Thoughts Of Some Guy In Ohio
Thoughts Of Some Guy In Ohio
The Early Church's Guide to Modern Discipleship
What if understanding the radical teachings of Jesus could transform your everyday life? This episode promises to uncover the profound connection between Scripture and the life of Jesus, revealing how He embodies the ultimate model for Christian living. By exploring the New Testament's portrayal of Jesus and His fulfillment of the Old Testament, we offer insights into bridging the gap between an ancient perception of God and our modern faith. Together, we will learn how immersing ourselves in God's Word nurtures our spiritual growth, guides our relationships, and equips us for spreading the gospel.
Join us as we uncover the radical nature of Jesus' teachings and how they turned a legalistic culture on its head. Through His compassionate actions and miraculous works, Jesus prioritized people over rigid laws, laying the groundwork for a community of believers that would endure societal opposition. We take a close look at the early church during Pentecost, showcasing how a small group of dedicated disciples committed themselves to the apostles' teachings and communal living. Drawing parallels with contemporary challenges, especially for young believers, we discuss how this steadfast faith community can inspire our own faith journeys today.
Exploring the essential role of community and fellowship, we reflect on the early church's example from Acts 2:42-47. Imagine transforming your faith through meaningful connections beyond traditional services. Hear personal stories of how belonging to a supportive faith community can lead to personal and spiritual empowerment. We emphasize the importance of building these connections in challenging environments, reminding us that we are never alone in our struggles. Together, let's embrace the transformative power of belonging and encouragement as we navigate our journey as disciples.
for everything you do. So let me pray Amen. So we've been looking at the importance of how to study Scripture and we've looked at a couple different aspects of it, one of them being we looked at the life of Jesus, and Jesus models for us. I mean, he's the Word made flesh. He lived out a perfect life. He showed us what it is to you know, if we call ourselves a Christian. Like the way he lived, the way he act, the way he spoke is a model for you and I to follow. So one of the beautiful things about that is when you talk about the Old Testament and we see God in the Old Testament, we see God working in the Old Testament consistently, but then you get to the New Testament and you see God in the flesh. So when you look at the Old Testament and you study it, a lot of God at least for them was. He was there, but he was kind of far off. And so finally, we get to the New Testament and Jesus bridges that gap and so he establishes for us what it looks like to be someone who lives for his first father right, for the God they've been serving.
Speaker 1:We talked about the Old Testament and the New Testament and how. We have to learn how to read the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus. We talked about this in Deuteronomy. It talks about that a child who misbehaves should be stoned to death. Clearly, we're not out there stoning our children to death. And so we have to learn to look at some of the more challenging parts of the Old Testament, but read it through the lens of Jesus, because not only did he fulfill the law, but the way that he lives, he actually kind of refocuses, reinterprets it for them. And so you and I, as we study the Old Testament, we read it in light of the new. It doesn't make the Old Testament irrelevant. If anything, it actually makes it more profound. The Old Testament sets the stage for this incredible story, this incredible point in time when Jesus would show up.
Speaker 1:And then last week we talked about the importance of actually spending time in the Word of God. It teaches us, it corrects us, it shows us how to live. It teaches us how to have proper relationships with our kids, with our spouses, with the world around us. It calls sin sin, so we don't have to try to argue and debate on what God deems sinful. It shows us how to live. It teaches us how to spread the gospel, everything about the Bible. It's so important that we not only internalize it, but that we live it out. It guides us. I know you've probably heard this, but basic instructions before leaving earth. Right, it's the simplest thing I think I've ever heard in my life. But that's the Bible. Until the time comes when you and I enter into the kingdom of heaven, we're supposed to live a certain way. You and I are supposed to be set apart, and so today we're actually going to kind of, we're going to shift a little bit, but we're going to still look at Scripture. We're going to be in Acts, chapter 2, and one of the reasons why I think it's so important to go here not only because I think of what's happening after church, but we have to understand the early church right. So keep in mind what's happening here.
Speaker 1:Jesus shows up, steps into a culture that's very legalistic. 632, some laws the Pharisees had put in the place of what it means to worship God. Going to synagogue was your life, the worship of God was important, right, and so he understood that. So he shows up into this culture of very religious people and he starts saying some things that are kind of crazy, starts talking about. You know him and God are one. He forgives people of their sin. We talked about this on Thursday night on our community group. At one point Mark, chapter 3, jesus heals a man on the Sabbath and the Pharisees were like you can't do that. And Jesus is like what's more important, this man or the law that you're holding to. And once again so the reason why we had this conversation is because we're looking at Jesus the way he understands it is. He sees people and he sees his creation as significant. The Pharisees had forgotten this. They were neglecting the needs of people, right? So Jesus steps into this culture, does incredible teaching, heals people, feeds the masses, sacrifices himself on a cross, and while all this is happening, he's establishing a group that would go on and spread the message of the gospel. So, from this culture of Israel, he is pulling out these disciples and he's saying listen, when it comes time, you will live for me. And so he dies, he's resurrected, he spends 40 days teaching and he ascends back to heaven.
Speaker 1:Pentecost happens, acts chapter 2. Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit. There's tongues of fire, there's a massive crowd of people. He's preaching the message. So in this culture. Jesus has separated out this group of people who are now living different and being different. And when you think about there's an estimation on the day of Pentecost, there was probably a million people in the city at the time. The Bible tells us that when Peter preached the sermon, about 3,000 of them gave their life to Jesus. So 3,000 people compared to a million people is a really small number. So there's this group of believers. There's not many of them and here they are. Jesus has gone back to heaven. There's not a large group of them, but they have decided to come together. The world around them opposes them. They're dealing with Judaism. They're still dealing with the Pharisees who are there. There's this small group of people who have radically stepped out to follow the Messiah, and here's what they do.
Speaker 1:Acts, chapter 2, verses 42 through 47. The small group of believers. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teachings and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day, they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and they ate together with glad and sincere hearts. They broke bread in their homes and they ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Speaker 1:So this small group of believers with the opposition of the world around them Opposition of the world around them I don't think we feel the weight of that. Sometimes, maybe you do, but they are going against the social norm, what they were probably raised in their family, their calling and understanding Jesus as the Messiah, the man who was crucified on a cross. They're following someone who was deemed a criminal by a large part of the society Right, and it's not a lot of them. The opposition is real. The pressure I've talked about this before, but one of the hardest things I did student ministry for about 10 years and one of the hardest things, one of the hardest conversations I had with teenagers, is they always talk about how hard it is to share their faith because so many of them feel alone on an island most of the time when it comes to their beliefs. Either they're not surrounded by friends who are Christians or public schools I'm not downing public schools, by the way, don't take this, but a lot of public schools. People aren't as open about their beliefs, and so a lot of teenagers they struggle with sharing their faith because they're not sure how it's going to be received. And not just teenagers I see this in people.
Speaker 1:I worked in a warehouse for a couple years. The hardest place in the world to share Jesus is in the warehouse. I don't know if you knew that or not, but usually people who work in warehouses are kind of rough around the edges. The language is very colorful all the time, at least the one that I worked at and so every now and then you might come across someone who's a Christian and you guys have like your little meeting in the lunchroom but you're trying to keep quiet because you don't know about that table over there and they might think you're weird if you talk about Jesus, right.
Speaker 1:And so I think that, if we're honest, most of us don't go to an environment on a regular basis that allows us to be honest about what we believe. You know, the hardest thing about being in ministry is I feel like I'm in a bubble sometimes, because most of the people that I interact with are believers to one extent or another Not all of them. I go out of my way to try to be around people who don't believe in Jesus, because I think that that's what we should do, but a lot of times in ministry, most of my conversations, most of my week, are focused on talking to people who already have faith. So when I worked in the warehouse for a couple of years, I went from full-time ministry to working in the warehouse. I had to learn how to shift my conversations, because one thing that I wasn't allowed to do is I wasn't allowed to preach, because I would start saying something and the response was get back to work.
Speaker 1:And so, if we're honest, a lot of times throughout the week, from Sunday to Sunday, we spend most of our time not with other believers, and that can be very challenging for us Because either A we're not sure how to share our faith. B we feel hopeless because you know I don't know about you, but the world we live in is not exactly, you know, unicorns and rainbows out there, or we realize, or we start to realize, that who we are starts to be changed and influenced by those around us. Right, those are some of the biggest things we face. And so we can imagine, in this culture, this very small group of disciples had to rely heavily on coming together in order to maintain not only their faith but to maintain their growth and their discipleship. And so, once again, acts 2, 42.
Speaker 1:So let's look at what the early church focused on. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. So they had committed that they were going to spend time studying the apostles' teaching. So now we have the Bible in its entirety, which is something they did not have at the time. A lot of times they were just circulating letters that were written and they shared. So let's say this they devoted themselves to Scripture and they devoted themselves to fellowship, so fellowship with like-minded people. They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread into prayer and the concept here from the breaking of the bread as we understand that as communion. They devoted themselves to remembering the sacrifice that Jesus spoke of at the Last Supper in the prayer 43 says Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. So God was using the apostles, establishing his power through them, allowing those around them to see what they were capable of, so that they would realize that they were from God.
Speaker 1:All the believers verse 44, were together and had everything in common. 45, they sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46, every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and they ate together with glad and sincere hearts. So they want the church, that's the temple courts. They still made that part of their life and then they broke bread. So the second concept of this is they broke bread, they broke bread in their homes and they ate together. So they shared a meal together. And then verse 47 says praising God, enjoying the favor of all the people, and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. The early church understood that getting together regularly was a necessity. I would argue in the culture we live in today, we treat it as optional. They shared their belongings, they ate together in each other's homes, they thought about the apostles' teaching, they prayed together, they spent time together, they remembered communion together. They, they, they, they, they were all each other had. They were surrounded by millions of people who did not believe and think like they did, and so they understood that they needed to get together in order to thrive. The only way they were going to make it in the world they were living in was if they stuck together.
Speaker 1:You know one of the hardest things that I think that I struggle with, and I remember when I first started going to church I was 15. And I actually I didn't actually start going to Sunday morning, believe it or not. I actually started going to Wednesday night youth group. That's actually how I got plugged in to the church and I know I've told this story about my friend Ryan, the kid in my math class who I couldn't stand. I thought he was really annoying. But I started coming to church on Wednesday nights at youth group and it was a lot of fun and I met some great people.
Speaker 1:But really what I was looking for, especially as a 15-year-old, is I was just looking for a place to belong, because I hadn't found that yet. I was kind of a loner. I was probably I would consider myself nice, like when I was in school. I was nice to people and I had a lot of people that I knew. But I don't think I had a lot of friends and part of that was that was kind of my personality, and then I would go home and I would be by myself and I struggled with that. And so in this community of teenagers, I found a place that I belong and I started getting more involved and eventually I started coming on Sunday morning and eventually and I think I've talked about this, but I learned to play bass from the youth pastor I had, and so I joined the worship team and then I went from playing bass to playing drums, and now I'm hoping that my kids will play some kind of instrument. But all of this, all of who I am, comes from the fact that at some point in my life I found a group of people who loved me, for me, and they showed me who Jesus was Like. If I had to boil down my entire walk with God up to this moment, it's because at just the right time in my life I found a community. It's because at just the right time in my life I found a community, a community of believers, of Christians, who were living out their faith in such a way that it challenged me to be different, to be better.
Speaker 1:Sunday morning came later, and so when we talk about this early community, I think that the same ideas apply to them that apply to us. There's something important about getting together and breaking bread in each other's homes. There's something important about studying the Word of God together. There's something important about having fellowship together, about celebrating communion together. There's something important about selling our things and making sure that those around us, that their needs, are met. There's something important about having everything in common. The early church understood that their survival hinged on their ability to come together. And if I'm being completely honest with you, as much as I think Sunday and I do I think Sunday morning is important, I don't think you get that on Sunday morning. I really don't, at least not enough of it. I mean you think about it. We come in Once service starts, you know we might have a little bit of time to kind of mingle and have kind of conversations, but immediately we're thrown into worship with our focus on God.
Speaker 1:Not a bad thing. And then, if you're lucky, after worship, after communion, you sit down and the person in the pulpit doesn't talk for 45 minutes to an hour. But either way, this is a very one-sided conversation. You're hoping and putting a lot of faith that I'm actually studying the Word of God and doing what I'm supposed to and I'm not lying to you, but again, that relationship, those conversations aren't happening to the level that they should be. And then we leave church on Sunday, some of us go out to eat together, some of us go home, and then tomorrow morning we all walk back into the same workforce, the same place, the same schools, not surrounded by anyone Maybe not, maybe you are, but probably not surrounded by people who believe.
Speaker 1:And then we do that for an hour and a half on Sunday. We go from Sunday to Sunday to Sunday to Sunday to Sunday, but we never take the time to come together and do fellowship. We never take the time to come together and eat a meal. We never take the time to make sure that those who are part of our community have their needs met. And I think that's such an important part of what we do, because, as a Christian, I believe that we're not just meant to be Sunday to Sunday people.
Speaker 1:I would argue that you cannot grow in the way that God intends you to grow if the only time you spend in his word and with fellowship and worship is for an hour and a half on a Sunday morning. It's not enough, it'll never be enough, and what's crazy about that is we apply that logic to every other part of life. We spend so much time and energy investing in our future, in our careers, in sports, in all of those things, and we tell ourselves it's necessary. It's necessary If I want to get better, I've got to do this. If I want to get better, I've got to do this. If I want to get better, I've got to do this. If I want to get better, I've got to do this. If I want to get better, I've got to do this. If I want to get better, I've got to do this. But then, when it comes to our faith, we give God an hour and a half, one day a week and we're like, oh no, I'm good, that's enough for me and I just I don't see it. I don't see biblically where that's sustainable.
Speaker 1:You know, my favorite part is at the end of this passage and it says that praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people and the Lord added to their number daily, not weekly, but daily. He added to the numbers of those who were being saved, because the early church committed to being together as often as they possibly could, devoted to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to breaking of bread, to having things in common, to sharing for those who were in need, to get together in each other's homes and breaking bread, and they ate together. And they did this intentionally, because their relationship with God depended on it. They were the only ones they had.
Speaker 1:I told you, being in ministry sometimes puts you in a bubble, because you're always surrounded by believers. I have to be really intentional with the kind of people that I surround myself with. I have to be really intentional to go into the world that I live in and share my faith with those who don't have Jesus. But the one thing that keeps me going is the fact that I have a church body, a community of believers that support me along the way. Body, a community of believers that support me along the way.
Speaker 1:It's essential for us If we really want to experience everything God has for us. We have to be learned to people who are committed to his word, committed to prayer, committed to the breaking of bread, committed to fellowship, committed to taking care of each other's needs, committed to sharing things in common, committed to breaking bread in each other's homes and committed to the idea that we are supposed to do this together 24-7. And listen, I know that sounds crazy, right, because you're like ah 24. You can fellowship every day. We have text messages. You can fellowship every day. We have text messages. We have so much opportunity for social media, facetime. We can have constant communication. But the one thing that will never work and I do believe this is someone who wants to be a Christian and has decided that they're going to do it on their own. They're going to try to figure it out, or the person who just shows up on Sunday morning for an hour and a half. It's not enough.
Speaker 1:Choosing to follow Christ is a lifestyle change. It means surrounding myself with other believers. It means living out Jesusesus everywhere that I go. It means committing myself to his word. It means allowing his word to transform me. It means sacrificing my own desires in order to fill his. It means that his kingdom is more important than mine. It means that everything, all of my gifts, talents, all of it is focused on sharing the gospel message. It means that my future focus, the things I decide to do career, school, all of that should be bathed in what is God calling me to do? If we're truly living it out the way we're supposed to, then we're not going to feel like we're alone. And so I say all of that to say this this is why we talk about community groups, because I believe that we, you have to do more beyond Sunday, and so we, as a church, are doing everything we can to provide opportunities to get together during the week to pray for each other.
Speaker 1:Listen that video I showed. My favorite part about that video is how loud the background noise is it is. I know that sounds stupid, but that's because our living room was full of people. We're eating together, we're praying for each other, we're studying the Word of God. We're making sure that if someone stumbles, we're picking them up. We're making sure that when Jesse and Lydia got engaged, we celebrated that. That's a big deal, man, and as they get married, we're going to walk through their marriage with them as a group of people, whether they want it or not. But you know what I'm saying. And when people have kids, we celebrate that. We bring our families, we bring our kids together.
Speaker 1:Is it chaos? Absolutely, but every day, every time we meet, we remind ourselves that in this world that is struggling to find Jesus, we are not alone, that I don't have to do this on my own, that the sin that I struggle with. Someone else probably struggles with it too. As we study the Word of God, we wrestle with some really tough questions sometimes. God, we wrestle with some really tough questions sometimes, but all of that contributes to what it is to be a disciple. Who's making a disciple?
Speaker 1:And listen, I cannot force you to join with anyone during the week I can't but what I can tell you is, I think, that if you're not doing it, you're missing out. Not only are you missing out, but I think we're missing a powerful biblical model of what the early church did. Yes, they want the church. They did the temple court, but they also spent together time in their homes, breaking bread, eating together, because that is such a necessary part.
Speaker 1:I would not be where I am had it not been for the men and women that God has brought into my life, the community that has surrounded me, not only our group on Thursday night, but even prior to that, that youth group that I went to Listen. If it wasn't for those 10 kids investing in me and loving me and spending time with me and showing me that I was worth it, I probably would have taken my life when I wanted to, but there was something about getting together with other believers and realizing that their struggles are my struggles, that their faith is my faith. We build each other up, we empower each other. We build each other up, we empower each other. So if you need that and I would argue that everyone needs that but if you want that, as a church we are committed to making that possible, because Sunday mornings are great. I'm not taking away from any of this, but the real growth happens beyond Sunday. That's right.