R881 The Soul Of the New Testament Church, PT.1 Continued

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton as we complete this two-part series. It's coming straight from the book of Acts, Acts chapter 4, and it's all about the soul of the New Testament church. As we wrap up today's message together, we'll pick up where we left off yesterday and gain more insight on not only how the soul of the New Testament church was so effective in literally turning the world upside down, but how you and I can be a part of that same spirit as we see God work in this day and age.

COVID is no restrictor to the power of God and the New Testament church. Again, as we study together, know that we're available for you. We'd love to pray with you and for you about whatever's going on in your life at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 or online at tewonline.org.

This is Dr. Wilton. God's going to bring you back to the leadership distinctive because that's the way God has always done His work. God has always raised up people. God has always called upon people to stand up and to be counted. And when we find ourselves in Acts chapter 4 and verse 23, contextually, when we begin to understand this passage, and you go back and you read at the beginning of Acts chapter 4, how that God came and God did an incredible thing through these leaders and made a pronouncement that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And in Acts chapter 4, the Bible says that people didn't like what they heard. And so these leaders, they stood up and they boldly proclaimed through Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead. They focused everything that they had on the main thing, which is Jesus Christ. And the more they spoke about Jesus Christ, the more the people out there in the community at large began to become uncomfortable. And so in this context, they even went and arrested Peter and John and they threw them in jail. We know the rest of the story, how time without number, Peter and John were flogged and they were beaten up and cussed at. They were outcast and thrown out. They were spat upon. They became despised and yet with power from the Spirit of God, speaking with boldness the Word of God, they stood up and they proclaimed the power of the gospel through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The Bible says after their release, they did three things, rather somewhat interesting. Number one, they went back.

You got it? They went back. I'm going to submit to you today, my beloved friends, that when Jesus instituted the New Testament church, He made a declaration concerning the suffering of Jesus Christ. He ruled upon men and women and boys and girls and young people on our campuses to stand up and to boldly proclaim the power of the resurrection in Jesus Christ, even if it means that you will be arrested and cast into jail and that when you are maligned and mistreated and outcast, that you'll go back to the people, that you'll go back to the people. They not only went back, but they reported to the people. Folks, leadership that's not willing to stand up, be willing to be arrested for the cause of Christ and then is not willing to go back to the people and not just simply whimper into the company of the people around about them, but to go back with a report. These men, my friends, did not resort to silence. They stood up and they spoke out.

They gave a report. And number three, they joined in with the people. The leaders were in the company of the committed. They became one with the body of Christ. They stood up and proclaimed Jesus Christ. They went back to the people.

They made a verbal report. And as a result of that, the people rose up and the leaders became fused and one with them as they gave praise and glory to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a picture of the leadership distinctive in the local New Testament church. I've got good news from deacons, to Sunday school teachers, to people who lead discipleship groups, to mission groups. I see the leadership distinctive. I see it everywhere, numbering in the hundreds. But where are you?

Where are you? There are not enough. Leadership, my friend, is not leadership without a willingness to stand up and be counted. Leadership in the local church is not good enough in the eyes of God if it's not willing to take a report back to the people. Leadership according to God's standard of who is the cornerstone of the local New Testament church is a leadership that's willing to testify.

It's a leadership that's willing to join arms and to do and to be part of all that God is doing. Just by accident, I got into a conversation with three of my brothers, three men. How this came up, I don't know. Just kind of people talking, you know. We got onto the subject of our young people. I tell you what, folks, I have a renewed sense of gratitude for all our people, but it very especially for our young people. And I tell you, yes, I am proud of our young people. But folks, let me tell you something, what's happening to our young people.

There is a battle for the soul of our young people in America today. Do you know that back in the 60s and 50s and 40s and 30s, now I've got to make something very clear, folks. There were some pretty bad people back in those days. Don't let anybody come back and tell you, well, you know, everything back there in my day was just perfect and everybody was wonderful and nobody ever did anything wrong. Because that's not true. Young people, if you're watching me right now, please, you need to understand, there were a lot of people that messed up just the same as they do today. But there are some differences.

There are some differences. Dr. Evans Whittaker, president of Anderson University in Anderson, South Carolina, one of our fine, fine universities, made a statement the other day. He said that their research has led them to conclude that on Anderson University campus, there are over one million hits on the internet per day, just on the campus of Anderson University. That's just one campus with 2000 students.

I'm not talking about Clemson and Carolina and all these massive institutions. Imagine when there's 20, 30, 40,000 students, just on one campus, there are over one million hits on the internet per day on the campus of Anderson University. Here's the bottom line.

With the availability of internet pornography today, how many of those hits on pornographic websites? You say to me, pastor, don't worry about it. Let me tell you what's happening in America. Back in the 60s and 50s or whenever your generation was, prior to the arrival of the internet, when young people got together, they did bad things. They got in trouble. They did all kinds of stuff.

Don't kid me. But there was a romantic aura. The romanticism is going out the back door. When young people gather, they do what they do and they have fun. But all the kind of hunt stuff is gradually disappearing and making generalizations. Do you know why, folks?

Because they've seen it all. There's no mystery left anymore. There's no need for the hunt. There's no need for the pursuit. There's no magic anymore left in the eyes of our young people. They've got nothing more to look at.

There's no reason to hope. And all we are are a bunch of muted people walking down the same senseless pathway with our remote controls, going from one heap of entertainment to the next, listening from one song to the next. And I say to you, church of the living God, the only thing we can do in the name of Jesus Christ is to rise up and to lead our young people and say, young people, I'll do it. Will you follow me? This is the way.

Walk in it. And there is a church in America today who's going to stand up and say, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And God's way is still God's way.

And you can still hope and dream and be mystified and enjoy life because Jesus Christ is life itself. Folks, we've got to move past the programs and the pizzas. We're living in a generation today where you go to the awards day at any high school, junior high school, middle school, elementary school, and you can come with me and I'll guarantee you one thing will happen. Every single child will get an award.

You want me to tell you why it's important for every child to get an award? Because we no longer believe in the prize. We no longer believe in hard work. We no longer believe in rewards.

We've got to draw a straight line lest we offend somebody. We don't want anybody to have incentive anymore. We don't believe in leadership. We don't want anybody to stand up and achieve and proclaim the name of Jesus Christ and be all. So let's just give it to everybody because we might offend somebody. It doesn't work that way, folks.

It doesn't work that way. School awards evenings are nothing but a succession of applauding everybody. Should we applaud everybody? Of course we should. So where does that leave the church?

The leadership distinctive means that God instituted the church and He raises up a group of men and women who because of Jesus Christ are willing to stand up and say, I'll do it. I'll say it. I'll go there. I'll drive the bus. I'll serve the pizza. I'll clean up. I'll sing.

I'll be that Sunday school teacher. I'll do it. I'll do it because I believe in the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Forgive the interruption. We will be back with the completion of Dr. Wilton's message, the soul of the New Testament church in just a moment. But you know, as Dr. Don was talking about that challenge, are we willing to stand up and say, I'll do it.

I'll say it. I'll go there. Perhaps it could be the Lord is stirring your heart and you need to in a minute contact your own local church and say, you know, even though we're separated, even though we're distant, I perhaps could do this. Maybe it's something as simple as making a phone call to some friends in your church to encourage them to pray with them and for them. Maybe you find yourself in need of that encouragement and we would love to call. And speaking time with you, we'll let you make the call. Our number is 866-899-WORD. I pray you've jotted that number down and stored it in your cell phone because it will always connect you with one of us. Happy to listen. Happy to pray. Happy to connect with great resources.

That's 866-899-9673. Now back to today's message with Dr. Don Wilton. The leadership distinctive. We've got some work to do. God's given us that responsibility. And we cannot do it without you.

And all of us cannot do it without Him. Number two, the people distinctive. You never thought I'd get to point number two, did you? Point number two, the people distinctive.

Verse 24 is remarkable, folks. You know, any time you talk about the leadership distinctive, there is a sense in which you look and you say, well, you know, he's the president. He should do it. She's the leader.

Let her do it. Many a coach in many a ball game has looked at a team and said, listen, guys, we've got some leaders. But it takes a team to win the game. All of us. Some of you might say to me today, well, pastor, how does the church work if this is about people? The church, by the way, works in four ways.

Let me give it to you very quickly. Number one, you want to know how the church works? It is pastor led. Pastor led.

All of you look straight at me and I know what you're all thinking. Ah, buck stops on his desk. No, not according to spiritual leadership. Spiritual leadership is servant leadership, which means that in the church, leadership comes from the top, not from the top down, but from the bottom up.

This is not BMW, folks, as much as I love BMWs. This is not a corporation. This is not a secular institution. And for generations, people have tried so hard to bring secular institutionalism to bear on the local New Testament church. It always results in chaos.

It cannot work no matter how badly we feel about it. The church works because number one, it is pastor led. I've never been more convinced today than ever before than God called me to be your pastor. But folks, that means that God's called me to be the lowest rung of the church. To be the servant of all servants.

That's the model Jesus gave us. That's a tough thing to do. Because I don't like being down there. So I'm in a continual state of, Lord, help me. Help me to adjust. Help me to get down where I need to be. Help me to serve more, to love my people more, to do more, to give more. Help me, Lord.

It's so hard for the human spirit to do that. And just above me, the ministry team, they're deacons. See, that's the second way the church works is the church is deacon served. Deacons are not a board of directors. They're servants of the living God.

Go back and study the Scriptures. The deacons, folks, watch this. The greater the servant, now are you ready for this? The greater the servant, the greater the what?

The leader. You cannot be a leader unless you're a servant. And the more of a servant you come, the greater leader you are in the church. So no wonder our deacons are the leaders of the church. So we as leaders, whether we Sunday school teachers or discipleship leaders or deacons or ministers, whatever we might be, we ought continually to be saying, Lord, let me get down there.

Because the lower we get, the higher we rise, I must decrease so that He might increase. The world is crying out for servant leadership. Number three, the church is team organised.

You know how the work is done? By you, by me, all of us together. Here's what I'm praying for, what we're praying for, that more and more of our people are going to do fewer and fewer things rather than fewer and fewer of our people doing more and more things.

If you want to do things the way God wants it done in the church with such power and effectiveness, every one of us needs to do our part. I know I'm getting out on a limb. Would it be possible? I know this is stupid.

Would it be possible that one day we actually have it written down that nobody is allowed to serve in more than one capacity in a year's time? You doing this, can't do anything else. You're a Sunday school teacher, that's it.

Oh, help me somebody. You're on the finance team, that's it. Folks, we're God's people in God's church. No matter how big that thing is, that act of service, working with our babies, the children, I mean, let's go on. That what we do is what we do. We do so well that we're just joining God all the time. But folks, here's what happens in many a church. There's a whole group of people who just understand it. They get it.

I'll do it. And then there's another whole equally precious group of people who say they can do it. And when you study the New Testament, you come to a fresh understanding of what it means, what God had in mind.

He constructed the church in such intricate detail. Folks, it really in the right kind of way. We've got people going morning, noon and night, and then the pastor gets up in the pulpit and says, give time to your families.

Let's all just make sure we spend time with our children and, you know, let's prioritize. And here we are, some people getting beaten to death. How does the church work? This is the people distinctive. Pastor led, de-conserved, team organized. Number four, body approved. Now I'm going to close with this. Are you ready for this?

Body approved. I'll use an American classic term, we the people, but not in an American constitutional term. The Bible tells us, my friends, that the power of godliness among the people is going to come from among the people.

They are going to stand up together. So I'm asking our church to do something new. I've asked Sam Davis, our associate pastor, to make certain that all of us have at least four Wednesday nights a year, four Wednesday nights, once a quarter.

Now we do this anyway. We have a quarterly church gathering. You notice I don't use the word business because I don't think you do business in the church. I'm not going to call God and His work business. It's worship.

But we'll call it business, I know, because that's the word we used to. But we have quarterly meetings where we consider the business of the church. The deacons come having received reports from teams all over the church and they consider all of that.

And then they bring a recommendation to the body, to the people. But folks, there is one but in what I'm saying. I am praying that we as God's people, and I'm about to close with this, that by God's grace, we ask the Lord that there will seldom be ever a time that we will present a budget or anything that we know that we can do. Folks, there is a sense in which we should walk out on every occasion saying, wow, God is so good. This is what He showed us and we believe we should do this. We have no idea how we're going to do it. It's way beyond us. How could we ever get that? How could we ever raise that amount of money? How could we ever build that building?

How could we ever take our young people over there or provide this? We can't do it. But God can. God can. Folks, that's a New Testament church. God can.

I believe with all of my heart that the Lord Jesus Christ is calling this group of people to rise to something that we cannot conceive. And as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. I guess the bottom line is I'm just asking if there's anybody who's willing to get arrested with me. And I don't think that'll happen. We live in America.

What a blessing. If I was standing in Pakistan right now, we'll see what we'd be made of. I guess I'm just asking if there's anybody who's willing to serve a cup of juice to a kid. I wonder if there's anybody who's willing to drive a bus. I wonder if there's anybody who's willing to make a visit, pick up a phone, serve on a team, serve as an usher.

I wonder if there's anybody who's willing to join the choir, become a Sunday school teacher. The local New Testament church, the soul of the church. My brothers and my sisters, I bless you in the name of the Lord today. Together, we've only got one thing that we must do, and that is to bless the Lord because he's everything. Indeed, he is everything and he's using everything, including this broadcast, to let you know he loves you. And if you know him and you already belong to him, maybe you belong to a church, it's time to stand up and say, I want to be used. Use me, God.

Allow me to be an instrument of your peace. But there may be others of you that are going, I'm happy to serve in a soup line, but I'm just not so sure about giving my life to Jesus Christ. It's the most life changing thing you could ever do. It changed my life.

It changed Dr. Don's life and what God has done for us. He'll do for you. I pray you'll open your heart to these next few words from our pastor and chief encourager, Dr. Don Wilton.

Are you ready? Would you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that Jesus loves me and that he died on a cross for me. Today, I repent of my sin and I confess my sin to the Lord Jesus and I give him my heart and my life. In Jesus name, I pray.

Amen. If you've prayed that prayer from your heart and you've given your life to Christ, I welcome you to the family of God. You are my brother, my sister in Christ.

Let's get engaged together because we are connected together forever as believers in Christ. If you prayed with Dr. Wilton, let us talk with you. Let us pray you through the next steps. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. We'd love to encourage you to pray with you and send you free resources from Dr. Don.

That's 866-899-9673 or meet us online at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org, the place you'll discover a great deal of insight on this book about Daniel. This month at The Encouraging Word, we would like to spotlight a new ministry resource, the Book of Daniel DVD.

By viewing this DVD, you will experience Daniel like never before. It is an adventure of faith, courage of conviction and miracles. We hope this resource will encourage you to stand strong in your convictions and to be still and listen for God's instructions, then obey those instructions. Call us at 866-899-WORD and request the Book of Daniel for your gift of $20 or more in support of The Encouraging Word. Thank you for listening today. What a powerful topic, the soul of the New Testament Church. Dr. Don began with the idea this would be just a couple of days, but we're going to continue. I pray you'll join us again tomorrow as we continue studying the soul of the New Testament Church and understanding not only how we learned from what was going on 2,000 years ago, but how it applies to us today. Be sure and join us tomorrow, same time, for more of The Encouraging Word.