Vision Series Outreach Message...

Outreach – "Being Each Other's (One Another's) Keepers" sermon from 7/4/10
1 John 3:11-24 & 4:7-12

Vision Statment: "The Wellsburg Reformed Church will ignite a passion for Christ through active worship, education, fellowship, and outreach in our community and surrounding area, resulting in a vibrant church family who will openly love, care, and serve."

Special Music - "This Is How We Know" by Matt Redman

So, this morning we again continue forward in our current sermon series here at Wellsburg Reformed Church. We have been engaging our newly developed vision statement, which was formed by you before I came here. I have been helping us to engage this by using a background passage of Acts 2:42-47 and then jumping off of that into a more specific passage for each Sunday’s series topic in accordance with our vision statement. As another quick recap, we began this series by engaging the prophet Isaiah’s call story where he encountered God in all His holiness, was overcome with humility, then cleansed, and in turn offered himself in worship & service to God. Secondly, we moved on from there and talked about education in the form of love it, teach it, live it in regards to loving God & loving neighbor. Thirdly we talked about our active worship as a body as being the offering of each of ourselves sacrificially in view of God’s great mercy, for that is our spiritual act of worship. Last week then we moved into the topic of fellowship as we engaged how Paul called the Colossian church to live together in such ways that build unity in the body of Christ against ways that dispel unity. Today we enter into our fifth and final specific topic of this series as we talk about outreach, and next week I then hope to wrap everything together to close out the series. As we start, let’s again take out our bulletins and read together our vision statement located there… Let’s then move to Acts 2:42-47 and read and reflect on that briefly before engaging our other Scripture passage for this morning…

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

So our last topic of interest that we want to talk about in relation to our vision statement and also the early church is outreach. What did this early church do in terms of outreach? Well, the main verse that sticks out to me here is, “they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need (vs. 45).” In this sense then, outreach is the action of providing for one another’s needs as a community. As I think about this, I am reminded of the gospel story where Jesus is approached by a wealthy man asking, “How do I inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17-31)?” Jesus’ reply to this man is, “You know the commandments… and He then proceeds to list some of the 10 commandments. The man almost appears to stop Jesus as he speaks (since Jesus only gets through 5 of the commandments) to say, “I have kept all these since my youth.” As Jesus hears this he replies, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” Upon hearing this, the man goes away in great grief in his heart because of his many possessions.

So, what happened here? Jesus cut him to the heart. The gospel passage says that Jesus looked at him and loved him and then said, there is still one thing lacking. Jesus looked deep into his heart and as the man heard Jesus’ instruction he was grieved for he felt the weight of Jesus’ command to give of everything he had and then follow Him. So what was the difference between this man and those of the early church who in Acts 2 seem to give of their possessions so easily and freely? If you recall, they too were cut to the heart. I brought this up in our initial message of this series when I talked about having a passion ignited by God for Christ and the gospel. Isaiah in his call story was cut to the heart in sight of God’s holiness and God responded by cleansing him to which Isaiah then responded by offering himself in worship and service. The people of the early church had just heard Peter give a rousing speech indicating exactly who Jesus was and the peoples’ part in crucifying Him. They realized what Jesus had done on their behalf in giving all of Himself for them and they were cut to the heart because they had all played a part in crucifying Him.

Upon hearing Peter’s message, Acts 2:37 says that the people were cut to the heart and they then asked, what shall we do? Peter responded to this that they should repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so that [their] sins may be forgiven; and [they would] receive the Holy Spirit. And later in vs. 41 it says that those who accepted Peter’s message were baptized, about three thousand of them were added to the church. This is what we need today! We need to realize the grace and love of God the Father in Jesus Christ in our hearts and then respond in repentance, receiving the Holy Spirit. For when we experience Christ’s love in His dying on the cross and our repentance as we are forgiven and cleansed and welcomed into the body, we cannot help but give of ourselves away for the one who gave Himself away for us. Being cut to the heart and renewed in the forgiveness and cleansing of Christ changes everything! That’s what the man who approached Jesus needed to know and experience, the grace & love of God and the forgiveness & cleansing of Jesus Christ. Know that these are yours this day. Embrace them! And may our hearts be changed to give of ourselves as Jesus did for us!

So, I’ve already said a lot this morning, but I want to take us to another passage yet, and that is I John 3:11-24 & 4:7-12. Turn with me in your Bibles and let’s see what this passage has to say to us…
11 For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. 16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 19 And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; 22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us…
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

So, I take you here to the first epistle ascribed to the Apostle (and disciple) John to talk about outreach. It’s somewhat of a long section of Scripture and it seems pretty straight forward. The message in it is to love one another. This is what I believe outreach is all about; being vessels of God’s love in our love for one another. And when I say one another I don’t just mean those of us here, but really everyone we might come into contact with, for God’s love extends, or reaches out, to all (go over to the cross and extend arms out wide, symbolizing the outreach of God’s love in Christ’s outstretched arms).

Being Each Others’ Keepers in Contrast to Cain’s Action Towards his Brother, Abel (“Am I my brother’s keeper?—Gen 4:9):
So, what does the Apostle John say about loving one another? Well, first he takes us back; back to Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve. If you recall the story, both Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord. Abel’s offering was highly regarded of by the Lord and Cain’s wasn’t, for Abel had brought the first-fruits of his flock. At this Cain becomes angry, his face falls downcast, and he gives into sin and kills his brother, Abel. The next part of the story is what links it to John’s message in his letter. God comes to Cain and asks, “Where is your brother, Abel?” To which Cain responds, “I don’t know; am I my brother’s keeper?” That’s it! Did you hear it? Cain responds, “am I my brother’s keeper?” and while he felt justified in his sin, the answer to his question is actually, yes! We are to LOVE one another! Think about it in this way, how many times have you looked at a brother or sister in need and yet refused to help? You may feel justified in your refusal because you may be unaware of what you could do, or the person(s) may have done something foolish that has landed them in their present predicament. But John says here, we are each others’ keepers! Moreover, when we love one another the passage says, we pass from death to life. In Jesus’ death He conquered death and rose to life. Loving one another tends to have a contagious effect. In giving of ourselves for another we both receive life. If we do nothing, nothing is gained by anyone. Therefore, brothers & sisters, we must love one another for we have been undeservedly loved by the Father who loved us first in Jesus Christ His Son! Or in John’s words, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.”

Love in Truth & Action:
John goes on from this concept of being each others’ keepers and says this, “let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” Now this sentence hits me pretty hard, for what am I doing right now? I am loving you in word and speech. And I have to ask myself, is that the only way I am loving you, or are my actions following suit as well? I think this is the question we all must ask of ourselves; how are we loving one another? It’s easy to say I love you, but to act in love, that requires something more. I can tell my wife and daughter I love them, but when my actions also proclaim my love they give a truer witness to my love. Now this reminds me of a love song I know of from sometime in the 80’s called “More Than Words” by the band Extreme. Is anyone else here familiar with this song?… I actually own it on a Monster Ballads CD. I am not sure I should have just admitted that I was an 80’s big-hair band fan (oh well)… But the song has the right idea. It says, “More than words, is all you have to do to make it real. Then you wouldn’t have to say, that you love me, cause I’d already know.” When we love one another with more than words we make it real. Jesus loved with more than just words. He was the Word of God incarnate, but He also loved in truth & action as He sacrificed Himself for us on the cross.

John goes onto say then, “And by this (loving in truth & action) we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before Him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts and He knows everything.” What John is saying here is that, our loving in truth and action gives testimony of our love for one another, and therefore when we might be in doubt about our love for each other our loving in truth and action gives testimony that our love is real.

John then goes and makes a pretty bold claim in light of our testimony of love to one another as he says, “Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we obey His commandments and do what pleases Him.” In our love for one another out of our faith in Jesus Christ we can have full confidence in God for we will be obeying His commandments which are “that we should believe in the name of [God’s] Son Jesus Christ and love one another (vs. 23-24).” In this we abide in God and He in us, and we know this by His Spirit in us.

Why We Should Love One Another in the First Place; because God First Loved Us (vs. 7-12):
So, our last set of verses from 4:7-12 sums it up. Let us love one another, because love is from God & God is love. Our testimony of God is in our love. In a moment, Sue is going to share a song with us entitled “This Is How We Know” that is by the Christian contemporary artist Matt Redman (the words are on an insert in your bulletins so can follow along). The opening lines of the song say, “This is how we know what love is, just one look at your cross. And this is where we see how love works, for you surrendered your all. This is how we know that God loved us first, and it is where we choose to love Him in return.” Brothers & sisters, because God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another! And verse 12 is important too, because as we love, God’s love is perfected in us, and people see God.

Vision Series Education Message...

Education—The Shema: "Love it, Teach it, Live it!" sermon from 6/13/10
Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Vision Statement: "The Wellsburg Reformed Church will ignite a passion for Christ through active worship, education, fellowship, and outreach in our community and surrounding area, resulting in a vibrant church family who will openly love, care, and serve."

Well, this morning we move into the second sermon of our current series on our newly developed vision statement here at Wellsburg Reformed Church. Actually, if you look at our vision statement you might notice that we are going slightly out of order. I had originally intended to lead a service today on the topic of Active Worship, however I have some different things in mind for that service and it needs another week for it all to be pulled together. Besides, after today’s service during coffee fellowship there is a S.S. & Catechism meeting scheduled so jumping ahead to the topic of Education does seem to fit for this morning as well.

Before moving forward then, I would like to share a quick statement I came across from Rick Warren, Pastor and author of Purpose Driven Life. A quote of his that I read this past week says, “Christlikeness is [our] eventual destination, but [our] journey will last a lifetime. This journey involves believing (through worship), belonging (through fellowship), and becoming (through discipleship).” This is the journey we are all on together and this morning’s message will venture into the becoming portion of that journey as we talk about education & discipleship.

As we journey along together then, if you recall last Sunday, I introduced everything and took us into our first message of the series as I talked about a passion ignited for God and His Gospel in the world. Our vision statement talks about a passion being ignited through certain things in God’s people and our community, but I wanted to begin by talking about how God instills a passion for Him and His Gospel in us first before we turn around and love Him back in the ways that follow in the remainder of our vision statement. I talked about the blessing and the grace we have in the Lord of Hosts, to know Him and be saved unto Him in Jesus Christ His Son, the Lord and Messiah! This morning then we’ll move forward and talk about one of our responses to this blessing and grace we have in the Lord of Hosts as we explore the topic of Education. Before jumping in, let’s quickly start by reading our vision statement and also our overarching Scripture passage for our current series (Acts 2:42-47)… Open your bulletins and read along with me…

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

So, these people of the early church had definitely built up a reputation for themselves. People were added to their number daily and they had the goodwill of everyone. They devoted themselves to certain practices and disciplines, and their hearts were filled with warmth and gladness in their days. Sounds like a great community, and a good one to emulate.

The first thing that this passage says that the people devoted themselves to then is the Apostles’ teaching. The Apostles (at least the initial ones), if you recall were the 11 Disciples of Jesus minus Judas, along with a 12th person who replaced Judas. The purpose of the Apostles is given in Acts 1:22, which was to be a witness to Jesus Christ’s resurrection. The initial Apostles were made up of people who had had direct contact with Jesus while he lived on the earth and experienced His life and teachings, during all the time that Jesus went in and out among [them,] beginning from [His] baptism of John until the day when He was taken up from [them] (vs. 1:21-22). Because of this direct relationship and witness with Jesus Christ there were none better than they to guide the early church. Therefore then, in order to find out what the Apostles’ teaching was, one must look to Jesus and what He stood for and sought to instill into them that they could then be an example and witness to. What then did Jesus come to represent? Well, in Matthew 5:17 Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Also, upon being asked by an expert in the Law what is the greatest commandment? Jesus replied in Matthew 22:34-40 by saying, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” These verses tell us at least some of what Jesus was about during His time on earth. To take us into our topic of education this morning, I want to take us back to the Law & the Prophets and this Greatest Commandment, back to where they originally stemmed from. And to do that we’ll look at what has been a traditionally well-known Scripture (at least in Judaism & Hebrew culture) found in Deuteronomy 6:1-9. Open your Bibles and follow along as we go there now…

Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that the Lord your God charged me (Moses) to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, 2 so that you and your children and your children’s children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

So, I take us back to this Scripture in Deuteronomy, what’s known as the second book of the Law (Deuteronomy means, second). In chapter 5 of Deuteronomy the people have just revisited the 10 Commandments as they are about to cross over into the Land promised to them and their ancestors by the Lord. These commandments are to be carried, passed along among them, in order to instill in the people the fear of the Lord (not fear as in being scared of God, but as revering God) and to make their days long and prosperous. These commandments are important. On them are the basis of all the Law & the Prophets. They are what Jesus was referring to as He answered the expert in the Law with “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength… And love your neighbor as yourself.” Did you hear an echo as I read that between the Greatest Commandment and this passage from Deuteronomy? If you look at the 10 Commandments, the first 4 have to do with God and our love and respect for Him, and the final 6 have to do with our relations to other people and our love and respect for them. Our lives are to encompass love for God and love of neighbor. That is the journey we embark upon as we grow in Christlikeness. As we also saw before reading our main Scripture passage for this morning, Jesus at one time said, “I have not come to abolish the Law & the Prophets, but to fulfill them.” Jesus did not come bringing anything new with the purpose of throwing out the old. No, He stood as the fulfillment of everything before Him in the Law & the Prophets of the OT and was continuing to live out, carry through, and pass along that to His followers.

The second part of our Scripture passage for this morning is, like I said, a traditionally well-known passage. It is known to those in Judaism and Hebrew culture of old as The Shema. Shema in Hebrew means, to hear, and it represents the first word of verse 4 where it says, Hear, O Israel,… This section of Scripture (verses 4-9) actually became a prayer, or something those in Judaism or Hebrew culture devoted themselves to (even to this day) remembering and reciting it multiple times per day; when they get up in the morning and before they go to bed and at other moments of their day. I, along with my classmates, was required to memorize this passage in Hebrew for Hebrew class in seminary, and even I began reciting it to myself throughout my days and have grown quite fond of it.

Those in Hebrew culture also took this passage quite literally in their day, especially the parts of “Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” It became tradition in Hebrew culture to bind small, box-like structures to one another’s wrists, foreheads, houses, and gates as a sign of living this passage out. This shows quite devotion. I mean, imagine how silly they looked. I guess it probably wouldn’t be so silly with multiple other people doing it, and also with the fact that such things were practiced to show their love and respect to their Lord. We do things like this still today in our culture as well. We wear symbols to declare things like we’re married, or we’re Christians (with crosses around our necks, or things on our cars, etc), or that we’re fond of certain people or groups/organizations. These symbols and things are all well and good, but what makes them even better is that you don’t just wear them on the outside, but if you also learn to where them on the inside, where they become a part of your very essence and who you are. They become things you live out and act within. This is what I believe is a deeper meaning to this passage. It tells us to keep these Commandments on our hearts. It describes them as becoming a part of everything we do and everything thing we are. This doesn’t happen all at once. We need to be guided, led, taught in becoming Christ like. This is a common goal and bond we all share together in Christ, and we each have an important role to play in each other’s becoming.

This takes us into then what I mainly want us to get out of this passage in regards to education this morning. More specifically, it’s described in the title to this message as Love It, Teach It, Live It! Each one of these three things is an important aspect of the journey, our becoming, and the becoming of others in our community of faith as well. In this way in regards to education or teaching and passing along certain beliefs, practices, principles, guidelines, etc to one another… It’s not about just teaching these things because they are good and wholesome, but our goal should be to teach it, out of our love for it and each other, as we all strive to ultimately live it.

This is the calling in the shema in regards to the commandments and the Law & the Prophets. To first of all, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. This is a loving of the Lord your God with everything you are and have. Not half-heartedly or lukewarm, but with all your heart, all your soul (actually means your whole being), and all your might. This is a love that stems from what I spoke about last week; knowing the Lord of Hosts and our salvation unto Him in Jesus Christ. How does one grow and cultivate their love for another? I think of this in terms of dating or romantic relationships. You pursue one another; woo one another. In the Bible we learn that God in His great love and mercy is always calling out to us, pursuing & wooing us, drawing us to Him. As we in turn draw near to Him, we collide in our pursuits for one another, making our love grow even stronger. In terms of a marriage, or being a Christian as well, it’s easy to stop pursuing one another at some point (i.e. when the “honeymoon” is over) leading to the passion/fire fizzling out. This is what makes prayer & devotions, acting/living out in love to one another (in obedience and showing God’s love to others) so important, and rewarding. They lead and keep us in a strong love relationship with the Lord our God. If we are lax, our love can fizzle and we miss out on what we could have, or had.

This then is the place from which we move into the next concept of this morning in, Teach it! The best way to teach anything is out of a love for it! As a way of expressing and guiding others in something you deeply care about. First of all in this, one needs to be diligent in cultivating their love as I just described so that it can help them teach. In thinking about this, the recently late coach and teacher John Wooden comes to mind. Over this past week and a half or so I have read up on him some and have seen many tributes to him on television (since the main thing I watch is ESPN) and I think I can say what was evident about him was that he loved and cared deeply for what he stood for/believed in (he was a man of faith) and he deeply loved/cared for those he had the opportunity to coach and teach in such things. In this coach Wooden held certain life principles in his heart. He recited them to many and kept always before even himself! That’s what it means in our passage when it says, “Recite them (the commandments) to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.” They become things you live, and weave, and keep before yourself in everything. In this teaching and learning isn’t just done in church or in the school. It’s also done in the home, really wherever you are, whatever’s before you, and whatever you’re doing. John Wooden coined his own “Pyramid of Success” and many know him for his many quotes referring to basketball and life. In these things his witness and example went far beyond just basketball and sports, but reached many others outside these realms as well. Teaching out of a love for what we are teaching as well as a love for others, and continuing to cultivate that love in the process, only enhances your witness.

Finally then, the last concept of this morning is, Live it! This is what the rest of our passage for this morning speaks of. The passage closes by saying, “Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” As I said before, Jews & Hebrews of old have taken these lines quite literally, but what if instead of only ascribing these things to our hands, foreheads, houses, and gates, we would also strive to allow them to sink further in than just skin deep? As I began to get into above then, these things aren’t just written on the surface level of ourselves, but they become embodied and our hands, minds, houses/families, and cities/communities become examples/witnesses to the ways of the Lord our God. This too only enhances our witness because as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. It’s like what St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Always preach the Gospel, when necessary use words.”

So today I’ve used a little phrase to help guide us in our journey’s towards becoming more and more like Christ in our Christian discipleship. Love it, Teach it, Live it! It sounds rather simple, although it’s not. But may we devote ourselves to it, and may the Lord bless us and keep us in it, until the day He finally calls us home.

First Vision Series Message...

This message ends abruptly because I somehow lost the complete copy of the final manuscript after the fact. I still wanted to share it because I like a lot of what is here. Please forgive the incompleteness...

"Intro & Passion Ignited" sermon from 6/6/10
Isaiah 6:1-8

Call to Worship—Psalm 113

Well, for a next series of sorts going forward, I would like to begin this morning and the weeks following by breaking down our current (& recently developed) vision statement here at Wellsburg Reformed Church. I have spent some time reflecting on our current vision statement through my months of candidating to come here as your next pastor and in these initial weeks since I have started. I have had a few meetings, read some summaries of vision committee proceedings, and spent time meditating on God’s Word and in prayer about how God might guide us in these things. I want to begin the process of this vision statement becoming a part of us and exploring how we can live into it. These next weeks won’t be completely exhaustive, but I hope it will at least be a good start and can carry us forward.

Let’s start this morning then by going to our vision statement. Open your bulletins and follow along as I read it… "The Wellsburg Reformed Church will ignite a passion for Christ through active worship, education, fellowship, and outreach in our community and surrounding area, resulting in a vibrant church family who will openly love, care, and serve."
That’s a good statement I think. There is quite a bit there and I believe it’s put together well. What I would like to do is use an overarching Scripture passage and then break down certain pieces of this statement with other Scripture passages that speak a little more into them. The overarching Scripture passage that comes to my mind is what’s often described as the fellowship of the believers’/early church passage in Acts 2:42-47. Let me read it to you now…
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

In looking at this passage, I think this is a good place to start and a good overarching passage because, well this is the practice of the early church; the church from which all churches today find their foundation/beginning in. Also, I believe I see each of the main elements mentioned in our vision statement in this passage. There are four main things mentioned in our vision statement; worship, education, fellowship, & outreach. These things are found here in how it is said that, they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship. In how they broke bread and prayed together, were in great awe of God, witnessed wonders and signs, had a common bond, served each other in one another’s needs, and spent time together throughout their weeks. Lastly it is said in this passage then that, those who were being saved were added to their community daily. This is an amazing thing, and an awe-inspiring thing. This is what the church can be like and what we can strive for.

How does this begin then? Well, a passion must be ignited. Our vision statement talks about a passion being ignited through these things in God’s people and the community, but there also needs to be a spark that starts it all in the first place. We don’t just embark upon this in and of ourselves. There’s something behind it; a reason for it and a guiding force. That’s what I want to start with this morning. How does God grab ahold of us and give us a passion for Him and His Church? To help us explore that, listen to this account in Isaiah 6:1-8… (recite from memory)
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”


Ok, now before going too much further, let’s try to take in what Isaiah saw… Can you imagine being somewhere in worship to God; maybe in a room, or in church, or some secluded place, and witnessing what is described here take place? We don’t know exactly where Isaiah is when he has this experience. It’s often assumed that he is in the temple, but the passage doesn’t completely say that. God is not contained by structures, rooms, etc, but He does show up in them. Imagine seeing what Isaiah saw. Imagine being suddenly entranced and seeing the Lord, high & lofty and sitting on a throne with the hem of His robe filling the temple (his splendor filling it all). He then saw angelic beings, each with six wings; two covering their faces, two covering their feet, and with two they flew. In this way they served in the presence of the Lord with great reverence and honor in all their proceedings. They worshipped the Lord as well singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” And if that wasn’t enough, at this call/pronouncement, suddenly the thresholds shook and the room filled with smoke. Wow, what a magnificent site! To this Isaiah can’t help but be completely put at awe and come face-to-face with his unworthiness and sin!

Wow, what a magnificent account! What an awesome story! Let’s take a look at some of the other things that were going on at the time of this story as well. The account opens by saying, “In the year king Uzziah died…” King Uzziah became king at 16 years of age and reigned in Judah for 52 years. Uzziah was a pretty reputable king in that it is recorded that he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord (II Kings 15 & II Chron. 26). Sometime towards the end of his reign, however, Uzziah acted out in pride, which in turn led to his downfall. Uzziah was infected with leprosy and lost his ability to govern for he now had to stay in a separate house away from the people. His son Jotham governed the people until his death and then succeeded him thereafter. Isaiah became prophet of the Lord towards the end of King Uzziah’s reign. King Uzziah was the first king he served as prophet. Not only was king Uzziah unfaithful to God towards the end of his reign, the state of Judah itself appeared bleak as well. They had experienced some great prestige & peace under Uzziah, but this basically served as a veneer that covered a nation that had turned their hearts and worship to other gods. In the midst of some prosperity their spiritual condition was not healthy and now their king of 52 years had too been unfaithful to God and was infected with a grave disease and died. As Isaiah said in the presence of the Lord, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips…,” he felt lost, and I am sure Judah felt lost in their present state.

This background makes what Isaiah saw even that much greater! Isaiah felt like all was lost and in ruins, in his heartache he felt, what was going to become of him and of Judah? And it was then that he saw the Lord in all His splendor and majesty. Isaiah in his and Judah’s unrest sees God still seated on His throne, and being worshipped and adored. People on earth may have been recalling the shame of their times and King Uzziah’s death as a leper, but there was no shame or shadow of failure in heaven. Rather there was peace; there was worship; there was a profound holiness (holiness to the 3rd degree implying completeness) amidst it all. In Isaiah’s bleak outlook, he looked up and the view from heaven was that the whole earth was filled with the glory of God.

You see, it is this that was must discover in our times as well. No matter the situation, no matter the circumstance, God is on His throne! There isn’t an ounce of chaos in heaven, and God is in control.

Isaiah then sees the thresholds shake and the room filled with smoke and he is led to lay his lostness and uncleanness of himself and his people out before the great Lord of hosts (which basically means the Lord of all, of everything, God Almighty over all). Isaiah has been brought into the great presence of the Lord and all His splendor and he can’t help but notice in the face of this as well his own unworthiness. And then God does something even more glorious as one of the Seraphs flies to Isaiah with a live coal in hand and purifies him of his guilt and sin. You see, this is the amazing thing of it all… Not only is God great and glorious and worthy of praise and honor in his magnificent splendor, but on top of this He offers grace and forgiveness and makes us clean! He goes above and beyond his call of duty as King and Lord Supreme of all the universe and bestows His love and His grace upon people of the earth.

There is no way people on the earth are worthy of all this. Isaiah doesn’t deserve to be brought into the presence of the Lord, let alone be forgiven and cleansed, made new. I am not sure we understand the weight of all this today. I believe in our culture today we have in many ways lost a sense of this holiness and reverence. We don’t treat people in our day with this much respect & honor (and not that we necessarily should). We treat people today as more on an even-playing field. But imagine yourself in just who you are being invited to be in the presence of the president or a king. Usually it’s only certain people that get to visit such people or people that have achieved something. Imagine being in their presence knowing you are not worthy and that you have done something horribly wrong against them that they are fully aware of. Then, in all of this, as if being specifically invited to be before them wasn’t enough, this person forgives you for whatever you have done. It doesn’t matter what it was and your previous status before being invited to see him is wiped out and you are redeemed. That’s what happens to Isaiah here. God not only opens Himself up before him and places Isaiah in His glorious presence, He also bestows upon him grace and clean slate upon which to serve Him. THAT IS AMAZING!

It is in response to all this then that Isaiah is inspired, he is so moved and amazed that he offers himself in service to the Lord of Hosts. He hears the question from on high, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And he has the audacity to answer, “Here I am, send me!” Isaiah could have let one of the angelic beings respond, but in his vision and his cleansing he is given new life, he is redeemed, he has witnessed the power & majesty and grace of the Lord of Hosts and he enlists himself in His service.

And this is not unlike what the people present in Acts 2 experienced upon their conversion and joining of the early church (vs. 37-41). Looking at the verses leading up to our overarching passage of Acts 2:42-47 there are some amazing happenings that end with an enlisting in worship and service of thousands of people to the Lord of Hosts! Acts 2 tells about the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon those present in flaming tongues of fire and when the Apostle Peter addresses the crowd with a rousing message detailing the work of God in Jesus Christ the Messiah…