WEBVTT 00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:04.480 Acts 4, 32 through 37. 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:15.279 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:23.440 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:37.840 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:52.159 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the Apostles' feet. 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:53.840 This is the word of the Lord. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:55.280 Please be seated. 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:57.119 Alright, we're here. 00:00:57.280 --> 00:00:59.200 That's gonna be a weird start to the podcast. 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:00.640 Welcome to church this morning. 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:02.960 Um my name's James Bradman. 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:08.000 That's that's literally three weeks in a row that I have messed up starting my microphone. 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:10.560 I'm just gonna turn it on once in the morning. 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:12.239 Um Welcome to church. 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:14.959 Uh I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving. 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:17.120 Uh raise your hand if you did. 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:20.079 Wow, that was like everyone. 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:21.280 Good job. 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:22.799 Uh give yourselves a hand. 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:24.000 Congratulations. 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:27.519 The uh uh, no, not too big of a hand. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:30.799 We're uh having a happy Thanksgiving is a pretty big deal. 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:37.120 I think that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite parts of America. 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:40.959 That we have a holiday dedicated to gratitude. 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:42.799 Uh I I think that's incredible. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.040 It's uh why uh Thanksgiving's my favorite. 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:46.959 It's no pressure Christmas. 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:49.359 Um I really love it. 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:55.359 This is the final week in our series titled Analog Church. 00:01:55.519 --> 00:02:03.280 What we've been doing is we've been moving through Acts chapters one through four, and today we make it to the end of chapter four. 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:09.759 Next week we're going to be starting a series that will take us through the end of the year uh called Advent. 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:33.280 Uh it's a we came up with the title after a long brainstorm session, and we're going to be uh following a traditional Advent pattern, which is we're going to be doing two sermons on the second coming of Christ, and then we're going to be doing two sermons leading up to Christmas on the first coming of Christ. 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:38.639 So that's a traditional Advent pattern where we start by what are we looking forward to now? 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:44.479 And then we're looking at why are we looking forward to that, which is the first coming of Christ. 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:46.159 So I hope you'll join us for that. 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:49.199 It's sure to be full of controversy. 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:58.479 Uh but for this week, for now, we are closing out our series on the first four chapters of Acts. 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:11.680 Where we are is we had seen Peter and John heal a man who had uh was lame from birth, and that causes quite a stir in Jerusalem. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:16.639 They explained the healing in terms of Jesus' resurrection. 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:23.280 They explain that this man being healed is evidence of Jesus' power coming through the resurrection. 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:38.159 And because they were preaching the resurrection, they end up getting arrested by the religious authorities of their time, and they're brought before a council, they continue proclaiming the resurrection, they gather together with their friends after being released, and they pray for boldness. 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:48.080 Last week we looked at their prayer for boldness, and we saw that when they prayed, the building that they were in was shaken, and because it was shaken, they were not shaken. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:52.319 Uh I believe the theological term is shaken, not stirred. 00:03:52.639 --> 00:04:07.199 And they uh after their prayer for boldness, we uh Luke provides this final statement that we're going to be looking at this morning, which is uh throughout the book of Acts, Luke provides these summary statements. 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:20.879 And it's one of the best ways to break up the book, actually, is by looking at Luke's summary statements throughout the book of Acts, and this is one of them, where he provides a sort of snapshot of the culture of the church. 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:35.199 So we go through some events, and then we see here's how that has materialized in the community, the type of community that has given birth to and been created by these miraculous interventions of the Holy Spirit. 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:43.120 Now, these snapshots of the early church can be so I'm looking for the right words. 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:48.959 What I wrote in my notes is they're it they're end of a Pixar movie beautiful. 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:58.639 So, like when a Pixar movie ends, it's beautiful and you're crying because they spent hours and hours fine-tuning everything to make your emotions make you cry. 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:02.480 Which means if you don't cry, it's not a problem with the movie, it's a problem with you. 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:09.759 These snapshots are that type of beautiful. 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:18.639 And here's my concern is that we'll look at them in the same way that we look at another person's vacation photos. 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:25.920 When you look at another person's vacation photos, the first thing you think is, I don't care about this. 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:35.439 Uh and then you start running through your mind uh all the reasons that like it doesn't really matter, so that you can write it off. 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:46.399 And you'll think things like, uh, you know, the those people really can't afford to be traveling like that. 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:50.160 That's just not a good use of their money. 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:56.800 Or you'll think something like, you know, they just they just don't understand work like I do. 00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:01.279 And they don't understand being committed in the way that I understand being committed. 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:11.360 Or we could think something like, you know, I I I'm sorry, it just tore through my mind. 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:15.439 There's because you do this, we do this within just about any interaction. 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:23.519 We find ways to write it off to stop that nagging feeling of, you know, I could really use vacation. 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:31.199 And so we can do that same thing with this type of a description of the early church. 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:34.399 Is we just find these ways to write it off. 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:37.199 Like, man, they were giving incredibly generously. 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:39.360 They had everything in common. 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:42.079 What am I, a communist? 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:44.720 I don't need to play that game. 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:46.879 I don't need that type of community. 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:53.360 I I'm on mission here in the world, and I know what it means to move forward on my own. 00:06:53.759 --> 00:07:06.079 You see, we find these ways to write it off as okay, maybe good for them, but we just get rid of that nagging feeling that it's anything we could actually experience. 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:19.199 So I want us to actively seek to suppress those normal guards that we put up towards seeing something that really is beautiful, this expression of community that is truly amazing. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:30.959 And instead of seeing it as, you know, a description from a friend of a beautiful place they've gone that we'll never get to visit, consider this an invitation. 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:34.720 An invitation to a place we really could go. 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:39.360 But here's the thing: we can only go together. 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:51.920 This is the type of place that we can only visit together because it requires us as a community in order to be able to experience it. 00:07:52.480 --> 00:08:03.040 So, what we're going to look at is the radical unity, the deep unity that we see expressed in this snapshot of the early church. 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:17.839 And we're going to see how that was informed by these selfless priorities that they had developed, and finally by this radical action that they were taking. 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:24.079 So, deep unity, selfless priorities, and a radical action. 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:32.320 So turn in your Bibles, open your phones, look at the screen at Acts verses 4, 30, Acts verse 4, chapter 4, verse 32. 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:37.200 It says, Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul. 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:44.080 And no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:47.360 So this is the beginning of that summary statement. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:57.600 And the first thing that Luke brings us to is that this type of unity of heart and mind that they were experiencing was experienced by the full number of those who believed. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:01.519 And we know at this point that that was at least about 5,000 people. 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:06.799 That's how many people we've seen converted at this point to Christianity. 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:22.000 And as the number swells to this really incredible amount over such a fast period of time, it becomes even more amazing that they were able to maintain this type of unity of heart and soul. 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:35.360 And it's a unity here that we see expressed not just mentally in that they had the same disposition, but it was expressed physically, tangibly, and that they were actually sharing their material possessions with each other. 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:40.879 They were looking at the need that they were surrounded by, and then they were giving into it. 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:50.720 So this unity of heart and soul actually expresses itself tangibly amongst this huge number of people. 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:54.559 See, the picture is already looking really good. 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:58.080 It already seems like how could that possibly be? 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:04.559 How could we create or foster something like that, a type of unity like that? 00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:05.759 It's really amazing. 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:13.919 And, you know, the church at that point, they had a couple of things going for them, which really helped support that type of unity. 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:29.279 One of them is there's this huge difference between what they had believed and the disposition that they had taken on in Christ and the culture that they were surrounded by. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:43.759 And so, because of that vast distance between what they had taken on in Christ and the culture that they were surrounded by or coming from, then it established this natural unity. 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:57.360 Whereas oftentimes in the West where we are at this point in history, Christianity has been the folk religion of our culture for the past 500 years, at least. 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:06.639 And so it can often become difficult for us to tell what is Christianity here, what am I stepping out of here, and what's just sort of a cultural norm? 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:11.600 They didn't have that type of blurred line. 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:26.320 A second thing that they kind of had going for them is that because of this distance between themselves and the culture, there's this uh the differences among themselves became minimized by that. 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:32.399 Because they said, you know, we've got this thing in common here, and we're really gonna focus in on that. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:40.080 I've experienced this once, um uh in like a really sort of microcosm type of way. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:46.480 In the uh it in Boulder in the philosophy department, there's like three other Christians. 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:54.399 And so we would always find each other in class uh because we were the weird ones. 00:11:55.120 --> 00:12:03.360 And then when we would meet together and talk, like we would discover certain differences in our theology and in our backgrounds, these things that we came from. 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:18.559 But the what was the same about us in Christ was so much, it was so magnified because the world that we were in was so different than what we had thought. 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:25.200 And so that distance actually created this incredible type of unity that we experienced together. 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:30.080 That was a really neat thing, and I think that's something that the early church got to experience. 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:39.919 But you see, there's this other factor that describes their unity, and I think is much more important than the culture that they happen to be in. 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:46.159 And that's their unity was around something that wasn't themselves. 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:56.240 So this term unified in heart and soul is a borrowed phrase, uh, and we have an example of it in the Old Testament in Chronicles. 00:12:56.559 --> 00:13:05.200 And uh that same sort of phrasing is used in this example that can kind of provide us what the shape of their unity really was. 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:19.039 So in 1 Chronicles 12, 38, it says, All these men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with a whole heart to make David king over all Israel. 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:24.559 Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a single mind to make David king. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:42.879 So this is at a point in history where Saul was uh recently killed in battle, and all of Israel and the armies of Israel are now gathered around David with this single mind, this single heart and single soul to make David king. 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:48.960 It's that same phrasing that we see here in this passage to describe their type of unity. 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:50.720 What is their type of unity? 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:52.399 It's this one thing. 00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:59.919 They have the single mind, the single heart and the single soul to bear witness to Christ as king. 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:03.440 It isn't about themselves. 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:08.320 It isn't about the movement, it isn't about the unity that they're just enjoying. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:11.840 That's not what they're aiming at to create the unity. 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:16.720 What they're aiming at is bearing witness to Christ as king. 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:22.960 Like an army arrayed to say, we know we need to put our new king on the throne. 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:27.120 Because once our new king is on the throne, everything else will flow from that. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:32.320 It's that same type of unity that they have in this section, in this passage. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:39.279 They are completely unified with a single heart and a single mind that Christ is king. 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:43.200 And everything else flows from that. 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:48.480 So we have this sort of fuel of disunity. 00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:56.639 We have all these things that sort of uh put a wedge between us, and especially in the church. 00:14:57.039 --> 00:15:01.759 We create distinctions that are sometimes insane between ourselves. 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:13.120 So there's this awesome term that uh Freud has, uh Sigmund Freud, as if there you were thinking just so you aren't thinking of another. 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:17.600 Um I love this term. 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:22.240 He calls it the narcissism of small differences. 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:26.480 It means exactly what it sounds like. 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:29.519 That it will I'll give you his definition. 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:44.399 He says, in a loving relationship, there can be a need to find and even exaggerate differences in order to preserve a feeling of separateness and self. 00:15:46.399 --> 00:16:00.399 So in a loving relationship, there's this there's this need to find these small differences and then exaggerate those differences in order to reinforce who it is I really am. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:11.840 Then I can know who I am, not based on something intrinsic to me, but based on some difference that I'm able to find in the world to use to describe myself. 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:15.279 The narcissism of small differences. 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:20.720 Now, we can engage in this like crazy as a church. 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:25.759 Because there's so much about us that's the same, there's so much overlap. 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:48.320 There are dozens and dozens of churches that would read the creeds we read this morning along with us in our city, and yet we can find these incredibly small differences that we're really not using as means of seeking the truth, but we're using as means of demonstrating our own separateness. 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:55.039 It's the narcissism of small differences that's dangerous. 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:58.320 It's not that there are small differences that are real. 00:16:58.480 --> 00:16:59.360 There are. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:04.319 It's when we discover those out of a sense of narcissism. 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:14.880 So the way that this can often take place in Christian circles is uh we'll use this term, uh, you know, is that really a gospel issue? 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:19.039 Or this is, you know, really this is really a gospel issue. 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:36.160 And what we mean when we say gospel issue or not gospel issue is uh is this really meaningful or is this really important, something for us to actually make a division over, or is it not really a gospel issue, so there's nothing here to really make a division over. 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:51.119 Now, here's the reason why that's not really helpful terminology, is because the Bible is written really organically, and it all comes to this incredible uh sort of focal point at the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:17:51.440 --> 00:18:01.119 That He is the risen King, that He became a that God became an incarnate human and died on the cross for our salvation and for the redemption of the world. 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:11.200 So we can tie pretty much any issue, any detail back to this central theme of the gospel. 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:22.319 And so oftentimes what we're saying when we're delineating a gospel issue is just here's what's really important to me, here's what I like. 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:27.119 That's because gospel issue can be said of just about anything. 00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:38.240 Don Carson, uh, who's like a contemporary theologian, he's Canadian, but he talks and writes like he grew up in Middle-earth. 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:40.720 Um he's kind of a weird dude. 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:42.720 But uh he says this. 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:56.160 He says, if that is all we are doing, the argument X is a gospel issue, is a well-nigh, right, useless argument. 00:18:56.480 --> 00:19:02.480 Because the claim could be advanced for almost any topic, irrespective of that to which X refers. 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:16.480 The choice of X will in that case reflect rather more the identity of the individual or group that is making the claim than the persuasiveness of the argument. 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:24.480 Look, this isn't like a blanket, we have more in common, so we should partner and agree with everyone. 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:25.759 That's not the case. 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:33.279 There are real things that we see in scripture that we we can't let go of, we must hold on to. 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:35.920 And that's always true. 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:41.519 But here's the point. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:52.000 The unity of the early church was grounded on their focus of the resurrected Christ as king. 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:57.519 And all else flowed from that. 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:11.519 So here's what we need to learn to recognize in ourselves when we're perhaps establishing a disunity, or when we feel ourselves drifting away from each other. 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:22.960 What we need to learn to recognize is am I really arguing something that I see in Scripture? 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:31.839 Or am I describing something that I really see more in myself? 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:42.640 You know, we can often enter into these types of relationships with God that if we were to see reflected in real life, it would just look like an abusive relationship. 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:55.359 If you came over to my house and you hung out with my wife and I, and uh you noticed that, you know, every time she spoke, it was uh exactly the same opinion as as mine. 00:20:56.240 --> 00:21:01.519 And anytime she contradicted something that I would say, I would say, no, no, no, quiet down, quiet down. 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:04.559 Uh listen to me, I I I have the answer to this question. 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:10.720 Uh and you know, you noticed she was always up and working and running around, and I was sitting doing nothing. 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:21.839 Then you would start to piece together, like, you know, it doesn't really seem like Megan, my wife, that's her name, Megan, is a part of this relationship. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:31.759 You know, it just seems like she's just kind of doing whatever James says, and she's just completely lost in this relationship. 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:40.880 You know, if you look at your relationship with God, have you ever allowed a time for him to contradict you? 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:49.599 When you read through the scripture, are you always finding things that reinforce aspects of yourself? 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:57.759 Or are you frequently encountering someone who truly is other than you? 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:03.119 Are you Really in a relationship with God? 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:08.480 Are you really seeking Him as King? 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:15.039 Or are you just looking for something to reinforce what you already think about yourself? 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:18.880 Is your Bible study a description of your preferences? 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:22.079 Or are you seeking Christ as King? 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:30.079 Now, look, I can't provide you a rule to look in your life and discover that sort of thing. 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:42.319 You're gonna have to sit alone with God, and you're gonna have to encounter things that contradict you in scripture, and you're gonna have to realize, man, I was gonna brush that off, but now I think I actually need to sit here for a while. 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:45.519 And I need to let God be not me. 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:47.119 And I need to let him be God. 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:53.279 And if this is actually going to be a relationship that we have together, then he needs to be the Lord in it. 00:22:54.480 --> 00:23:03.839 And so I'll anticipate constantly encountering things that don't care at all for my preferences. 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:17.359 They maintained a unity by seeking Christ as King that places us all in a very humble position before Scripture, before Christ. 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:25.759 You see, it's this resurrection message that describes the unity of the church. 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:30.799 The next verse is Acts 4.33, which comes right after Acts 4.32. 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:40.720 It says, And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:43.599 We've talked about this before. 00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:46.160 The resurrection is this trump card. 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:52.960 The resurrection means the resurrection means that it doesn't matter what you think. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:55.680 He came back from the dead. 00:23:55.920 --> 00:24:01.039 If you're in an argument with someone and they came back from the dead, they win the argument. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:17.200 So when we have this focus on the resurrection, the resurrected Christ as King, that establishes a unity among us because we're seeking what He really says. 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:21.119 We aren't just seeking our preferences. 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:23.200 Okay. 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:33.519 So we see this deep unity upheld by seeking Christ as King. 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:47.599 Sort of established, held up, and expressed by these incredibly selfless priorities that we see in this group of people. 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:55.359 So in Acts 4, 34 to 35, it continues, There was not a needy person among them. 00:24:56.079 --> 00:25:04.880 For as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet. 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:08.720 And it was distributed to each as any had need. 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:11.759 So we don't want to get this confused. 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:17.440 This the it's not as though there was some sort of entrance fee into this community. 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:23.200 There was not some sort of like, you know, you need to prove that you're really committed. 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:30.480 And once you prove that you're really committed by going and selling something or making this incredible sacrifice, then you'll be able to be a part of this community. 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:34.640 These events were not common, they were extraordinary. 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:43.680 And that's why we see them recorded here, as these acts of extraordinary and radical generosity done by this community. 00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:57.279 So we need to have them in their right category, because we can't become a type of people that's asking for some sort of radical demonstration in order for you to be a part of the community. 00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:00.160 Because then we're just making it about you again. 00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:06.319 And that's easily manipulated, as we'll see when we move through this passage. 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:22.079 But what we do see is this group of people that are so grounded in Christ that they're moving in generosity in these incredibly risky ways. 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:28.079 In Proverbs, it says that a man's wealth is his strong city. 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:30.960 And that's not like a moral claim. 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:33.519 It's just an observation. 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:35.759 It's a fact of the world. 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:40.799 Your wealth is your protection against future calamity. 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:42.799 It's what sort of holds you up. 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:46.160 It can provide this incredible floor that you can't fall behind. 00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:48.240 You don't fall behind floors. 00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:50.240 You fall under them. 00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:53.440 Unless your floors are vertical, in which you're falling all the time. 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:14.799 That's all the laughter it deserved. 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:19.920 A man's wealth is his strong city. 00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:25.279 What we see them doing when they're selling their land, many of you think of your homes like this. 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:34.079 I think of my home like this, as like, well, at least that's there, and if things get really hard, I can sort of bail out on that, and I'll be protected by that wealth. 00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:36.799 And sort of stored up in this property. 00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:43.359 When we see them selling their land to give to the needy, they're betting their future. 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:56.079 They're saying, I'm taking my security out of my hands, and I'm going to put it in God's hands for the sake of the immediate care of the most vulnerable. 00:27:57.119 --> 00:28:00.559 The most vulnerable that I now call my family. 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:04.559 I'm going to bet my security on it. 00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:07.359 I'm going to bet my future on it. 00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:23.680 See, this type of radical, risky generosity, this isn't, what we're seeing pictured here is not like, you know, I didn't give and then I tried giving, and I, you know, I treat church like Netflix and I give like 10 bucks a month. 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:26.480 That's not the type of generosity we see here. 00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:31.680 This isn't a generosity that can just be tacked on to your life as it is. 00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:37.680 This is a generosity that requires a radical change of disposition. 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:49.359 This is an expression of a new type of person that values the world in a really different way than we normally value the world. 00:28:51.920 --> 00:29:04.240 One of my favorite descriptions of this sort of strange new valuation that we approach the world with once we've seen the gospel is from Paul in 1 Corinthians, in this bizarre little section. 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:07.759 He says this in 1 Corinthians 7, 29 to 31. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:10.720 He says, This is what I mean, brothers. 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:13.920 The appointed time has grown very short. 00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:36.160 From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it, for the present form of this world is passing away. 00:29:49.759 --> 00:30:07.119 But it establishes this principle of this new heart disposition towards the world, which is that we can move through the world and in the world as though this isn't all there is. 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:18.400 You know, our hope in Christ is that a new heavens and a new earth are coming. 00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:48.000 That our satisfaction that we claw at to try and find here, that we never seem to quite grasp, that it is awaiting us in a world that looks much like this one but is totally redeemed, where moth doesn't destroy and thieves don't break in and steel, where our security is completely founded in the present experience of God. 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:52.799 We know that we're looking forward to that. 00:30:53.759 --> 00:31:04.079 And because we know that that type of future is certain, we can hold this present one with this sort of looseness. 00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:12.000 So it teaches us to have this new disposition towards the world. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:22.880 Where we say, you know, I may not find financial security on this side of heaven. 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:24.880 That doesn't mean I'll miss out. 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:28.640 I won't miss out on that experience. 00:31:29.119 --> 00:31:31.519 Because it will be mine one day. 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:37.440 And because I know it will be mine one day, I can let go of it now. 00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:46.319 We have all these non-negotiables that we build into our lives, all this fear of missing out that guides the decisions that we make. 00:31:46.400 --> 00:31:52.400 And so we cling to things that we shouldn't be clinging to because we treat this world as all there is. 00:31:53.200 --> 00:31:57.200 There's vengeance that you're seeking in a relationship. 00:31:57.359 --> 00:32:03.680 And what that's witnessing to, to the people around you, is you think this world is all there is. 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:08.240 So if there's going to be justice, it's up to you to get it. 00:32:09.359 --> 00:32:12.720 There's ski days you won't miss. 00:32:15.279 --> 00:32:18.240 Because you think this world is all there is. 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:25.759 So your only hope to get that type of experience, your only hope to enjoy that type of freedom must be now. 00:32:26.480 --> 00:32:35.359 So you're gonna neglect things that would require sacrifice because you're pretending that this world is all there is. 00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:40.319 Instead, you have dealings with the world? 00:32:40.640 --> 00:32:42.880 You know, it's as though I don't. 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:47.119 If I need to leave them, I'll just leave them. 00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:58.960 You know, uh I I've got to squeeze every every ounce of joy and pleasure out of this relationship with my spouse. 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:09.200 Rather than my wife and I have this time together, and this time together is to serve. 00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:18.000 What if your marriage, rather than just being a blessing to yourselves, was a blessing to the world around you? 00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:21.200 What would that look like? 00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:30.160 See, it's this strange new disposition towards the world that means we can hold it in this different way. 00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:47.200 So that when a time comes along and we see this incredible need and we think, you know, I was so close to being finally secure in this new space that I wanted to be secure in and settled in, and yet I encountered this need. 00:33:47.440 --> 00:33:51.839 And in order to meet that need, I'm gonna have to step out of that place of security. 00:33:52.160 --> 00:33:56.319 We know we can because this life isn't all there is. 00:33:57.200 --> 00:34:02.400 Now, here is the wonderful paradox. 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:16.400 When we value this world in proper proportion, in proportion to the kingdom that is coming, we begin to see that kingdom now. 00:34:19.119 --> 00:34:25.599 When we try and cling and make our own kingdom now, we lose it. 00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:30.880 But when we let it go, the kingdom begins to be present here. 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:41.840 So we see this in the text because Luke opens this, it starts this verse, and he says, excuse me, I lost my spot. 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:44.960 He says, There is not a needy person among them. 00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:48.079 There's not a needy person among them. 00:34:49.199 --> 00:34:59.360 Now, that's the fulfillment of a promise that God made to Israel in Deuteronomy 15, verse 4. 00:34:59.920 --> 00:35:19.599 He says this, he says, But there will be no poor among you, for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, if only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today. 00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:30.800 So he says, if you obey this perfectly, this command that I'm giving you, this right way of ordering your life, there will never be any needy among you. 00:35:33.199 --> 00:35:34.960 You know, they never did it. 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:43.280 In fact, five verses after that promise of if only you obey this, there will never be any needy among you. 00:35:43.440 --> 00:35:50.480 Five verses later, Moses, continuing on his speech, says, You will always have the poor with you. 00:35:52.320 --> 00:35:57.039 So he wasn't naive as to the hearts of the people that he was talking with. 00:35:57.199 --> 00:36:08.719 But he's saying, look, there is this expression of the kingdom that really could be experienced if we were all to bring our lives into this radical obedience to what God is calling us to. 00:36:08.880 --> 00:36:12.079 But in ourselves, that's impossible. 00:36:12.719 --> 00:36:14.559 It can't be done. 00:36:14.880 --> 00:36:18.320 You can try and white knuckle your generosity as much as you want. 00:36:18.480 --> 00:36:19.440 It won't work. 00:36:19.599 --> 00:36:22.000 Your whole disposition has to change. 00:36:22.159 --> 00:36:24.800 Your entire heart has to be made new. 00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:26.400 You have to be saved. 00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:36.960 We see this community fulfill that promise. 00:36:37.920 --> 00:36:46.719 In this early time with this radical vision of Christ as King, we see that there was not a needy person among them. 00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:54.159 Because they all gave according to the need, so that it was actually fulfilled. 00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:58.480 What a witness that community is. 00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:05.199 Saying, you know, the way things are now, this isn't all there is. 00:37:06.079 --> 00:37:08.960 And there's a new king on the throne. 00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:11.920 And one day he's gonna come back. 00:37:12.159 --> 00:37:28.480 And we when he comes back, the whole world order is going to be shifted, such that there won't be any needy anywhere, and we're all going to be so enjoying his immediate blessings that we're gonna live with this incredible generosity towards each other. 00:37:28.639 --> 00:37:30.400 And you know what that's gonna look and feel like? 00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:36.000 It'll look kind of like what this community looks like now, only infinitely better. 00:37:37.760 --> 00:37:47.280 And so their focus on the new king, witnesses to the new kingdom that he's bringing. 00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:51.679 They had these radical priorities. 00:37:52.880 --> 00:37:55.280 So, what did this lead to? 00:37:55.599 --> 00:37:58.400 But a radical action. 00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:00.159 Radical action. 00:38:00.480 --> 00:38:04.239 So we get a picture of what this looks like. 00:38:04.400 --> 00:38:22.719 It says, uh, in Acts 4, 36 to 37, it says, thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. 00:38:23.679 --> 00:38:31.440 So right here we see Luke introduced this new character named Barnabas, and he's gonna play a large part throughout the book of Acts, which we're gonna miss. 00:38:31.760 --> 00:38:34.239 But they're making a movie, so we'll be able to catch it. 00:38:34.639 --> 00:38:42.159 And Barnabas is a man who had gained this reputation among the apostles as an encourager. 00:38:42.400 --> 00:38:47.039 His name that they gave him means son of encouragement. 00:38:48.559 --> 00:38:52.400 So he was obviously this glowing part of the community. 00:38:53.920 --> 00:39:05.360 And it's an example of just one action that one person in the community makes, that Luke draws and he says, look, this is what it was like. 00:39:06.239 --> 00:39:10.239 Remember when Barnabas had that land on Cyprus? 00:39:11.519 --> 00:39:13.440 And he just sold it. 00:39:14.719 --> 00:39:17.599 So he no longer had land on Cyprus. 00:39:17.840 --> 00:39:24.559 And he took the money that he got from selling the land and he laid it at the apostles' feet. 00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:28.320 And he said, look, you guys know the need that's in the community. 00:39:28.559 --> 00:39:31.599 Just apportion it out as there's need. 00:39:31.920 --> 00:39:35.599 I'm gonna bet my future on this Jesus project. 00:39:36.320 --> 00:39:46.639 I'm gonna bet, you know, this life isn't my only shot to get the joy that I'm really looking for, the satisfaction that I'm really aiming at. 00:39:46.960 --> 00:39:51.360 I'm gonna bet that I can actually get more. 00:39:53.039 --> 00:40:06.400 If I let go of this now, and if I stake everything on what Jesus is doing in the world, I'm gonna bear witness to him as king. 00:40:08.800 --> 00:40:17.760 Luke sets this up as a comparison between the next story that he moves into, which we're not gonna look at directly. 00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:19.760 It moves into the next chapter. 00:40:19.840 --> 00:40:22.400 But it's the story of Ananias and Sapphira. 00:40:22.719 --> 00:40:32.320 They're a married couple who do just like Barnabas, they go and they sell a piece of land, and they come and they give the proceeds to the apostles. 00:40:34.400 --> 00:40:43.840 But what they pick up on is they claim that they're giving all of what they gained from the land to the apostles, and they weren't. 00:40:44.239 --> 00:40:49.760 They were withholding some for themselves and then giving some to the apostles. 00:40:51.679 --> 00:40:56.239 And God was really keeping his early church pretty tight. 00:40:56.719 --> 00:41:01.360 And so he kills both of them for the lie. 00:41:03.440 --> 00:41:05.280 Here's what we learn. 00:41:05.599 --> 00:41:10.719 A lot of us are trying to keep one foot in and one foot out. 00:41:10.880 --> 00:41:13.199 We're trying to play a game in both worlds. 00:41:13.440 --> 00:41:19.199 We're trying to hold on to this world and still grasp the kingdom. 00:41:19.599 --> 00:41:21.119 But we can't. 00:41:22.239 --> 00:41:29.679 The only way to actually see the kingdom is to let go of those things that we're clinging to that we think will bring us such meaning. 00:41:30.800 --> 00:41:35.280 And we have to learn to hold them as though this isn't all there is. 00:41:37.679 --> 00:41:41.920 And so look at the life that you're pursuing. 00:41:42.800 --> 00:41:55.039 Look at the things that you've been given, the time, the skills, the money, the wisdom, ability, whatever it may be. 00:41:57.280 --> 00:42:07.840 And consider maybe that wasn't given to you so that you could wring as much out of it as possible for yourself. 00:42:09.039 --> 00:42:33.119 But maybe it was given to you so that you could witness to the coming king by saying, I'm gonna lay this down at his feet, because I know this life isn't all there is, and I know that there's a better satisfaction that he will bring into the world. 00:42:33.920 --> 00:42:40.480 That's what it means to witness to the king, to say he's coming. 00:42:42.079 --> 00:42:46.000 It's a radical disposition in these radical actions. 00:42:47.440 --> 00:42:56.880 I want to wrap up with this quote from John Calvin that I think just captures this passage really well. 00:42:58.239 --> 00:43:06.960 He says, We must have hearts that are harder than iron if we are not moved by the reading of this narrative. 00:43:07.599 --> 00:43:11.599 In those days, the believers gave abundantly of what was their own. 00:43:11.920 --> 00:43:20.400 We, in our day, are content not just jealously to retain what we possess, but callously to rob others. 00:43:21.199 --> 00:43:24.239 They sold their own possessions in those days. 00:43:24.400 --> 00:43:29.840 In our day, it is the lust to purchase that reigns supreme. 00:43:30.880 --> 00:43:36.639 At that time, love made each man's own possessions common property for those in need. 00:43:36.800 --> 00:43:47.280 In our day, such is the inhumanity of many, that they begrudge to the poor a common dwelling upon earth, the common use of water, air, and sky. 00:43:50.079 --> 00:43:58.639 We must have hearts of iron if we don't look at this beautiful picture that we see in the early church and aren't moved by it. 00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:03.039 Consider what you have that you could lay down. 00:44:03.599 --> 00:44:06.800 If you're trying to build your own kingdom here, you'll miss it. 00:44:06.960 --> 00:44:11.039 If you let go of that kingdom, you'll get the real thing. 00:44:11.360 --> 00:44:12.960 That's the paradox. 00:44:13.119 --> 00:44:16.079 It's the way we're called to live, this incredible disposition. 00:44:16.239 --> 00:44:20.159 It's particularly meaningful approaching Cyber Monday. 00:44:27.519 --> 00:44:30.320 So consider the world you need to step out of. 00:44:33.440 --> 00:44:37.840 What you could lay down to witness to the kingdom. 00:44:38.639 --> 00:44:40.960 It'd be an amazing group to be a part of. 00:44:41.280 --> 00:44:43.599 I think it'd be a wild thing to see. 00:44:45.760 --> 00:44:48.559 Okay, let's take one question. 00:44:50.159 --> 00:44:57.039 How do we balance this generosity with our responsibilities when the need that I see is greater than I can meet? 00:44:57.280 --> 00:45:03.039 For example, giving money versus paying back debt, or giving time versus being there for the kids. 00:45:03.760 --> 00:45:20.000 Yeah, I don't have a like I wish I could offer you a litmus test that you could sort of run through, like push each situation through this grid, and you'll be able to wind up at what the proper response is. 00:45:23.039 --> 00:45:28.239 Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law. 00:45:30.079 --> 00:45:39.920 And after he heals her, there's this huge crowd that starts to gather outside in the little town that they were in. 00:45:40.079 --> 00:45:50.159 And it's this huge crowd of people, all of which, you know, the crowd that gathers were sick or needed some sort of healing or demonic deliverance. 00:45:50.719 --> 00:45:55.920 And so the disciples run in and they're like, Jesus, they forgot his name for a second. 00:45:56.239 --> 00:46:00.239 And uh, there's a huge crowd. 00:46:00.320 --> 00:46:02.239 You've got to come out here and see everyone. 00:46:02.320 --> 00:46:03.199 It's it's amazing. 00:46:03.360 --> 00:46:06.480 You've got to gather this, you've got to attend to this crowd. 00:46:06.800 --> 00:46:11.760 And Jesus said, uh, no, we're gonna move on. 00:46:12.320 --> 00:46:19.840 We're gonna move on to the next town because I came to preach the kingdom of heaven. 00:46:20.079 --> 00:46:22.000 And that's my responsibility. 00:46:22.159 --> 00:46:24.159 And so that's what I'm gonna go do. 00:46:24.719 --> 00:46:39.760 Now, if uh if you if you've read any church planting books lately, uh rarely do they say, when the crowd starts to gather, that's a good time to pick up shop and move on. 00:46:42.800 --> 00:46:50.480 And yet Jesus had this commitment to the task that he knew he had been given. 00:46:51.920 --> 00:47:00.000 Jesus as a human bore the same limits that we bear. 00:47:01.920 --> 00:47:10.639 And so you need to approach the need and approach the call of the Lord from within those very same limits. 00:47:12.400 --> 00:47:16.159 You don't have the time to give to everyone. 00:47:18.000 --> 00:47:25.119 But there are people in your life that if you neglect them, you know that it's wrong. 00:47:26.559 --> 00:47:29.519 And so this needs to get played out in real time. 00:47:38.000 --> 00:47:44.239 The question is for the action, I said I wouldn't provide a litmus test, but this won't really help. 00:47:45.840 --> 00:47:47.039 It'll help a little. 00:47:47.199 --> 00:47:48.719