community in the Book of Acts. Because the communist mantra is this, from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. To paraphrase it, from every man as he is able, to every man as he has need. Look back in verse 34 and 35 it says, Neither was there any among them that lacked for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet, and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. While Marxism drew from this text for its failed ideologies, there is a great difference in political communism and the community life of the early church. There was one writer who said that the difference is this way. He writes that the early Christians shared their possessions not because they were communist or socialist. They shared not because they were forced to share their things, but they shared it for a far better reason. They shared their goods because they were generous. And they were generous because they had learned generosity from God. The early community of believers were generous because they have learned generosity from God. You must always remember that the initiative always begins with God. The Bible says in 1 John chapter 4 verse 19, we love him because he first loved us. We give because he first gave. Amen. It was because of his love that God gave his only begotten son for sinners like us. There was a preacher of yesteryears who said that salvation is like a gift, a gift box, that when you open it, There you find not only salvation, but with it are many blessings, spiritual blessings. There is forgiveness, justification. There is the eternal life. There is sanctification. There is glorification. With it are many spiritual blessings. We learn generosity because He first gave his own son, and his own son gave his life for sinners like us. The community of believers that made up the first church consisted of a group of people who gave to one another and to the work of the Lord with a remarkable unselfishness. You know, these people, the early community of believers speaks to us today and reminds us that the church is not a place where you simply take and receive. The church is a place where Christ's people give and contribute unselfishly. That is the church. You know, back home in the Philippines, we have said it earlier in our presentation, we are a third world country. The only reason why the churches survive and they're continuing, it is because of the grace of God. And because even though we are impoverished, even though the Philippines is poor, but we taught our children these principles. We taught our church members this principle. The principle we find in the book of Acts, wherein the first early church believers learned to contribute unselfishly. Now there are two things about their unselfishness. First of all, their giving was sacrificial. Their giving was sacrificial. Verse number 34, it says, Now this does not mean that everybody sold everything they owned. When we make or do a study about the tense of the verbs that is used in the original language, we see that they do this, the people do this, when it was needed. When it was needed. So what I want you to see is the obvious sacrificial nature of their giving. And it was remarkable. These people, the Bible says, sold houses and properties and gave the entire proceeds to the work of the Lord. There was a recent study, and maybe you know this, the Barna survey about churches and their giving. It was said that, it was predicted that churches will see billions of dollars that will not be given to the Lord's work. And the most striking statistic is that the most common adjustment that people had to make in their finances is to reduce their giving in the churches and even charity. In other words, it means that before people will cut back or will cut some non-essential bills or things in their lives, they will first reduce their giving to the Lord. they will take from God so that they can keep more for themselves. You know, when we look at the early community of believers, we could see the unselfish, sacrificial nature of the giving of the people. They would rather give up their property than see their church do without. I believe that there is no need that we cannot accomplish when the people of God, when the church people, when the members of the church are united and they learn to give sacrificially. You know, in the Philippines, even though our churches are not, of course, well off, but we teach our people not only to give their tithes and offerings, we teach our people to give to missions, even in a small amount. We can do more for God when we are united, when we are partnering with one another. And we must learn to be sacrificial in our giving. And then lastly, not only their giving was sacrificial, but let there be their giving was sufficient. It was sufficient. Here in this text, we find no record of the Apostle Peter preaching a sermon about stewardship. There is no evidence of a capital campaign or a fundraising effort on the part of the apostles. What we do find is this amazing statement found in verse number 32 and it says, Think about it. People gave what they could and got what they needed. Amen. The needs within the church were met by generosity and service of the members within that church. So the first community of believers lives as an example, lives as an important example and it speaks to us about so much more than just money and material needs. You know, the early community of believers The early community of believers reminds us that if we will each give what we can, we will each have what we need. What this says to us is that if there is a need within our congregation that is not being met, a ministry that is not being fulfilled, a service that is not being offered, it is because someone is not doing their part. If a church falls short of meeting the needs it faces, the blame cannot be laid at the feet of just one person. Every member of a church community is responsible for the life and health of that church community. Members, fellow Christians, When we give sacrificially, we find that God has given everything we need within our church family to sufficiently supply all of our needs. As I close, the church is not a building. We all know that it is a body. And the body is a community of believers brought together by Jesus Christ and His gospel. The health and life of a church is therefore dependent upon the health and life of that community of believers. This first church, the early community of believers speaks to us today and reminds us that we are unique people called to proclaim an unchanging gospel and to portray that gospel in our lives as well. We are called to give and care for one another. So we should not be just a religious club. Let us be a spiritual community where each member does their part to see that the cause of Jesus is achieved and the church of Jesus and the kingdom of the Lord Jesus is being advanced. Again, we would like to thank you for giving us this opportunity to be able to minister to you this morning. Shall we go to the Lord in prayer? Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us this time and opportunity to share what we have seen in this passage. Thank you, Lord, for the example of the early community of believers. We pray and we do ask for your grace. that we may be able to portray or to live these examples in our lives as well. Continue to bless the ministry that you have entrusted to us. May we continue to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and portray the grace that we have received. All of these things we pray in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Let's stand, if you would, please. The instrument's going to play this morning, and the invitation is open. You know, if you use just a little bit of deductive reasoning, a little bit of logic, what is the safest tree in that Sequoia forest? Which would be the one right in the middle. Not on the fringe, where the roots are growing out, but the one right in the middle. And I'm afraid, more and more as we go, we get more and more members that are just kind of living on the fringes of the church, and they wonder why they struggle so often. They wonder why their life is up and down, up and down. Every wind of life comes and blows them around, and they're not stable, and everything is throwing them off track all the time. I'm telling you, what a beautiful illustration this morning. And that we need to be connected. We need to be connected. The members of the Book of Acts were not hanging around on the fringes. They were involved. They were involved. Everybody was doing their part. And maybe the Lord has been speaking to you this morning, more of a part that you need to have. There's a lot to do. There's a lot to do. And what a wonderful reminder that what our mission is. It's right back here on the wall. Jesus said, follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. That's why we're here, right? We're just going to we're just like one man said, just one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread. Right. That's all. That's what we're all about. That's what we're all about. Let's not lose sight of that. Let's not forget that. We don't just come here to mark our time and to go home and do our own thing. There's something much bigger than us going on here, and we need to keep that right in line. However, the Lord has spoken to you this morning. The instrument is playing. The invitation is still open. You respond to the Lord this morning. Are you busy about the gospel where the Lord has placed you? The job that he's given you, the place where you work, the place where you live, are you busy in the neighborhood that God's placed you? Are you busy? Busy about the gospel?