A Snapshot of a Healthy Church - Acts 4:32-37

A Snapshot of a Healthy Church

Acts 4:32-37

Introduction: We had a colleague with our mission that we met when we were appointed and who was on the field with us during our first year or two in Brazil who we called “our Barnabas.”  She was constantly looking for ways to encourage others.  She lived in a tiny apartment, but she was hospitable, she genuinely seemed to care how you were doing, she would always have an encouraging word.  When she returned to the US we missed her on our team!

Barnabas is introduced here in the book of Acts, in the context of this summary paragraph at the end of chapter 4 that focuses on the church as unified, healthy and growing.  We’ll learn quickly as we move into chapter 5 that it was not a perfect church!  Have you ever heard it said, “If you find a perfect church don’t join it, you’ll ruin it!”  Well, you know better, there are no perfect churches!  But so far in the Book of Acts, Dr. Luke has been painting a picture that emphasizes the positive; he is showing us what God is doing. The only “fly in the ointment” has been the pressure that has come from the outside, specifically from the Jewish leadership.

The passage we turn to today, at the end of Acts 4, serves as a snapshot of a healthy church: united, gospel centered, radically generous, using their gifts for the edification of the saints and for carrying out their mission. What we see here is a historical report of what happened then and there, but it was intentionally included by the inspiration of God as a message for the church in every age. We’ll need to ask whether the kind of radical sharing we see in these early chapters of Acts is a model for today. If not, what principles apply to our day?  I think we’ll see in this passage that…

The Big Idea: The unity of the church will manifest itself in radical generosity as we work together to meet needs and carry out our mission.

I. A Healthy Church is a United Church (v.32). “Now the full number [the multitude] of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.”

       The “multitude” of those who believed – “The full number of those who believed…” This phrase indicates that the church had continued to grow, to the extent that it could now be described as  a “multitude.” That idea is almost a refrain that echoes through the book of Acts, Jesus is building His church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. He is working, and He is working through us, to carry out His mission, our commission, and the promise is that some will continue to turn to the narrow way, that ultimately a remnant from every tribe and nation will come to faith!

They were a unified body, “…of one heart and soul…” A unified body, a church that agreed on its mission, that recognized God’s grace in their lives, that genuinely loved one another and shared in each other’s lives. This sounds like the language of the New Covenant that we read about in the Old Testament prophets. Jeremiah for example wrote the Word of the Lord,

“I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.  ⁴⁰ I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me” (Jer 32:39,40).

If the prophet was talking about God’s design for the church, the implication is that this is normal, healthy, Christianity. Remember the words of the psalmist, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!”  And yet, too often, our old nature would cause us to look for reasons to divide!  After our small group meeting Thursday night a certain brother in the group, we’ll call him Jon, told the story of a guy ship wrecked, alone on an island. Finally, after a number of years, rescuer arrived.  They were surprised when  they saw that he had constructed three buildings on the island.  “What are the three buildings?” they asked. He replied, “Well, that one is my home, and that one is my church.”  They were puzzled and asked, “And the third?” He replied, “Well, that’s the church I used to go to!”

       Unity that impacts our wallet – They had “…all things in common…” The word common, koinos, is of course related to the word koinonia, which we know, “fellowship, communion, sharing.” Here it has that kind of sense, “What’s mine is yours [because it is His!]”. We see a community committed to radical sharing, that really viewed themselves as stewards and acted as though they really believed it all belonged to God. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…”  Because I am afraid that I could become a respecter of persons, I prefer not to know who gives and how much.  That’s probably too bad since our giving is a barometer of sorts of where we are spiritually.  I’ve heard it said that our check book may be the best indicator of where our heart really is.  These believers were so committed to Jesus and to His mission that the large majority seemed to be truly cheerful givers.  It seems to me that we have here a community of Christ followers, grounded in the Word, who treasure God as supremely valuable, proclaiming the riches of His grace to the world! [If that sounds familiar, it is our vision statement at BBC!].That is a healthy church.  The unity of the church will manifest itself in radical generosity as we work together to meet needs and carry out our mission.

II. A Healthy Church shares a powerful message (v.33). “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.”

        Gospel centered preaching – Last Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, but in truth that historical fact is at the heart of the Gospel. We know that the Gospel is truly good news because Jesus conquered death, He arose!  The resurrection proved that Jesus is who He claimed to be. Paul opens his letter to the Romans saying…

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,  ² which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,  ³ concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh  ⁴ and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord…” (Rom 1:1-4).

Remember Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be witnesses to me…”  Here it says the apostles were giving their testimony of the resurrection “with great power.” The indwelling Spirit enabled them and emboldened them. Despite the threats of the leadership, the apostles are preaching the historical facts about Jesus, including His death and resurrection.  Friends, the same Holy Spirit indwells believers today. You are the Temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you!” Recognize His presence, yield to His prompting, obey His call to give testimony to what God has done in you through Christ.

        A Grace centered community – God’s unmerited favor – they recognized it, they understood that the blessing of life that they had in Christ was “of Him.”  Paul was warning the Corinthians against spiritual pride, and asked rhetorically, “For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (I Cor 4:7). The more we understand that doctrine of Grace, the more we will be moved to a proper humility, heart felt worship, joyful service, and yes, an attitude of stewardship that moves us toward radical generosity.  You see, we are one, and the unity of the church will manifest itself in radical generosity as we work together to meet needs and carry out our mission.

III. A Healthy Church is radically generous, focused together on the Kingdom (34-35). “There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold  ³⁵ and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”

       First of all, let’s notice what this passage doesn’t say, as well as what it does say. “There was not a needy person among them…” The term “needy” referred to the basic needs of life. To be needy was to be destitute. Do we sometimes have difficulty separating needs from wants?  I do!  There is no basis here for some kind of Christian communism.  Nor, is this a call for a redistribution of wealth, taking from the rich giving to the poor, a Christianized welfare state.  As the context continues into chapter 5, it is clear that the giving was spontaneous, and that the resources were under the control of the people that had them, that is, the giving was the choice of the givers.

As we read this in the context of Acts we see periodic acts of radical generosity like this, not under compulsion or out of necessity, but it seems to be motivated by an attitude of stewardship with a commitment to focus on God and his Kingdom.

       1. We sometimes get so focused on our comfort and security that we forget that we were created for something infinitely greater than this present evil world. Life is short. None of this is going to last. Then what? “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him!” (I Cor 2:9). We are created for eternity!

        2. Since we can’t take any of it with us, it should be self evident that we need to regard ourselves as stewards of what has been entrusted to us.  Paul said, “It is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.” Though I think the principle of a “tithe” is a good starting place for our giving, we need to recognize that God is just as interested in how we use the other 90%!

       3. I think we need to note that stewardship is not just a matter of money.  The picture here is of a church that was committed to radically sharing in each other’s lives. That means being willing to share our time with others. Time is precious, we have only 168 hours a week, we need to sleep, we need to work, what will we do with the rest?  Many of you give some of those hours to serving others in the ministries of the church, in hosting or participating in a small group, in having others over for food and fellowship, some cut firewood or deliver meals to people in need, or visit those who are homebound.

       Twice in this context it’s stated that the proceeds from the sale were laid at the apostles, feet, and apparently they were entrusted with the distribution.  We know in Chapter 6 this responsibility would soon be delegated to others.  I don’t want to push this too far, but I think we see a principle here of working together, through the church. We are not a bunch of lone rangers running in our own directions. Rather, we are a family, a team, a body that has been brought together by God. In terms of meeting needs in the family, of showing Christ to the community, and carrying out the mission that we have been entrusted with, we can do what we are here for more effectively and with greater accountability and support together.  It doesn’t mean that God won’t put it on our hearts to individually support works. Mary Ann and I have several missionaries that we support on a monthly basis. But I think we need to be committed first of all to working through the church.  That means supporting the budget of the church, including the missionaries to whom we have committed support. Can we do more together?  We have at its core a congregational form of church government, based essentially on the reformation idea of the priesthood of believers. We believe that God leads us, as a body, in carrying out his mission.  When Paul and Barnabas are burdened to go out on the first missionary journey in Acts 13, they don’t simply pack their bags and go. The Holy Spirit speaks to the assembled believers, who recognize His call and leading, and send them out.

Jason recently took a trip to Boston to visit Torly Krua who was here with Paul Bothwell at our missions conference. Jason raised the question as to whether we as a church had ever thought about a partnership with an inner city church?  And with respect to foreign missions we’ve had a lot missions trips going on but is it time to look again into working toward a trip as a church where we could go and work together?  This would mean many of us digging deeper, either financially, or in terms of committing time, but if we do it together, we could certainly make more of an impact. We are His, and this is His work. Are we willing to ask what He would have us to do? Together? The unity of the church will manifest itself in radical generosity as we work together to meet needs and carry out our mission.

IV. A Healthy Church is composed of people who choose to use their gifts and their resources for the edification and encouragement of others (36-37). “Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,  ³⁷ sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.”

       After stating a general principal of what was going on the church, Luke turns to a couple of examples. One, which we’ll look at next week, reminds us that churches aren’t perfect, that is, we still fall short in terms of our motives and our actions.  Yes, “If you find a perfect church don’t join it, you’ll ruin it!”  But don’t worry, none of them were perfect before you or I showed up!  Jesus is our model, our example, the One that we strive to follow and imitate.

       Here in Acts 4, Luke holds up the example of a fellow Christ-follower named Joseph, also called “Barnabas” i.e., “Son of Encouragement.”  We’ll see him enter the story of Acts at some strategic moments, always being a reconciler, a peacemaker, an encourager.  As I said earlier, when we first went to Brazil we had a colleague named Terri that we called our “Barnabas”.  The truth is, she was not only a “Barnabas” to us, she seemed to be a person committed to encouraging others. Have you ever known a Barnabas? I don’t mean someone with that name, I mean someone who was given to encouragement, who seemed committed to be looking for opportunities to encourage and comfort and console people, speaking words that edify rather than those that tear down?  If you have known such a person, it is likely that you will never forget them.  Rather than fostering division or a selfish agenda, they don’t look out for their own personal interests, but rather look out for the interests of others. Remember the acrostic J.O.Y.? Jesus first, others second, yourself last. That is what it means to be a Barnabas.

What is God saying to me in this passage? The unity of the church will manifest itself in radical generosity as we work together to meet needs and carry out our mission.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Would anyone call you a “Barnabas”?   I don’t mean to ask if you’ve sold a piece of land and given it to the Lord’s work, but do you seek to be one who edifies and encourages others?  We’ve said a lot about the “one another” statements in the New Testament, and again we see the principle surface here. We are designed for community, we need each other. Our gifts, our talents, our abilities, our resources, even our time, all that has been entrusted to us, we are stronger together, we can do more together, we can learn from each other, iron sharpens iron! We can hold each other accountable and provoke each other to love and good works. Honestly, when it comes to football we might be armchair quarterbacks, but when it comes to Christianity, this is not a spectator sport. Nor should we take the ball and think we can run with it just fine without being part of the team.  Just as we are wrong if we think we don’t need to learn and worship together, that we can do just fine by reading our Bible home alone, it seems to me that God would have us work together to carry out our mission.

        Personally, I am encouraged by the kind of sharing that I see in this body of believers. I know we have a Deacons’ fund that we seek to use to help others. I know how we’ve worked together to improve and maintain our building so that we can more effectively use our building and grounds for worship and for equipping the saints. As the elders have looked through the list of the those who have committed themselves to membership, almost all that are able are involved in some kind of ministry or committee or outreach in the church or through the church. Be encouraged, and be diligent, continually asking, am using what God has given me, my gifts, my resources, my time, in the way that would be pleasing to Him?  The church is God’s design, and if you know Him, you are an indispensable part of His church.   Think about that.  AMEN.