Pastor Rob Smith (羅勃史密斯牧師) on March 20, 2011 at
The House of Christ's Love
Read Acts 2:42-47
Prayer
To be authentic means to be real, genuine, true and I believe there are 5 reasons why the early believer’s lived authentic lives.
The first reason they lived authentic lives was because:
1. They were more concerned with the internal, rather than the external.
(vs) 42 – “They devoted themselves……”meaning that they dedicated or that they committed themselves……” to the apostles teaching – to the fellowship – to the breaking of bread – to prayer – to selling their stuff - to giving to anyone as they had need - to meeting together – and to praising God. They were making an internal decision to do those things that would help them in their spiritual journey!
And what happens so many times is that decisions you and I make are decisions that put more emphasis on our external conditions of who we are rather than the internal conditions of who we are. And that’s not authentic Christina living. Authentic Christianity is about altering and refining who we are on the inside. It doesn’t have anything to do with how much or how little we have. And what we’re talking about here is transformation!!! When you and I are transformed, into living an authentic Christian life, it can only happen from the inside out!
And in Acts 2, we can see the process of transformation in the lives of the early believers. When we are in the process of transformation, we’ll go through these steps.
The only way that we can experience true transformation is by allowing God to take control of our lives!! – If we’re trying to change ourselves, it can’t happen. We can make choices that are better, but the internal change comes from God.
We can see countless stories of transformation that are intertwined with our text today. We can see the life of the disciples that were transformed. We can see the life of Peter that was transformed. We can see the life of those in this story transformed, if we jump ahead and walk through the rest of Acts, we can see read about many more stories of people whose lives were transformed. And if we jump ahead to today we have stories of life transformation that have already taken place and that will take place!
Where do your concerns lie tonight? The externals of life? The bigger house, the better car, the best clothes, the higher salary? Mark 8:36 – Jesus said to his disciples, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or do your concerns lie with the internal ... the heart condition of your life?
Many of the religious leaders of Jesus’ time were more concerned with the externals of their life than they were the internals and challenged and questioned him by asking “what is the greatest commandment in all of the law? And in Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' Friends, listen, that is an internal decision that will move you and I along in our spiritual journeys.
The 2nd reason the early believer’s lived an authentic Christian life was because
2. They built relationships on honesty, not deception –
– There’s a story of a newly promoted colonel who moved into his new office, and wanted to act “big and important” when a private came toward his office. He quickly picked up the telephone and sounding official said, “Yes, General, I think that’s an excellent plan. Thanks for passing that by me. Call anytime you need advice, General. Let’s do lunch next week.” He hung up the phone and asked the private, “And what can I do for you?” The private slowly and sheepishly replied, “Sir, I’m just here to hook up your phone up.”
Friends, I have to be honest with you….I’m not sure why this is such an incredible challenge for us?! But if we can just get real practical for a couple of minutes, I have some suggestions as to why it might be difficult.
Friends, listen. Honest relationships consist of Transparency – Just being yourself! Vulnerability – letting down some walls. Openness, expressing your feelings. Clear communication, and telling the Truth.
Do you want to live an authentic Christian life? We have to build honest relationships with people.
The 3rd reason the early Christians lived an authentic life was because they
3. Shared in good times and bad times –“vs. 45 – Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as they had need” vs. 46 – they ate together with Glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people!”
To live an authentic life, we have to understand that we have a great responsibility to care for those around those.
Paul, in Galatians 6 addresses 4 areas where we have a responsibility to care for those around us.
#1: Restore the Broken (1) “if someone is caught in sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.” To “restore” means to make something right by bringing it back to its former condition. If someone has experienced brokenness, or has been torn apart by sin, he or she needs someone who will come alongside them in order to lift them up. James 5:19 says this, “…If anyone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back again, you can be sure that the one who brings that person back will save that sinner from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.”
The 2nd area that Paul addresses is that we are to
#2: Relieve the Burdened (2) “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ.” The word “carry” means to remove or lift an overwhelming load. A burden is like a huge boulder weighing someone down as they walk through life. This may represent any number of things: sickness, a sudden tragedy, personal loss, financial difficulty, broken dreams, a failed marriage, family problems, career setbacks, or the death of a loved one. And we are responsible to carry each other’s burdens in as much as possible
The 3rd area that Paul addresses is that we are to
#3: Repent of Bragging (3-4) The Bible is incredibly perceptive when it comes to human nature. God knows that you and I will not restore the broken or relieve the burdened if we’re too full of ourselves. Verses 3-4 says, “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else…” When we see people suffering, we can’t be too arrogant to get involved.
The 4th area that Paul addresses is that we are to
#4: Respect Your Boundaries Verse 5 says: “For each one should carry his own load.” While verse 2 refers to an overwhelming burden that we cannot carry by ourselves, the word “load” in verse 5 describes a soldier’s backpack. It’s something small and light enough for everyone to carry. We’re to bear that which is too heavy for another human to handle alone but we cannot carry someone else’s responsibility. Sometimes we have the tendency to take everyone’s cares and concerns on your shoulders. Maybe you do this out of genuine concern or compassion or maybe you have a little co-dependency going on where you need to feel needed. Whatever the case, don’t carry what is not yours. You were never designed to carry the world on your shoulders.
Not only do we have the responsibility to share one another’s burdens but sharing in the good times can be just as powerful as well! Take a look at our verse here, “they ate together with happy, cheerful, joyful, delighted, pleased, thankful, genuine, honest, truthful, and open hearts!!! They were celebrating with one another about the good things in life and about what God was doing!!
And what I find interesting about this passage is this… After it says that the people shared in good times and in bad times, vs 47 says, “and the Lord added to their number daily, those who were being saved”
Do you want to live an authentic life? Share the good times and bad times with people.
The fourth reason the early believers lived authentic lives is because they:
4. Shared Christ out of love, not out of guilt – vs. 47 – “And the lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
When we read scripture we have to look deeper into the passages to see what is really taking place. And I believe that what was taking place during these early days is that the early believer’s were sharing Christ everywhere they traveled and to whoever would listen. Their evangelistic efforts were not based on guilt, it was based on their love for people. And the early Christians didn’t have some format, or some program, or some little checklist that they had to mark off as they shared their faith. The early Christians shared Christ because it was their lifestyle. They shared at home, they shared at the market, they shared at work, they shared on vacation, they shared everywhere and they did by just loving people and being natural in their conversations.
I want to share with you some styles of evangelism that are relevant for us today. And my challenge for you is to listen to each one of these and to determine which style is more fitting for you as you have opportunities to share you faith.
Confrontational Style - These people are confident, assertive, and not afraid to approach spiritual matters directly (Peter in Acts 2). These people ask bold questions of others, but must be tactful to avoid unnecessarily offending others.
Intellectual Style - Inquisitive, analytical, and logical are common characteristics here (Paul in Acts 17). These folks enjoy debating, and asking “What do you think?” and “Why?”. They need to be careful of becoming argumentative.
Testimonial Style - Some people excel at telling personal stories about God’s work in their lives. They are clear communicators (blind man in John 9) and good listeners. They must carefully connect their experiences to the other person’s life.
Interpersonal Style - These people are warm, conversational relationship-builders, focusing on people and their needs (Matthew in Luke 5:29). But those with this style must not value friendship over Truth- telling.
Invitational Style - These people are hospitable, relational and persuasive (woman at the well in John 4). They can get others interested in almost anything.
Serving Style - Some people serve others in ways that bring attention to Christ and the difference He’s made in their lives (Dorcas in Acts 9). These people are others-centered, humble and patient. They reach negative and hardened people through loving service.
Once you discover your style of sharing Christ, here’s a little formula that can help us share our faith….
Living an authentic Christian life is about sharing Christ with others.
The final reason why the early Christians lived authentic lives is because they
5. Lived balanced, not chaotic, lives - The interesting thing about this passage that we have been
looking at today is the reality that the early believer’s had time to accomplish a lot of things. (vs) 42 – “They devoted themselves……to the apostles teaching – to the fellowship – to the breaking of bread – to prayer – to selling their stuff - to giving to anyone as they had need - to meeting together – and to praising God.” On top of that, they had time to work, time to rest, and time to spend with family. You see what the early believer’s had done was that they ordered their world around them and lived a balanced life.
Gordon MacDonald wrote a book a number of years ago titled, “Ordering your private world” and in it he says this, “If my private world is in order, it will be because I am convinced that the inner world of the spiritual must govern the outer world of activity.” Basically what he is saying is this…………if you’re outer life is chaotic, so is your inner life. God is not a God of chaos, he is a God of order.
God made 24 hours in a day and if you and I can’t accomplish all that He wants for us in that time frame, we have something out of order………something is not balanced……..our priorities don’t match up with His priorities.
And MacDonald in his book addresses 5 questions that we need to answer as we seek to balance our lives.
Conclusion:
God calls us to live authentic lives. It’s easy to “fake it til you make it” but if we’re going to do this thing………….if we are really going to live a Christian life, it has to be a life of authenticity………….anything else is just……………….