How the New testament Church Grew

June 26, 1988 PM

Acts 4:33 "And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all."

Intro:

This, of course, was prepared mainly for 'my own people' to let them know what I am thinking about this summer (1988) regarding church growth.

We plan to launch a fairly aggressive PR campaign in cable TV, local radio, newspapers— to let people in the area know what kind of fellowship is here.
What kind of fellowship IS here? If you could say something regarding your church to all the people in your area, what would that one thing be?
I'm convinced that this is the best church I know anything about. It has faults. But I don't want to magnify them. I want to talk to people about the love and the support and the HEALING OF SPIRIT that goes on here.
A church is like a home: the real success or failure of a family is connected with the everyday spirit of the home— taking time to love and to express love.
The greatest gift a man can give his children is to love his wife! THE GREATEST 'SELLING JOB' WE CAN DO FOR OUR CHILDREN REGARDING THE CHURCH IS TO EXPRESS OUR LOVE FOR THE CHURCH!
Be a committee of one to pray about SEEKING and SAVING the lost! You don't even have to wait until the fall!

[But now to the message at hand:]

"Acts" is a textbook on church growth. The conventional thing is to say: "We want a church like the early church!" I'm not sure we would want to face the same ratio of impossibilities.

But one thing is for certain, the growth of the early church was co-existent with great problems and trouble. There was almost universal opposition from authority both religious and civil. There was disagreement and strife and even failure within the ranks of the believers. And yet our text says that they had great grace and they had great power! This particular incident came after there was a great stir that began with the healing of the lame man (Acts 3) and there are some very significant statements which lead up to our text:

I. (v 12) THE DISCIPLES WERE LOVINGLY INTOLERANT

"Intolerance" is not the same as "schism." How can we speak of the virtues of "intolerance?" Aren't we supposed to see all Christians as brothers; and aren't we supposed to have a genuinely ecumenical spirit when we follow Jesus?
Certainly we need more understanding— more reaching out to all Christians everywhere. The church of Jesus Christ is bigger than we may understand or appreciate. We need to get along with other Christians who may have faults. God knows that we may have a fault or two, as well!
"Intolerance" is aimed only at central issues; and the first issue of all is: WHO IS JESUS CHRIST? and— WHO IS JESUS CHRIST TO YOU? We cannot simply co-exist peacefully with those who deny the deity and Lordship of Jesus Christ- and expect great grace and power!
Jesus will not surrender His authority— nor will He share the loyalty of His servants.
[ I watched a feature story on the revival of miracle plays in the streets of York, England; the man playing Jesus was an Indian national, and a Buddhist, who affirmed on camera again the theme that Jesus was good— he is one way to God among many. But Jesus was NOT "good, and one way among many to God." Jesus is HOLY, Jesus is God, and the ONLY way to God, or else Jesus is a liar and fraud. ]
We must raise the level of our alertness/awareness to doctrinal truth. We must be lovingly TOLERANT of disagreement WITHIN the family of faith. Some may insist on speaking in tongues: we can lovingly disagree; some may insist "once-in-grace-always-in-grace" and we can argue within the family; some may even pray to Mary, and we scripturally disagree. We don't have to agree on all points— but we can pray for each other, But there can be NO compromise in the matter of authority and Lordship: THERE IS NO OTHER NAME! NO OTHER WAY!

II. (v 20) THEY WERE OBEDIENTLY INSISTENT

They not only believed (intellectually), but they were determined to be obedient. Acting on what they believed to be God's truth. The experience, the reality was there. In "new" churches like our own the tendency is:
Generation ONE: fervency and reality; Generation TWO: maintenance and tolerance; Generation THREE: convenience and simply "fitting Jesus in" wherever we are not called on to sacrifice.
At whatever cost, we must press into the reality of knowing God in Christ!
What was God's will for these men (Peter and John)?: Long before they had met Jesus personally. They had heard Him say to them:
1. "Follow ME ... and I will make you ..."
  And they had begun to follow; they had found a new way of life: living by God's LOVE. They had seen Jesus live and die and were convinced that He had conquered sin and death and hell. They were determined to FOLLOW JESUS AT ANY COST!
  They had also heard Jesus say, before He ascended to heaven:
2. "Tarry ye .. until you are clothed with power ... to witness to Me"
  And they had experienced the birth of the church in it glorious fellowship and worship.
These disciples had been true to their own personal experience.
1. We cannot "share" what we don't have. A faith that doesn't pay its honest debts ... that doesn't get along with its neighbors ... that can't keep a civil tongue in its head ... is hardly advertisement for Jesus and His LIFE.
2. But if Jesus is meeting your needs - and if you are a growing Christian - then you need to SHARE Him — and there are people that NEED what you have found!

III. (v 23) THESE CHRISTIANS KNEW THE VALUE OF SHARING PRAYER REQUESTS

When threatened (they were human! they were frightened! so) they hurried back to the CHURCH and TOGETHER they prayed through to new reality, and new infilling and power.

IV. (v 32) THEY WERE UNITEDLY UNSELFISH

Their exact METHOD is not what we should copy; but we need to re-discover their SPIRIT.
How may we be UNSELFISH in any practical sense?:
1. God does not demand the UNreasonable. But each of us HAS that which is valuable to contribute; and it is the greatest pleasure to GIVE!
2. HOSPITALITY; KINDNESS TO EACH OTHER is a grace. In the HOME— (as we have already said!) — THE GREATEST GIFT WE CAN GIVE OUR CHILDREN IS TO LOVE EACH OTHER. We WILL disagree — but we can be Christians in working out and talking out our disagreements.

What has this to do with REVIVAL and the CHURCH? It is so obvious— we cannot see it: In the CHURCH — the greatest tool for power and witness is to love each other!

Our own children are lost to the church at an amazing rate, and one wonders if it is not because we have aired our criticisms more than our love! I am not complaining now about personal problems, but there is a general truth here: people who find fault and criticize wake up to realize they have cut their children's faith out from under them! What is GOOD about our fellowship?

This "love-one-another" power carries through in evangelism, too. People may come to God because they want different things; but they STAY with the church because they find LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING AND A PLACE TO BELONG!

If I really believe that our church (with all its faults) is the best church I know anything about, how do I express that to those I meet? As I try to bring people to Jesus, do I tell them how I see Jesus in YOUR faces? Do I tell them how when I have faced difficult times Jesus has sustained me because of YOUR love? What do you think might happen if we were able to communicate what we really believe about Jesus Christ and His church— and OUR church in particular?

Conclusion:

(In Wollaston)

We don't have the contagious enthusiasm of a risky, brand-new situation. (And you are like that, too!) There is something exciting about a storefront. There is a thrill in having just a few and seeing that few grow.

But we do have the thrilling reality of a middle-sized church that is pushing forward in several vital areas, and that wants to mind God in being a force for revival and renewal in this unique place! (You have what this world desperately needs!) If we will love one another and mind God, then Jesus will build His church!

#311 I Love Thy CHURCH, O God!