Acts | Chapter 2

Acts Ch 2:1-4

“Filling the whole house”

Vs. 1-4 The might

Intro.

Jesus, in verse eight of chapter one, had declared His purpose for the church; to tell the truth about Him to the world. Tying this with His words in Matthew we know that this would cause men and women to become disciples, (learning followers) of Him. Then last week we saw in Peter’s explanation of what was needed to be an apostle certain things that we all need to live our lives as Jesus’ witnesses:

Mission: All believers need to testify as to the true mission of Jesus, “The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.”

Ministry: We must communicate how He fulfilled His mission by “seeking and saving that which was lost”

Mastery:  Lastly, we must be convinced that Jesus demonstrated His ability to complete His mission and ministry by raising from the dead. It is through this that we “know that He is able to save to the uttermost those that would come to Him.” (Heb. 7:25)         

All this is good but it is not enough! Without “Might” or power Christian discipleship is impossible. So as we saw in chapter one the equipping of the disciples in chapter two we see their empowerment. At the end of chapter one the Lord ascends in the beginning of chapter 2 the Holy Spirit descends. Folks, a body without breath is dead, so too is Jesus’ Church without His Spirit! As I was reading Martin Lloyd Jones book, “Authentic Christianity”, in which he outlines the first three chapters of Acts answering the question, “What is Christianity”.

I came across this quote which I very much like concerning the Holy Spirit and the Church. “True Christianity is always the activity of God…bright services and an entertaining and varied program is not Christianity either. It is livelier, but it is not the life of the Spirit. Anything controlled by us, whether lifeless or lively, is not Christianity. Christianity is that which controls us, which masters us, which happens to us.” The old preacher Vance Havner once wrote, “We are not going to move the world by criticism of it or conformity to it, but by the combustion within our lives ignited by the Spirit of God.”   Oh that we too would become controlled and mastered by the igniting of the Holy Spirit in our lives!

Vs. 1-4 The might

Vs. 1 Luke (the author of the book of Acts), is very exact on the timing of the event called Pentecost. There are several interesting things connected to this second of Israel’s major feast days.

The word Pentecost came from the Hebrew words meaning fifty-day. It was called this because it was celebrated 50 days from the first Sunday after Passover. For us that would make it 50 days from the resurrection of Jesus to the time the Holy Spirit empowered believers. Both happened on a Sunday this is why the early church worship on this day and not on the Sabbath.

It had two reasons for its celebration:

Agricultural: It was also called the feast of first fruits. At Passover the first sheaf of barley was harvested and presented to God. At Pentecost the first fruits of the wheat harvest were given to God in two loaves of bread.

Historical: Feast of weeks, to the Jews they would celebrate it because historically they believed it was at this time, (50 days after the parting of the Red Sea that they received the Law from God.) So historically they called this day the “joy of the law”.

So to the Jew the day was a feast day where they celebrated the first fruits along with the joy of the law. But for the Church we see it as the day when the Spirit of God came upon His church. Now it is interesting to see what God’s word has to say about these two different views. In Ezek. 36:27 we read, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

And then in Jer. 31:33 we are told, “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts;” So? Well the Jews celebrated the Joy of the Law and the Church celebrates this same day as the Joy of the Spirit. And the Prophets speak of both. I suggest to you that the full meaning of this day is the “JOY OF THE LAW BY WAY OF THE SPIRIT”, or as Calvary Chapel likes to put it, “The Word of God by the Spirit of God”. This is further illustrated to us when we see that the fruit produced by the giving of the law was 3000 died because of their rebellion. Then here as we shall see, (Acts 2:41), when the Joy of the law is by way of the Spirit, 3000 are added to the church, thus we see the first fruits of God!

Hey Christian do you want to see fruit in your lives? Well it’s right here in the Word. Fruit is always the by-product of the word of God through the Spirit of God into the child of God. All of this reminds us of Paul’s words to the Corinthians “the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Vs. 2-4 Here Luke records for us three phenomena that accompanied the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Before we look at these I again want to clear up what it is that we are witnessing in Acts chapter two. Two weeks ago I shared with you on the three relationships that a person can and should have with the Holy Spirit. It is important to understand this so we can clear up any confusion people might have as to what they are seeing here.

John 14:17 Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit and says in the present tense that, “He dwells with you”.  This is the “para” or alongside experience of the Holy Spirit and it is the same type of relationship that He had with people in the O.T. in creation as we are told in Gen. 1:2 that He was “hovering over (or alongside) the face of the waters”. He also had this relationship with mankind as we are told in 6:34 that “the Spirit of the LORD came upon (or alongside) Gideon.” This was clearly temporary and not a permanent abiding relationship.

John 14:17 Then Jesus makes a new distinction as He says in the future tense, “and will be in you.” So as a person responds to the Holy Spirit drawing them into a relationship with Jesus He, (the Holy Spirit) comes and dwells IN them, or takes up His permanent home with them. Now the question before us is, “When did this happen to the disciples?” Well, we are told in John 20:22 that after the resurrection Jesus “breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.” and it was at that time the Holy Spirit came to dwell IN them.

Having settled that issue Jesus in Acts 1:5, 8 could not be speaking of the Holy Spirit coming to dwell IN them as they already had this. So we come to the third relationship that a person can and should have with the Holy Spirit. In fact it is Jesus that calls this experience here in Acts 2:2-4, in 1:5, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He further tells them that it was about receiving power to be His witnesses when the Holy Spirit would come “upon” them! So what we are talking about here is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Yet with that said 2:4 tells us that they were all “filled” with the Holy Spirit. Well baptism is a one-time thing, whereas filling can and does in Scripture happen many times after a person is baptized by the Holy Spirit. In this case before us they were filled with the Holy Spirit as they were baptized by Him.

So, we here at Calvary Chapel believe, as we see, that the Bible teaches that each of us ought to desire each and every relationship with the Holy Spirit. And those of you who are Christians most certainly have at least two of them. Now the third relationship of being empowered by the Holy Spirit can happen the moment you ask Jesus to come to dwell in your heart, as in the case of Cornelius in Acts 10:44-48.

Or it can happen, (as in my case), later on as you are hungering and thirsting for more of Him and you ask Him to empower you to be His witness. This is what we read happening in Acts chapter 8:12-17, as the people in Samaria believed but as yet had not received the Holy Spirit even though they had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Peter and John go down there and pray for them and they receive the Holy Spirit.

Now if you are anything like me even after being empowered at the baptism by the Holy Spirit, I want to be continually filled to do what He has called me to do with my family, those I work with and everywhere I go. So as we read in Acts 4:8 Peter was again filled with the Holy Spirit as he preaches before the Rulers and Elders of Israel. And I’m thankful that I can just by faith ask Him to fill me with His presence and grace for the work to which He has called me!     

Folks, all of these relationships with the Holy Spirit are available to you and as you can see there is not a set pattern in Scripture that is common to every single person as for the third relationship. Now I’m sure that some of you have seen well meaning Christians try to force the Holy Spirit upon people and they even make it seem as if you are a second class citizen if you have not been empowered. Others are just seeking an experience and not a person. All I can say to you this morning is I’m sorry if that has been done to you but please don’t blame the Holy Spirit for what the fleshly men have done.

Three Manifestations:

Just as an over view of these three manifestations, we see several things:

All seemed like natural things, wind, fire and speech but were at the same time supernatural in origin and character. Now this at once speaks to us how God takes ordinary common things like you and I and makes them extraordinary. Paul would say that He takes the foolish things of the world and confounds the wise.

We also see that what these folks experienced involved their higher senses, What they Heard, What they Saw, What they Said. And in each case I can’t help but see that for me to be His witness, what I hear, see and say needs to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Also I see that in the first two manifestations, wind and fire, Luke describes them by using a simile, “as of ” in other words the rushing wind was not literal and neither was the divided tongues of fire. Now what do you get when you put rushing wind together with fire? I’ll tell you what you get is a blaze! Yet when we got to the tongues it was literal as they all heard the wonderful works of God in their own language. So? Well, I’m thinking that the empowerment of the Holy Spirit ought to be around us and upon us, invisible if you will, so that we are a blaze with His presence before it is ever out of us!   

The manifestations happened to each and every one of them, none were excluded. As the words “whole house where they were sitting”, “sat upon each one of them”, and “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” and spoke in tongues. Simply put God desires to empower each and every one of His children to be His witnesses.

Lastly, as I see this threefold manifestation and work backwards, I ask myself what am I if I am:

• Not hearing? Well I’m deaf!

• Not Seeing? Well I’m blind!

• Not Speaking? Well I’m mute!

              So then a Christian without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is? Deaf, blind and mute! Simply put then a Christian without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is handicapped. I think we have just discovered why the Church is not very effective in leading the world to Jesus!     

Vs. 2 What they Heard: First off we are told this sound came from heaven as Jesus had said. Notice as well that it says here they heard an echoing sound as a mighty wind. They did not feel it, the sensation was not a feeling. No, it was auditory in nature. In Gen. 2:7 God breathed in Adam the breath of life. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was not going to change how they felt, it was to change their very life starting with what they heard. This is further brought by the fact that in both Hebrew and Greek the word for Holy Spirit is the same for breath and wind. Jesus said in John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” Then in John 15: 26 Jesus says, “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” Do you see my point?

When you are empowered by the Spirit of God does not the Word of God bring new life to your ears? Do you long for a further understanding in your own life application of the Word of God? Is that not what the world needs if we are to be Jesus’ witnesses, the living word of God in ears and hearts who proclaim His name? Listen to what Heb. 4:12 tells us, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Folks, the power of that rushing wind affects the hearing of our hearts to the word of God. James would challenge us by saying, “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

Vs. 3 What they Saw: What did they see? Divided tongues of fire setting on each one of them. We are at once taken to Isaiah 6:6-7 and remember the fire from the altar of God on his lips. But what does fire do, does it not purify? The refiner stokes up the furnace or crucible as he places the gold in it and the hotter it gets all of the dross, and impurities burn off. Still hotter and the trace metals burn up leaving PURITY! That which is pure is lasting! The Word of God energized by the Spirit of God in the Child of God will heat to perfection His witness. And you know what happens when you heat pure gold up? Well it turns into a mirror and what do you think this mirror will reflect? Well is it not Jesus in us? Folks, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is not for show, it is not for raw power it is for His power to produce purity in our lives! 

In the Old testament God would descend upon His altar and consume the sacrifice that the people had laid upon it. Now in the O.T. the Holy Spirit would rest upon a nation as they were to be His witnesses to the gentiles. But in the N.T. He comes upon us as individuals thus we are told in Rom. 12:1 to, “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Furthermore Paul says, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” That word “prove” is assayed through refinement. As the Holy Spirit empowers us we are transformed. 

Vs. 4 What they Said: Again notice that the above two phenomena were only temporary of the true gift of the Holy Spirit empowering them. With the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God to bring a new heart alive with His words and a life that was made pure they were then ready to speak. But what did they say? Did they have a new philosophy? Would it be a new political movement, or right wing conservatism? Would they speak of the evils of the world in which they lived? No, we are told that each heard words of the “wonderful works of God”. This was an empowered sanctified speech praising God for all that He is and does! And who gave them an utterance? It was the Holy Spirit! They were praising God not preaching the Gospel. 

Praising God not prophesying. They were not doing it to be a sign of the Holy Spirit, He was in complete control and they just received as He gave them. This was a complete change of what had happened at the tower of Babel, (Gen. 11:1-9). There the people of the world gathered united together in one common language able to communicate and understand each other and what they do with this gift of languages? They built a tower so that they could worship and praise their own intellect and understanding. So God in His mercy confused their languages and they scattered. So here God again after He has entered the human heart and empowered human life Gives back the speech He once confused so that all the world would know of His wonderful works! Oh how awful it is that because of the work of the flesh this gift has been again used to confuse!

The life of the believer that has been empowered will hear the word of God and the heard Word of God will lead to a pure life in His child and that pure life will always sing of the praises of God and not man. That is what will reach the world. Yes, they will sing of His mission, of His ministry, of His majesty but they will do so through an empowered transformed life.    

Acts 2:5-21

“Full of new wine”

Vs. 5-13 What ever could this mean?

Vs. 14-21 This is that!

Intro.

We discussed looking at the Three manifestations that accompanied the third relationship (baptism for empowerment) that a person can and should have with the Holy Spirit. 

You will remember that the empowerment of the Holy Spirit effected three of our higher senses:

• What we hear

• What we see

• What we speak

What Luke records for us today deals with specifically the third phenomenon; “what they spoke”. In verse 5-13 Luke tells us of a four-fold reaction of those who came to investigate. Then in verses 14-21 Peter answers both the mocking as well as the honest inquiry, by quoting scripture.

         In preparing for this message I became all too aware of the division in the body of Christ because of the two very different opinions concerning the Holy Spirit giving tongues to those 120 gathered in the upper room.

• What are we to make of this passage?

• Are there tongues today?

• What if there is and I don’t want it?

• What if there is no such thing yet I have experienced this?

What a shame, that which caused such great joy that all were speaking of the “wonderful works of God” has been that which separated believers from fellowship with each other. The argument, boiled down to its simplest form, is not whether there was at one time a spiritual gift known as tongues; but rather is there STILL such a gift? In other words both sides of the fence look at this passage before us and agree that it happened. Where they disagree is on whether or not it can still be happening and if it can, is it absolutely necessary that ALL believers must have this encounter. I’m sure that for those who already have a set opinion I will not change your mind nor do I wish to. Whatever is said let us resolve that no matter what your opinion, may it not keep us from fellowshipping together in Jesus! 

Vs. 5-13 What ever could this mean?

Luke is going to say some uninteresting things in these verses but we need to be careful as these words set the tone for our discussion on “tongues”.

Vs. 5 As we said the feast of Pentecost was one of the three feasts that every Jew was required to attend as often as they could, so Luke tells us that they were dwelling there in Jerusalem. Being that it was the best time of the year to travel, this feast day was often the best attended. Some estimate that there were probably over 200,000 people in the temple area alone and they were there to observe the feast day from all over the known world; many of them no doubt had been there for the 50 plus days from Passover.

         Now I find it interesting that in the crowd there were some that had shouted to Pilot “Crucify Him”. So? Well if you can take a step back from all of these events you will see the Lord ordering things. There were folks in that crowd that had a different opinion about Jesus and they did not like Him, but that never thwarted the work of Jesus. Like Him, don’t like Him, He is still loving you! 

Vs. 6a Then we read that with around 200,000 folks in the temple area doing the religious feast day that something arrests their attention. There are some that suggest it was the tongues that did this. I don’t think so. Even if they were all screaming the wonderful works of God (and they weren’t) those folks would not have been able to hear them over the noise they were making.

Why does that matter you ask? Well some suggest it was the noise of the  tongues that were the sign that drew the unbelievers together. And though it is true as Paul says in 1 Cor. 14:22 , “tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers.” It was not the loud praising of the wonderful works of God that drew people, but rather the sound of the “rushing mighty wind”. So much of what people object to in the gift of tongues is the misuse of the gift. You go to some church and in the middle of the church service folks, who no doubt mean well, stand up and start shouting at the top of their lungs sounds that disrupt everything and everyone and they call that a sign. 

It is a sign all right, but what it produces in those who have witnessed it is fear! That is not what took place here at all. If you have ever been to the temple area in Jerusalem then you know that this would never draw people’s attention. What got their attention was this loud sound of wind that was coming from the direction of the 120. If you have ever been around where they are working on your car with an air hose or where they are power washing a house then you have heard a sound that makes you want to check it out. 

This is what caused the “multitude to come together” as Luke tells us in verse 6. And by the time the mixed multitude had come to check it out they heard 120 praise God speaking of His wonderful works in their native tongue. Look at verse 4 again, it does not say that as the Holy Spirit came upon them and gave them utterance that they yelled at the top of their lungs. No it says that they spoke normally, naturally, not in some weird high pitch freaky sound, but rather in the dialects of language evidently well enough to be understood by those who spoke the different languages.

Vs. 6b The first reaction to this speaking of the wonderful works of God was universal:

            CONFUSION: Confusion not at what they said, for they understood that what they were saying was the “wonderful works of God”. No, the confusion was because of who it was that was saying it (Galilean’s verse 7) and who it was that understood it, (people from all over the known world verses 8-11).

When I was in Russia several years back everybody was speaking a completely different language other than my own. It was a bit disconcerting to realize that I had no ability to communicate to the majority of the people around me. We would have our teaching time with an interpreter but that was pretty much it in our own language. In this one city where we were doing a weeklong seminar a lady that had not registered to take the Bible class kept coming to the class where I was teaching. I would notice her day after day listening in and I assumed she was listening to the interpreter.

Finally, after three or four days of this she motioned with her hand that she wanted me to come over to where she was. I started to look for someone who could interpret for me when she could not wait any longer and approached me and with perfect English asked me to tell her how she could come to know this Jesus that I had talked some much about. My first response was “confusion” and before I spoke to her about Jesus I had to know where and how she spoke my native tongue. She ended up receiving Jesus and invited us to share the gospel with her class of young kids. We did and taught them hokey pokey as well!                               

I can only imagine what these world travelers must have been going through as they heard people praising the Lord in their native tongue.

Vs. 7 We are further told that they began to think about this as we are told of the next universal response:

            AMAZED and MARVELED: These are interesting words as amazed means literally, “wide open astonishment” or put out at wits end. Marveled means to admire or to have admiration towards. We do not have to be in the dark as to what brought such a change from confusion to complete admiration as we are told that they asked, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?” These were Galileans that were speaking in their native tongues. So? Well they had a known speech problem, they slurred their syllables together and they could not pronounce certain guttural sounds. It was this fact that got Peter recognized by the servant girl at the trial of Jesus.

Vs. 8-11 They were impressed not just because they had mastered one language but rather they had mastered, according to the list in these verses at least, 15 different ones. And there could have been more languages being spoken in as much as we are told that 120 were present and all of them spoke in tongues. The fact that they were bilingual means that they were hearing the “wonderful works of God” in their own language but then in a common language (Greek or Hebrew) were discussing what they commonly heard. I want you to look at the scope of this for a moment. At least 15 different dialects are mentioned and yet they all heard the same thing. So they say, “Man, I just heard them talking about how great God is.” “You’re kidding, so did I only in my native language.”

So what was the sign as Paul put it in 1 Cor. 14:22 “tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers.”? The sign was that God was making His self-known through the praises of men who did not know the language they were speaking in. God was bypassing the mind and understanding of the instrument to declare Himself to a world that did not yet know Him. Were the believers getting a benefit of this? Well yes they were praising the Lord in the Spirit of the Lord, but they did not do this to be seen. Thus the sign of tongues was not for the 120 in the upper room, it was for those that gathered.

Yeah? Well, that tells me again, that to say, “THE evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues”, misses the point as the sign of tongues was not for believers but for non-believers. Furthermore Paul asks a rhetorical question in 1 Cor. 12:30, “Do all speak with tongues?” The answer is NO! In fact as this story before us develops and we read in Acts 2:38-39, 41 as Peter preached to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” Yet strangely there is no mention of all 3000 speaking in tongues. You would think that if this occurred and must occur every time a person is empowered by the Holy Spirit that Luke would have recorded it as happening.

Some well meaning Christians, in an attempt to have other believers receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, have put too much of an emphasis on this one gift of the Holy Spirit. By doing so this has unwittingly caused people to fake and counterfeit this gift merely to prove they have been really empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Vs. 12-13 Having examined so far the responses of the people towards the third phenomenon we come to yet another response.

         AMAZED and PREPLEXED: They went from amazement and admiration to that of  trying to thoroughly reason and understand what they had just experienced.

This is going to lead them to one of two decisions:

Vs. 12 Further investigation, “Whatever does this mean?” Whenever we are faced with the work of God we are always in a place of decision. There were some there when they began to reason their experience of hearing the wonderful works of God in their own native language by those who could not have known how to speak it, did not dismiss the gift by way of lack of understanding. Now I might add that they did not automatically believe it as well. Peter is going to explain to them through the Word of God what they had just experienced.  

Vs. 13 Mocking, “They are full of new wine.” There were those there that had the same experience and decided that rather than search out the truth of the experience they rather just chose to make fun of it.

I believe that concerning the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and this gift specifically we have some of the same responses by folks. Some still do not understand it but they want further information. Then there are those who, like David’s wife Michal who watched her husband worship and dance before the Lord in front of the nation, choose to mock him. And I believe concerning those that mock what the scripture teaches concerning this gift that David’s words to Michal are appropriate, “So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her life.” I’m not saying that those that mock are not saved or that they don’t know the Lord but I’m saying that there is a barrenness about them. Now I want to be clear here, if a person does not wish to believe that this gift of the Holy Spirit exists today they have that choice, but please be careful that you don’t make fun of those who do!

Vs. 14-21 This is that!

Vs. 14 Lost among the debate over the years concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the obvious change in Peter after his baptism and filling. Jesus had said in Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,” This was the same giant fisherman who had cowered at one little servant girl’s words 50 days earlier. Now he boldly steps forward in front of thousands of people to speak of Jesus. I don’t know about you but one of the most often listed fears that people have is speaking in front of large audiences, you could not get much larger than this! What has caused the change? It was the third relationship that a person can have with the Holy Spirit. Folks, this was not a feeling or an emotional experience that came “upon” Peter. No, it was the Holy Spirit changing him from a man confident in himself to a man boldly energized by God. 

Vs. 15 Peter first deals with the charge of drunkenness by those who were mocking. “Hey, we’re not drunk as you assume, it’s only 9 am.” Now this may seem like a feeble reason to you and I as I’m sure there are those who drink and are drunk by 9 am. You have to remember the crowd that Peter is speaking to. Jews fasted during festivals until the morning services were over around noon. So he simply says, “Come on now you all know that we are not drunk as we are fasting!”

         So why did these folks say that the 120 were drunk with new wine to begin with? Is it because of what they witnessed them acting like? Today among many in the ultra Pentecostal denominations they turn the words of the mockers into reason for all sorts of weird manifestations called “being drunk in the Spirit”. I don’t believe there is any reason to think this is what caused those that mock to say this:

Only a few made this remark and they said it according to Luke to make fun of them in jest and not according to what they witnessed.

Being drunk causes the loss of self-control and normal mental and physical functions. Remember what amazed them was the opposite that these Galileans who normally slurred their speech had under the Spirits control better diction and better ability in languages then they should have had. The Bible tells us in Gal 5:23 that one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control, and not the absence of it! Folks, these 120 were not full of distilled spirits but rather they were filled with a dynamic Spirit! Their “new wine” did not cause them to lose control of inhibitions, it caused them to lose control of the old nature, as the Holy Spirit possessed them! 

Vs. 16a Now here is what is interesting to me. In the midst of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit; in which the 120 speak the wonderful works of God, (a sign to the unbelievers) Peter stops and in all practical truth says, “Let’s have a Bible study about what just took place!” So? Well clearly this did not quench the Spirit, instead it fulfilled what the Holy Spirit wanted to do and that is show the scriptural basis for what they all had just witnessed. You will remember Jesus did the same thing after the resurrection as He appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. He did not say, “Hey fellows it’s Me Jesus, and look I’ve resurrected!” No, “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets”, He expounded to them all the Scriptures on the things concerning Himself.”

Again I think some well meaning Christians in the Pentecostal movements have adopted an attitude that does not do exactly what Jesus did and Peter does here. So you have associated with the baptism of the Holy Spirit all sorts of things that are not found in the Bible.

 I think we are safe to practice those things that are:

• Seen in the gospels

• Practiced in Acts

• Taught in the Epistles

Let me be very plain here, “I believe if there is any spiritual manifestation or phenomenon taking place it is important that we be able to point to the Word of God. So there is a scriptural basis for what is going on and the way in which it is happening. And if there is not one to be found then the phenomenon or the way it is being practiced is not from God!” You can not use experience as the criteria for truth because then you have to constantly be changing truth to fit the experience! Simply put, “Experience does not interpret truth, truth interprets my experience!”

Vs. 16b-17 Now a lot of the problems concerning the “supernatural phenomenon” being viable in the church today are cleared up with Peter’s quote of Joel’s prophecy. So what do we learn from the prophecy of Joel?

• This prophecy was for the last days.

• The prophecy was a promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

• Peter (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) thought what had just happened, (this is that) was a part of the last days.

Simply put Peter thought the promise of the Holy Spirit’s power upon people signaled the start of the last days. Peter believed that he was in the last days. Well what are the last days? It is the time starting with the Holy Spirit coming and ending with Jesus’ coming again! (2:17-20) So the promise of the Holy Spirit is for the Church age, already lasting over 2000 years. Look again at the words of Joel.

In verses 17-18 Joel speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer:

• My Spirit poured out on all flesh

• Sons and daughters prophesying

• Young men seeing visions, old men dreaming dreams

• On menservants and maidservants His Spirit poured out

Then in verse 19-20 there is a change in the work of the Holy Spirit, it is no longer in and through the believer, it is in the environment, in which non-believers live. Simply put the events of verses 19-20 take place during the “great tribulation”. Now that is after the Church age! So then when will these “supernatural phenomenon” cease to be needed in the Church? After the rapture of the Church! Jesus had said speaking of the Holy Spirit in John 15:26 that when He came He would, “testify of Me.” And so He does during the Church age the one in which we are in now by having His Spirit poured out on all flesh that bear His name, then after the Church age by wonders in the heavens and signs in the earth! And what effect will these have upon the inhabitants of the earth? Verse 21 says, “whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.”

         Yeah, but doesn’t it say that tongues will cease? Yes, it does in I Cor. 13:8 “whether there are tongues, they will cease.” Paul goes on to explain when this will happen as well in verse 10, “But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.”  The question is what does Paul mean by, “that which is perfect has come?” There are some who say Paul is talking about the time when we have the Bible completed as being, “that which is perfect”, and since we have the Bible then we don’t need the gifts of the Spirit. I’m thankful that Paul does not leave us guessing as in verse 12 he clarifies it as a time when, “I shall know just as I also am known.” And when is that? When we are in the presence of the Lord! So tongues won’t last forever. We won’t need this gift when we are in our glorified bodies!

         Having said this, just what does the Bible have to say about tongues and its use in the Church’s life?

• 1 Cor. 14:14-15 describes it as a gift that is a personal prayer language so that a believer can communicate with God beyond the limits of personal knowledge and understanding. Rom. 8:26 says that, “The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

• 1 Cor. 14:4, 17 Paul says, “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself.” So it is a gift by which a person is assisted in their personal devotional life. Paul also speaks of it as personal praise when he says, “I will sing with the spirit.” 

• We see that the tongues were in known languages as we see here and that would include well over 6000 known dialects today plus thousands more of sub-dialects. Paul also speaks of it in 1 Cor. 13:1 as “the tongues of men and of angels.” So, apparently they too have a language.

• 1 Cor 12:20 Tells us it is not a gift that every believer will possess.

• 1 Cor. 14:18-19, 23 Limits its use in the corporate life of the Church, to two or three at most and only with the gift of interpretation.

The bottom line is the gift of tongues has a great deal of blessing for the individual believers life but limited use in the Church service. And when it is used it will be the wonderful works of God or privately praying for a need.

Acts, 2:22-41

“Listen to this: Jesus”

Vs. 22-36 Four truths about Jesus

Vs. 37-41 A simple choice

Intro.

Peter had begun to undertake explaining the question as to the meaning of the third phenomenon (speaking in tongues of the wonderful works of God). He started out by explaining what the Bible had to say on this issue, (Joel 2). Simply put Peter showed that what they had just witnessed was predicted by the prophet Joel. Now he is going to show that this was just the end of the plan of God. God’s whole design is that of presenting His Son to the world!

         Now you have to put this sermon of Peter’s in context. He is speaking to a very large group of folks that only 53 days earlier had chanted for the death of the One that he is about to proclaim. Further more Peter is going to have to show how all their preconceived notions about the messiah were wrong and that in fact they had crucified the One that they had been waiting for since the fall of mankind. In so doing they had unwittingly ushered in the last days which was all according to God’s plan.

I’ve tried to imagine myself in Peter’s sandals, what emotions must have been running through his head? I watched not that long ago as the newly elected President George W. Bush had to give his first national speech, all the commentators were saying that it was the most important speech of his career. He had to perform it just right to convey what he wanted, not too firm, not too soft, not too right, not too left. Now the President did not even write the speech and I’m sure that they had been working on it for weeks. Peter did not have any time to write his message, it was on the fly in front of a confused, questioning and even angry crowd that had killed Jesus 53 days earlier. No pressure here but Peter was giving the most important message of his career and if it did not go well he was literally going to get killed on the pole not just by the polls!           

Vs. 22-36 Four truths about Jesus

Some have well said that the first few words of a speech may be the most important. 

They have to convey several things:

• They need to grab the attention of the listeners

• They need to sum up what the whole of the speech is on

• They need to present a reason for people to pay attention

Vs. 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth.” Yeah, I think that this accomplishes those three things! In verses 22-36 Peter is going to establish four truths concerning Jesus: Person, Purpose, Plan, and Program.  

Four truths about Jesus:

The Person of Jesus: (Both man and God) Vs. 22 “Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know.” The first thing that Peter does is to identify his subject “Jesus of Nazareth”. Now he will also establish a few things here that they already knew about Jesus in the next few verses as he uses the word “YOU”.

Vs. 22 They already knew Him as Jesus of Nazareth

Vs. 22 They had seen His miracles

Vs. 23 They knew that they had Him arrested and crucified 

Look now at this verse and you will see two truths that Peter has to say concerning the PERSON of Jesus:

Jesus of Nazareth a man: This was a name given to him by those that sought to discredit Him. Peter’s point is that Jesus was a real person from a little town known to them. This was always an issue with the Jews. Jesus was from the wrong side of the tracks and even though some had said, “This is the Christ.” others said, “Will Christ come out of Galilee?” Peter wants them to know that it is the same Jesus that they struggled with.

“attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know;”  The word “attested” means to exhibit something as proof. So Peter is saying that Jesus was proving that He was the Messiah by these three things all of which God did in their midst as they themselves know.

Miracles: Literally, powers. These were demonstrations of  God’s supernatural power. 

Wonders: This is a word that describes the work of the miracle upon the human heart, astonishment.

 Signs: This word speaks of the intent of the miracles which Jesus performed, that was to point them to the spiritual truth as to Who He was.

Jesus said, “the very works that I do; bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.” And again He said, “though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”

So what does Peter show us here? Well, that their rejection of Jesus was not based upon ignorance of the truth for they knew this to be true. No, their rejection of Jesus was based upon the love of sin even though truth was screaming in their ears!

• The Purpose of Jesus: (To die on the cross), Vs. 23 Peter stays on theme by saying “Him” (Jesus). Those listening to Peter would no doubt begin to think, “Hey wait a minute, if Jesus is the Messiah how come He died on the cross?” 

Peter answers this by saying two things:

• He was not a victim. “Being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God”: The word “delivered” means to be surrendered to an enemy. “Determined” is where we get our word horizon from, and it means to mark out a boundary. “Purpose”, speaks of God’s will or design. “Foreknowledge” is where we get our word prognosis from and it means more than knowing something beforehand. Taken together Peter is saying that Jesus was delivered to death because it was God’s purpose and plan. So Jesus’ death does not contradict God’s plan, it rather fulfills it.

• You are responsible: “you have been taken by lawless hands, have been crucified, and put to death”. Even though it was part of God’s plan it does not resolve their responsibility. God used their sinful actions to fulfill His plans. He presents God’s sovereignty right beside man’s responsibility. The truths are parallel and I, in my limited understanding, can’t see how both can be true but they are. Man you talk about boldness, Peter was not here to please those listening to him, he was speaking the truth and holding them accountable. Jesus died for you and by you at the same time! And we are all responsible for the BY YOU, but not the FOR YOU!  

• The Plan of Jesus: (To raise from the dead) Vs. 24-32 First Peter says in verse 24 that the tomb was a womb, (pains = birth pains). He goes on to say that it was not possible that death could hold Him. Why?

• Because of who He was, the “resurrection and the life.”

• Because of God’s promise, “destroy this temple and I will raise it up.”

Now in verses 25-28 Peter goes back and quotes Psalm 16:8-11 concerning Jesus and says that David foresaw the resurrection. Peter again anticipates their argument to this verse. So in verse 29-33 Peter says “Hey fellows we know that David could not be speaking of himself in this Psalm because he is dead and buried right here in Jerusalem.” “Since that is a fact this prophecy speaks of Jesus and God has fulfilled his promise to David by raising Him (Jesus) from the dead and we have all seen Him alive from the dead.”

         Now can you imagine how those listening to Peter’s message would already begin to respond? Man they were no doubt getting very uncomfortable as the implications is that they made a huge mistake and their decision to reject and crucify the long awaited Messiah.

• The Program of Jesus: (To redeem the world back to God) Vs. 33-36. Peter is going to now take them back to their original question in verse 12, “Whatever could this mean?” His answer is:

• Vs. 33a It means that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father. Thus, God has accepted all, PERSON, PURPOSE and PLAN.

• Vs. 33b It means that we are in the last days as the Holy Spirit spoken of in Joel has come upon us as you have just seen.

• Vs. 34-36 It means that since it is the last days then He is going to deal with all those who oppose Him. 

So then Peter finishes with “let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” They were dead wrong about Jesus, they had crucified Him as a criminal but God has proven Him beyond a shadow that He was and is their Messiah. You talk about hopelessness! Those listening to Peter’s message had to be a wit’s end. I wonder how long he allowed them to stay in the place of conviction. Peter had not made believing in Jesus easy or comfortable. No, he had placed the blame squarely on their shoulders with no way out.

Vs. 37-41 A simple choice

Vs. 37 Here we are told the crowd’s response to Peter’s preaching, they were pierced in the heart! Simply put they were stunned by the implications of Peter’s sermon.

• They had executed their only hope. I was not just dead, they had killed Him.

• They were now aware that He was alive from the dead and in fear of His wrath.

• They could not imagine how they could undo what they had done.

“Men and brethren, what shall we do?” That is what they are seeking a way out of their own decision they have made concerning Jesus. Notice they offer no excuse, no attempt to shift responsibility and they are willing to face the consequences of their actions. Folks, every person is faced with a choice as to what to do with what they have done with Jesus and putting it off is making a choice.

Vs. 38-39 I love what Peter says here in response to their question of what they should DO. Do?….. there is nothing you can DO or ever do that can right this wrong from human effort. Jesus answered the same question in Mark 10:27 “Who then can be saved?” With the answer “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” In other words, you can’t DO anything because it has already been DONE!

Repent: This is a word that means to have a change of purpose from sin to God. Change your mind about Jesus. What a great word of hope this was to them as well as us, “You don’t have to stay the way you have been!” That is what we can say to those who ask us about our new relationship with Jesus. You know those people who come up to you and say, “Hey, man did you go and get religion?” “Nope, I changed my mind about Jesus!” They needed to change the way they saw Jesus; it was not enough that they were sorry about how they treated Him, nor afraid of how He might treat them. No, they needed to have a complete change of mind, heart and actions towards Him.

“Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins”:

The word “FOR” here is an unfortunate translation as it makes it sound as if a person is saved based upon water baptism. It should be translated “because of”. They weren’t to get baptized to get saved, they were saved so they should be baptized. They were to publicly identify with the One they had previously rejected. Now only the gentile would ever be baptized as this was seen as a humbling act. Doing so in Jesus’ name was saying that they completely identified with all of His claims, teaching, and thus they were going to rely upon His merits and do His service for the rest of their lives. Peter gave no wiggle room for easy faith. No their faith was public so too their identity in Jesus.

Upon doing this Peter said they would receive two gifts from God:

Vs. 38a Remission of sins: That is the penalty for their actions was forgiven.

Vs. 38b-39 Receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit: They would also have the power to live a new life. So at the cross and our receiving Jesus both the penalty and the power of sin has been broken! Notice again how Peter words this description of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, “the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Clearly Peter did not say that was to stop when we had the Bible!

Vs. 40-41 So Peter says many other words to exhort them to make a decision for Jesus. And then we are told that 3000 “gladly” received Jesus and were publicly identified with Him. The church had a 26 times increase from 120 to 3,120. Yet again no record of supernatural occurrences. Next we take a look at the practice of the early church. 

Acts, 2:42-47

“To Be Continued?”

Vs. 42-43 Practice and Power

Vs. 44-45 Altogether Common

Vs. 46-47 Continuing Daily

Intro.

Peter preached the truth concerning the person and work of Jesus, he drove it home in such a way that 3000 wanted to know what they must do to be saved. Peter’s response was that it was not about what they could do to be saved but rather what God had DONE to save them. Three thousand people became “spirit filled” believers that day but that is not the end of the story. No, it is the beginning of the story of Jesus in His Church. 

         It is in these verses that all that would call themselves a Christian Church must be measured. I have over the years gone to many meetings with pastors and we all ask the same question of each other, “How many attend the Church you pastor?” I submit to you that this is the wrong question, our question ought to be, “Is the Church your pastor following Acts 2:42-47?” Just what is a “Spirit filled” church? How can we tell if we are one? What is it that we should look for in a healthy Church? These questions are all answered in these six verses. From verse 42 to chapter 6 verse 7 we have in view the first 3 to 5 years of the Church filled with the Spirit of God. It ought to be the prayer of every Christian in every Church, as well as the aim of every pastor who is a servant of Jesus to see that we are what is told us in these six verses! 

Vs. 42-43 Practice and Power

Vs. 42 Now before we look at four things that a “Spirit filled” church does I want to focus on a statement that Luke makes concerning what the Spirit filled church is.

“And they continued steadfastly”: Whatever follows is in the context of this statement. So what do we know about the make up of the early church?

Made up of saved people: The “they” in verse 42 refer to the 3000 thousand that had given their lives to Jesus. We are told in verse 41 that they gladly received the Word concerning Jesus and showed the genuineness of their faith by being publicly baptized. It may appear to be stating the obvious by saying this but the “Church” is to be composed of those who have a living relationship with Jesus. The Church is not those that walk in the door of a building. In today’s church growth movement much of what is being done is to accommodate non-Christians. Services are being designed with the aim at making non-believers comfortable so that they would want to come to Church. 

Being popular with those who practice sin so that they will attend is the aim. Now, I think it is important that non-Christians feel welcome to attend our services as we faithfully proclaim the truth of the Word of God and worship the Lord, so our structure is casual. But it is my prayer that those who do are not comfortable with their spiritual condition but rather very uncomfortable so that they will repent and become followers of Jesus. I had one gal years ago that came to me to say that she would no longer be attending our Church because she and her live in non-Christian boyfriend did not feel comfortable in their present state.

So they started attending a “seeker” church in town to where she announced that they both felt comfortable to stay in sin! Folks, in the first fellowship of believers they were not just professors of truth they were possessors of it. The Church by God’s design is to be an assembly of saved worshipers pursuing holiness, serving Jesus and each other. In fact we are told that because of this condition of the early Church non-believers were actually afraid to go on false pretences near the true Church because sin was not able to be practiced, (Acts 5:13-14).

Continually devoting themselves: The words here mean “a single mindedness to a set a course of action.”  Not only were they saved they were devotedly faithful and consistent. That is the mark of the true Church of Jesus. It is not to be found in what the church is doing for you, it is rather what we are doing for His kingdom. One Pastor received this letter as a joke but it is all too often true. “Dear Pastor, you often stress the importance of attending Sunday Church service. But I think a person has a right to miss now and then. I’ve come up with a calendar and the times that we all ought to be excused from Sunday Church service.

1 Christmas, 2 death in family, 3 anniversary, 4 New Years, 5 Easter, 6 end of school, 7 July 4th, 8 Labor day, 9 beginning of school, 10 Memorial day, 11 business trips, 12 sickness, 13 unexpected company, 14 vacations, 15 time changes, 16 bad weather, 17 family reunions, 18 sporting events or hobby interests, 19 sleeping in. As you can tell, this recognized days off list adds up to so many Sundays off a year only a couple are left open. So this year we will see you on the 3rd Sunday in August and the 4th Sunday in February unless it is leap year, see you soon! Signed: A Faithful Member! 

The early Church did not come together because it was convenient nor did they come together because it was fun or entertaining. They did not attend based upon how large the youth group was, if they had a staffed Sunday school for each age group, or what their service times were. No, they came to be with those who like them wanted to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus! Oh how we all ought to long for simpler times! You want to know what is sad? The fact is that we will grow larger simply because we will have our own building and meet at a convenient time.

Four things that a “Spirit filled” church does:

Vs. 42b “Apostles doctrine”: Study of the Word of God. The word “doctrine” means teaching and it was to be at the hands of the apostles, thus the need for Bible teachers today. The day the Church was born the Holy Spirit started a school where the Word of God was proclaimed and explained so that all believers were taught. Do you get that? Their newfound experience was to be grounded in the teaching of the Word of God. There is an anti-intellectualism that permeates much of the Church today, but not so in the early Church. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and as Paul would later say to the Church at Rome, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” 

The Spirit filled Church ought to be a place where we come together to study and submit ourselves to the expositional teaching of God’s Word. These folks did not just dabble in the Word of God, they ordered their lives around it. Now remember that the words Continually devoting applies at the beginning of each of these four things. It has well been said that, “A bible that is falling apart usually belongs to a person who isn’t!” There was a single mindedness to a set course of action concerning the coming to hear and apply the teaching of the Word of God. It is a sad thing when most, if not all, of the Churches in our area do not teach through the Bible verse by verse.

Vs. 42c “Fellowship”: Shared with the people of God. The word in the Greek (koinonia) means to have a partnership or shared things in common. Paul uses the same word for collection because it also meant generous. Fifty four times from Rom. to 2 John the phrase “one another” is mentioned in the New Testament. It describes the partnership that we Christians share with Jesus and each other. Folks, fellowship is more than the time we go next door and eat what Carlos and Maria have put out for us. No, they shared what they had in common, Jesus. Or put another way the Spirit filled Church will be one that loves.

And this will be seen two ways:

• Towards God. They continued daily together in the temple and house to House.

• Towards each other. They gladly shared their food and possessions with each other as need arose.

Vs. 42d “Breaking of bread”: Celebrated the work of God. The breaking of bread speaks of the communion or the Lord’s supper. When they got together they remembered the work of Jesus on the cross. Now what this speaks to me is a single heartedness towards who they worshipped, Jesus. Even though they were so close to the time in which Jesus’ work for theirs and our redemption had just been won they never wanted to forget it. Later on we are given a clue of what communion was to mean as Paul explains that it was a time where those that are called by His name examine their own hearts and forsake anything that would hinder their walk with Jesus! 

We are further told five things about what this communion service looked like in verse 46.

Gladness: In other words when they took part in the Lord’s supper they were full of joy!

Simplicity of heart: That is that they were also reverent as well, it was a time of personal reflection.

Temple: It was public as they did this in the temple.

House to house: It was semi-private as they met from house to house.

Daily: Most importantly it was an everyday occurrence as they reflected with joy and gratitude to Jesus whom they owed all to.  

  Vs. 42e “Prayers”: Communicated with the person of God. The early Church prayed according to the promise of God to provide all that they needed to accomplish His purposes in their lives. So the Spirit filled Church will be one that is completely dependent upon the Lord and not their own self-effort.

So there you have what the early Spirit filled church was devoted to, Studying the Word of God, Sharing with the people of God, Celebrating the work of God, Communicating with the person of God. But what impact did that have on them and the world around them?

Four Characteristics of a Spirit filled Church:

Vs. 43 We are told that the Church that is devoted to the four spiritual disciplines above will have an immediate powerful impact upon those around them which will be seen two ways. 

So they would be a POWERFUL Church:

“Then fear came upon every soul.” INWARDLY: The word for fear is “phobos” where we get our word phobia. It refers to a sense of God’s presence which produces a reverent attitude. As a direct result of the practice of the early Church there was a continual feeling of awe upon all that came in contact with the Church both believers and non-believers. The Church’s programs, buildings or any other human ability did not awe them. But rather  the presence of God in the lives of those that professed His name.     

“Many signs and wonders were done through the apostles.” OUTWARDLY: It was a miraculous Church. God was moving through the lives of the apostles in a powerful way and lives were being impacted. The signs and wonders were evidence of the presence of God’s power with His people.

So the Spirit filled Church that practices the Studying the Word of God, Sharing with the people of God, Celebrating the work of God, Communicating with the person of God, Will be a powerful church inwardly and outwardly. Oh to God all that claim to be His Church would be this!

Vs. 44-45 Altogether Common:

Vs. 44-45 Here we learn another characteristic of the early Spirit filled church it was UNITED. And in these two verses before us we see that they were united practically in their care for each other.

         There are some who would look at this passage and try to make it say that the early Church was into “communism”. But clearly that is not what was happening here as these were not communists they were commonists. What’s the difference? Communism says, “What’s yours is mine!” Commonism says, “What’s mine is yours!”

         Furthermore, it was need that brought this about. There were in Jerusalem people from all over the known world and 3000 of them got saved plus those that were being added to the church daily. Many of them lost their jobs, others stayed to be a part of God’s new work. So those who wanted to give up their property and possessions to further God’s work. Now later on we will see that this started a problem that the early church had to address, (Acts 6). And the other Churches in Asia minor were helping out the Church in Jerusalem. Will we ever see this kind of universal Commonism again? Well, I suspect that if the Church in America ever went through the widespread persecution that many others in the world have faced, we might again see all believers coming together and sharing as God has led them.

         So what is it that we can take from these two verses ourselves? Well I think it is great to see believers where the presence of God is so in their lives that He and His people mean far more than their possessions!

Vs. 46-47 Continuing Daily

Vs. 46-47a  Here we see yet another characteristic of the early Spirit filled church, it was a WORSHIPING Church. Look at how this was expressed.

• Daily: They were consistent in their worship.

• One accord: They were united in their worship.

• In the temple … and house to house: They were in constant worship.

• Gladness: They were joyous in their worship

• Simplicity of heart: This word means free from rocks. In other words there was nothing in their hearts to hinder their worship.

That was the goal of the early Spirit filled Church to exalt the Lord in their lives and it was in this that they experienced the greatest amount of joy.

Vs. 47b Now because of all the above they were an EVANGELISTIC Church. 

Now notice how they were evangelistic:

Had favor with all people: It was not evangelistic programs that won and influenced those around them, it was a changed heart. There was no course on evangelism; all they had was those that had known them previously and could see and experience their transformed lives. Evangelism took place as a direct result of lives that were being daily renewed by the continual presence and power of Jesus in their lives.

And the Lord added to the Church daily those who were being saved: Who added to the Church? It was the Lord that did so, not the Church. Folks, we can not add to the Church that is not our job, our job is what we have seen in the four spiritual disciplines in verse 42. Let me again state the obvious; The Lord did not add any to the Church that He did not save and He did not save any that He did not add! So? Well then what right do we have to claim that the Lord has added to His church those that came and are not saved or those that came and are from a Church split? Church growth was constant not based upon someone setting out a sign proclaiming that a revival was going to take place next week.

So what do we see from this? Well Church growth comes from a healthy Church that seeks to Studying the Word of God, Sharing with the people of God, Celebrating the work of God, and Communicating with the person of God.