As we come for today to the last section in Acts chapter four, I ask you please to turn with me there in your Bibles, Acts chapter four, as we come to consider verses 32 to 37 under the theme of the beautiful picture of the primitive church. Acts four, picking up at verse 32, I'll read to verse 37, Acts Chapter four, verse thirty two. Luke writes the following words and says. Now, the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul, neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power, the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked for all who were possessors of lands or houses, sold them and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles feet. and they distributed to each as anyone had me and Joseph, who was also named Barnabas by the Apostles, which is translated son of encouragement. A Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the Apostles feet. Dear friends, before we come to this very important narrative for today, would you once again unite your hearts with mine as we call upon our great God for his help? Let's pray. Our father, we bless you that you are God. Overall, we thank you that you are God. And besides you, there is no other. We're thankful, God, that your glory reigns supreme. And we're grateful, O God, that out of every tribe, nation, tongue, and kindred, you have a people who call upon your name. And this day, O God, we unite our voices with that glorious host. And we thank you, O God, again, that as we do, we can proclaim that wonderful salvation which you have procured for us in the doing, dying, and rising of your glorious Son, even Jesus. In this day, O God, we are here to worship Him. We are here, O God, to learn of Thee. So we ask, O God, that You would come with an outstretched arm and do good to Your people. That You would strengthen us in the inner man. That You would encourage us in the way of truth. O God, that You would change and challenge and conform us into that glorious image of Jesus Christ our Lord. Father, we pray that you would attend this service with great power by the Holy Spirit sent down to us. Quicken, we pray. Enliven all of us, we ask, and pray all of these mercies through that matchless name and mediatorial work of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Now, I guess if I had to publicly state who my favorite Puritan was in a congregation like ours who love the Puritans and their writings, I believe that I would have to say that it was the great Puritan Thomas Manton. Manton, as some of you might know, was an English Puritan who lived between the years 1620 to 1677, and he was considered in his day to be the king of preachers. And of him, I completely agree with Dr. Joel Beakey and Randall Peterson in their excellent book entitled, Meet the Puritans, when they say that, quote, Thomas Manton presents us with the best that English Puritans had to offer in careful, solid, warm-hearted exposition of the Holy Scripture. Well, in a sermon that this great preacher of God preached on first John three in verse eleven, which speaks about the love of the brethren in defining brotherly love, Thomas Manton said that it is, quote, such an affection as to knit the hearts of Christians to one another. as if they had but one heart and one soul in common between them. Well, dear brothers and sisters here, It is this very description that Thomas Manton, the great Puritan, gave for brotherly love, which absolutely permeates our passage for today, here as we come to consider this next text in Acts. We will see from it that among the early Christian community, there was an evident heart of deep concern and love for one another, that each member had for one another, which was practically worked out in tangible forms in their midst. Now, it is a passage like the one which is before us today, which really excites me. And I say this because it shows us the church at her very best, whereas shortly We will consider the church, perhaps at her worst, when we consider the sin of Ananias and Sapphira in chapter five of this book. Here, however, as Luke gives us yet another snapshot of this local church in Jerusalem, he shows us how a true church of the Lord Jesus Christ is to truly live by his great grace. Now we have here in this setting of this book, really what could be considered the second result of a spirit-filled congregation. And so why do I say this? Well, I do so because, as you may recall from last week's message, we saw in the second half of verse 31 of this chapter that Luke said that after the church prayed to God, the believers in Jerusalem were then all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the Word of God with boldness. Was this the only thing which was true of this congregation after the Holy Spirit filled them? Was it just that these believers were filled with the Holy Spirit so that they became powerful witnesses to Christ outside of their circles and nothing more? Well, dear friends, let me just say that this absolutely was not the case here in our narrative for today. We see that as Luke continues this record of the early church, that having spoken of the great things that happened by them to the outside world, now he speaks in our passage about the great things which happened inside her very own walls. Here, as Luke records for us something of the everyday life of the early congregation. He gives us this priceless summary of what a true spirit-filled church should look like by saying four very distinct things about her. And as we come to consider these vital matters for today, I ask you to note with me first in your Bibles, in verse 32, the church's unmistakable unity here. With his portrait drawn of the inner life of the church, Luke says the following words. Note them again with me in your Bibles. He writes now the multitude of those who believe were of one heart and one soul. Neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. Now in reading these opening words here in 32a, we should really try to get a sense for how magnificent they are here. As Luke begins to give us this further developed portrait of this assembly in the first century, having spoken of them briefly in Acts chapter 2, he now says that there was a multitude in their Now, what's so significant about this? Well, what's so significant about it is that here we see, according to the historian Luke, that the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ was having great success at this time. Here we're told that there were multitudes who were being converted to Christ and then joining the local church. And as we know from our earlier studies in this book, Luke told us back in Acts chapter 2 that the number came to be about 3,000. And then in Acts chapter 4, he said that the number was about 5,000. Well, friends, Perhaps here, because this number of those who belong to the local church in Jerusalem continue to grow so large that Luke just simply called the group the multitude. Maybe at this point, Luke couldn't even keep track or count of the number anymore, so he just says there was this multitude which was gathered together. Well, whatever the case might be, in thinking about how glorious this is, remember with me where all of this was taking place. Dear friends, this multitude who was being saved and gathered, as Luke describes here, they were in Jerusalem. They were in the capital city of Israel, the very place where our Lord had been tried and condemned, and the very place where the church will have to flee from because of persecution, as we'll see in a few weeks in our considerations of Acts chapter 8. Dear brothers and sisters here today, never forget that at this time Jerusalem was very unfavorable toward Christians. This capital city of the land was not the Geneva of Calvin's day where believers were warmly welcome to come to it. No, rather, it was a terrible place for Christians, especially at this time when the preaching of Christ and his gospel had just been outlawed. However, Even though this was the case, Luke says here that God's gospel was going forward. Even though the situation was very antagonistic towards the states, God was building his church as he will always do. While describing the multitude again, Luke says here that they were comprised of those who believed. And so we asked, believed what? Believed who? Well, as you know, Clearly, the sense here is that this multitude trusted or believed in the gospel, which sets forth the good news of God's Son, Jesus Christ. who died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins so that we could be forgiven, who then three days later rose from the grave as a validation of his victory over the grave as our representative. This group, these people who were gathered together as the local church in Jerusalem, who believe, were not like many in our day, namely people who were clinging on to their own good works to save them. This group were not claiming that they were right before God based upon who they were in and of themselves. No, rather, having heard the call of the gospel, they turned from their sins and trusted in the all-sufficient work of Jesus Christ, our Lord. What else does Luke say here in his beautiful portrait of the primitive church? Well, having described their size and their faith in the Savior, he now says something very important concerning their disposition among themselves in 32b. And it is noted again in your Bibles that they were of one heart and one soul. Now, what What do these words mean? Well, this terminology here was a Jewish way of expressing the complete harmony that these believers had with one another. Here, when Luke says that the early Christians were of one heart and one soul, the Greek being, Kardiakai, Psyche, Mia, He was speaking about the deep affection that each one of these brethren had toward one another. Here the terms heart and soul are to be taken collectively. And friends, I say that there could be no more striking description of the total unity of the early church than to say this about them. Oh, dear ones, this is as close as people can be. One heart and one soul much like David and Jonathan were in their godly friendship. For we read of them in 1 Samuel 18 that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Listen then to how Matthew Henry comments about this matter. Here Henry, who himself was a great Puritan, Said this quote among the early church, the disciples love one another dearly. He said there was no such thing as discord, division, jealousy or uneasiness among them. And this was the blessed fruit of Christ dying precept to them. For our Lord prayed in John chapter 17 and verse 21 that day may be one. And so this then. was what was true of the early church. This congregation had a sincere love and friendship for one another. And of course, we know that all of this was so because they had been saved by the almighty power and transforming grace of the living Christ. You see, beloved, this unity, this oneness of heart and soul that was in this church was not simply because they were a bunch of nice people. It wasn't just that they were easygoing, because even in such a group like that, you still have division among the people. No, rather, I say that it was because God had saved them. God had filled them with His Holy Spirit, or else there would have been great conflict and unrepentant disunity among them. A brethren apart from a true spirit wrought conversion, there will only be superficiality among the saints. However, blessed be God that this wasn't the case in the early church. Blessed be God that even as it is in our own church this day, God has made us one as his people. And so How then, practically, was this oneness of heart and soul manifested among them? Since Luke says here that it existed, what did its fruit look like? Well, he tells us in 32C, when he says in light of it, note the words again in your Bibles, neither did anyone say that any of the things that he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. Now, here is where we begin to see the evidence of the aforementioned truth, as I just stated. You see, dear ones, let a church never say that they truly love one another as one heart and one soul, while at the same time hoarding their possessions for themselves. No, here our passage tells us that when God, the Holy Spirit, begins to do a good work in people, so that it's as if they are one heart and one soul in one body. He says there will be a great partaking of their things among themselves. Here Luke shows us through these words in this narrative, in this portrait of the primitive church, that when people are truly united together, no one, no, not even one, in their midst will have a disposition which says, mine, mine, mine, all mine. That's how it goes in the world, as you know. Mine. Neither did anyone say that any of the things that he had was his own. And so you see, brethren, we learn a very important truth from this section of the Bible. And it is when God is doing something inward in his people, it will always affect their outward behavior. That's the truth. When God is doing something inward, it will affect how things go outwardly with them, and in this context, especially toward others. You see, dear brothers and sisters, when God is powerfully at work in the redeemed, they won't be self-absorbed. They will look out to the needs of their brethren. Because they have new hearts by the grace of God, because the Spirit of God is working in them both to will and to do of God's good pleasure, they will not regard their possessions as being exclusively for their own benefit. Beloved, this is one way which God's work will manifest itself in the people of God in a local congregation. This will be the result. People will love one another unselfishly, desiring to share their possessions for the use of others, which is what Luke means here when he says that they had all things in common. Secondly, then note with me in verse thirty three that because the church was filled with the Holy Spirit, they were characterized by a gospel productivity. Now, of course. We're seeing this topic of the preaching of the gospel once again in this book, and I say that this is so because when a church is truly filled with the Holy Spirit, she will be very desirous to proclaim that excellent name of Jesus. Oh, dear ones, when the Spirit of God is really active among us, Along with caring about one another, we will also care about proclaiming Jesus to the lost. And so Luke says here, note the words again, and with great power, the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all. Now, notice here that having discussed the great love, that the church had for one another, that now Luke highlights for us the great power and the great grace that was on each one of them. And so again, he says first that with great power, the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And now the Greek word here for great is Megos. And this word helps us to see just how much God himself was blessing the evangelistic labors of the early believers. Here he says, quite literally, that with mega power or might, the apostolic leaders of the congregation were preaching. And this power through them was not merely them raising their voices or having great eloquency of speech, no rather, it was the extraordinary supernatural power that the Holy Spirit of God was investing in them. This was that power which was from above, which our Lord Jesus Christ promised to his people, saying in Acts chapter 1, carry in Jerusalem until you are endued, until you are clothed with power from on high. This was the Spirit of God upon them, which despite the threats that the Sanhedrin had put upon the apostles in verse 18 of this chapter, commanding them not to speak or teach in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, enabled the early church and yes, the apostles themselves, to keep on giving public proclamation to the fact that Jesus Christ is alive, For as Peter says in verse 20 of this chapter, we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. Now, this matter of giving witness or testifying to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, his resurrection, of course, is a central tenet of the faith that we believe as Christians. As we know, the Lord Jesus Christ didn't only die. On our behalf, on the cross of Calvary, to cancel out our guilt before God as our willing substitute. He was not only buried in the grave, but we also believe that, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, that he rose from the dead on the third day, according to the scriptures. And friends, I say that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be part of our gospel proclamation, as it clearly was. with the early church. Dear ones, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave is supremely significant. And I say this because not only is it the crowning of proof that he made a full atonement to God as our substitute on the cross of Calvary. Not only does it validate his claims because he was saying over and over again in his ministry that he would rise from the dead. But in addition to these things, it also shows us that just as he rose victoriously from the grave, so also we who die in him when he returns will rise again. Well, in addition to the great spirit empowered preaching, Luke says here that there was great or mega grace upon the early church. Now, this is the first time in the book of Acts where the word grace is used, and it shows us that God's unmerited favor was richly upon these believers. You see, even though at this time the early church was experiencing great persecution at the hands of others, as we've considered in recent weeks, and even though there were needy people in their midst, no doubt, having been saved and a towering there in Jerusalem, leaving their trades from other parts of the world as we Considered in Acts chapter two. Even though this was so friends, I say that. God's goodness, nonetheless, was upon all of them, regardless of their situation, regardless of their circumstances, whoever it was, each and every one of these believers, because God had saved them, knew his great blessings on their lives, and I say what a glorious thing this was. Here we see in our passage God's great kindness to his people, and I say, dear brothers and sisters, that what was true of those people at that time is also true of us today as well. For those of us who know God in truth through our Lord Jesus Christ, despite our hardships, persecution, trials, despite our financial situations, God's great grace is upon us every single day of our lives. And great grace, mega grace, magnificent grace, all-powerful grace, God-sustaining grace was on them all. Tough situation. Not a lot of money in their pockets. People are attacking them for belonging to Christ and great grace was upon them. And as I said, this is what's true for all of God's people. Despite our hardships, despite what we're going through, despite those who are antagonistic against us, God's great grace remains with us and helps us from beginning to end. My dear friends, despite what we might go through as God's people while living in a fallen world, every single day of our lives, our God greatly loads us with all of His benefits. For as we read in Lamentations 3 and verse 23, His mercies are new every morning. Thirdly, note with me, in verses 34 and 35, that because this church was filled with the Holy Spirit, they were characterized by a sacrificial generosity. Look again at the words. Luke says here concerning this local assembly, nor was there anyone among them who lacked. Why, Luke? For, here's why, All who were possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles feet and they distributed to each as anyone had need. Now, of course, in this action of the early church, we see the grace of God being manifested in their lives and great grace was upon them. Nor was anyone in need. For the brethren were providing for those needs. You see, the point is when people know much of the grace of God, just like much of the Holy Spirit in their lives, they in fact will manifest that grace to others, not by shutting up their bowels of compassion towards them, but by opening up their wallets to meet their material needs. And so since these people had new hearts by God's great grace, since they realized that all that they had had been given to them from God above. And since they realized that they brought nothing into this world, therefore, most certainly they will bring nothing out of the world to quote the Apostle Paul in first Timothy six and verse seven. Those who have been touched by God's great mercies. Desired to bless others with material forms of mercy. As well. Now, again, this is what Luke says was happening here in 34a. Here he writes quite emphatically. If you could read Greek, you would see very emphatic are the words. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked. Oh, dear brethren, according to our passage, not one soul, not one person, even though there were thousands present, not a one of them. among these people did not have their needs met. And this is because, as Luke tells us in 34b, all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them. Now, this matter of believers selling their lands and houses for the needy is something that we've already considered as we've been working through the book of Acts. We've seen this in Acts chapter 2 in verse 45. There, in that passage, we're told that the believers, in language which is almost identical to what we have here, that the believers had all things in common. Resolved, they sold their possessions and they distributed their goods among those who had need. You had that in Acts 2. Now you have that in Acts 4, which shows us what? That the church was continuing in this good work. It wasn't just something at the beginning of their ministry. They were continuing to do this. Now, as you know, probably from your general knowledge of the book of Acts, the church will continue to give as needs will arise and as famines will come to various lands. The church was there to help out the brethren, as the church should always do. If you recall, when I preached on that Acts 2 section some time ago, I said that in this matter of the church selling lands and properties and giving them to the needs of others, that in this we have nothing of communism being set forth as some seem to think of communism, which is an economic and social system in which nearly all of property and resources are collectively owned by a classless society, and individuals don't own property. This is what this is. This is not at all what the Bible teaches. Rather, the Bible teaches what I call a common ism, not communism, but a common ism. You see, friends, in the first century, God's people did own property. But that's very clear in the next narrative. We'll consider it in a few weeks. However, the bigger point here in comparing communism with common ism is that Christian giving in the Bible is never characterized as that which comes from a legalistic law, but rather that which comes from a loving heart. Christian giving, biblically speaking, is not that which is done out of compulsion, but that which is done out of compassion. It's not that which is done out of guilt, but rather out of a generous heart who wants to bless others. So you see the difference, I trust, between a communism and communism. To state the matter as simply as I can, among the early church, no one was forced to pull their resources into a common fund. Rather, as we see here, out of their own will, Christian landowners and those who owned homes sold their additional properties and brought the proceeds of those things to the feet of the apostles. who then in turn distributed those proceeds to the body of Christ, and this not for everyone, no, but rather, as we read in 35b, and here's the key, to each as anyone had need. Here as Calvin correctly points out, quote, goods were not divided equally, but a careful distribution was made so that no one was oppressed by poverty. Now, having said these things, we might wonder what this matter was all about concerning bringing the proceeds to the feet of the apostles, as we have it here in 35a, and we'll see again in verse 37. Well, simply put, all of this was a method that was being used by the early church at this time in order to keep all of the money centrally located and properly managed. Here, this language simply speaks about the proceeds being entrusted to the care of the apostles. And while I don't believe in any way, shape, or form that this method encourages churches to have their people bring their proceeds to the feet of its leaders, please don't do that, I do believe that overseers of churches should have a general sense for what's going on in a local church, financially speaking, as stewards thereof. And so, having seen that a spirit-filled church will be characterized by an unmistakable unity, one heart, one soul, a gospel productivity. The apostles were preaching the resurrection of Christ and a sacrificial generosity. All the needs were met because people were selling what they had to meet those needs. Come with me now, fourthly. to note that a spirit-filled church will have an identifiable notability, as seen in verses 36 to 37 of this chapter. Here is Luke, brings this beautiful portrait of the church to a close, having described her generosity in general. He highlights for us now one specific individual. who stood out among the Saints for a sacrificial giving. That's what Luke was led to do by the Holy Spirit. He highlighted this man. Notice again what he says in your Bibles. He writes, and Joseph, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles, which is translated son of encouragement, a Levite of the country of Cyprus, one of the central islands in the Mediterranean Sea, having land He sold it, and he brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. Now we have here in these words Luke's first introduction of Barnabas to us, whose real name was Joseph, or as it is in the ESV version of the Bible and the NAS version of the Bible, Joseph, and as it is correctly noted in the footnote of the New King James version of the Bible. Now we should note here that Barnabas, who Luke says was from the country of Cyprus, was a very significant and respected individual in the early church. And he's mentioned over 20 times in the book of Acts and then five times in the epistles. Barnabas, as we'll see in a few weeks, was really a great man of God. Being a sincere man, a sympathetic man, a spiritual man, a sensible man, a surrendered man, a sound man, and a separated man for Jesus Christ, our Lord. Well, in describing him here, Luke highlights for us in our passage that he was also a sold out man for Jesus, because he says, having land, he sold it and that he brought the money from the sale to the feet of the apostles. However, we should ask What's the significance of Luke highlighting this selfless act of Barnabas at this point? Why draw attention to it? Why stick it in our Bibles? Well, personally, I believe that Luke was led to do this for two reasons, and the first is negative, that in doing this, his act stands in sharp contrast to the selfishness of Ananias and Sapphira, who are spoken of in the next chapter of this book. And then positively, the portrait provides all of us with a glorious model of kindness and sacrificial living so that we can learn from it and imitate it ourselves. I believe these are the two reasons. First, the contrast to chapter 5. verse one and following. And really, if there was ever a bad chapter break in the Bible, chapter five and verse one really is it because it connects the narrative. You see five, one, but a certain man talking about the contrast. Ananias and Sapphira, they did the exact opposite to what Barnabas did. But then positively, here's a man who was unselfish in how he lived. He sacrificed for the cause of the saints and the Savior. Here we're told that Barnabas was a Levite. That is to say, he was from the priestly family of the Jews. But now, bless God, through faith in Christ, he was part of the family of God. Levites were being converted. A reason why Luke was led by the Holy Spirit to highlight this fact. A Levite, a Jew. That group at this time that hated Christ. He was a Levite. Once of a priestly family. Now part of the family of God. This man sold land so that his brethren could be helped in their situation. And apparently this land must have been from his home country of Cyprus, being that Levites were not allowed to own land in Israel. Well, here, then, is perhaps why. At this particular point in Acts, Barnabas is called a son of encouragement. While, in fact, as we continue to see his life set forth before us in the pages of Scripture, we will see that on many occasions Barnabas is a great source of encouragement to the church. Here, it seems that through what he did on this occasion in selling land and giving his property over that that must have brought great joy to the people of God. He's a son of encouragement. He was living sacrificially for the Savior and the saints. Here, in contrast to Judas, who, as we read in Acts 1 and verse 18, went and bought a field with money that he received for betraying Christ. Barnabas did the opposite. He didn't buy a field. He sold the field. Not with blood money, but with his own money that he had used to purchase the home so that he can get proceeds for the good of others. And in this, I say he glorified the saints, glorified the Savior, rather, and did good to the saints. And so having seen them from this next portion of God's word for specific things that happened because the early church was filled with the Holy Spirit as we begin to close. I want to apply what we've seen to all of you here this day. Dear ones, since the obvious purpose of having this passage in scripture was not so that we could just say, oh, wow, look how sacrificially those people lived. Look at their lives. Isn't that great? Since the obvious reason was not for this, but rather so that local congregations after it could model themselves after it, what can we take for ourselves as a local church? Having considered these things about the early church, well, there are three specific things that I want to say to you here who are Christians, firstly, and I begin by saying, brethren, as a church, as a local congregation, we need, firstly, to be like the early church in their unity and in our giving for the needs of others. So, firstly, in our unity. The early church was of one heart and one soul. That's how they were. They were as one heart and one soul in one person. They were united because God had saved them and made them one in the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel had transformed them. We must see that in that we have a model that we must strive for. and continue to maintain in this place, even as we're called to by the Apostle Paul, endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We have that unity because we've been saved. The early church had it, and here's what it looked like. Unity in a local church is a beautiful thing. It makes you want to come, it makes you want to worship, makes you want to hug your brethren every week and smile at them and say, so good to see you. Just as it is in this place by God's great grace for many, many years. But unity, brethren, comes at a high price. And that price terminates on ourselves. We've got to say no to our pride, no to our personal preferences, no to our stink attitude, which comes out of us, even as the redeemed. We've got to say no. I will put it in check. I will say no to my pride, no to my covetousness. I will prefer others better than myself. A lot of work has to happen to maintain unity in the house of God. And it starts by dealing with our own sin. Philippians 2, verse 2 and following, Paul says, fulfill my joy. How, Paul? Being like minded, having the same love, being of one accord and one mind. But how, Paul? How do we do that? He goes on to say, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind. Let each one esteem the other better than himself. Let each of you look not out for your own interest, but the interest of others. That's exactly what the early church was doing. Humility of mind. Looking out for the interest of others. That's how we maintain unity in this place. And again, brethren, it's not easy. It takes a lot of work. It takes conscious effort. We must put ourselves always in that first Corinthians 13 model and say, love thinks no evil. Love does not rejoice in iniquity. Love is not boastful, love is not proud, love is not self-seeking. You know, these things I have in my heart toward my brother, toward my sister. This can cause a great divide in this house. Oh, Lord, purge me from it. Wash me from it, Lord. Help me to promote unity. It's work in our hearts, brethren. And again, it's not easy. We have to slay sin with the help of the Spirit. We got to prefer others better than ourselves. Can't think evil of the brethren. Got to work hard at it. May God help us to continue to do that in this place. Again, unity is something which could be here today and gone tomorrow. It's precious. Therefore, let's continue to preserve it in our midst. Second, under this heading, we need to be like the early church in giving to the needs of the brethren for their good and for the glory of Christ. Oh, dear ones, Never forget that we are called in the Word of God to do good to all people, but especially the household of faith. Our own brethren, as Paul says in Galatians 6 and verse 10. That's the positive side. We're to do good to the household of faith. So we need to find out the needs of the brethren. And that's certainly why coming to permitting is helpful because so and so has a need. Reading the emails that I send out, so-and-so is looking for this, or so-and-so is giving this thing. The early church was a giving church. They gave to the needs of the brethren. No one said that anything that they had was theirs, but man, they were willing to part with homes and lands. What are you willing to part with so that your brethren might be blessed? All things in common. You have a need, brother? Tell me about it. Let's pray about it. Let's see what we can do to alleviate that need, both individually and collectively as a body. And as a church, we do that often. You do it among yourselves. We do it privately as elders when people have needs. And sometimes publicly, we'll say, there is a need. Let's try to meet it. That's the positive side, why we should meet each other's needs. But also remember, friends, that the love of money and material possessions Has always been a huge obstacle to God's people growing in grace. And so Paul says in first Timothy six and verse 10, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. If you have a lot of things, maybe this giving of some of your goods will be very helpful in your sanctification. John Wesley's motto, and how I can quote John Wesley after quoting some of the Puritans earlier, I have no idea, but I have to do it. John Wesley said, earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can. That's good. Earn all you can. Make as much as you can. Save all you can. That's good. Give as much as you can. Be willing to give. Be willing to sacrifice. If you're at the church for a whole year, and you haven't met the need of anyone, You might not be in touch with what's going on. There are needs. You should ask our deacon, who's got a need? How can I help? What can I do? That's just part of a portrait of the primitive church. They gave to those who had needs. And if our needs aren't here in our own local assembly, Then maybe we should set up a separate fund for the needs of others. And we do seek to meet the needs of our brethren, just recently sending money to the Reformed Baptist Church in Italy. Soon we'll do that for another church in need. But brethren, let's be a giving church, a sacrificial church, a church who really cares about one another. Secondly, from our passage, I say that as Christians in our own local assembly, We need to be like the apostles in their unceasing effort to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only the church at large in being a promoter of unity, which means I got to work on my own sin and love my brethren better than myself. Not only in being a person who gives, not just hoards, but we also learn that We need to be evangelistically focused. Now, there's something very interesting to consider. From the words of verse 33, look at them again in your Bibles, you've got 32, which says the multitudes of those who believe are of one heart and they gave to those who had need. They had possessions. They shared all things in common. Right. You got that in 32. Then you got a 34, nor Was there anyone among them who laughed? So you got this 32 injunction and then 34 and then sandwiched in between, you got this thought about the apostles preaching. Now, for a person who wants to preach on this text, this whole order messed up my nice homiletical structure and it didn't flow nice. So it took me hours and hours and hours to get the sermon under those nice headings that you currently have, I hope. Why, Luke, did you have to put it there? Why couldn't you say 32, and then what you said in 34, and then, oh, 33? The apostles were preaching. That would have been easier for me. It would have made it nice and simple to organize. But anyway, here's the point, I believe. Along with doing good to the brethren, 32, 34, don't forget about the lost outside of your four walls. That's how it strikes me. All things in common, no one had left. Focus on the church, right in the middle. A focus on those who are lost. That needs to be our focus as well. Not just inward, but outward as well. At least we can say that the passage brings our minds in that way. God, the Holy Spirit, broke the thought and stuck in this. FYI, the early apostles were preaching while good things were going on in the church, good things were going on outside the church. Lesson, we need to have both perspectives in view. Dear ones, we were not saved only so that we can be ministering to one another. But we've been saved so that we can minister to those who are lost. We need to be like the apostles, who here are highlighted for preaching the resurrection of Christ, but then again, once the church is persecuted, it says they all went out and preached Christ. So again, as we take something here from the narrative, let's remember, do good to the brethren, but do good to those who are non-Christians. Be evangelistic. And so I ask you here today, Are you seeking to be evangelistic for Jesus? Are you a person who, while having a great burden for our church, also seeks to open your mouth for those outside the church? And I'm thankful that at our prayer meetings, week in, week out, what do I hear? A pastor pray. I had this interaction with so-and-so, spoke to my grandkids, spoke to my neighbor, spoke to a person who was at this building about the gospel. Keep doing it, brethren. It's not just about our church, not just about our new building, not just about the great things God's doing. It's about reaching the lost as well. And in some churches, all you hear are messages about reaching the lost. In other churches, all you hear are messages about ministering to the saints. I think the Bible's picture is bold. Do bold. and so fulfill your calling as the people of God. Well, thirdly, then, for us who are Christians, not only does our passage call us to be like the early church, one heart, one soul giving. Not only does it call us to be like the apostles having an evangelistic zeal, let's preach the gospel as much as we can. But lastly, dear friends, it calls us as believers in this assembly To be like Barnabas. To be like Barnabas. But you say, wait a minute, didn't you already say that we need to be generous? Barnabas was generous. Again, he sold the land and gave. It's true, I already said that. But that's not what I want to focus on now concerning Barnabas. Rather, I want to focus on the point that he was called by the apostles a son of encouragement, a son of consolation and comfort. So I ask you here today, dear Christian in this place, you who make up the membership of this church, if the apostles were to Change your name based upon what they know about you. What would they call you? Would it be son of consolation or son of consternation? Would it be one who builds up the brethren or one who always tears them apart? What would they call you based on your character? I ask. Well, I'm in the church to rebuke everyone who sins. No, you're not. Do we rebuke people when they sin? Yes, we do that in love and in kindness and grace. We do it as we would want it received to us. But what's true of you, dear Christian? Are you an encourager? You're one who comes alongside the brethren Even when you see a person who might have less light in this place or is growing in grace and you say, brother, sister, you know, you've been with us a year, you've been with us two years, you've been with us five years. Man, you're doing great in the faith. So encouraged to see how you're ordering your family. So delighted to hear about your family worship and how you're really seeking to honor the Lord's day for God. All the things we believe, how you're seeking to be evangelistic, how you're attending all the means of grace. Man, praise God. Keep on. I noticed that you're doing well. A son of encouragement. Someone at the prayer meeting yesterday said, we need to encourage our pastors. And almost in a way, I said it, you can kind of guess who it might have been. We need to encourage our pastors. And I can say, bless God, you do. I have in my inbox a folder called encouragement. And I've got a hard file encouragement from letters and notes I've received from people since I've been here in this church, a big pile of letters. I remember Pastor Dom training me for the ministry, said keep those notes because they're going to be blue Mondays, what do you call them? When you're feeling discouraged and you're tired and people didn't appreciate all that you worked hard for, for your 60 plus hours for the week and no one says nothing, crack open the folder and remember that they love you. Be an encourager in our church. Be someone who is supportive, not in people's sin, but in their sanctification. Love the brethren. Yes, correct sin. Yes, correct error. But the general tenor of our lives ought to be positive as the people of God. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, etc., kindness. Not being harsh. Always finding fault. No. Let's be like Barnabas in his wonderful example. Before we come to the Lord's Supper, I want to end with a word to any non-Christian here today. What can I say to you, my dear friend here this day? Well, simply this. It's plain in our passage and it's plain in the whole of the Bible that there's no greater group in all the world than the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church is the apple of God's eye, the place filled with His Holy Spirit, animated by the Spirit. The church is the bride of Christ, His beloved, the one He rejoices over. This is the greatest society in all the world, the redeemed of the Lord, the only place where God has promised to dwell in her midst. However, listen closely when I say, dear friend, that the only way to truly belong to this glorious society is not by physically being part of her number, but by supernaturally being born of God. Being born from above. In the last hour, we heard A very excellent message on church membership. And Pastor Jeff went through all these passages setting forth what the New Testament teaches, namely, that there was an identifiable, a recognizable membership in the early church. Biblically speaking, I don't think there's any way to get around it. But listen, friend, you can be a part of the church. You could be in her ranks and still be lost. Still not be converted. So it's not just about joining our numbers numerically, but it's about being born of the Spirit of God. Which then in that mystical sense, in that supernatural sense, unites you to the body of Christ. And then you seek to be part of a local expression of that body. And so again, if you're not a Christian here today, I don't want you to look at this passage and say, oh, I want to be part of the church of Jesus. Truly, She's glorious. I just want to join the church, to be in the place where God is dwelling in her midst. No, because as I say, you can be part of the church by being just joined to it, physically speaking. But firstly, you need to be joined to Christ. You need to be born again. You need to be made alive, spiritually speaking. But how can that happen? Surely, you can't change your own heart. You can't. And that's why the Bible says, turn from your sins and look to Jesus for life and salvation. That's why the call of the gospel is repent and believe the good news that Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day. If you're really going to be part of the church, God's got to come and do something for you. Spiritually speaking, He's got to take out your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Only God can do it. All of us are shut up to God. But the beautiful thing of the Bible is God says, come to Me. Jesus says, come to Me. And I'll do for you what you can never do for yourself. I'll change you. I'll make you brand new. I'll give you a new heart. For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Would you be saved? Would you come to know God in truth and have all your sins forgiven before Him? Look to Jesus. Trust in Him who left heaven and came to earth to be the representative of sinners To live the life they should have lived under God's law, but didn't. He lived a perfect, sinless life, the life we should have lived to commend us to God. We didn't, so He did for us. But having a perfect record before God as our representative was not enough. Because our sins had to be punished. And on the cross of Calvary, Jesus willingly gave His sinless life. and took our sins upon Himself. And there on Calvary's hill, He was punished, not for any sins He committed, because He committed none. He was punished for the sins that sinners committed against God. On the cross of Calvary, He paid our sin debt in full to the Almighty by giving His life the just for the unjust that He might bring us to God. And on Calvary, He made a full and complete atonement once for all time so that all who placed their trust in Him and His finished work will receive the declaration from God, not guilty. Not guilty because your substitute, your surety has paid your fine in full. Forgiven! Pardoned! Once for all time! Because the Savior willingly sacrificed Himself in your place so that you could be forgiven. My dear non-Christian friend, first come to the Savior by faith with all your sins on you, owning your sinnerhood before God, seeing yourself as worthy of His judgment, and then put all your trust and the One whom God sent to save you, even Jesus Christ the Lord. Trust in His person. Trust in His finished work. And you will be saved. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank You for every portrait of the Church, especially, O God, When it's as beautiful as the one we consider today. Thank you, Lord, that. The church has had very good moments in history. There was a time when she was what you called her to be. And therefore, Lord, having considered this passage, we ask that it will stir us up even today to be. What you would call us to be. Help us, Lord, we pray. Work all of these things deep within us and fill us with the Holy Spirit that we might be able to carry them all out. Oh God, we can't do it in our own strength. So invest with that power from on high. We ask it in Jesus name alone. Amen.