Title: The Church We Dream of (Acts 2)
content n style=line-height:160%>
The Church We Dream of (Acts 2:41-47) 2002.01.20.
happy religious life
Everyone is looking for a church in their utopia. But the ideal church will not exist on this earth. Why? This is because the church is a gathering of those who profess to be sinners and those who are weak. If you look at the most difficult parts of your life of faith, it seems that the difficulties that come from within are more than those that come from the outside. It is that there are more cases of difficulties in the life of faith because of the things that happen among the members of the church rather than the trials that come from outside the church. When God established the church, he did not give it to suffer from obstacles in our religious life through this church, but to live happily and blessedly through this church. Then, why do we have to live a life of faith that suffers rather than happiness and receives curses rather than receiving blessings through the church that gave us happiness? How do I live a life of faith?
Today's text shows the saints full of joy and vitality. Even in the midst of persecution, there are images of believers who are moved and have power in their lives. Even if there is no church in this ideal world, there is a church that longs for a church like this in history. That is the early church in Jerusalem mentioned in today's text.
Even though the church in today's text is a new church, it shows to many people that the church is like this. What kind of church is the early Jerusalem church coming out today? It is broadly divided into 10 characteristics.
1) It was a church that was called and saved from a rebellious generation and taught and learned the Word./40,41,42
2) It was a church that specifically fellowshipped with each other as it was taught. / Verses 42, 44 (being together, common)
3) It was a church that made every effort to gather for worship at church and at home./42,46
4) It was a church devoted to prayer./42
5) It was a church dedicated to serving./45
6) It was a church that was zealous for praise./47
7) It was a church that did its best in evangelism.
8) It was a church with healing power./43
9) It has become a church that is praised by all the people./47
10) And it has become a church with more and more people being saved every day./47
Today, God wants a church like this. Our church must become such a church, and we must become such people. It is not a church that fights when we gather and looks bad when we disperse. It is not a theater church. There are churches where you can watch worship services and listen to sermons just like going to a theater. It is not a church like a school. It is not a place to study and test the people, cities, events, and histories of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments to earn licenses, nor is it a church like a department store. It's not even a place to showcase a bunch of programs and attract loyal customers. The church is not a concert hall. This isn't the place to go to hear an announcement. The church is not a social club. What kind of church should we truly aim for? What kind of church should we be? We can summarize today's text in three ways.
Are our hearts filled with the most glorious and blessed church that has not yet been fulfilled? What is the church building and how big is it? For what purpose will the classroom be created, the fellowship room, the performance room, and the gymnasium will be created? We will have our dreams of the church in many different ways. A person must have a dream to achieve that goal. A person without a dream only leads a meaningless life. We can look at a few churches that serve as models. The Jerusalem church shown in today's text is our model. The church in Antioch, which first sent missionaries, is our model. Among the seven churches in Asia Minor, Smyrna and Philadelphia churches are the models. We have a vision for the church by harmonizing the church based on the Bible and the church in reality. What does our Yeongam Church look like?
Which church is the ideal healthy church? The Jerusalem church, which was the first church in the New Testament shown in the text of the text, "gathered together with one heart every day" (verse 46), "prayed with one heart every day" (Acts 1:14), and was with one heart every day in its infancy. It was a healthy church devoted to evangelism and missions (Acts 5:42, 15:26). Finally, it appeared in history as a community of faith. What did the exemplary church look like?
It emerged as a community of service.
1. Serve people.
2. Served God.
The Jerusalem community served God by risking their lives for evangelism. The apostles rebelled against the rulers by saying, "...Judge whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God" (Acts 4:19), calling for the substitutionary death and bodily resurrection of Jesus on the cross. These attributes of the church were passed down to the church in Antioch. The members of the Antioch Church, which was the first Gentile community of faith, devoted themselves to mission by "...serving the Lord and fasting" (Acts 13:1-2). A church that serves God through evangelism and missions is a healthy church.
It appeared as a community of sharing.
1. Substance was divided.
In verse 45, ?쐔hey sold their property and possessions and distributed it according to each person?셲 need??and they cooperated to stand firm in the life of faith. Therefore, it has become a trade-off community. The church is a place where the poor and the rich live together. By helping the poor, he said, "There was no one in need among them, because those who had fields and houses sold them... and distributed them according to each person's need" (Acts 4:34-35). At this time, Deacon Barnabas dedicated the field. In order to meet the needs of millions of Saints, some sold their houses and shared their money. The true church has the appearance of sharing material things through the church in this way.
2. We shared the gospel.
It appeared as a social community.
1. We had a horizontal relationship with each other.
In verse 46, it shows us how to fellowship with each other, "...breaking bread at home and eating food with joy and sincerity of heart." The church was a place where believers gathered to understand each other, to have compassion for each other, and to love each other. This continues even now for the saints who have experienced the love of the cross. Therefore, the church is a community of love. Jews and Gentiles who had been at odds with each other in the church ?쐓hake hands of fellowship??(Galatians 2:9). It shows that the enemy has changed and has become a friend. The rich and the poor had fellowship with each other. The rich are humbled by Jesus Christ, and the poor are exalted through Jesus Christ. In addition, in this place of love, the healthy and the sick had fellowship with each other. A healthy church is a place where there is a friendship of love that is rare in the world. After the ascension of Jesus, about 120 saints gathered in one upper room to worship in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus, to help each other, and to share bread and food together. There was a relationship that transcended men and women of all ages, the rich and the poor, transcended personality and ideology, and transcended class and origin.
2. There was also a vertical relationship with God.
In verse 47, in this kind of fellowship, "...the Lord added to the number of those who were being saved day by day." I hope that our church can also strive to become a community of service, sharing and socializing.
What kind of church should our Youngam Church go to, and what kind of church should we dream of?
1. It is a church that awakens lay people through discipleship training.
1) Discipleship training is training to pass on the Gospel.
Verse 41, "Those who received the word were baptized, and on that day the number of the disciples was added to three thousand.
Verse 42, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer."