The Sunday school teacher was explaining to the
class something about the armor of God, as is
found in Ephesians, the sixth chapter. She explained
about the breastplate of righteousness, and she
talked about the shield of faith. And then she
said to the class, the Apostle Paul also says
that we should carry a weapon. which he calls
the word of God. Do you remember what he called
the word of God? And none of the little hands
shot up. So she gave another clue. She said,
it's something very sharp, something that cuts.
And finally, one little boy lifted his hand.
He said, I know, I know. And she said, what is
it? He said, it's called the axe of the apostles.
Well, let's turn to the axe of the apostles this
morning. to the second chapter. It is said that
in Brussels, Belgium, a fire alarm was sounded
for a house which was on fire. Very soon, a nearby
volunteer crew arrived to be joined almost immediately
by a full -time brigade of professional firemen.
However, the two chiefs began to argue over who
had the priority of the fire, and it was not
long before they lost the house to the flames.
Now, what was the problem? The problem was one
of priorities, not the priority of which should
fight the fire, but the priority of putting out
the fire. I want to talk this morning about putting
first things first. Priorities are important
because priorities determine what we do. Right
priorities lead to right living. The Jerusalem
saints, as members of the first church, committed
themselves to God's priorities. Up to this time,
they had other priorities, of course. But a change
was made in their lives when they understood
that Jesus of Nazareth, is both Lord and Christ,
and they received him by faith. That brought
a change of priorities. And what were their priorities
then? Well, we find in verse 42 that they committed
themselves or they were continually devoted to
four things, to teaching, fellowship, worship,
which was centered in the breaking of bread or
the Lord's Supper. And prayer, public prayer,
praying together as a body. Teaching, fellowship,
worship, and prayer. How does one measure priorities?
Is it by what one says? Not always. Is it by
what others see in us? Sometimes. But the most
accurate measurement of our priorities is what
we do. The way that we spend our time actually
tells us what our priorities are in life. And
let's remember that time is life. Five minutes
of time is five minutes of life that we cannot
reclaim. Each hour of our lives we invest in
one way. which can never be reclaimed. Life is
important, time is important, and priorities
tell us how we use our time. The text that we're
going to read today is a snapshot of the outworking
of right priorities in that Jerusalem church.
This is what they were like at that point in
time. Later, the priorities worked out somewhat
differently. Yet in the snapshot that we're going
to look at, we see what a difference and what
a dynamic that living by right priorities produces
in a local church. We'll begin reading in verse
43. And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe.
And many wonders and signs were taking place
through the apostles. And all those who had believed
were together and had all things in common. And
they began selling their property and possessions
and were sharing them with all as anyone might
have need. And day by day, continuing with one
mind in the temple and breaking bread from house
to house, they were taking their meals together
with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising
God and having favor with all the people. And
the Lord was adding to their number day by day
those who were being saved. God's people, living
by God's priorities, will establish a powerful
ministry in their local church. It seems to me
there are four characteristics of that kind of
a ministry and that kind of a church, where the
people are living with the priorities that the
Jerusalem saints determined and committed themselves
to. Characteristic number one is found in verse
43, and it's this, that God is manifested in
that church. And after all, isn't that the church's
calling? Isn't that the church's privilege? To
manifest the very glory of God himself? Peter
says that we are a royal priesthood, a chosen
nation. We are God's own special people. that
we might show forth His excellencies to those
around us. We learned that the church is the
body of Christ a few months ago. And the real
heart of that analogy is that we are the extension
of the very life of God in this world. We are
the extension of Jesus Himself. Therefore, we
manifest Him. What do people think about Jesus
Christ? What they see in you and in me, for the
most part. Because we as His people manifest
Him. And when we live by right priorities, God
is rightly manifested. People get the right picture
of Him. In that Jerusalem church, God was specially
manifested through wonders and signs in their
midst. I would refer you to the earlier part
of the chapter in verse 19 where Joel, the Old
Testament prophet, is quoted. It says there,
I will grant wonders in the sky above and signs
on the earth beneath. And so you see wonders
and signs mentioned in that Old Testament prophecy.
However, these wonders and signs have to do with
miracles in nature. At the end of this age, in
that time that we call the tribulation. Nonetheless,
those same two words are repeated with an additional
one in verse 22, when Peter points to Jesus and
says, He was a man attested to you by God with
miracles and wonders and signs. And so those
were the wonders and signs and miracles. which
Jesus performed in his ministry as proof of his
claim. Now, in our part of the chapter, it says
that these were done through the apostles. And
this is as Jesus said it would be. For example,
in Mark chapter 16, beginning in verse 14, it
says, Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves
as they were reclining at the table. And he reproached
them for their unbelief and hardness of heart.
Now notice, this is after the resurrection. Jesus
rebuked them for unbelief and hardness of heart
because they had not believed those who had seen
him after he had risen. The fact of the resurrection
does not preclude unbelief or a hardened heart
in any of us. And he said to them, Go into all
the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
He who has believed and has been baptized shall
be saved. That almost looks like it ought to
go in Acts chapter 2, next to that verse we studied
last week, doesn't it? But notice what else he
says. And he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
If in fact Jesus had meant that baptism were
a part of salvation, to be added to believing
as a condition of being saved, Would he not have
said, but he who has disbelieved and has not
been baptized shall be condemned? I think so.
Then there would have been a parallel. Well,
let's go on. Verse 17, And these signs will accompany
those who have believed me. In my name they will
cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues,
they will pick up serpents, and if they drink
any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them. They
will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
Jesus is speaking to the apostles and he's telling
what the signs of their ministry would be. And
now just a few days later in Acts chapter 2,
we see these signs and wonders being performed
as Jesus has said they would be through the apostles.
Now the verb that is used in Acts 2 .43 were
taking place. is in such a tense that it means
they occurred regularly, but it also suggests
that they were in the past at the time that this
book was being written. They were something that
were taking place continually in that day. But
even as Luke was writing this, which was about
30 -some years later, they were in the past at
that point. Now it was particularly because of
these wonders and signs, apparently, that there
was a sense of awe or fear which settled upon
every one of them. It seems that the more miracles
there were, the more the fear intensified. It
was not a terror of God, but it was a healthy,
trusting respect of God. In other words, what
was happening was that they were becoming more
and more aware of God's presence in their midst
as he manifested himself. And he was free to
manifest himself because they themselves were
living by the right priorities. His lordship
was not just verbalized, but it was lived. It
was not in words only, but it was in reality
that Jesus Christ was their Lord. And because
that was their commitment, God manifested himself
powerfully through them. Now let's talk about
some application for today. Although wonders
and signs are not the norm for this age, 2 Corinthians
12 .12 says that they were the signs of the apostles.
In other words, when the apostles left, so did
their signs. Although signs and wonders are not
the norm for the age, God still does manifest
his presence. How does he do that? Well, let
me suggest several ways. First, through an inner
sense of his presence. You might call it the
witness of the spirit within. Yes, that is subjective.
Yes, it is a little mystical, but it's real nonetheless.
God manifests His presence in us with that inner
sense that He's there. His Spirit bears witness
with our spirit that we are the sons of God.
And then He manifests His presence through the
power of conviction, especially through the proclamation
or the sharing of His Word. How do we know that
God is here? Because of the convicting work of
His Spirit in our midst. Thirdly, by answered
prayer, God manifests Himself. God tells us He
is here, that He is involved in what we are doing
because He answers our requests. And fourthly,
because of an occasional miracle. Not as a sign
or as a wonder in the sense of that which was
happening in the early church, but God still
does miracles. God still does things that are
direct answers to prayer and cannot be explained
in human terms. I think of the one man in particular
that we prayed for last June who was completely
healed of cancer overnight, astounded the doctors
at Mayo's. They could not explain it. They were
ready to go in and operate. They decided to take
one final x -ray, and when they took that x -ray,
that cancer, It was entirely gone. God still
does miracles. God still manifests His presence
among His people. We say, well, why isn't that
the norm? Wouldn't there be a lot more fear among
God's people? Wouldn't there be a sense of awe
in our church if God would do lots of signs and
wonders? Human reasoning would say, yes, that
might be true. But sadly, the facts don't bear
that out. What would actually happen is that
these wonders and signs would grow common and
unappreciated. You say, oh, come on. Yeah, that's
right. And I know that because we're no different
than the Jews that were delivered out of Egypt
and walked with God for 40 years in the wilderness.
Miracle after miracle, wonder after wonder was
performed for them. and yet they failed in their
unbelief. In fact, even Christ's resurrection,
even His resurrection from the dead, did not
shake most of the people, even in that day, from
their unbelief. The answer is not in signs and
wonders, but it is in the proclamation of God's
Word. God wants us to walk by faith, not by signs
and wonders. or sight by faith. God still does
manifest himself today. And folks, as you and
I get right priorities in our lives, and we begin
to live faithfully according to those priorities
of teaching and fellowship and worship and prayer,
then God is free to manifest himself in our church.
That's what I want, and I believe that's what
you want too. But it's somewhat dependent on
us because we have to get those priorities where
they need to be. A second characteristic to be
found in a local church where God's people are
living by right priorities is that needs are
met. Verses 44 to 45. What is described in these
communal type actions? Let me hasten to say it
is not Christian communism, as some people like
to think. This is no communistic effort on the
part of the early church. Rather, it was completely
voluntary. The state was not involved. Even the
apostles were not involved in directing this
activity. It was completely voluntary on their
part. What is described here is actually Christian
compassion for those who have pressing needs.
And I would have you note with me carefully these
five observations about it. Number one, it grew
out of their unity. It says that they were together
in verse 44. They were together. They were in
this thing together, as a friend of mine says.
Their unity produced a tremendous spirit of sharing.
What we see here grew out of their unity. Now,
you parents who have teenagers, isn't it amazing
that you cannot get your teenager to drink out
of the same glass of somebody else in the household?
But if he gets on an athletic team at school,
he'll drink out of the same bucket with 25 other
slobbering kids his own age. Isn't that amazing?
Now, why is that? Because of the team unity that
is there. I mean, they're in it together, you
see. And so it was with this church. They were
unified. And out of that unity came this compassion
to share, to meet needs. Secondly, note it was
occasional. It was not continuous. The verbs
here indicate that it was from time to time that
this took place. That is, as the needs arose.
someone would sell a piece of property and give
that money. So it was occasional. It only happened
when the occasion arose. Thirdly, it was temporary.
It was not permanent. It was not meant to be
the norm for this age. Now, I recognize there
are some people who like to live in communes,
Christian communes, and they use this as their
scriptural basis. But that is not what God intended.
This is not meant to be the norm, the practice
for everybody. It was a temporary thing. It was
not permanent. That leads me to the fourth observation.
That is that it was local. It was never practiced,
as far as we know, by any of the other churches.
It was done only in Jerusalem. And the final
observation is that it was limited to believers.
The sharing was not... a community relief project.
It was not a public welfare program, but it was
a relief program for other believers within the
church. These people had right priorities, and
the right priorities led them to share, to meet
one another's needs. Right priorities mean that
others come before myself, so that if I have
something which my brother truly needs, Jesus
Christ's love in me will motivate me to share
with him. I would emphasize that this is not
always sharing of material things. It may involve
that and often does, but not always. There are
other things that we need to share. For example,
one person rather than money may need help in
learning to be disciplined in his spending. He
may need someone, another believer, to come alongside
and give counseling regarding a budget and how
to live by a budget. You see, that's far more
important to share than just more money. Or it
may be entirely non -monetary. It may be that
I need to share a listening ear. with some Christian.
Or I may need to give time to help with a project.
Or I may need to work with a child of a single
parent as a big brother or big sister. And may
I say that we have some single parents in our
church who are crying for men who will do that
for their sons. In those cases, it's just sons.
What about a ride to the doctor's office or to
the grocery store? What about sharing a word
of encouragement or of understanding? You see,
all of these are ways in which we, if we are
sensitive and have our priorities right, will
be able to meet the needs of those around us.
And I'm glad to say that there are some of us
who are very involved in these ways that I've
mentioned. Let me suggest to you a project. Many
of us have made a commitment. to right priorities.
Now that we've done that, would you look around?
Whose need are you aware of today? Is there a
family or another individual where you know of
a particular need of the monetary or non -monetary
sort? Just a need. Do you know of some way you
can help? Or do you know someone else who can
help fill that need? Would you take upon yourself
this project to determine to meet a specific
need in someone else's life before the end of
this week? Will you pray about that? Will you
seek, if your priorities are right today, I challenge
you to do this as part of the outworking. of
those priorities. Find someone who has a need
and then seek to meet that need as God enables
you to do it. God will bless you in doing it.
It may be that the kind of need you're seeking
for is a ministry need. We have those kinds of
needs. Right now we have a Sunday school class
that desperately needs a teacher. We have a sparks
group. Those are the two and a half and three
year olds. We meet on Wednesday night as part
of the Awana ministry. We need some adult helpers
in there. We need 12 helpers for occasional assistance
in our junior church program. Not every Sunday,
just occasionally helping out. You say, well,
maybe I can meet one of those needs. Then indicate
that. Go to the information desk or see. Pastor
Helmberger, who's just come in, Mr. Helmberger
back there, would you lift your hand in case
there's somebody that wants to see you? Look
him up after the service. Say, hey, how about
this? What can I do to help in that area of the
children's ministry? Now, I'm in a lot of trouble
because I haven't mentioned the adult ministry.
I haven't mentioned the music ministry and others.
And there are needs in all of these areas. Needs
are met when God's people are living by his priorities.
Then there's a third characteristic of a church
in which God's people are living by right priorities.
It is this, that fellowship is enriched, verses
46 and 47. Fellowship is enriched. Now, what
is fellowship? That is really a hard term to
get your hand on. It's like reaching out and
trying to pick up a piece of jello, isn't it?
What is fellowship? How do you define fellowship?
Have you ever tried to do that? You say, well,
it means sharing. Well, essentially, that is
what it means, but that's no definition for it.
Here's a stab at it, just from my own heart.
To me, fellowship is the joy, the sense of belonging
I experience in the company of God's people.
who share my priorities and commitments, and
with whom I can make a significant life contribution.
To me, that's what fellowship is. Now, there
are seven statements of insight that I want to
make regarding our text, verses 46 and 47, to
help us understand the fellowship of this Jerusalem
church and make application to our own. Number
one, Fellowship was born out of unity. That sounds
like a repeat from point number two, doesn't
it? And it is. Because it's emphasized here again
by the Holy Spirit. Notice he mentions one mind.
They were of one mind. The idea is that they
had one spirit, of the same spirit. It says that
they were together. Notice that word again, the
same one as in verse 44. They were together.
This fellowship was born out of unity. This unity
precludes genuine fellowship, just like cement
precludes grass from growing. It is not enough
to be in the same room with other Christians.
That is not unity. Unity is when you share the
same heart, the same mind, the same spirit. We
all are moving in the same direction. We have
the same interests. We don't agree on every little
point, but there is a sameness. There is a unity.
And we are together in this thing. We are a team.
That's unity. I praise God for the degree of
unity that we have in our church. I'm certain
it's not perfect and could be well improved.
But I have been in other places where I've sensed
much less unity. I can guarantee you that. And
where there is not unity, there cannot be real
fellowship. Fellowship, you see, is born out
of unity. That's why it's so important that all
of us guard the unity of our church. We just
jealously guard that. One of our members was
sharing with me the other day that a former member
of the Emanuel Church, which joined with us back
three and a half years ago, called and said,
Why are they tearing down that church? I started
railing about the fact that the old auditorium
was torn down. What are you doing there? And
so this person, who was also a member of that,
Emanuel Church is with us today, said, you know,
people are getting saved, and our attendance
is growing, and God is working in our church.
Now, what was your problem again? You see, what
was she doing? She was jealously guarding the
unity of the church. And it's out of that unity
that fellowship, real fellowship, is born. Second
observation, or second statement. Fellowship
was experienced on a daily basis. Notice that
it talks about it happening day by day in verse
46. Day by day. They continued steadfastly day
by day. Not just for Sunday. Fellowship is for
Sunday, but not just for Sunday. It's to occur
throughout the week as I meet regularly with
other members of God's family. It can happen
in the grocery store when I happen to push my
cart past another person who's a believer. And
in about 15 seconds we greet each other, there
can be fellowship there. It can happen in the
prayer meeting on Wednesday night. It can happen
in the small group Bible study, the growth group.
It can happen in the foyer of the church. You
see, fellowship is something that should happen
day by day as we meet together. Thirdly. Fellowship
was expressed in public. It was in the temple.
At this particular time, there was no conflict
with the Jews. Later, there would be conflict,
and persecution would drive out these Jews who
had completed their faith by belief in Jesus
as Lord and Christ. Persecution would demand
that they leave the temple, and there would be
a whole new orientation. But at this point, All
they knew was the temple, and so they went to
the temple. And their fellowship was expressed
for everyone to see. Frankly, the unregenerate
yet religious society around us also needs this
kind of a witness. I trust that when people know
that we are from Grace Church or that we are
believers with... other believers and churches
in this area, and they see us together, they
will be able to remark, as some of those early
people did, behold how they love one another.
The public needs that kind of a witness. But
then fellowship was shared in private as well.
It was from house to house. That seems to be
the best rendering of that phrase. It was from
house to house that they shared their meals.
The public fellowship which they enjoyed overflowed
into smaller home settings where they shared
meals together. It seems as though some of them
even built worship rooms, they were called, to
house such gatherings as this. What this tells
me is that the public meetings are important.
But they're no more important than the more intimate
opportunities that I have to be with others of
God's people. Because it is in those smaller
groups where I'm able to become more transparent.
And we're able to do that somewhat in our small
churches. And I hope that you're involved in
a small church and plugged in that way. But it
happens even more so in the subdivisions of the
small church. We break down into growth groups.
where we stimulate one another and share with
each other and open our hearts. Fellowship was
shared in private, from house to house. And then
fellowship was consummated in worship, it seems,
because they broke bread together. Often this
was the end of their meal. They would conclude
their time of eating by worship. They would observe
the Lord's table as they would break bread together.
and in so doing they would be praising God. Their
fellowship led to worship. Real fellowship always
does. It always leads us to praising God. That
word for praising God in verse 47 is a word that's
only used in the New Testament regarding God
himself. Praising God, it's the same word the
shepherds used. In Luke chapter 2, when they
had been to the manger and then they returned
to their fields, praising God. Fellowship leads
us to praise the Lord. Fellowship is never an
end in itself. Fellowship leads us to something
even greater, and that is the awareness of Christ's
presence and a greater appreciation of His grace
and mercy working in the lives of others. Then
fellowship was enhanced by right heart attitudes.
And there are two of them mentioned here in our
text. Gladness and sincerity. Gladness means
exuberant joy. Exuberant joy. Have you ever noticed
that some saints seem as though they've been
weaned on pickle juice? Have you ever noticed
that? It's hard to please them, to satisfy them.
They're critical, complaining, griping. But not...
the early church. They had the right heart attitude,
and that fellowship was enhanced by it. They
were a glad people. And it's not just inner joy
here. It's talking about outward exuberance.
They were glad in their fellowship. That is the
work of the Holy Spirit. In Luke 1 .44, this
very same word is used regarding... a baby who
was still in the womb of elizabeth and that baby
was john the baptist because it says that when
mary came into the room and by that time she
was of child by the holy spirit she went to her
sister elizabeth to announce it and when she
came into the room luke tells us that elizabeth
experienced a sensation within that baby leaped
for Because of the voice of Mary. You say, what
does all that mean? I don't know, but I'll tell
you this. If I believed in abortion, that would
scare me to death. Because while he was still
in the womb, John had exuberant joy that the
Messiah was in the womb of the person in the
room with his own mother. And then sincerity.
This word is used only here in the New Testament.
Literally, it means not stony ground. The idea
is that their hearts were plain, simple, smooth.
In their fellowship, they had no hidden agendas.
There were no secret motives. Have you ever been
aware of a person who joined a church because
by joining that church, it enhanced his business?
I have. There was no that kind of stuff here
in Jerusalem. There was just sincerity of heart.
They were transparent. They were genuine. It
was sort of what you see is what you get attitude,
you know. I mean, what they were, they were.
There was sincerity about them. And when you
and I come together that way with gladness and
with no hidden agendas, sincerely, that's real
fellowship. And finally, fellowship resulted
in wide acceptance. People around them were apparently
hungry for deeper, real relationships. And the
result is that they had favor with all the people,
even those that were unsaved. Oh, that people
today would see in our fellowship something attractive,
compelling, satisfying. When God's people live
by right priorities, it produces in that church
that kind of fellowship. And finally, a church
that is that way, characterized by people with
right priorities, growth is continuous. Look
at the last of verse 47. And the Lord was adding
to their number day by day, notice that phrase
again, those who were being saved. Those who
were being saved. Notice that. Not those who
were saved, who shall be saved, those who were
being saved. It's progressive here. It's in the
present tense. It suggests that they were being
saved from the present condition of the perverse
humanity around them. That's the way salvation
is. It's past, it's present, it's future, isn't
it? Growth is continuous in a church where God's
people have their priorities right. Now granted,
the growth may not always be fast growth, but
it is hard to conceive of a church where people
have right priorities and there's no growth.
And notice that the Lord produced the growth
day by day. It was not just Sunday. The picture
is that of a dynamic power flowing through the
people every day, wherever they went, so that
as a church, as a body of people, they were impacting
their whole society day by day. And the result
of that is that people were being saved continuously
and added to the church. Well, I don't know about
you, but that's the kind of a church I want to
be a part of. A church that's characterized this
way. A church that has a dynamic and powerful
ministry because God's people are living by right
priorities. And that includes me as well as you.
A couple of questions as we close. Are you living
by God's priorities? Now, before you answer that,
remember, the way you measure your answer is
by how you spend your time. Do you give time
to the teaching of God's Word when we're together?
Or are you too much of a hurry to go to small
church, too busy on Sunday night to come to church?
How much of a priority is teaching to you by
the time that you spend being taught? And then
fellowship. Is fellowship a priority? Or are
you a quick in and quick out, a fast food kind
of Christian? What about worship? Prayer. Do
you give time to prayer? And then a second question
is this. How do your true life priorities help
establish our church? You say, well, I'm not
a member here yet. Do you attend regularly? You
are a part of us, even in that sense. How do
your life priorities help establish God's work
in our church? The fact is that the kind of church
we are directly depends upon you. and the true
priorities which govern your decisions and control
your partnership in God's work in Grace Church
Roseville. I trust that each of us today can
honestly say before God, as much as we know our
priorities are right, and when that is true,
then God is going to use us. to build a dynamic
ministry in this place to the glory of his name.
Father, I pray that today you will search us
as you know us to be, reveal it to us, wherein
our priorities are incorrect, our real priorities.
Give us repentance. And I pray that our heart's
desire will be to have the lordship of Jesus
the number one priority. And then teaching and
fellowship and worship and prayer. God, I pray
that so many of us will do that, that our church
will be characterized Like that Jerusalem church.
Make us, I pray, for the glory of your name,
that kind of a ministry. In Jesus' name I pray,
amen.