Scripture Reading: Acts 2:14–47

You can turn with me and your Bibles to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 2. Common in New Year's sermons to have sermons on resolutions. This won't be a resolution, but a reminder as to why we try to do what we try to do. So I wanna look at the practice of the early church, specifically verses 40 to 47, but it is not disconnected from the larger context.

So I'll pick up reading in Acts chapter two at verse 14. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.

And it shall come to pass in the last day, says God, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams.

And on my menservants and on my maidservants, I will pour out my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath. blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves also know, him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death, whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it. For David says concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore, my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad.

Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope, for you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy in your presence. Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.

Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. for the promises to you and to your children and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.

And with many other words, he testified and exhorted them, saying, be saved from this perverse generation.

Glad Reception: Faith and Repentance

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all as anyone had need.

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Amen. Let us pray.

Opening Prayer

Our gracious God and Holy Father, we thank you for the Lord's day. We thank you for the Lord's house and the Lord's people and for the privilege that is ours now to come to the Father through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. We confess your glory and your majesty and your righteousness. We confess the works of your hand, creation and providence and redemption.

And we praise you for that gospel of our salvation, for the life and the death and the resurrection of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. We know that ultimately is what binds our hearts together here. We pray that you would be glorified and worship now. We pray for any and all who have come here that are still dead in their trespasses and sins, would be awakened by the power of the Holy Spirit, would see their sins before a holy God, and would see Christ as the one in whom alone there is forgiveness and salvation.

And we pray these things in his most blessed name. Amen.

Introduction

Well, as I said, this isn't a resolution. We should try to do this, but rather a reminder that we in fact do try to do this. We don't do it perfectly. We certainly do it fallibly, but nevertheless, in light of the reading in Revelation chapter one, if as verse 12 tells us that Jesus Christ is in the midst of the lampstands, then we ought to be conscious that He is looking for certain things to be present.

In other words, He doesn't leave it up to our own imagination and our own will on how we approach Him, on how we worship Him. And so we ought to try and parallel what we find in the Bible as closely as we can, so that when Christ is in the midst of the lampstand, He is pleased with His people. He blesses and refreshes His people. He encourages and builds up His people so that we may leave from this place having met with Him and having fresh resolve to live in light of the person and the work of our blessed Savior in the week to come.

Now, as I said, this is Peter's preaching on the day of Pentecost. In chapter two, verses one to 13, the section we did not read, the Holy Spirit came in great power. And as a result of the coming of the Spirit, they began to speak in tongues. The tongues were not gibberish, it wasn't nonsensical, but rather it was to communicate the great works of God.

And of course, some there said, oh, this is only because they're drunk, or they're out of their minds, or they've got some problems with, you know, this, that, or the other. That's why Peter says, these are not drunk as you suppose. He first points to the prophet Joel and says, this has been prophesied in redemptive history that the Holy Spirit would come in power upon the people of God. And then closing that citation of the prophet Joel, notice what he says in verse 21.

It says, and it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. He's dealing with a matter of great importance. What's the opposite of being saved? It's to be lost.

It's to be damned. It's to be under the wrath and fury and judgment of God. It is to be ultimately consigned to hell if we leave this earth in that unsaved state. And so it is a most important thing that Peter addresses on the day of Pentecost.

So the rest of his sermon is with the intent to explain, define, and describe the Lord of whom we're supposed to call upon. So again, look at verse 21. It shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Wouldn't it be wonderful to know that Lord, to understand who that Lord is, so that we can call upon that Lord and be saved.

In fact, I hope that's your mindset this morning. Perhaps you're conscious of the fact that you're not a believer. You're not a Christian. You're not the real deal.

You're not one who has confessed saving faith in our blessed Savior. It should be paramount in your heart and mind to want to know who that Lord is so that you can, by grace, believe on Him. So Peter points to Jesus now, and he stresses the true humanity of Christ. He stresses the crucifixion of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and the ascension and current session of Christ.

See, the gospel isn't our feeling. The gospel isn't our experience. The gospel isn't our emotional response. The gospel is the message concerning Jesus Christ, his life, his death, and his resurrection from the dead, that whoever calls on him in faith will have everlasting life.

It truly is amazing. We sing that hymn sometimes. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see.

So God in the gospel of his son takes hell-deserving sinners and confers upon them saving benefit. He gives them the graces of faith and repentance. He gives them forgiveness of all their sin. Not just some of their sin, but all their sin are forgiven or is forgiven as a result of the blood of Jesus Christ.

But not only is our sins forgiven, it's one of those things where it just keeps getting better, but there's more. You can hear the salesman saying it now, but there's more. So you're not only forgiven of your sins, but you're given the righteousness of Jesus Christ. You're not only cleansed from your filth, but you're clothed in His righteousness so that you can stand in the presence of a thrice holy God.

So Peter preaches Jesus Christ to these Jerusalem sinners. It's one other thing we ought to recognize. These are Jerusalem sinners. I'm not trying to be an anti-Semite.

I'm not trying to castigate the Jews. But I want to remind you that it was these Jerusalem sinners that had murdered the Lord of Glory. In fact, that's where Peter ends according to verse 36. It is with the conviction of their sin.

Notice in verse 36, Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, notice, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. So they were guilty, vile, helpless sinners. They were murderous wretches. And yet, nevertheless, there is this promise, this provision in the gospel of the forgiveness of sins and a righteousness by which even a Jerusalem sinner could enter into the presence of God Almighty.

This is why we call it gospel. It's good news, not good advice. not self-help, not try a little harder, not dig down inside of you and find that virtue and do the best that you can. No. Look unto the Lord Jesus Christ in faith.

Look outside yourself, look outside your works, look outside your sin, and look to the one in whom there is forgiveness and a righteousness that avails with God Almighty. So on the heels of that, notice what happens. They're convicted. Men and brethren, what must we do?

Good response according to verse 37, and then a better response from Peter in verse 38. Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And then this promise, it's for you, it's for your children, it's for all those who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call. The good news goes out to very bad people, and we see by the grace of God, it sticks.

It finds its mark in their hearts. We see them converted. We see them saved by grace through faith in Jesus. And then we see them at worship.

Then we see them function together as the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this follows very closely with our Lord's last command to the church before his ascension on high. He says to his disciples, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptize those disciples in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach those disciples to observe all that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." That's what's happening in the book of Acts. They preach the gospel to make disciples.

They form churches in order to teach those disciples. so that those disciples can then shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation, so that those disciples can then hold forth the word of truth, so that those disciples can then function as salt and light in their environment and live in a manner that is consistent with the gospel of their salvation.

The Power of the Gospel

So I wanna look first at the power of the gospel in verses 40 and 41, and then secondly, the practice of the church in verses 42 to 47. Notice in verses 40 and 41, we see that Peter continued to teach, continued to preach, continued to exhort them. So verse 40, and with many other words, he, this is Peter, testified and exhorted them saying, be safe from this perverse generation. a very necessary emphasis in our own generation. Be saved.

In other words, take these things to heart. You ought not to be content until you know that you by grace are heaven bound. It's an amazing thing that in North America, men care very little about their eternal destiny. We care more about college.

We care more about career. We care more about a lot of things that ultimately don't matter. But for the apostle Peter, what was absolutely crucial and necessary was to be saved, to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ, to come to this one who lived, who died, and was raised again, this one whom you crucified. You need to be saved.

You need to think about this, children. You need to consider this as we start a new year. We all say, happy new year. Well, it could quite feasibly be a miserable new year if you are not connected to God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

That is uppermost. That is paramount. That's the most important thing, is where will I go when my eyes turn in death? The reality is, is that for Simon Peter and the apostles in the early church, it was salvation.

It was being right with God. It was justification by faith alone. It was the reality that we are sinful, men and women. We are sinful, boys and girls.

We rightly deserve God's curse and wrath, both in this life and that which is to come. And the only way of freedom, the only way of liberty, the only way of help is through Christ the Lord. So he presses that upon them, be saved from this perverse generation. Notice, they then received the word.

Verse 41, then those who gladly received his word were baptized and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. What does it mean to gladly receive the word of God? Well, the context answers that question for us. What is a glad reception of the word of God?

Well, it is to believe the Word of God. Notice down in verse 44, the people who are saved are described as all who believed. So to gladly receive the Word of God means to believe the Word of God. But secondly, it means to repent from one's sins.

Verse 38, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Faith and repentance go hand in hand. Faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin. You don't have faith without repentance.

You don't have repentance without faith. You come to the altar to marry your wife, you leave behind the girlfriend. You come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, you leave behind the wretchedness, the sin, the depravity, the wickedness that marked your life prior to your coming to the Lord of glory. And then of course baptism or obedience to the blessed Savior.

So faith and repentance. Baptism isn't a work It's not on the same par with faith and repentance, but when somebody believes the gospel, one of the consequent fruits of that belief in the gospel is obedience to the Lord of the gospel. So notice again, verse 41, and those who gladly received his word were baptized. They obeyed Christ.

They did what Jesus said. They identified publicly in the waters of baptism with the triune God. They espoused, or expressed rather, or confessed their faith in that sort of public way. And then notice what the text goes on to say.

It's not the preaching of Peter so much. It's certainly not the free will of man. It is the power of God that brought them to this place. Notice the end of verse 41.

Well, we'll read it again. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. How were they added to them? Again, it wasn't through Peter.

It wasn't as a result of them. It was the grace of God Most High. How does a dead sinner come to that place of light and life in our Lord Jesus Christ? It's not their free will, it's not the power of their will, it's not the persuasion of a preaching Peter, but rather it is the power of God working in, by, and through the means of the word to draw those sinners out of darkness into marvelous light through faith in our Savior.

So God is at work in building the church. There's another passage in the book of Acts that illustrates this powerfully.

Sovereign Grace in Salvation

Turn to Acts 13. Acts 13, the apostle Paul is preaching in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, and we see that there is sort of a mixed response. The Jews rail against him, they despise him, they want to get rid of him, they blaspheme his message. We see that Gentiles are begging that they'll hear more of it next Sabbath.

Gentiles are begging that they'll get more of that Word of God. And so the apostle concludes that we're going to turn to the Gentiles. Notice in 1347, For so the Lord has commanded us, I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth. It's always God's purpose and plan, not to send Jesus simply to the lost tribes of Jacob, but also as a light unto the Gentiles.

Now notice verse 48. Now, when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life, he leaved. Why did they believe?

Because they had been appointed by God to eternal life. The Bible teaches sovereign grace. The Bible emphasizes God's free will, not man's free will. It emphasizes his good pleasure.

It emphasizes his powerful operation in the souls of men. In fact, Paul says in Romans 9, 16, it doesn't depend upon him who wills or upon him who runs, but on God who shows mercy. Now, before you say, well, that seems to be counterproductive, that might discourage persons from trying to come to Jesus. No, what an encouragement.

God is in the business of saving sinners. The large-hearted, benevolent God of absolute glory, power, and majesty, the Father who sent the Son of His love into this world to live and die and rise again, that God is in the business of saving sinners. I know some churches will tell you, well, he's in the business of saving a few sinners. There's a handful of sinners that may ultimately come.

Well, in the book of Revelation, we have a great multitude that no man can number, from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. The God of Holy Scripture is a, and I speak in the manner of man, a large-hearted God, a very benevolent God, a very gracious God, a merciful God. He's the father of the prodigal who runs from the porch to fall on that wayward son and to kiss him, and to put a robe on his back, and to put a ring on his finger, and to put meat on his table. So the grace of God Most High is the effectual portion of this coming to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And this God is about that. He is into that. This is why he sent the son of his love.

The Practice of the Church

Now let's look secondly at the practice of the church in verses 42 to 47. Notice the practice described. Verses 42 to 47a. Then we'll look at the power involved.

But notice the practice described. The first thing is that they were steadfast. Steadfast simply means to persist in something, to hold fast to, to continue in, and to persevere in something. Steadfast is the opposite of, you know, well, I tried it once and it didn't work and it was unfulfilling, so I'm going to try something new.

We're never called to do something new when it comes to church life. We're to be steadfast. Whatever God has mandated for us to do at our entrance to the church, that's what we're supposed to do until we exit the church in death. Okay, where do we find this transient, let's just try whatever it is we think will work, that will jive with the spirit of the age?

No, look at the emphasis in verse 42. It says, they continued steadfastly. Now that word continued, or those words continued steadfastly, modify, that means sort of control, the next four words. In other words, they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, they continued steadfastly in fellowship, they continued steadfastly in the breaking of bread, and they continued steadfastly in prayers.

So if we ask the question in the 21st century, what should churches look like? It's not hard to give an answer. It's not hard to supply a response. It's hard when we neglect what the Bible actually says, and when we look to the innovation of man, when we look to the creativity of man, when we ask the consumer, what is it that you want in a church service?

But it never dawns on us that never in the Bible are we told to ask the consumer what he or she wants in the worship of God. Christ comes into the midst of the lampstands and Christ expects in the midst of the lampstands to find his church doing what he commanded her to do. Now, if you think that's an odd statement, go back to the Old Testament. Look at how God was fastidiously detailed in telling them how to build the tabernacle, and then how to build the temple, and how to conduct themselves in the worship of God.

You've got the legislation in Leviticus chapters 1 to 8 that is very detailed on how they're supposed to sacrifice. But can't we just worship any old way that we want? No, you can't. You're supposed to worship in the way that God commanded.

And the church in the 21st century would find herself to do well by coming back to this passage. We always hear that, I want to be like the early church. Well, if you want to be like the early church, you'll continue steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread. and in prayers. It's pretty simple.

So let's investigate these terms.

Steadfast in the Apostles' Doctrine

Notice, they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, the teaching of the Word of God. Now, this is interesting in light of the context. What happened in chapter 2, verses 1 to 13? The Holy Spirit comes in great power.

The people of God are speaking in other tongues. This was sensational. This was dazzling. This was miraculous.

This was something they hadn't seen before. And yet, when it comes to the regular life of the ministry of the church, what do they want? They want Peter's preaching. They want more about the true humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They want more about the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, about His resurrection from the dead, about His ascension on high, His current session at the right hand of the Father. They want the apostles' doctrine, brethren. So many in the history of the church have sought out experience. Brethren, experience isn't bad, but it has to be regulated by the Word of God, or that experience could lead you astray.

So many are led away by sentiment. So many are led away by ecstasy. So many are led away nowadays by entertainment. You know what they wanted?

They wanted exegesis. They wanted the Word of God. They knew that stability, they knew that strength, they knew that their grounding came not through experience, not through ecstasy, certainly not through entertainment, but they needed the Word of God Most High, taught to them, preached to them, and they would continue steadfastly in it for their own strength, for their own growth, for their own knowledge, for their own maturation. Maturation and growth and strength are grossly underrated in the church today.

When we return to the book of Ephesians, we will see in chapter 4 that Christ gave gifts to the church for that reason, to make the church mature, to stabilize them, so they're not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, so they're not untethered from reality, so they don't throw up their hands and say, I can't believe we're in the mess that we're in. We read in the last hour a portion from Jeremiah chapter 29. And basically what Jeremiah chapter 29 is, it's a letter to the exiles that are in Babylon. How do I function as an exile in Babylon?

My country's been conquered, my temple has been sacked, my city has been destroyed, and now I'm a prisoner in Babylon. Well, we noted that that letter didn't say, go find some C4, go find some bullets, go find some ammunition and launch a counter-revolution against these Babylonians. That's not what it said. It said, pray for the peace of the city that you're in.

It said to marry, it said to plan, it said to live, it said to engage, it said to be normal, ordinary people functioning in a way that is good and blessed by God Almighty. But before it even gets to that, God says through the prophet that he caused these exiles to be in Babylon. We need that reminder, brethren, so that when we look out at a world gone mad, we don't ask the question, well, what happened here, God? I thought you were righteous.

I thought you were holy. And yet we see the celebration of that which is unrighteous and unholy. God's over it all. But see, if you're not intimately connected to the Word of God, you're not going to know that.

You're going to be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. You're going to become untethered, you're going to become unstable, and you're going to be easy prey for the devil, and even worse at times from the devil, your own wretched feelings. We need the protection that God's word affords, and the early church continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. They wanted the word of God.

The rest of the New Testament emphasizes this as well. Romans 10, 14 to 17, 1 Corinthians 21 to 23, 2 Timothy 4, you remember Paul's last formal command to the church? Preach the word. Not preach experience.

Preach feelings. Preach ecstasy. Conjure up the gift of tongues. Preach the word.

Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. Why do we think that we don't need what God says we need? We need scripture.

We need doctrine. We need the gospel. We need the law. We need all of it.

Genesis to Revelation, all 31,000 verses. And these brethren in the early church continued steadfastly in it. They didn't whine about it. They didn't grumble about it.

They rather wanted it. They desired it. They had to have it. Calvin says, neither doth he name all manner of doctrine but the doctrine of the apostles.

They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. Not the false apostles, not the heretics. They didn't have this mindset, well, as long as we're learning. No, you need to learn the truth.

You need to learn what's right. You need to retain the standard of sound words. He says, that is that which the Son of God had delivered by their hands. Therefore, wheresoever the pure voice of the gospel doth sound, where men continue in the profession thereof, where they exercise themselves in hearing the same ordinarily that they may profit, with all doubt there is the church.

It is the doctrine of the apostles that the people of God crave. They continue steadfastly in it. They don't stop there.

Steadfast in Fellowship

Notice, they continued steadfastly in fellowship. Now, brethren, fellowship has come to mean that two Christian brothers go see a hockey game together. Okay, it's kind of fellowshipy, but not fellowship in terms of the New Testament. It's Christ that binds us together, not the Canucks.

Now, I'm not saying two Christian brothers can't go watch the Canucks, but to say that's necessarily fellowship. And again, generally speaking, yeah, you're not with an unbeliever Drake, that's good. But in terms of fellowship, the emphasis typically lies on a charitable attitude. The emphasis typically lies on what we follow or what we see follow in this chapter.

Calvin says it's mutual society and fellowship unto alms and unto other duties of brotherly fellowship. Notice verse 45, they sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need. That's more likely the contours of Christian fellowship in this particular context. Oh, they went to hockey games together.

They went to concerts together. They rode their bikes together. They really had fellowship. No, that's not the accent.

The accent is on selling their property and giving that money to the apostles so that they could distribute it as anyone had need. You see that in chapter 4 as well. The same sort of emphasis there. The fellowship of the church cannot be carried out by one man.

It can't be carried out just by a handful of men. It can't just be the officers in the church. It's every churchman's responsibility, not only to continue steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine, but in fellowship. That means looking out for the needs of others and seeking, by God's grace, to alleviate those needs.

You might think, well, I got a lot of needs of my own. If you started looking out for the needs of others, the needs of your own would probably dissipate quicker than not. It's when we're consumed with our own needs. It's when we're all about me, myself, and I.

It's when we only look as far as our navel that our needs just seem to compound daily. Well, of course, all you think about is you. All you're oriented with is you. All you're obsessed with is you.

Perhaps the best thing you can do to get away from you is to go serve somebody else. I know it seems counterintuitive, and I know we'd all rather say, well, everybody should serve me. Well, brethren, be the change you want to be and go serve others. Fellowship in this context meant something.

It meant being charitable. It meant being loving. It meant being gracious. It meant being kind.

It meant putting your money where your mouth was if that was necessary. to alleviate the problems of the downtrodden and poor among you.

Steadfast in the Breaking of Bread

But notice they continued steadfastly in the breaking of bread. Now, this isn't probably tacos for dinner on Tuesday. This is probably the Lord's supper. The fact that there's preaching going on, the fact that there's praying going on, the fact that there's generous giving that is designed to benefit people within the context of the church suggests that what we have here in this breaking of bread is the Lord's Supper.

So you see, when they receive the Word of God, what do they do? They're baptized. That's the one-time initiatory rite to come into the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. With the Lord's Supper, we do it as the Church.

We continue in it. As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, what do we do? We proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. So they didn't say, well, you know, it's Sunday night.

It's going to be the supper. I really don't need that. I'm not going to come tonight. That's not how the early church viewed it, brethren.

They continued steadfastly in it. They thought this way. Well, if, as Butler has said in the past, the supper isn't our service to God, but rather God's service to us, I'd be a fool not to take advantage of that, right? Who owns the house of God?

Hint, the answer's in the question. God owns the house of God. Who dictates baptism as that initiatory rite? God, the householder.

But guess who dictates the terms of the supper? Yeah, that's God too. So when I suggest that it's God's service to us, hopefully that puts a perspective on it that you've never thought about before. So it's not me coming to serve God, it's me coming to be served by God, bread and wine, which serve as helpful, tangible, physical reminders of the conquering work of the Savior on my behalf.

Could it possibly be the case that the Lord God who owns the house designed this in such a way as to build up weary pilgrims along the way? That's precisely why. That is precisely what's in view. And when God gives us these things, we ought to receive them.

It's kind of like the Sabbath. Oh, the Sabbath, what a controversial doctrine. What about, what a blessed gift from God? Mark chapter two, the Sabbath was made for the man, not man for the Sabbath.

Why do we argue about gifts? Why do we argue about freebies? I guess I know the answer to that one too, because we're messed up. I mean, God hands us great things and we complain.

I don't want a whole day to worship. I don't want a whole day to praise. I don't want a day to cease from my ordinary labors and to find my joy in the place where Christ is in the midst of. God gives the gift of Lord's supper.

God gives that provision to weary pilgrims. God does that to remind us consciously, tangibly, emblematically with bread and wine about the Lord's work on our behalf. It's a wonderful provision from our God. And the early church continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread, but then notice finally, they continued steadfastly in prayer.

Steadfast in Prayer

Prayer. Prayer, brethren. How do we advance the cause of Jesus Christ on earth? Well, we need to entertain the masses.

Nope, wrong answer. We need to preach the gospel. Yeah, right answer. How do we preach the gospel?

Do we do it mechanistically? No, we do it prayerfully. Spurgeon was once asked about the nature of his success or the description of his success. If any of you have ever heard of C.H.

Spurgeon, you'll know that he found success in gospel ministry. God blessed him. God prospered him. That brother preached and God saved people.

There's a story that one time he was testing out the acoustics of a place that he was going to preach in and he just cited John 1.29. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. God saved a janitor that happened to be in the building at that particular time because of that verse. So God blessed and prospered Spurgeon.

Somebody asked him about that one time. What is it? It's the nature of your success. You can hear that, right?

How come everything you touch in terms of gospel seems to turn to gold? What is it? He says, my people pray. My people pray.

They pray for the advancement. They pray for the power of the gospel. They pray for willing ears and willing hearts. They pray for a receptive people.

They pray. Brethren, if we're going about the task of gospel mission, gospel evangelism, seeking by the grace of God to take seriously the Matthew 28 commission, we're not going to do this in a prayerless way. We're going to do this in a prayerful way. That's why we try to have church services where we pray.

We have it every other Sunday morning at 9.30. We have it every Wednesday night when we're not off at 7.30. We have that mechanism in place, not as a mechanism or formulaic, but because they continued steadfastly in prayer. Turn to the book of 1 Timothy 2. 1 Timothy 2, look at what Paul says to Timothy in terms of first priority.

First in the chapter two, verse one. Therefore I exhort first of all. Now let me give you the context. Look at chapter three at verses 14 and 15.

Chapter three, verses 14 and 15. These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write, so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. See, this is why I said, God doesn't call us to be innovative or creative.

He calls us to be obedient. If God leaves it up to our own hearts, guess what we'll do? I mean, again, look at the Old Testament. Why do you think in Deuteronomy 12, there was an emphasis on a central sanctuary?

Because God knew that if the desire for worship broke out in your heart and you weren't connected to that temple, you would most likely pour it out into an idol. You need God to supervise, you need God to lead, you need God to command in order that you don't go astray. So when it comes to worship in life, if you're an artist, go create, go innovate. You're an inventor, it's in your DNA, go create, go innovate.

You're in the church, I don't know how to make this any more simple. Obey God, okay? He didn't ordain rock concerts. He didn't ordain pastors repelling.

He didn't ordain the guy riding in on his Harley. He didn't ordain that. And he calls us to conduct that we are to exercise in the house of God. Wherever else you are, as long as you don't sin, the desire for creativity or innovation takes you, go with it, do it, enjoy.

But in the house of God, God's the house holder. Someone has made a very good observation about this. The detailed legislation given by God to Moses in terms of the construction of the tabernacle. Notice that God never told Moses where he should put his couch in his living room.

He never told Moses where he should put the fridge in his kitchen. He never told Moses what to put in the garage. Why is that? Because that's Moses house, the tabernacle, temple, church, God's house.

So why do we think it's okay to come in here and put our feet up and swing on the furniture and do those things that aren't appropriate here? So back to 1 Timothy 3, verse 15, but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. So in other words, everything he says up to this point and everything he's gonna say after this point, he wants Timothy to employ. He wants Timothy to execute.

He wants Timothy to obey and carry out in the context of the church. So back to 2.1. Therefore, I exhort first of all, that you preach with the tongue of angels. Did you visit every old lady in your church every Thursday and have coffee with them?

Did you be the most gregarious fellow in the community? Did you be the guy that everybody wants to hang? He doesn't say any of that. What's the first order of business when Paul comes to deal with Timothy?

Therefore, I exhort first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, all kinds of men. And then he says, for kings, those are kinds of men, and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. Isn't that interesting? Not I exhort first of all, that you seek the gift of tongues.

I exhort first of all, that you seek the gift of prophesying. You seek the gift of healing. You seek the gift of whatever it is that's gonna ameliorate the downtrodden and poor in Ephesus. No, I exhort first of all, that the church prays.

Did you come to the prayer meeting? Did you open your voice or you open your mouth and you express petitions, supplications, intercessions, and givings of thanks for all men in the context of a local church? What does the prophet say concerning the identification of the house of God? It will be a house of what?

Prayer. It is identifiably the house of prayer. So it shouldn't surprise us in this brief survey in Acts 2, 4, 40 and following that they continued steadfastly in the Word of God. They continued steadfastly in charity, fellowship, those things that are associated with it.

They continued steadfastly in the ordinances of the church. They had been baptized. Now they're going to participate in the Lord's Supper. And they continued steadfastly in prayer.

Is it any wonder to us that when we end this brief section, according to verse 47, they were praising God, having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Why do you think he did that? Because the church was functioning in such a way that the Lord was happy to save sinners and add them to that lot so that they could be worshipers of our blessed God and enjoy the communion of Jesus Christ as he dwells in the midst of the lampstand.

Results of Faithful Church Practice

So that, my brothers and sisters, is the practice of the early church. That is what they did. We'll just quickly look at a few of the sort of implications or sort of results of this. Look at verse 43.

Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. The presence of God produced the fear of God upon every soul. I take that as brethren, those believers and non-believers. The fear of God was pervasive.

Now, fear of God can be understood in a negative way, but there's a positive way we can understand the fear of God. The fear of God is simply understanding who God is and addressing Him or reverencing Him in light of that fact. The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge, according to Proverbs. In Psalm 89, we read that God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints and to be held in reverence by all those around Him.

Just, again, take the mark contrast. What's indicative for a good worship service today? Oh, the band was incredible. Did you hear that guy shred on the guitar?

That was great. Brethren, that's not what's in view here. It was the fear of God. See, the presence of God always brings the fear of God.

Those two go hand in hand. Wherever you see the fear of God in the scriptures, mark my words, the presence of God is right there. It is the presence of God that inculcates that fear of God. And if it's only entertainment, if it's only levity, if it's only happy time, if it's only joking time, if it's only celebratory time, and there's no fear of God, we might be inclined to conclude, well, maybe God wasn't there.

Yeah, maybe he wasn't there. And I speak as a man, God is everywhere in terms of omnipresence. Consider this sort of summary statement later in the book of Acts. A bit of a summary sort of a recapitulation of all that's kind of been going on.

And Luke, under inspiration of the Spirit, tells us, then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. That's Acts 9.31. They were walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and they had peace and they were, what, multiplied?

Multiplication comes when the people of God obey as the church of God. Again, it's not formulaic. We don't put in the proper components and, you know, sit there with our hands out expecting to be paid off. But it does seem unique and interesting that when the church is serious, When the church is knowing the presence of God in it, it brings that pervasive fear of God.

And when she's walking in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, when she's in that disposition, then God is well-pleased to multiply her, to increase her, to bless her power in the context of the world. And then one final thought before we leave verse 43. Notice the signs and wonders were done through the apostles. Now, commentators typically, when they treat the Book of Acts, make the distinction, and well, we should, between description and prescription.

Not everything described in the Book of Acts is necessarily for us today. I'm just going to tell you that. The days of tongue speaking and prophesying as it's defined in the book of 1 Corinthians, those days are gone. Those were revelatory gifts used by God to communicate His Word before we had His Word in terms of the New Testament.

Once the New Testament comes, we don't need those revelatory gifts anymore. We don't need tongue speaking. We don't need prophesying. But in the first century, they didn't have Matthew to Revelation bound in a beautiful Cambridge Bible.

So they needed the Word of the Lord. And oftentimes, when the Word of the Lord came, it came accompanied by signs, wonders, and miracles. If you look at the Bible, you'll see there's a lot of signs, a lot of miracles, a lot of wonders, but they're always connected to persons who bring the word. Moses did miracles, Moses brought the word of God.

The prophets did miracles, the prophets brought the word of God. The apostles did miracles, the apostles brought the word of God. Jesus did miracles, Jesus brought the word of God. Hmm, sort of a pattern.

God says, you can trust that this is my word by virtue of the fact that Moses is able to do this. You can trust that this is my word by virtue of the fact that Elisha or Elijah is able to do this. You can trust that this is my word because of the fact that Paul or Peter is able to do that. So in other words, the emphasis isn't so much on the signs and wonders, but it's on the word of God.

Lo and behold, you turn to 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus, the pastoral epistles, where's the emphasis for Paul to his ministerial companions? Sound doctrine, not signs, not wonders. And Luke tells us here in verse 43, that it was the agency of the apostles by which these signs and wonders came. Now, there is a sense that non-apostles did signs and wonders in the apostolic age, but for the most part, when you trace the pattern, the emphasis comes on the revelatory word of God and the signs and wonders simply confirm that.

You can look up Mark 16, 20 later to validate that proposition. And then notice brotherly love in the church, verses 44 and 45. Verses 44 and 45. Now, all who believed were together and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all as anyone had need.

Their love was seen in togetherness, and their love was seen in charitableness. They actually liked each other, and they actually wanted to help each other. Typically, fruits of the spirit, because by nature, we really don't like each other, and we really aren't nice to each other. So it's God's Word conquering the soul of a sinner, bringing us to that place where we want to be together and where we want to be together in charity.

Now, in terms of having all things in common, this wasn't state coerced. This is not a proof text for communism or socialism. It wasn't even mandated by the church. Acts chapter 5, Ananias and Sapphira.

Peter essentially says, when you had the property, it was in your power to do with it as you will. When you sold it and had the proceeds, that was in your power to do as you will. The problem with Ananias and Sapphira wasn't that they were anti-commies or anti-socialists. It was that they lied to God Almighty.

There's no coercion on the part of the apostolic church. There's no coercion on the part of the state here, mandating that everybody give in an equitable manner. Our confession underscores this. Nevertheless, their communion, one with another as saints, does not take away or infringe the title or propriety which each man has in his goods and possessions.

And pull goes right to the throat. Christ's gospel does not destroy the law and the eighth commandment is still in force. There's a huge difference between a blood-bought child of God taking his provisions and giving it to another, and that blood-bought child of God being coerced, being forced, and having someone enforce that against his will. That's what pool means.

The eighth commandment is still enforced. Private property is a gift and blessing by God, but the people of God who have been blessed and gifted it by him typically should respond with charity and love and kindness to their brethren who are downtrodden and poor. That's the emphasis in the passage. And then their ongoing conduct, notice in verses 46 and 47.

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, that was probably eating together. We see that further explained. They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. They were praising God and they had favor with all the people.

And again, just so we understand, it's not the will of man, it's not the power of persuasion of Peter, but it's the power of God most high that is instrumental in terms of the church. The last verse tells us, the last section tells us, the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Application

Well, in conclusion, brethren, I think hopefully we learned why we do what we try to do and why we should continue to try to do what we continue to try to do. This is God's Word. It's not going to advance the cause of Christ's kingdom on earth to neglect these things. You've got description, prescription.

Mentioned that a little bit ago, got a little sidetracked. Everything described is not necessarily prescribed. I don't pray for the gift of tongues before I come to church on Sunday morning. That's a gift that has ceased.

So there's that which is described, verses one to 13, and then there is that which is described, but functions in a prescriptive manner as well. So when we go to the later epistles in the New Testament, and we look at Paul's emphasis, say, in the pastoral epistles, we see that he emphasizes, sound occur. We see that he emphasizes fellowship. We see that he emphasizes the supper.

We see that he emphasizes prayer. So this description is pre-scripted for the church today. So imagine the person that comes and says, well, I want the tongues of 1 to 13. But the actual practice of the church in verses 40 to 47, I really don't care too much about that.

That's to get it exactly backward. That is to get it exactly wrong. We should see this description as prescription for the people of God in terms of what it is church life ought to be about. It isn't ecstasy.

It isn't entertainment. It isn't experience. It isn't feeling and emotion. that's going to advance the cause of Christ on earth. And it's certainly not going to advance our soul into a place of comfort and stability and strength.

It is the apostolic doctrine. It is the means that God has ordained. It is the blessings that he has provided. And it is that realization on the part of God's people to realize the father, the householder actually does know what we need.

And he has prescribed these things for our wellbeing and for our benefit. And we need to take them and we need to delight in them. But on the final note, the only way to enter into the practice of the church is by belief in the gospel. Trust in the Lord Jesus.

Receive that word in faith and repentance. The fruit of that will be obedience, conduct worthy of the gospel. Now, it's not gonna be perfect, it's not gonna be impeccable to be sure, but there are consequential fruits from those who have come by grace to the Savior in faith and with repentance. and obedience to the Master, living in a manner that He has called us to in terms of, yeah, here, church life, in terms of family life, in terms of civil life. But the way in is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Believe on Him and you will be saved. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for its clarity here in Acts chapter two, and I pray that you would encourage our church and help us to continue steadfastly in the things that are specified here, and to do so for your glory and for the well-being of the church of Christ here, and even for the salvation of sinners who come in amongst us. And we ask this in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Well, you can take your hymn books and turn to 568, and we'll conclude our service by singing praise to our triune God. 568, we'll stand as we sing together. is Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Amen. Father, thank you for this time that we've had together I pray that you would go with us now, that we would know the nearness of God as our good. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Well, please be seated for a brief time of meditation.

Scripture References

• Leviticus 1-8
• Deuteronomy 12:5-14
• Jeremiah 29:4-14
• Psalm 89:7
• Proverbs 1:7
• Matthew 28:19-20
• Mark 2:27; 16:20
• John 1:29
• Acts 2:1-13; 2:14; 2:21; 2:36; 2:37; 2:38; 2:40-47; 4:34-35; 5:1-4; 9:31; 13:47-48
• Romans 9:16; 10:14-17
• 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
• Ephesians 4:11-13
• 1 Timothy 2:1; 3:14-15
• 2 Timothy 4:2
• Revelation 1:12; 7:9