An E-Ticket for Reaching the Lost, Part 1

When you reflect on your personal experience as a regular attender, can you honestly say that the local church has ignited your passion? Do you feel a sense of excitement about the church you attend, or have you begun to yawn your way through? Chuck Swindoll believes that getting back to the basics will fire up your passion for the church. And today on Insight for Living, he's teaching from Acts chapter 2, where we read about the birth of the first church and the dynamic growth that followed.

Chuck titled his message, An E-Ticket for Reaching the Lost. What would be your answer if I asked, what in your opinion is the most powerful force for good on the earth? The most powerful force for good on the earth. I struggled with a number of questions in the middle of my years at Dallas Seminary, and it was just perfectly time that I would be one of the interns that would serve at Peninsula Bible Church, while Ray Stedman was the pastor there. That kind of question and a thousand others were racing through my mind back when I was 27 years old, and Cynthia was 25, and we were yet to have children and to be involved in ministry as a vocational work. And I remember thinking when I met Ray, this is the kind of man I want to be around. Not only is he engaged in a pastoral role, but he's a thinker.

And not only is he a thinker, he is willing to have you ask questions that are outside the box, outside the expected. That was back in 1961, and I recall at that time the early phases of the whole hippie movement was coming into Northern California. Matter of fact, it wasn't long before our whole nation, it seemed, was in an upheaval, like a storm at sea. Ray was one of those North stars that you could navigate your life by. Not the kind that was closed to change or never really willing to admit areas of weakness, not that at all, but Ray never doubted the importance or the value of the church. Back in a day when the whole establishment of our country was being questioned as well as authority was being resisted, Ray never doubted the importance, the value, the good that could come from the church. The problem, you understand, is that centuries of time have passed since it was first begun. From the first to the 21st, think of the wars and the arguments that have sprung up, called religious wars and religious arguments. Think of the numerous denominations that have evolved, some of them antagonistic to others of them. Think of the legalism that has been inserted and the traditionalism that has been added. I didn't say tradition. Yaroslav Pelikan of Yale put it this way, and it's a wonderful quote, tradition is the living faith of those now dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith of those still living. Traditionalism and legalism have a way of strangling, strangling the church and making it ineffective, and over the years that has happened as well. And public failures and public scandals of phony leaders and carnal leaders has hurt the image of the church, causing some to say, who needs it? Why in the world is anybody excited about something like a church? There's another factor, and that is differing opinions about the church. Ask one person, you'd get one answer.

Ask another, you'd get another answer. Sometimes those people, members of the same family. Ray himself writes in his book, Body Life, these words, the word church conjures up many widely differing images. To some, the church is nothing but a snooty religious country club with traditional rituals as sacred as those at a fox hunt. To others, the church is a political action group, a pressure block of do-gooders waging battle against social ills. To others, the church is a kind of non-segregated waiting room for people expecting to take the next bus for heaven.

Some view it as a kind of low calorie dessert for any who want something nice that won't hurt their public image. Others think of it as a regular meeting of religious hop heads enjoying their weekend religious jag. To many, the church is a kind of water boy to the game of life or a religious democracy trying to legislate morals for the rest of the world. He continues, let us be perfectly honest and admit that the church has often been all these things at many times and places. It has amply justified every bitter charge leveled against it. Nevertheless, despite its many weaknesses and its tragic sins, the church has been in every century since its inception the most powerful force for good on the face of the earth.

It has been light in the midst of a darkness so dense it could be felt. It has been salt in a society retarding the spread of moral corruption adding zest and flavor to human life. Reminds me of those days when I would sit with Ray and we would talk about the church and I remember his infectious enthusiasm for what the church is about. Why it will continue to meet needs as long as it is authentically biblical in its purposes. Now if I were to ask you where would you look to find the authentic biblical model, I think you would probably know by now the answer is at the end of the book of Acts chapter 2 verses 41 to 47. This is the earliest snapshot of a local church.

The earliest shot. The Holy Spirit has just come on the day of Pentecost. The people who were once afraid and intimidated and hiding in secret now bolt through the doors and come down the stairs from the upper room and spread into the streets of Jerusalem and begin to proclaim Christ, the resurrected Christ who has died and has come back to life and is offering eternal life to all who will believe. Peter of all people is one of the spokesman and after he finishes his talk urging them to repent as they believe in Christ verse 41 gives us the result. So then those who had received his word were baptized and that day there were added about 3000 souls. Pause and imagine it. 3000 people baptized.

That is a classic sheep dip. That is the earliest occasion when a large gathering of believers are saying publicly to the world around them, even at the risk of knowing it may mean their business could even mean their life. I have turned my life over to Christ. I believe in him with all my heart.

I will follow him now from this day forward. They are baptized. They are now the early church. Admittedly, they didn't all meet in one place. Had they had, many of them would have been put to death given the government of that day. Then what did they do when they met from house to house? What did they do when these people left and went back to their own people?

Because many of them have come, according to the early part of chapter 2, they've come from all over the known world to Jerusalem for this occasion called Pentecost, this festive occasion. Well, we read what they did in verse 42. They didn't do it occasionally, they did it continuously. And they didn't do it half-heartedly, they did it devotedly. They were continually devoting themselves to four essentials. Worship, instruction, fellowship, and the expression of their faith.

Read it for yourself. They continually devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching. They were a learning body of people. To fellowship, they were a caring flock, reaching out to one another in need.

They broke bread together. There were baptisms, verses 41 and 42 both tell us. There was meaningful worship, so much so, verse 43, everyone kept feeling a sense of awe.

Wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles, and it changed the way they looked at life. Those who believed were together. They were really in harmony. They were in unity, not uniformity.

Many different personalities, many different cultures, different languages represented in this group, different colors. But they were together in heart, and they had things in common, and with the awe and the wonder and the intermingling of their lives and the absence of selfishness, there were love and forgiveness and acceptance and joy and the magnetism of Christ. That's why Stedman writes like he does about the most powerful influence or the most powerful force for good in the world. When the church is doing what it ought to be doing, the world discovers what it's missing. And when the world sees what it does not have, it wants to know what it is that makes the Christian so different, so unique, so full of zest and life and enthusiasm and purpose, so much so that he or she doesn't even fear when death comes. Well, we're not surprised then to read what happened.

The world found out about it and couldn't stay away. 47 tells us these people were praising God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. I love to read that.

I love to think about that. I noticed three things in the last part of verse 47. First of all, I noticed the Lord did it. Now, the people weren't sitting inside keeping their traps shut, only paying attention to their own little clan or their own little group.

No, they were sharing the news. They were making Christ known, but none of us is able to change a person's heart. We're not able to reach in and throw the switches that will cause a person to move from unbelief to faith. We can't do that.

How much we wish we could. But the Lord steps in as they are living their lives in harmony and joy and learning and growing and fellowshipping together and expressing their faith in their worship and in their sharing of their lives, and he adds to their number day by day. So the Lord's doing it. Second, he's doing two things. First, he's saving them, and then he's leading them to be a part of this sweeping group, this movement, if you will, this church that has just now been formed. And I noticed thirdly, he's doing it day by day.

I love that. He doesn't wait until Sunday when people go to a church service in order to hear about Jesus. I don't find in the Bible people coming to church to find out about Jesus so they can be saved. I find in the Bible people are saved, and it's the life of the church that draws them in so they can grow in their faith.

We're missing it. We think the church is the evangelistic center of the community. The church is the life of Christ being lived out in the community, and when it is lived out, the community hears of Jesus from people who are being instructed in the church. Another thing I learned from Ray, about everything I learned I've seen I learned from Ray on this subject.

It's a wonderful concept. So it wasn't about waiting for revival meetings. It wasn't about carrying placards or having big signs or letting people know if you come here, you could be saved.

No, it's people who went there, who went to the prisons, who went to the places where people were sick, who went to the public square, who were in the courtrooms, who were at places of martyrdom. And they spoke openly of their faith in Christ, and people were transformed by this. They didn't keep the truth to themselves. They were open and zealous, and they're reaching out. And I noticed they made room for more. He kept adding. That particular term was adding is in a tense that means it kept going on. He kept on adding to their number. There was a growing number of people.

And we realize it because the record tells us of it. Let me take a quick safari through Acts, and I'll show you. Look at chapter 4 and verse 4. Go ahead, turn.

It won't hurt. Just turn over to verse 4, chapter 4. Many of those who had heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to be about 5,000.

Wait, wait, wait. Before there were 3,000. Now Luke tells us there are about 5,000 men. So this thing is growing exponentially. Look at 514.

Same church, still on the move. People with missionary hearts making Christ known, 514. All the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women were constantly added to their number. He no longer mentions thousands. He just uses multitudes. It's the preacher in him.

I love it. There are now multitudes of men and women who are constantly added to their number. I think by now it's 10, 12, 15,000. There's a multitude of people.

Look at 6-1. Now at this time, while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose and they dealt with that problem. But please don't miss the disciples are increasing in number.

So it's now more than what it was before. Look at verse 7, chapter 6. The word of God kept on spreading. The number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of the priests. We've got religious officials who have been doing religious things all through their adult life coming to Jesus. They've got religion down, but they didn't know about Jesus Christ. So some of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

You think that didn't set people on fire. Look at chapter 9, verse 31. 9-31 of the book of Acts tells us, So the church threw out all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria.

That hated section of the land of Palestine that Jews didn't even want to have anything to do with. Please observe the gospel spreads to Judea, Galilee, Samaria. They're enjoying peace being built up and going on in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. It continued to increase, chapter 9, verse 31 tells us.

Chapter 11, we're going even beyond the familiar territory out into the hinterland now. Now we're over into Antioch, verse 21 of chapter 11. And the hand of the Lord was with them and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. These are people who never knew the name of Jesus.

They haven't been raised even in religious homes. But these people are hearing about Christ from these individuals who are making it known. And the news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. And when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord.

He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. Please notice the end of verse 24. Considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. Now Barnabas, if I may insert this, realizes I'm over my head.

There's a lot of people here and they need to be taught and I know who can do that. Verse 25, he left for Tarsus to look for Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch and for an entire year they met with the church. This is the body of believers. This isn't evangelistic meetings. This is the body of believers who are growing in their faith. An entire year he taught considerable numbers and the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. 14, chapter 14, verse 1. In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed both Jews and Greeks.

16, 5. I'm about through with this, but you're thinking we're going to go to Revelation, but we're going to stop with one more chapter here. In 16, 5 the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number daily.

It's like a spreading flame by now. It is probably in the hundreds of thousands of people who are coming to Christ and hearing of Christ through the visionary, missionary efforts of these people. What was their reputation by then?

Look at 17, verse 6. As they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, these men have upset the world, who have upset the world have come here also. That's their reputation. The old King James says these are the ones who turn the world upside down.

It's not a bad rendering. The word for world is not cosmos, this is a Greek term that means the inhabited earth. These are the people who are turning upside down the whole inhabited earth who have come to live among us.

They're very nervous about that. Verse 12, therefore many of them believed along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. Back to chapter 2, you got the picture. A courageous, winsome, determined, visionary group of Christians who are engaged in a missionary vision. They're just learning to walk as Christians and they're already, like Jesus told them to do, taking the gospel to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and even the remotest part of the earth. It's the great commission on the march, on the move. Opposition didn't silence them, the obstacles didn't discourage them, the odds against them didn't intimidate them.

They were pressing on how balanced they were, how winsome they were. Realize growth is going to happen because as we are making Christ known, God begins to add to the church those who are being saved. We talk about being in the right place at the right time. You're listening to Insight for Living and a message from Chuck Swindoll titled, An E-Ticket for Reaching the Lost.

And we'll hear a closing comment from Chuck in just a moment, so please keep listening. To learn more about the ministry of Insight for Living, please visit us online at insightworld.org. Now I'll remind you, Insight for Living produces a wide variety of resources, perfectly suited for any gift-giving occasion. And our resources are designed to give your loved ones a fun and meaningful way to deepen their walk with God. So please take a few minutes to browse through the online store where you'll find a vast assortment of books such as the Swindoll Study Bible in several different colors and styles and the complete New Testament commentary series called Swindoll's Living Insights. In addition, you'll have access to the beautiful pictorial coffee table books on topics such as Christmas, Easter, and even the journeys of Paul.

For a more unique gift idea, you might consider a selection of whole bean coffees from around the world. All of this and more is found at insight.org slash store. Many people have been asking about the year-long study in Matthew that concluded a short time ago. Well, Chuck has written a commentary on Matthew.

It comes in two hardbound volumes, and you'll find all the details at insight.org slash store. Well, Chuck, this year you presented a brand new study through the entire book of Matthew. It was called The King of Kings.

That's right, Dave. As a radio family, we spent the last 11 months, January through November, walking through every single chapter in the Gospel according to Matthew. It was an emotion-filled journey alongside Jesus, and now I'm devoting the better part of December to applying what we felt during the grand crescendo that swelled in the last chapter. Remember the parting words from Jesus?

Of course you do. He said, therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I've given you, and be sure of this. I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. That's Matthew 28, 17 through 20.

Now wait, wait. Don't dismiss this command of Jesus as though he was singling out the professional Christian, whatever that means. His command was directed to you and to me, people that love the Lord Jesus Christ. So let me ask, how is God moving you right at this moment to live out the great commission of Jesus with your family, with your friends, and even with your neighbors? And what is your part in making disciples in all the countries of the world? As we come to the conclusion of another ministry year, this is the perfect time for you to invest in things eternal. You play a significant role in making disciples. Your contribution to Insight for Living Ministries will be used by God to reach brokenhearted, discouraged people who are burdened down by guilt and confusion and shame. In fact, I can't think of a better way to exercise our God-given assignment than to give generously so these dear people might hear about God's grace and then run into his forgiving embrace. Come on, let's do this together. Let's get involved in this wonderful opportunity to make disciples together. Remember, we don't have to do it alone. Jesus said, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. So it's you and me and our Lord Jesus Christ teaming up together.

How exciting is that? Well, here's how to respond to Chuck Swindoll. Give us a call right now if you're listening in the United States. Dial 1-800-772-8888. Our phone number again, 1-800-772-8888. Or if you prefer, it may be quicker and more efficient to give online at insight.org slash donate. Thank you for generously supporting the nonprofit ministry of Insight for Living. Join us again Monday when once again Chuck Swindoll opens the Bible to present Insight for Living. The preceding message, An E-Ticket for Reaching the Lost, was copyrighted in 2003 and 2019, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2019 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.