Title: Things are common/Acts 4:32-37
Content and things are common/Acts 4:32-37 Rev.
As I read verse 24 last week, I mentioned that the word “one heart” is important. “The church must be of one mind,” he said.
Today's text appears again in verse 32. “The believers are of one mind and one mind,” and “one mind” here means being spiritually one.
To humbly acknowledge and accept the reality given to you is called ‘acceptance’. In English, it is called ‘Accept’, but if you accept it well, you will recover quickly and live a successful life.
In the parable of the man who received the five talents, the man who received two talents, and the man who received the one talent, the reason why the man who received the one talent buried it in the ground does not appear in the Bible. You can guess like this. “‘Why are you giving me less?’ and ‘What do you do with one talent? It must have been because of this kind of heart.'” If he had done his best with one talent, the Lord would have said, 'You have been faithful with a little thing, so get more rewards.
In today's text, we can see the appearance of a sharing church.
The early church divided three things.
First, we shared our hearts.
“The believers were of one mind and of one mind.” This means that they shared their hearts.
We often hear the saying, “We must have an open mind.” To have an open mind means to share your heart.
Saints should open their hearts to each other and share. We need to share the happy and the sad. Isn't there a saying, 'Joy grows bigger when shared, and sadness gets smaller when shared'?
Fellowship is one of the basic elements of the church. It's called 'koinonia'. Koinonia means sharing your heart.
Second, we shared the gospel.
See verse 33. It is said that “the apostles witnessed the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and the crowds received great favor” and shared the gospel.
We must share the gospel. You have to share it with those who are near you, and you have to share it with those who are far away.
If you don't share it, it rots. Wouldn't it rot if there was still water? If you look at the reason problems arise in the church, it is because in many cases they do not share.
There is a famous saying that “church history is a missionary.” It is the most basic word for those who study church history. If we paraphrase this word, it becomes ‘the history of the church is the history of sharing the gospel’. Without sharing, history will not progress. Take a step back.
Third, the material was divided.
This is what today's text emphasizes most. And it is the most emphasized aspect of the early church. In Acts chapter 2, which records the birth of the early church, verses 43 and 45 say, “All those who believed were together and had all things in common, and they sold their property and possessions and distributed it according to each person's need.” If you look at today's sermon, you can see that it has progressed more specifically.
One religious leader said, “Your wallet must be baptized to be truly baptized.” When you get baptized and start a new life, you have to work hard to use the material properly and to give alms.
Some people have said, “Repentance in your wallet is real repentance.”
Everyone, do you know the story of Scuric? He was a person who raised money by any means and was a typical miser. On the eve of Christmas, I repent when I meet the ghosts of the past, the ghosts of the present, and the ghosts of the future.
What was the first thing the repentant Scourich did? He paid a lot of bailout money, raised his nephew's salary, and became a sharer.
A very moving article appeared in the newspaper several years ago. It is the story of a man named Hwangmu, who was selected as the King of Savings on Savings Day that year and received a medal. This person is a shoe shiner. Don't forget to save some of your daily income. And don't forget to donate to the church.
It is said that the judges conducted three on-site inspections to ensure the evaluation was accurate. They take shoes or umbrellas thrown away by people, repair them, put them in front of the shoe shine booth, and let the poor and foreign workers use them. It is said that he decided this person to be the savings king of the year after seeing it.
They can be said to be saints who set an example in sharing.
There is an anabada movement. Anabada is a place in our church that goes well without rumors, and it is because of the dedicated and hidden hard work of those in charge of it all. When I go to the chapel to lead worship on Sundays, I always stop by and say, 'You're working hard'.
The Anabada movement is about saving, sharing, swapping, and rewriting.
In the name of the Lord, I pray that the moving image of the early church, sharing hearts, sharing the gospel, and sharing materials, will be revived among the churches of today.
There are some contradictions in today's text. Verse 36 says, “There were Levites,” and in verse 37, “there was a field.” These two are at odds with each other.
Why would it deviate? Those who know this are those who know a lot about the Bible.
The Levites could not own land. Because the tribe of Levi was a tribe of priests, they were to live with the tithes of the children of Israel.
Numbers 18:23 and 24 says, “But the Levites shall serve in the tent of meeting and bear their sins, and the children of Israel shall have no inheritance, an everlasting ordinance for your generations. It was given to the people of Israel as an inheritance, so I said of them, “There will be no inheritance among the children of Israel.”
No business means no land. The word “enterprise” means “a basic job,” and the people of Israel made cattle as their main occupation. To farm, you need land. The Levites were not given land.
Then why did Barnabas have a field?
After the captivity, this ordinance was not well observed. In particular, those living in foreign countries could not keep this ordinance well.
Barnabas' hometown is Cybro, an island in the eastern Mediterranean. This is where the copper comes in. This is a foreign area.
‘Why does Barnabas have a field when the Levites cannot own it?’ This may be a tricky question. These are just helpful and helpful to know.
It is not possible to know the Bible every nook and cranny. Also, don't get hung up on the little things and miss the big ones. In the Bible, ‘Jesus is the Savior’, we must first hold onto this.
Questions about the Bible come in from time to time on the Internet homepage, but some believers in foreign countries use it.
Someone asked about the Methodist theory of free will and universal salvation (which seems to be what Calvin's theory of predestination is saying). Regarding that, ‘It is difficult to answer such a question satisfactorily through the Internet. Don’t ask such things, believe.”
But you need to know the basic parts of the Bible.
Associate members are required to write a thesis every year, take the Bible exam, take the theology exam, and have their qualifications checked to see if they are doing well in ministry. Before, it was very rigid and it fell a lot, but now it is very soft.
I took and graded the Bible exam this year, and there are a lot of people with very bad scores.
At first, I was like, ‘Did I make a mistake?’, but people with good scores are good. Some people are close to perfect.
‘How many chapters of the Resurrection Chapter?’ ‘Which Bible emphasizes practice?’ This is also wrong, and even ‘how many chapters of the faith chapter?’ There are many people who do not even know this.
Failure to do so will delay the ordination of pastors by one year. I couldn't pass it as it is, and after thinking for a long time, I gave homework to the relevant people. ‘If you send this homework by email by a few days, I will give you a passing grade’
The reason why I am telling you this story, which is also related to the authority of the clergy, is to ask, ‘Everyone, please pray a lot for the renewal of the Methodist Church.
Those who attended the last general assembly said, ‘The Methodist Church cannot be like this. I felt strongly that I had to change and become new.” Even looking at the upper part, I have the same feeling, but it is a bigger problem that the young ministers' knowledge of the Bible in the lower part is so poor.
I have worked for a long time in a coalition organization, but if the Methodist Church, which is known for its high standards and well-organized and well-organized, cannot be renewed, I do not think the Korean church will be renewed.
As for Barnabas, we will come across more often in the future. What we need to know today is the lesson of his name.
Barnabas means ‘son of comfort’. I told you that most of the cases where the word ‘ba’ is added to the name of the Bible means ‘someone’s son’. ‘Bartholomew’ means ‘son of Thomas’.
The “son of consolation” is described as “authoritative person” (勸慰子) in the King James Version. When we think of an authority figure, it is easy to think of ‘a person with authority’, but that is not what it means, ‘a person who is good at exhortation and comfort.
It seems that Barnabas was a good counselor and very good at comforting. His original name was Joseph, but the apostles changed him to Barnabas. It is because he has the disposition to advise and comfort well. In some English Bibles, it is said to be the ‘son of encouragement’.
Now, consolation, exhortation, encouragement, and these words have come out.
Among the verses we looked at yesterday, verse 35 says, “I put them at the feet of the apostles”. Verse 37 of today's text also says, “I set them at the feet of the apostles.”
You can see that the apostles have a lot of trust.
Everyone, this morning, I hope you have thoughts like, ‘I am the body placed at God’s feet. ‘I am not mine. It belongs to God.’ Please do this.
This is the true meaning of devotion.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will strive for comfort and become fully devoted people!