An Original Snapshot of the First Church, Part 3

When looking for a place for you and your family to attend, how can you tell the difference between a good church and one that's lost its way?

What are the virtues, the telltale signs of a healthy church? Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll contends the answers are found by looking at the very first church in Acts chapter 2. In these verses, we're able to see how their love and unity cause their numbers to multiply. Let's pick up the message Chuck started earlier this week called, An Original Snapshot of the First Church. New babies need lots of things.

Mainly, they need nourishment. Here we've got 3120 plus people, brand new, just been baptized, now gathered together. They have one thing in common, that's Christ. They've all placed their trust in Jesus. They've all believed in him.

So what do they need? Well, look for yourself, verse 42. All the believers devoted themselves to four priorities. To the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the sharing in meals your Bible may read, to the breaking of bread, that is the Lord's Supper, and to prayer. Those are priorities. First, priority one would be instruction from the Scriptures.

Number two is fellowship. Look at the result of fellowship, verse 44. All the believers met in one place. They shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions. They shared the money with those who were in need. So there is a commonality in it.

Now there's a third. Go back to our original verse, 42. They devoted themselves to the sharing in meals and the Lord's table, as well as baptism. So now we find the ordinances taking place, as well as times of real personal worship. And how joyful they were. Verse 46, I love this verse. They worshiped together at the temple each day and they met in homes for the Lord's Supper.

They shared their meals, look at it, with great joy and generosity. When we worship, we become lost in wonder, love, and praise. When we worship, we invite the Lord's presence to give direction. When we worship, we give him our praise as we sit in awe before him. Let me pause for a moment and illustrate it.

Years ago, Benjamin Warfield, B.B. Warfield, who was a very respected teacher at Princeton Seminary, wrote a letter to students he was concerned about. Because at a seminary, it is easy to get lost in what I call the hot house setting, where you're dealing with the Bible like a textbook. Every day you're working in translation.

Every day you're dealing with the languages, church history, theology, Bible exposition, church or Christian education, on and on. You're living in this place where it is a constant emphasis on biblical things and you get enamored of it. You lose your awe in it, which is what B.B.

Warfield writes about. Listen to his words. Think of what your privilege is when your greatest danger is that the great things of religion may become common to you. The very atmosphere of your life is these things.

You breathe them in every pore. They surround you, encompass you, press in upon you from every side. It is all in danger of becoming common to you.

God forgive you. You are in danger of becoming weary of God. Paul David Tripp, in whose book this appears, titled Dangerous Calling, adds this. What powerful words of warning to everyone in ministry of any type, the great danger lies precisely in his constant contact with divine things. Let me warn you about that. Let me warn you who faithfully attend a Bible study and it is becoming perfunctory for you.

Big word for it's business as usual. Here we go again, another Bible study. Here we are in verse five last time. We'll start in verse six this time.

Wait, stop. You are in danger of losing your all of God. Your worship is suffering.

You're not attending a class. You're sitting before the presence of the living God. This is why I make such an emphasis of the word awesome.

We've even cheapened the word and use it for everything now. I hear it every day about everything but God and he's the only one that fits. He's the only one that fits. He is our awesome God. Notice they came, verse 43, and a deep sense of awe swept over them.

He alone is the star of the show. No one else is deserving of praise or flattery. We come before almighty God and that should be a hallmark of our church.

That's part of our worship. We keep feeling a sense of awe. By the way, how did they participate? There was that sense of awe. There was a model of unselfishness. There was a joy and a sincerity. There was generosity.

Never a dull and colorless kind of gathering. I think it was the most winsome place in the city of Jerusalem to me. It was a place of laughter, fun, enjoyment. I don't know when it happened but there was a transfer of fun somewhere down the line and it all got shifted to the local bar or somehow it got shifted to the late night comedian, as if that's funny.

It's nasty and it's because he doesn't know how to make it really funny so he has to make it dirty. But real fun is clean, pure, without guilt and it's full of energy and purity and you're left with no regret. I long for it in everything I'm a part of. I was speaking at the seminary this week and if you were there, bear with me. I'm going to preach again a little bit about that that I shared. One of my closing comments was you can't beat fun and I mean that, even at a seminary.

I remember when I went and was to be a part of the leadership and I got there and it was like, it was like morose city. So I said to the lady who was my assistant, where's the fun? She said, the what? I said, the fun. Where's the laughter in the classroom?

Where's the joy in the hallway? She said, Dr. Schwinn, she said, Dr. Swindle, this is a seminary. And I go, I know lady. I didn't say lady. I said, I know.

I know, but the question is the same. Take away fun, I'm gone. She started to me like I was a, you know, she was a calf looking at a new gate. I mean, it was like, what are you talking about? You know what? Before I was there very long, you could hear laughter in the classroom and laughter in the hallway and even in the chapel.

Why? Because it's Christ. It's Christianity. And for some reason, artists stopped drawing pictures of Jesus laughing.

He's always, and all of his disciples. Have you ever seen a statue smiling? Ever?

No. Why? Because the dark ages took away all the joy and we're left with darkness.

When my Bible is full of laughter and energy and enthusiasm. Ralph Waldo Emerson lived 1803 to 1882. That's 19th century guy. Talk about bright.

He graduated from Harvard when he was 18. Okay, listen to what he said about enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do things, do them with all your might.

Put your whole soul into it, stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful and you will accomplish your objective. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. You believe that? Three of us believe that.

Enthusiasm. That's right. Have you ever heard of a guy that's witnessing and says, you wouldn't like to know Jesus, would you? Well, of course not. Turn out like that?

Of course not. That's not the way these people were. They were on the edge of their seats. This was the place to be. This was the ecclesia. The place called out by God to be his body. The church and we bought into this nonsense of the 21st century that passes off as a church, which is hardly even a glimmer of what the first snapshot looked like.

How good was it? Look at this last one. All the while they were praising God and enjoying the goodwill of the people. They were enjoying the goodwill of the people. Each day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

I love that. Talk about a spirit of evangelism. These people moved into the streets of Jerusalem telling their friends, you'll never be saved. Jerusalem telling their friends, you'll never believe how exciting it is, what we're a part of.

You're missing out. Are you aware of what's going on over here? Are you aware of this? One of my mentors Ray Stedman used to say, if the church were doing what it is called to do, the people of the world would be so curious they couldn't stay away. I think he's right. It is so exciting, so important, and so much in the realm of delight that I can't imagine a person living his life without it.

And really I find myself spending much of my time clarifying what it is not because we have been enamored by tradition, wrong opinions, poor examples, former churches that failed us, toxic churches that ruined our appetite, broken churches, dysfunctional churches that fought among each other rather than a place like this. Are you ready for the ultimate? These people turned the world upside down. You know that? By that generation, they impacted the world.

You know who even heard? The emperor. And you realize the context of which they existed? Godless Roman world, where the emperors hated Christ. They saw him as a threat. And all of his officials were Christian haters. And these people thrived in spite of the government. Listen, folks, we don't need the government.

We don't take our cues from the government. We march on based on what scripture teaches, period. And it's always exciting to think about that. That's why we read, each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. I'm thinking back some 20 years when we were nothing.

I'll tell you more about that next time when I deal with the state of the church. And I look at what God has done over these 20 years, and I'll tell you, I stand literally in awe at what God has done. Most of you weren't around 20 years ago. Many of you weren't here 15 years ago, or for that matter, 10 years ago. And God faithfully has brought you and is preparing you for whatever the future may be. Some come, they're here for a while, then they're on their way to someplace else to impact them. That's great.

We're not a holding tank. We're a vibrant living body designed to make Christ known and to share him with all the people we are in touch with. And if you're not doing that, you're missing out in something very, very important. I long for you to come on board and see what can be done for the cause of Christ. Let's bow our heads together, please. As you bow, search your own heart and ask, do I know Christ? Do I really have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ that is life-changing and all-consuming? Do I know Jesus?

Has he really infiltrated my life? If the answer is no, or I'm not sure, oh, this is your moment, our ministry is here for one purpose, and that's to help to move you from where you are to where you want to be. And that's from thinking about Christ to becoming a part of his family. Trust in him. Turn to him now.

Connect with us and let us help you get there. Let's look to our God with gratitude for what he's done in our lives and how he's led us to where we are today. And let's give him praise. How grateful we are, our Father, for your work in us, through us, among us, and admittedly, often in spite of us. Thank you for igniting the flame and never letting it go out from this first day when these early, brand new Christians breathed their first breath of Christian air. Thank you for leading them, changing the world through them, writing a New Testament because of them, and giving us guidelines to follow.

Make us, we pray, winsome, magnetic people in this day and age in a world that has long since lost its way. And may Christ be glorified in and through us, who are a part of this ministry. In the name of Jesus, we pray, all God's people said, Amen. Once again, all God's people said, Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. The kingdom unfolds in this land, unhindered by force of man. This church of hell, by his hand, made me free. Holy Earth be removed, and time be no more. His truth so secure that words shall grow.

However they change, these things are shown. We may be free, so in the mountains our paths come into a place with kingdom told from home. This one remains, our faith is not so gentle. With seasons of men, may our fathers be proclaimed. We live, our Lord, with love as we stand. Our lands and the sea will give hope their hand. Our friends, our friends, they gave us your hand.

Amen. A beautiful way to end today's message from Chuck Swindoll. You're listening to the voices and musical talent of the Stonebriar Community Church Choir and Orchestra.

Today's selection is called, We Believe. Now Chuck has reserved the final minutes of today's Insight for Living to share a personal comment with you, so please stay with us. And to learn more about the ministry of Insight for Living, please visit us online at insightworld.org. And then let me remind you, Insight for Living produces a number of resources designed for all ages and stages of your family. In fact, if you receive the recent mailing from us, you'll discover the vast array of creative tools, including a children's audio series called Paws and Tales. Through creative and memorable stories and fun music with playful lyrics, your kids and grandkids will learn timeless theological truth through Paws and Tales. And for the curious student of the Bible, you'll see Insight for Living offers Chuck's entire New Testament commentary series called Swindoll's Living Insights.

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