SPEAKER_02: Scripture reading this morning is in Acts chapter 2, verse 41.
SPEAKER_02: So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls, and they devoted themselves to the apostle teachings, the fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers.
SPEAKER_02: And all came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
SPEAKER_02: And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
SPEAKER_02: And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need, and day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous heart, praising God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being safe.
SPEAKER_02: Sergeant's work.
SPEAKER_01: And even if that is something that you might want to get involved in, come and chat to me.
SPEAKER_01: Today we're continuing our series, Foundations.
SPEAKER_01: There you go, lovely.
SPEAKER_01: And today we are focusing in on this idea of community.
SPEAKER_01: The title that Mark gave, I didn't give this title, Communities of Life, Love and Mission.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, great.
SPEAKER_01: I use none of those headings.
SPEAKER_01: But anyway, that's nice that Mark set that out.
SPEAKER_01: And today we are thinking about what it means to be the church.
SPEAKER_01: We've been walking through some of the foundations that we hold so central in the life of City Church.
SPEAKER_01: And this has to be one that should be central to us.
SPEAKER_01: In my opinion, we could have probably just done the series on this passage alone, but Mark wanted more sermons, so there you go.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I do love him.
SPEAKER_01: I do love him.
SPEAKER_01: But he's not here, so anyway.
SPEAKER_01: Let me pray though.
SPEAKER_01: Please, can you get that passage up your phone?
SPEAKER_01: Or if that fails you, there are Bibles here as well that you can use.
SPEAKER_01: But the passage is uh to Acts 2.
SPEAKER_01: Um, but let me pray for us as we uh consider God's word together.
SPEAKER_01: Loving Father, we thank you so much uh for your grace, your mercy towards us.
SPEAKER_01: I thank you so much uh for this time.
SPEAKER_01: I thank you that how you have brought each one of us together for this moment.
SPEAKER_01: And I just pray that as we uh come to uh your word, your word that is living and active, would you speak with power and authority?
SPEAKER_01: Would we humble ourselves underneath your word?
SPEAKER_01: And would we be people who would desire to live out of the truth of who you are and who we've been created to be?
SPEAKER_01: Bless us, I pray.
SPEAKER_01: May we experience a genuine sense of your glory in this moment.
SPEAKER_01: In your beautiful name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: I think it would be fair to say that I am a rather passionate person, uh, a passionate individual.
SPEAKER_01: Many of you who know me would probably say that is uh true, that you would agree with that.
SPEAKER_01: And when I consider this topic today, this idea of community, the passage that we are in, I can't help but feel passionate about it.
SPEAKER_01: Because I know that this deeply matters.
SPEAKER_01: I can't tell you the amount of situations of conversations I have had over the years.
SPEAKER_01: Sat with someone else, sat with uh another Christian friend, and they're expressing their struggles in relation to church, struggles that I myself have also experienced, wondering, does anyone really care?
SPEAKER_01: Does anyone really know me and love me?
SPEAKER_01: Is anyone truly able to relate to my experiences?
SPEAKER_01: Is anyone else really struggling in the faith as I am?
SPEAKER_01: Is anyone wondering, are they really losing their fight against sin?
SPEAKER_01: Too often I've sat and heard a brother or sister in Christ wondering these questions, feeling as if they don't belong, feeling as if no one truly knows them or cares for them, feeling alone.
SPEAKER_01: And rather than being encouraged by the church, sadly, what has often happened, rather than finding comfort and support there, they they find the church to in fact accentuate these issues, to kind of underline them.
SPEAKER_01: They they come and they look around and they they see people and they think these people look like they have it together.
SPEAKER_01: People look as if they they do not struggle in the ways that I would struggle.
SPEAKER_01: People who are naturally so easy in relationships, look at them, they're just making friends left, right, and center, and I just struggle so deeply to make friends.
SPEAKER_01: People who are strong when I feel so weak.
SPEAKER_01: But guess what?
SPEAKER_01: That is rubbish.
SPEAKER_01: That is an utter lie.
SPEAKER_01: Because as I look out, as I see your faces, as I think about my own life, I know that this idea of belonging, this issue of belonging is common for all of us.
SPEAKER_01: I know that we have all felt these sort of struggles.
SPEAKER_01: I know we have felt times of isolation, times where you feel even anxious in how people might see you or perceive you, feeling a longing.
SPEAKER_01: I just wish I had deep relationships, at least with one other person.
SPEAKER_01: To find people who will care for us, people who would be there for us, no matter what.
SPEAKER_01: I have throughout my life had such a burden for this.
SPEAKER_01: But I hate it, I utterly hate it when I hear a brother or sister feeling this way.
SPEAKER_01: I hate when I hear a brother or sister, a fellow Christian feeling like there's no one there to walk alongside them.
SPEAKER_01: Feeling as if they are alone, feeling as if no one's there to rejoice with them when they're rejoicing, no one's there to weep with them when they're weeping.
SPEAKER_01: The truth for us all is whether you're a Christian or not, we all long for genuine, true community.
SPEAKER_01: Each one of us.
SPEAKER_01: We all long for deep, healthy relationships with others.
SPEAKER_01: This life is not designed for us to be lived in isolation.
SPEAKER_01: It's not designed for us to just struggle through on our own.
SPEAKER_01: That is not how we've been created.
SPEAKER_01: Right now, you may be right there thinking, hearing these things, and that is actually your current experience.
SPEAKER_01: That is how you feel in this moment.
SPEAKER_01: You know that's exactly how you feel, and you long that that would not be the case.
SPEAKER_01: You you long desperately for true connection, for others to know you and love you.
SPEAKER_01: We all need to understand these struggles, those experiences are natural.
SPEAKER_01: You are not strange, you are not weird, you're human.
SPEAKER_01: You are a human living in a broken world.
SPEAKER_01: And yet, what I want for us, what I want us to really appreciate from our passage, is that though this might be our feeling, this might be where we are at, this should not be where we stay.
SPEAKER_01: This should never be what we settle for.
SPEAKER_01: We should always long for deep relationships, that that is God given.
SPEAKER_01: That we shouldn't be content.
SPEAKER_01: Because for Christians, for those who have come to know Jesus, this is not what we have been invited into.
SPEAKER_01: Our passage is a text that I have often dwelt upon, and I think as I read this text, that it is glorious.
SPEAKER_01: Something compels us towards it.
SPEAKER_01: I've longed for this to be the case, that this text wouldn't just be simply a text, but a felt experience.
SPEAKER_01: That we might see that this isn't just for that time, for those people, but rather this is what we are invited into.
SPEAKER_01: This is what we are called to be.
SPEAKER_01: And what we need to realize is that it is the gospel itself that creates this.
SPEAKER_01: Only the gospel can do this.
SPEAKER_01: What we are witnessing in the text is extraordinary, the way in which the community is functioning.
SPEAKER_01: And I suspect it is unlike any sort of community you've embraced and experienced.
SPEAKER_01: But what is clear is this is the community that is built upon something significant.
SPEAKER_01: Do you notice in verse 41?
SPEAKER_01: So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.
SPEAKER_01: It's easy for us to read those words and not see how huge, how how significant they are.
SPEAKER_01: This moment comes after Jesus' death and resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: This moment comes after Jesus has declared to his disciples, go and make disciples of all nations.
SPEAKER_01: It comes after they have been praying.
SPEAKER_01: It comes on the back of the Spirit being poured out upon the disciples.
SPEAKER_01: It comes after Peter has just a moment before proclaimed the gospel, preached the word.
SPEAKER_01: And in one moment we see and witness the birth of the church.
SPEAKER_01: That is significant.
SPEAKER_01: That is a huge moment in redemptive history.
SPEAKER_01: A huge moment in God's plans and purposes for mankind.
SPEAKER_01: No longer is God just focused on the Jewish people.
SPEAKER_01: He has always had a heart for the nations, and here, this is what is happening.
SPEAKER_01: Rather than just the Jewish people, he is calling men, women, children from different places, different nations to himself.
SPEAKER_01: This is huge.
SPEAKER_01: And what is easily missed in our text is the very foundation of this community we have been called into is your salvation itself.
SPEAKER_01: You see, salvation has never been an individual experience.
SPEAKER_01: That's not to say you haven't individually come to Jesus as Lord and Savior.
SPEAKER_01: But the truth is the God of the Bible is not saving individuals.
SPEAKER_01: He is saving a people for himself.
SPEAKER_01: A people called to him.
SPEAKER_01: And what we are witnessing is a direct result of our salvation.
SPEAKER_01: That as soon as we come to faith, we are adopted into God's family.
SPEAKER_01: Brought toward not just God, the creator God, not just Jesus Himself, but toward brothers and sisters in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: United to Jesus, united to one another.
SPEAKER_01: That is what's happening.
SPEAKER_01: These two realities are inseparable.
SPEAKER_01: You cannot and should not try to break them apart.
SPEAKER_01: You cannot have one without the other.
SPEAKER_01: If you think you are able to be a Christian and you do not need another Christian, fellow believers, then you are rejecting the majority of the New Testament.
SPEAKER_01: This is what we have been called to.
SPEAKER_01: This is what we are invited into.
SPEAKER_01: You are rejecting the bride of Christ, the bride for which he died.
SPEAKER_01: Our text is clear.
SPEAKER_01: These 3,000 people, they come to faith, they receive the word, the gospel that Peter has just proclaimed.
SPEAKER_01: And then they are baptized and added.
SPEAKER_01: Don't worry, I'm not gonna make much on the fact that they believe and then are baptized.
SPEAKER_01: Don't worry, I won't mention that for our infant Baptist friends.
SPEAKER_01: Mark isn't here.
SPEAKER_01: But we seriously need to understand the church is not optional for us as believers.
SPEAKER_01: We've been made for it.
SPEAKER_01: Because when we consider the church, we need to appreciate what it is.
SPEAKER_01: It isn't this time on a Sunday, it's not the institution, it isn't the buildings you drive past, walk past.
SPEAKER_01: It is the people of God united around King Jesus, united to one another.
SPEAKER_01: That is the church.
SPEAKER_01: And when we miss it, we miss the joy and the beauty that there is to be had.
SPEAKER_01: In our time, I want us to consider the sort of community we have been called to be.
SPEAKER_01: A devoted community, a community in awe, a caring community, a worshipful community.
SPEAKER_01: The points should be on the screen.
SPEAKER_01: There you go.
SPEAKER_01: Right there for you.
SPEAKER_01: See, this shows my love for you.
SPEAKER_01: Anyway, a devoted community.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 42 with me.
SPEAKER_01: And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship and to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
SPEAKER_01: Straight away, we're given a front row seat into the results of people coming to faith.
SPEAKER_01: And what is clear is their salvation is much more than just a life choice.
SPEAKER_01: It's not as if their salvation is just some sort of add-on to their lives.
SPEAKER_01: It's utterly transformative.
SPEAKER_01: They devote themselves, they have received Jesus and He changes everything.
SPEAKER_01: Salvation is spiritually dead people coming to life.
SPEAKER_01: That's dramatic.
SPEAKER_01: Dead, life, they are very different.
SPEAKER_01: And what they used to be devoted to is no longer their priority.
SPEAKER_01: They are now devoted to four things that are highlighted here: the apostles' teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers.
SPEAKER_01: What we need to appreciate is these are the pillars of this community.
SPEAKER_01: Pillars that cultivate their heart to be more like Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Pillars that should be seen and experienced in every gospel church.
SPEAKER_01: We should rightly question, though, are these true of us?
SPEAKER_01: Are they seen here at City Church?
SPEAKER_01: It is not that these are just focused on the leadership, but it's actually focused on all of them.
SPEAKER_01: They devote themselves.
SPEAKER_01: For a church to be healthy, we need to recognize, we need to understand that it is our collective call.
SPEAKER_01: It's not for some of us, it's for all of us.
SPEAKER_01: All of us who call City Church home to be united in this way, to be devoted in this way because of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Now, if you have been around City Church, we we don't use the term apostle.
SPEAKER_01: See, the apostles biblically are always linked to the 12 disciples of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Men who had been with him, men who have been taught and equipped specifically for this task.
SPEAKER_01: Paul, later on in Acts, we see that he becomes an apostle, that Jesus commissions him.
SPEAKER_01: But today we do not believe that role in this specific way has continued.
SPEAKER_01: But that doesn't mean we are not devoted in this way.
SPEAKER_01: We are not devoted as they were.
SPEAKER_01: At City Church, we prioritize the preaching and teaching of the gospel of God's word.
SPEAKER_01: But it's important we realize that no matter who is teaching or preaching, they are not infallible.
SPEAKER_01: You might have thought I was.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not, funny enough.
SPEAKER_01: No leader is above questioning.
SPEAKER_01: No leader is in a position of claiming an authority that is only belonging to God.
SPEAKER_01: Because we need to realize we all, no matter who we are, sit under his authority and his word.
SPEAKER_01: His word is our authority, his word is truth and life, not my thoughts, my wisdom.
SPEAKER_01: Look, you couldn't care less about my thoughts and wisdom.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter if it is not rooted in Scripture, if it is not dwelt there, if you cannot see it in His Word.
SPEAKER_01: What this means for us all is we should rightly hear and be prepared to hear that this should never be a passive experience.
SPEAKER_01: But with God's word before us, you should consider what you are hearing, what is being said.
SPEAKER_01: Is it rooted in Scripture?
SPEAKER_01: Is it true here?
SPEAKER_01: Because it doesn't matter what we have to say if it is not rooted in his word.
SPEAKER_01: And though that is true about this devotion, we also see the posture we should have.
SPEAKER_01: The posture of City Church, we shouldn't just think that we should be a place of good, great teaching.
SPEAKER_01: We don't want to just be a place, oh, those guys, they they have great teaching.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying we do, I'm just saying.
SPEAKER_01: But it's actually a place of learning and growing.
SPEAKER_01: Where we are actually devoted to learning.
SPEAKER_01: Devoted to growing.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter how long you've been a Christian, it doesn't matter how long you've been in the church.
SPEAKER_01: We need to be people who are constantly learning, constantly longing.
SPEAKER_01: We long to know Jesus Christ more and more in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: We need him so desperately.
SPEAKER_01: We yearn for him because the moment we begin to think we have obtained Christ, that is the moment we have lost sight of him.
SPEAKER_01: Our devotion is not toward information gathering.
SPEAKER_01: It isn't just more and more information, but rather our devotion is growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, growing in our relationship to him, enjoying and rejoicing in him, finding him to be most satisfying.
SPEAKER_01: Coming and seeking the only one who can satisfy our weary souls.
SPEAKER_01: Finding our delight in him when you come into this space, is that your heart?
SPEAKER_01: Is that what you are longing for?
SPEAKER_01: Are you praying those prayers?
SPEAKER_01: Lord, help us today that we might experience you above all else, because you are the one we need.
SPEAKER_01: Coming to meet with the living God together, to experience our Lord and Savior.
SPEAKER_01: Our King.
SPEAKER_01: Because as we delight and are devoted in growing in our knowledge of Him, we will grow in our devotion toward one another, devoted to the fellowship.
SPEAKER_01: Because a person who knows Jesus, who truly knows him, is a humble person.
SPEAKER_01: They are not self-seeking.
SPEAKER_01: A person who sees Jesus is outward focused, not inward.
SPEAKER_01: Knowing it is better to be serving than to be served, to be like our Savior.
SPEAKER_01: Thirdly, they devote themselves to the breaking of bread.
SPEAKER_01: Throughout the book of Acts, we see that term used.
SPEAKER_01: Paul will later call it the Lord's Supper, the time that we remember Christ's death for us.
SPEAKER_01: That this is what we have been called to as God's people, to consistently remember, to come around this table and reflect and declare what He has done.
SPEAKER_01: This is what we've been called to.
SPEAKER_01: And fourthly, they devote themselves to prayer.
SPEAKER_01: So often prayer can seem and feel secondary to us.
SPEAKER_01: Often prayer can be the last thing we want to do.
SPEAKER_01: And yet, I actually truly believe prayer reveals the health of a church.
SPEAKER_01: It shows our desire and declaration of our need.
SPEAKER_01: It shows it's not just about doing stuff, but it's actually often about coming before Him, being in His presence, seeing our Father, desiring His comfort, His help, desiring to be in His presence, to rejoice in Him.
SPEAKER_01: We need to be a place of prayer.
SPEAKER_01: Brothers and sisters, are you devoted to these things?
SPEAKER_01: Are these things a priority?
SPEAKER_01: Are we truly seeking to orientate our lives in this way?
SPEAKER_01: Together.
SPEAKER_01: I'm deeply encouraged when I see how many of you are displaying these things.
SPEAKER_01: How wonderful it is.
SPEAKER_01: What a joy and privilege to walk alongside you guys, to be encouraged and served by you, as I hopefully encourage and serve you.
SPEAKER_01: It is a joy because I need this and you need this.
SPEAKER_01: I need brothers and sisters who are devoted in this way, and so do you.
SPEAKER_01: We all need this.
SPEAKER_01: A community that is devoted to what matters.
SPEAKER_01: It's so important that we never become complacent in these things.
SPEAKER_01: City church, Redeemer, when we when we plant and establish, need to be churches that stand upon these pillars.
SPEAKER_01: That if you walk into this space or spend time with us, you will see what we value.
SPEAKER_01: And these things are key in shaping the life of the community.
SPEAKER_01: In the following verses, we see how they shape this community.
SPEAKER_01: A community in awe.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 43, and all came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
SPEAKER_01: It's not hard to imagine that that is the response after what has just taken place.
SPEAKER_01: It's not hard to imagine, you can just imagine.
SPEAKER_01: Imagine if our Peter went out to the street and a massive crowd gathered, he preached the gospel, and over 3,000 people came to faith.
SPEAKER_01: Imagine if that happened.
SPEAKER_01: We'd be like, whoa.
SPEAKER_01: Because we know it wouldn't be because of PP's preaching.
SPEAKER_01: He's a great preacher, I love him.
SPEAKER_01: But it's because God was doing something.
SPEAKER_01: We'd be in awe of what he would be doing.
SPEAKER_01: Just in wonder at his grace, at his generosity.
SPEAKER_01: It's no wonder they are reacting and responding in this way.
SPEAKER_01: We are experiencing a specific moment in God revealing himself, showing himself to be who he is.
SPEAKER_01: All is a natural posture for us to have.
SPEAKER_01: And what is clear is this all is not a result of the signs and wonders.
SPEAKER_01: It's like they're an add-on.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, and there's signs and wonders.
SPEAKER_01: All was already happening, was already something that was taking place.
SPEAKER_01: All is rooted in the beauty of what God was already doing.
SPEAKER_01: In forming a people, in bringing salvation, utter transformation, bringing people who were strangers to be brothers and sisters in Christ, united together.
SPEAKER_01: Eternally.
SPEAKER_01: That is incredible.
SPEAKER_01: Look around you, look at the faces around you.
SPEAKER_01: It's okay, you're just looking at me, that's fine.
SPEAKER_01: You can imagine.
SPEAKER_01: Each of us carry stories.
SPEAKER_01: Each of us have come from different places, most of us have had different experiences.
SPEAKER_01: Do you get this is actually weird?
SPEAKER_01: Why are we here?
SPEAKER_01: Why are you with the person over here, whoever that is?
SPEAKER_01: If you're married to them, go to the next person.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Having grown up in Kilkenny, I wouldn't have expected to be stood right here, right now, and being like, oh, there's my Nigerian brother and sister.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, there's my Romanian brother and sister in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, there's my South African brother or sister in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, there's my Sligo brother and sister in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Unfortunately, I don't know why he saves people from Sligo.
SPEAKER_01: I love people from Sligo.
SPEAKER_01: But the truth is, that is weird.
SPEAKER_01: It is a strange reality that we are experiencing.
SPEAKER_01: It is not that we are just from different places, but we also are not similar in an earthly sense.
SPEAKER_01: I love you guys, but let's be honest, I probably wouldn't be friends with you apart from Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't.
SPEAKER_01: And you wouldn't be to me.
SPEAKER_01: You really, amen.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you, even with Jesus, which wish that wasn't the case.
SPEAKER_01: You're stuck eternally.
SPEAKER_01: Deal with it.
SPEAKER_01: But that's where we are.
SPEAKER_01: This is what the gospel does.
SPEAKER_01: This is the work of God.
SPEAKER_01: Would that not be awesome to see and realize?
SPEAKER_01: Of course, we should be in awe.
SPEAKER_01: This is not normal.
SPEAKER_01: It is beautiful.
SPEAKER_01: All of his saving grace, all that we have been invited into this, to experience this.
SPEAKER_01: We shouldn't take it for granted.
SPEAKER_01: It is a joy and gift that among us we are able to see and experience God at work.
SPEAKER_01: That is a privilege.
SPEAKER_01: Among us we are united together.
SPEAKER_01: Are we eager for that?
SPEAKER_01: In our diversity, experiencing together a foretaste of what we one day will experience eternally.
SPEAKER_01: What a joy that is when we will be around his throne.
SPEAKER_01: Let us not lose all.
SPEAKER_01: What he has done and what he is doing.
SPEAKER_01: It is remarkable.
SPEAKER_01: Because what is also interesting here, what we see in our text is that the awe is centered around this community.
SPEAKER_01: And yet it clearly goes beyond the community.
SPEAKER_01: That this is not just the believers are in awe, but in fact, those around these people are in awe.
SPEAKER_01: What Luke does in the next verse is he transitions.
SPEAKER_01: Do you notice that?
SPEAKER_01: He transitions from the people at large to the believers.
SPEAKER_01: Because what we are seeing here is it goes broader than the believers.
SPEAKER_01: That people in and around this community of faith has seen what is taking place and they too are captured.
SPEAKER_01: They too are seeing something at work.
SPEAKER_01: City Church wants to be a place for people who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
SPEAKER_01: If you are here and you're not a Christian, we are so glad you are here.
SPEAKER_01: I'm genuinely glad you are here, and I do pray that you will be encouraged, that you will feel cared for, loved in your time.
SPEAKER_01: That you will see that among us.
SPEAKER_01: But I also hope that you see something greater at work among us.
SPEAKER_01: Something that you can't even put your finger on, so to speak.
SPEAKER_01: Often questions and comments are made.
SPEAKER_01: I get to kind of hear these things often because of my position from non-Christians.
SPEAKER_01: I really love the community.
SPEAKER_01: It's just so great.
SPEAKER_01: There is just something different about you guys.
SPEAKER_01: Now let's hope the different is a good thing, but not a bad difference.
SPEAKER_01: What is that?
SPEAKER_01: That is only God at work in and through us, uniting us through his spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Because we what we know is that we are just as broken as the next person.
SPEAKER_01: We're not better than other people.
SPEAKER_01: We're not more good.
SPEAKER_01: We're not perfect people, we are broken people who know the love of our Savior, who've experienced His grace in our lives, who have been captured by Him.
SPEAKER_01: And that is transformative.
SPEAKER_01: Let us not lose this, let us not become numb towards the wonder of what God is doing.
SPEAKER_01: It is remarkable.
SPEAKER_01: Let us strive to be in all, brothers and sisters.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe up to this point, you've kind of heard what I've had to say and looked at the text and thought that this community is a bit hippie-ish for you.
SPEAKER_01: It's not maybe as practical as you'd like.
SPEAKER_01: But there is genuine substance to this sort of community.
SPEAKER_01: It is a caring community.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 44.
SPEAKER_01: And all who believed were together and had all things in common, and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need.
SPEAKER_01: It's not hard to see the overflowing care that is being experienced and done among these believers.
SPEAKER_01: Because when we embrace the gospel, when we understand what God has done, his inexpressible generosity toward us, there is freedom for us.
SPEAKER_01: We do not hold our money, our possessions tightly, but rather gladly we understand all he has given to us.
SPEAKER_01: That it all comes from him and is for him.
SPEAKER_01: Our lives are no longer controlled by our own selfish desires, of our wants, our desires in ourselves.
SPEAKER_01: Our joy is not rooted in what we own or in how much we earn.
SPEAKER_01: Our joy is rooted in Christ Jesus Himself.
SPEAKER_01: And yet it's so hard for us at times to be this way.
SPEAKER_01: We look around us and we see things and we think, oh, I'd just love to have that.
SPEAKER_01: I'd love to have this, I'd love to have that.
SPEAKER_01: It's a struggle at times to not be consumed by a desire of more and more stuff, to think that they will satisfy, that they will give us joy.
SPEAKER_01: Money isn't wrong, it's not evil.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible doesn't say that.
SPEAKER_01: We can enjoy good things.
SPEAKER_01: It's not wrong to enjoy good things.
SPEAKER_01: It's not wrong to have nice things.
SPEAKER_01: None of that is wrong, but it is wrong when we place our ultimate hope in them.
SPEAKER_01: When we believe they are the thing that will satisfy, they are the thing that will give us joy.
SPEAKER_01: That is not what we've been made for.
SPEAKER_01: Because the truth is, some of the most unhappy, unjoyful people in the world are those who have it all.
SPEAKER_01: Those who have it all materially, they have the money, they have the stuff, and yet they do not have joy.
SPEAKER_01: They need more and more and more.
SPEAKER_01: Because the truth is it will rob us of joy.
SPEAKER_01: It will never satisfy and quench the thirst we have.
SPEAKER_01: But a heart that is set upon Christ Jesus, a heart that is overwhelmed in gratitude to the Lord gladly gives.
SPEAKER_01: We freely give, we embrace and rejoice in the blessing that it is truly better to give than to receive.
SPEAKER_01: That it is merely a picture of the gospel of what we step into when we embrace that.
SPEAKER_01: To lay ourselves down, to give towards others.
SPEAKER_01: It's not reluctant, it is joyful.
SPEAKER_01: This community that we see in these verses, nothing about it looks reluctant.
SPEAKER_01: It is eager.
SPEAKER_01: A community that does not leave anyone wondering how are they going to cope.
SPEAKER_01: A community that doesn't leave anyone wondering how are they going to survive financially.
SPEAKER_01: This is not birthed from a place of pity or guilt, but rather love and care.
SPEAKER_01: Genuine love and care.
SPEAKER_01: A posture in these verses is an eager posture.
SPEAKER_01: Ready and willing.
SPEAKER_01: There's a need, let's meet that need.
SPEAKER_01: We want to meet that need.
SPEAKER_01: But for us to be this, we need to be a place that is open to vulnerability.
SPEAKER_01: A place that allows people to admit their struggles, to not feel ashamed by that.
SPEAKER_01: A place that is safe for brothers and sisters to express their genuine need.
SPEAKER_01: And a place that meets the needs of those around us with genuine care and concern.
SPEAKER_01: None of us know what awaits us financially, practically speaking.
SPEAKER_01: We don't.
SPEAKER_01: We don't know when we might lose a job.
SPEAKER_01: We might be struggling practically, but we should never believe we are alone in that.
SPEAKER_01: That we are isolated, trying to figure out what to do.
SPEAKER_01: And I speak as a person who has had first-hand experience of this.
SPEAKER_01: Not all of you know, but part of my testimony, my story, the kindness of God's provision is that the fact is, growing up, we struggled as a family.
SPEAKER_01: My mom was raising three kids on her own, doing the best she could on minimal support.
SPEAKER_01: And time and time again, I saw God answer our prayers.
SPEAKER_01: Genuine practical care for us by our church family.
SPEAKER_01: Times where we were praying and we didn't know what we'd do for the next meal, and an envelope would come through the door with money.
SPEAKER_01: It didn't always work.
SPEAKER_01: I've tried it again, it doesn't always work.
SPEAKER_01: But what I'm expressing here is the fact that that is a blessing.
SPEAKER_01: What a wonderful thing that is.
SPEAKER_01: What a testimony of God's grace, because that should never produce any sort of shame.
SPEAKER_01: But rather it should produce rejoicing in God's provision, rejoicing in God, using his people to provide.
SPEAKER_01: People who love and care for us, being the people we are called to be.
SPEAKER_01: Our care and concern should never be merely lip service, but willing to rightly meet genuine felt needs, knowing the abundance of what we have.
SPEAKER_01: And let's be clear: this isn't just simple handouts.
SPEAKER_01: That's not what's being spoken about here.
SPEAKER_01: It is care, support that rooted in their unity together.
SPEAKER_01: Brothers and sisters actually functioning that way.
SPEAKER_01: A community of faith.
SPEAKER_01: And what is a joy to me is when I see this happening among us.
SPEAKER_01: I know of specific occasions, times, situations in which this is taking place.
SPEAKER_01: That is such a joy to see.
SPEAKER_01: It encourages me when I see that happening.
SPEAKER_01: It is a wonderful thing.
SPEAKER_01: And I just want to invite us to continue to press into that, continue to be people willing to show such care, willing to walk alongside one another in this way.
SPEAKER_01: That is glorious and God-given.
SPEAKER_01: We finally see that we are called to be a worshipful community.
SPEAKER_01: Look down at verse 46.
SPEAKER_01: And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.
SPEAKER_01: Too often, as Christians, we think worship is orientated around Sunday morning.
SPEAKER_01: We think this is when we worship and we diminish true worship.
SPEAKER_01: It's not that this isn't important, this is important.
SPEAKER_01: But the truth is, every Christian, every person is worshiping all the time.
SPEAKER_01: It just depends what we are worshiping.
SPEAKER_01: We do not just worship on a Sunday, but as believers, we should be worshiping in every breath we have.
SPEAKER_01: That at all times, in all places, no matter what we are doing, we are worshiping.
SPEAKER_01: That we are pointing to the one we know and love.
SPEAKER_01: Pointing and magnifying Him in how we are living.
SPEAKER_01: And what we find is this community is worshiping not just on a Sunday.
SPEAKER_01: We see this day by day, we see this in their homes, we see how it is just a part of their life together.
SPEAKER_01: This is a picture of a community in one another's lives.
SPEAKER_01: Walking with one another, rejoicing in the gospel together in formal and informal times.
SPEAKER_01: We are in desperate need of connections throughout the week.
SPEAKER_01: We are in desperate need of being able to have this sort of relationship with others.
SPEAKER_01: Relationships of genuine, deep substance.
SPEAKER_01: Relationships in which you know that person knows and sees you, and you know that they will encourage your soul.
SPEAKER_01: You know that they will speak life to you.
SPEAKER_01: You know that they will be with you and are for you and are praying for you.
SPEAKER_01: And you can go to them.
SPEAKER_01: Relationships that exalt Christ together.
SPEAKER_01: Whether you are married or single, whether you're old like Ben, you know, or young like me, whether you're employed or a student or a mom, whatever you are, we are all in need of brothers and sisters in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: What is being displayed is a culture that the gospel produces in the lives of his people.
SPEAKER_01: It is so other person centered, it is so genuine and humble, and it is so orientated.
SPEAKER_01: Around Christ Jesus Himself.
SPEAKER_01: Do you not need that sort of community?
SPEAKER_01: Do you not long to have this?
SPEAKER_01: Something that I love, along with Becky.
SPEAKER_01: That's my wife, that's not just a random woman.
SPEAKER_01: Is people in our home.
SPEAKER_01: Now, if you come to our house enough, you will you'll know something.
SPEAKER_01: Often I'm just sitting there in the lounge, and then suddenly in front of me is someone from our plant team, and they're like, whoa, they're in my home.
SPEAKER_01: Now, two things are happening.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, we leave the door open.
SPEAKER_01: We may need to think about that now that I've announced it here.
SPEAKER_01: But we leave the door open.
SPEAKER_01: And they know that they are invited to just come in.
SPEAKER_01: That they are welcome.
SPEAKER_01: They can go crack on the kettles there, get yourself some tea.
SPEAKER_01: That's not that we're lazy, by the way, though we are in part lazy.
SPEAKER_01: But we want them to experience that they are welcome, that there's not some sort of time limit here.
SPEAKER_01: That we want to embrace them as they embrace us.
SPEAKER_01: Because if we truly long to cultivate a community like this, we need to appreciate it takes time.
SPEAKER_01: It takes intentionality.
SPEAKER_01: This takes the willingness to lay down our selfish preferences in order to seek, to love, and care for others, for one another.
SPEAKER_01: Because when we come to saving faith, we need to appreciate what we are called to.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord Jesus, he could have said we are acquaintances in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: He could have said we are friends in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: But no, he has called us to be brothers and sisters in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: If my brother needs me, if he is in need, I do not think, oh, should I step in?
SPEAKER_01: Shouldn't I step in?
SPEAKER_01: No, I am there.
SPEAKER_01: If he needs help or support, he doesn't think, oh, can I, can't I?
SPEAKER_01: No, he asks.
SPEAKER_01: He knows that if he needed to come and stay, our house is there for him.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because he's my brother.
SPEAKER_01: He is my brother.
SPEAKER_01: And yet, how much more should this be true of us who are purchased and bound with something more precious than DNA, but the blood of Jesus Christ?
SPEAKER_01: Do we grasp that?
SPEAKER_01: Eternally bound by his precious blood.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not pretending that this is easy or simplistic.
SPEAKER_01: There'll be times of struggle.
SPEAKER_01: There'll be times where we can't stand each other.
SPEAKER_01: But is that not a family?
SPEAKER_01: Is that not what we have been called into?
SPEAKER_01: Knowing that there is such deep beauty for us in this.
SPEAKER_01: There is such joy to be gained, and we so desperately need it.
SPEAKER_01: You need this.
SPEAKER_01: I need this.
SPEAKER_01: What is striking as we see at the end of this passage is what a wonderful and glorious thing that this community is that if we would dare to embrace what we are called to, we see what happens as a result of that.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 47 again.
SPEAKER_01: And the Lord added to their number day by day those who are being saved.
SPEAKER_01: Jews grasp that the church in which the gospel is seen and proclaimed, it is God's people united to Him, united to one another, that displays and proclaims Christ Jesus to a broken world.
SPEAKER_01: Because the church is never primarily inward focused.
SPEAKER_01: But we rejoice in and hold to a gospel that always points us out toward our Savior, toward one another, toward the lost.
SPEAKER_01: This is who we are called to be.
SPEAKER_01: This is why we plant churches.
SPEAKER_01: To be a light in the darkness.
SPEAKER_01: This is what church town, the area we are planting into, needs so desperately.
SPEAKER_01: People who love Jesus so deeply that it is undeniable in the way in which they care, in the way in which they seek to love and serve those around them.
SPEAKER_01: Lives utterly shaped by Him.
SPEAKER_01: For this to happen, it is only a work of the Lord, but it is also a willing heart.
SPEAKER_01: And that is the question: are we willing?
SPEAKER_01: Are you willing?
SPEAKER_01: Willing to be devoted to these things, willing to fight to be in all, willing to care deeply for one another, willing to make much of Christ together.
SPEAKER_01: Because this is exactly what you and I long for.
SPEAKER_01: This is exactly what you and I were made for.
SPEAKER_01: This sort of community.
SPEAKER_01: And this is exactly what we will enjoy and rejoice in for all eternity.
SPEAKER_01: All I can do is kind of lift it up as best as I can.
SPEAKER_01: And I am so limited.
SPEAKER_01: But I long that we might see the beauty and the glory of what the Lord has for us.
SPEAKER_01: That we would embrace and go toward that, knowing that that will be the best thing we've ever done.
SPEAKER_01: And that it will be for our good and his glory.
SPEAKER_00: If you found this helpful or want to know more about City Church Dublin, visit our website found in the links below.