One of Heart and Soul
First B Jackson
2024-12-01

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Well, good morning, friends. We're a small but mighty bunch today. What do you say we fill this place with with praise, with our voices? Judy, you know you want to. Shout for joy of the Lord, for he comes.

Psalm ninety eight four. Shall we stand and sing together? Joy to the world. Oh, come. Oh, come, Emmanuel.

Nope. Not

that one. Alright. We got some announcements for you. Thank

you so much, everybody. Welcome, and I hope you all survived the Thanksgiving break. Well, there's some really good singing going on over here, by the way. Well done. I'm sure over here as well, but I didn't get to hear you.

We don't wanna start a competition, but we do wanna see you in Awana. Awana is starting back up tomorrow night. It's been a blast. We have kids all up in here. Please keep praying for Awana because it is one of things that God is really moving in here at First Bee.

Lots of kids are coming. Carl, do have any notes about that?

No. Tomorrow, we're back on, though.

Tomorrow, we're back on. Great. And the women's luncheon is coming up. That's at Snow King on December 11. You do have to sign up in advance, and even if you've purchased a whole table, have to register each of the participants that are there.

If you need any help, let us know. Happy to do that. There is a link on our website if you have any questions about that. The highly anticipated and momentarily accurate church directory, which currently is not accurate already. It didn't last very long, and we printed off 50 copies of it.

And I'm sorry that we already ran out, but we'll get you we got some sad faces. I'm sorry. It's nothing personal. 50 copies. Already hottest book in Jackson.

It's already a best seller. So come back next week, and hopefully, we'll get some more for you. The Buzzard Breath Chili Cook Off is coming up December 15 at 04:30. 04:30 o'clock, we come here, drop off a bunch of chilis to in crock pots to heat up, and then we go out and sing for a while. We usually come back with more people than we left with, which is awesome.

And then we have a chili cook off contest. Prizes are awarded for spiciest, most original, and audience favorite. So please bring chili. My goal is to try to get to 20 chilis this year. Last year, we had 16, so I'd like to be able to get to to 20, and it's it's just a blast.

We try to feed 60 people. The angel tree is already out there. We already have tags on the tree, and there will be more coming, I'm sure. Tony McDaniel is in charge of that, and we're only doing registration for people to drop off applications during a certain window during this week. And I can tell you what that is.

If you know of somebody that needs an application, let us know, or let Tanya know too. Jackson Hole Men's Alliance is this Wednesday at 06:30AM. Men of all ages are welcome to come and invited as there's a breakfast provided and some study as well. And then our podcast is up. Blake has been navigating the the World Wide Web to be able to figure that out, and it's it's up and it's running on all major platforms.

You If have any questions, we'll be able to figure that out as well. Connect Hour on December 22 is a a potluck. So please do bring a dish to share for that one. And we have our Advent reading readers coming up too, which is the best family. If you guys would be willing to come up, that's great.

They're gonna they're gonna read for our first Sunday's Advent. Thanks for being here. Even with Christmas colors, look how cute. Today

is the first Sunday in Advent. We light the first candle, the candle of hope. We have hope because of the faithful promises of God. He sent his son, and we receive our savior, a savior born to redeem the world from sin and death.

Romans fifteen thirteen says, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Should we stand and sing again? And thank you, Bess. And before we sing, may I pray? God, thank you for the hope that we have, that it is sure and certain. And Lord, would you fill us with all joy and peace and hope and believing?

And God, as we sing, Lord, would would you be glorified this morning in this church edified in Jesus' name. Amen.

Saw the glory, heard the story, tidings of a gospel truth. Thus rejoicing from sorrow, Praise his voice saying, greet the morrow. Christ the babe was born for you. The babe was born for you.

And surely the present. Let's sing that again.

Mighty power and his grace. I can hear the brush of angels' wings. I see glory on his

Amen. You can have a seat here for a moment, and we'll keep going here with a worship through giving. And I'm gonna change spots right over here. Get to sing with guitar and with piano, and we're gonna sing a song called king of kings. But before we do, would you pray with me?

Lord God almighty, we want to pause. Just take a moment here and say thank you in this week of thanks, thanksgiving. God, we don't want just a a day. You tell us to be thankful every day and in all things. And, God, this is the day that you've made.

We wanna rejoice and be glad in it. And James, you say that every good and perfect gift, it comes from you, the father of heavenly light heavenly lights, and you do not change like shifting shadows. And God, we wanna thank you for your faithfulness and your unchanging nature, that you are the same yesterday, today, and forever. And Lord, in light of today's scripture in Acts, would you fill us with your spirit and your love and your unity and your generosity, that we would be a channel blessing to this community and to the ends of the earth. Lord, would you use these gifts and bless the gift and the giver, and thank you, God, for all you have provided.

In Jesus' name, amen.

To reveal the king's uncovered and to reconcile the lost, to redeem the whole creation, You did not despise the cross. But even in suffering, you saw to the other side knowing this was our salvation, forever to the king of kings. And the morning that she rose, all of heaven held its bread till the stones moved forward. And the dead rose from their tombs, and the angels stood in awe. For the souls of all who'd come to the father our stone.

And the church of Christ was born, there the spirit lit the flame. Now this gospel truth of old shall not anew, shall not faint. By his burden and his name and his freedom. I am free for the love of Jesus Christ who's resurrected me. Praise the father.

Alright. There was a reason that I chose that song to to to sing right before the message here. The the lyrics of that song, king of kings, have been swirling in my head all week. And particularly, oops, the the lyrics here, and the church of Christ was born, the spirit lit the flame, and now this gospel truth of old, it shall not kneel and it shall not faint. As we're going through the book of acts here, that that's the story.

That's the story right there. Ray's brought us up to chapter four so far. Enjoy this picture of him. He spent Thanksgiving with his family down south, so I get to preach today. And you can enjoy this picture of him while I share some review.

Are you ready? So Luke picks up where the gospels leave off. Jesus is risen from death. He's appeared to his disciples saying, hey, stay in Jerusalem until the promised Holy Spirit comes. And sure enough, as they stay, the Holy Spirit comes at at Pentecost filling the believers.

And those from surrounding regions were confused because they understood. They're saying, how is it that we're hearing the wonders of God in our own languages? And Peter says, hey, listen. This is the Holy Spirit. These guys aren't drunk as some of you might assume.

It's only nine in the morning, friends. No. God made this Jesus whom you crucified to be both Lord and Messiah. Repent. Turn to God.

Be baptized, and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And moved by the message and the Holy Spirit, thousands come to believe that day. The church gained momentum in a big, big way, and they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship. They shared meals together, including the Lord's Supper and prayer, and the church continues to grow. And then in Jesus' name, Peter and John healed that man who couldn't walk since birth.

You remember this part of Acts? And the high council says, hey, guys, it's time to knock it off. This is too much. And Peter and John say, nope. We cannot stop telling about everything that we have seen and heard.

We're not going to stop. And so they get thrown in jail and then released because there was a fear of a riot. And then we left off last week where the believers gathered together, and then full of the Holy Spirit, they prayed for you remember? Courage, boldness, boldness, and preaching the word. So that brings us up to chapter four verse 32, and I'd like to read up to five eleven.

This is the church's common life. So we'll get to see a description of the church. What is it that these believers were doing? A positive example, that being Barnabas, and then a negative example, that being Ananias and Sapphira, and, of course, some application throughout. So are you ready?

We're just taking it verse by verse. Here we go. Beginning with verse 32, it says, and the congregation of those who believed were one of heart and soul. And I don't wanna skip over this part because at the foundation of this healthy, growing, vibrant church, there was unity among believers, a common heart and a common purpose with Christ at the center. This is the kind of unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17.

Look at this. This is the fulfillment of that. Here it's happening. Jesus says, my prayer isn't for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one.

Father, just as you are in me and I am you, may they be in us. It's the unity of the Godhead and the church, unified so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Our unity is the way that people can tell that Jesus is the Christ, and it's happening here, one of heart and soul. And look, we'll we'll we'll keep reading on, and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. Can I take you back twenty years?

So this was me as a youth pastor in Minnesota. I was a kid ministering to kids. And I'm the guy in the middle, back row, no beard. Brad says a beard is really makeup for men, and that's true. And you know what?

What else is kinda neat is that girl right in the front there. I got to officiate her wedding just a few years ago. And another girl on the front row on the far your far right side, she she, over the summer, was just here, and she brought her family, her husband, her two kids, and she's doing well. They're they're doing wonderful, and just it is so neat to see. The these were kids.

Now they're adults, starting their own families. They're walking in faith, and it's just really neat to see. So that was twenty years ago. Anyway, this youth group and I took a road trip to the inner city of Chicago to a place called Jesus People USA. Has anyone ever heard of Jesus People USA?

There was just one person in the first service that had heard of it. So it's been around for over forty forty years. It started in the seventies with some hippie Jesus followers. And it's now a group of about 200 people living communally in a in a 10 story building in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, and they do not get paid directly for their work. Instead, the bunny goes into this common purse where, and here's a quote from the website, it frees up individuals to give themselves wholly to the work of ministry and family life.

So I I will say this. I'm not suggesting that you sell everything you own and move to Chicago and pull all your resources and do this. I'm not I'm not saying that. But I will say it was very fun to witness the work that was going on there in Chicago, that the believers together were holding loosely to their possessions. And with a common heart and a common purpose, with Christ at the center, they're feeding and clothing the poor.

There were at the time, they were buying up buildings and turning them into women and children's shelters, and on and on. They're doing a great work. And so like the the the early church, all things were common property. I just wanted to throw that out there. As an example, I thought that was pretty neat.

33 says, with great power, the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. So it's like Peter and John saying, listen, we cannot stop talking about everything that we've heard and seen, and and we're not gonna be quiet about it. They're filled with the Holy Spirit. They're doing miracles in Jesus' name, and God is using their witness to draw people to themself. There was momentum.

The church was growing. And it says this, an abundant grace was upon them all. This is is is one of my favorites, that there was plenty of grace to go around. God's favor, his kindness was upon every one of them. Verse 34, let's see if it can come up here on the screen.

For there was not a needy person among them. For all who were owners of lands and houses, They would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and they would lay them at the apostles' feet, and they would distribute they were distributed each to the extent that they had need. Now some scholars would say, well, because they were under Roman occupation, and these their land would probably be taken from them anyway, would they would sell it. Whatever the case, these people were giving generously for the benefit of of the community. And not only is this generous, I want you to look at this one here from from Luke's Jewish audience, and this would have been from the Torah in Deuteronomy.

For him to include the believers taking care of the poor, it would have signaled back to the Torah and Deuteronomy. There it is on the screen, where this practice is supposed to be happening throughout the temple and its leaders. These are the things that God intended for the temple, that there should be no poor among you, for the Lord your God will greatly bless you in the land that he's given you. So give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything that you do. So this was God's intent from the for the temple from the beginning.

But now, look at this, now the Holy Spirit has come, and there is a new temple where God resides where? Right here in the heart. In the heart of his believers, it's no longer about a temple or about a building. It never has been. It it it it's not like that here.

That Christ resides right here. From first Corinthians three sixteen, do you not know that you're a temple of God and that the Holy Spirit of God dwells in you? We are now his temple, the believers in Christ, the local church, and fulfilling the purpose that God always intended, filled with his spirit and love and unity and generosity, testifying about the risen Jesus. This is what the early church was doing, and this is what we continue to do. And and look at this.

I I think this is is pretty neat. It comes after acts two forty two, that as they were devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, sharing meals, including the Lord's Supper and prayer, they're filled with, look, his spirit and love and unity and generosity testifying about the risen Jesus. Isn't that neat? That as they were devoting themselves to those things, here's here's the result. And and what's better here is that these things right here are still as winsome and attractive today as they were then.

Would you agree? To see a church that's filled with God's spirit and his love and his unity and generosity and the testimony about our living Christ, that's a winsome and attractive thing. And first, be I just, I want to encourage you and I want to fan the flame because I see this in our body of Christ. I see us doing these things. And of course, we're not perfect, but to the best of our ability, as God leads, we are pursuing this.

And may I just pray for a moment? Lord, would you help us to continue to be this kind of a church, a church that is filled with your spirit and your love, your brand of self giving, others focused love, and with unity and generosity that we get to be a channel of blessing to this community and to the ends of the earth. Thank you, Lord, for how you're working through First Be and each person here. Lord, would you continue your good work through us as we trust in you, as we devote ourselves to the scripture, just saying what it says, and fellowship. We're meeting together, sharing meals.

We're taking time to be together and to prayer. In Jesus' name, Lord, we thank you for the church. Amen. So verse 36, there Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, a Jewish believer from the land of Cyprus who was also called Barnabas by the apostles, which translated means son of encouragement. He owned a tract of land, and he sold it, and he brought the money, and he laid it at the apostles' feet.

Radical generosity, Barnabas. I love this guy, the Encourager. By the way, I don't know who these ladies are in the picture. It's just a Google image, but I like their bus. I like their Barnabas.

I like their Barnabas. Get it? That's terrible. Moving on, look what it says about Barnabas in chapter 11. Okay?

And this was a very, very difficult time in the church. Stephen so we're we're not there yet, but we're going to get there in chapter 11. Stephen had just been martyred, and the church scatters from Jerusalem. And you can imagine the anxiety and the fear that the church must have felt. And Barnabas goes to Antioch, and it says he encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.

And he was a good man. He was full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord. And then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. And when he found him, he brought them to he brought him to Antioch.

So for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul, best buds, met with the church, and they taught great numbers of people. He was they were ministry partners. So isn't this awesome that this was the man who was encouraging the discouraged, saying, friends, church, I know you're scared right now. I know the church is scattered. I know there's persecution.

Stay true to the Lord. Keep on keeping on. He was an encourager, and and the church needed that, and the church still needs this. We do. So full of Holy Spirit and faith, he taught with Paul.

He would later mentor John Mark. You remember that? And then John Mark and and Paul would have they would divide. They had a blowout. And Barnabas is the guy he's the conciliator.

He brings them back together. I'll just say Barnabas used his gift of encouragement well. And little application point here, may I encourage us? We have been given different gifts according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, foretelling or forthtelling, prophesy in accordance to your faith.

If it is serving, serve. If it's teaching, teach. If it is to encourage, give that encouragement. If it's giving, give generously. If it is to lead, do it diligently.

And if it's to show mercy, do it cheerfully. And as I I see your faces in this room, and I can see the gifts that you bring right here to First Be as the body of Christ, and I'm so encouraged by you. And and, again, I I want to encourage you, and I wanna fan the flame to continue to use the gifts that you've been given to build up the body of Christ. Love must be sincere, hate what is evil, and cling to what is good. That's from Romans.

So that's a great segue into chapter five. So we've looked at a description of the church, the church's common life, what they did. Positive example being Barnabas, the encourager, and then we get to Ananias and Sapphira. Now Ray said, you know, you could just stop, and I'll pick it up next week. And I said, Ray, I'm a big boy.

I can handle this. You know, not just not just the the positive examples, but but the negative ones as well. And, Lord, help us to take in the whole counsel of scripture, the good examples and the bad. So here it is, chapter five starting in verse one. I'll read to 11.

Alright? But a man named Ananias with his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property, and they kept back some of the proceeds for himself with his wife's full knowledge. And bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back some of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain yours?

And after it was sold, was it not under your control? He's saying it was yours to do whatever you wanted with it. Why is it that you've concede this deed in your heart? You've not lied to men, but to God. And as he heard these words, Ananias collapsed and died, and great fear came over all who heard it.

Verse six. The young men got up and covered him, and after carrying him out, they buried him. Now an interval of about three hours had elapsed, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter responded to her, tell me whether you sold this land for this price. And she said, yes, for that price.

And then Peter said to her, why is it that you have agreed together to put the spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well. Ten. And immediately, she collapsed at his feet and died. And the young men came in, and they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

And great fear came over the whole church and over all those who heard about these things. And this is a very difficult teaching, and it raises a lot of questions. Why is it that Ananias and Sapphira lied? It was their property to do whatever they wanted to with it. What's with the deception there?

What was their motivation for not telling the truth? Was it just for recognition? Was it, well, Barnabas said he gave his land there, and he got recognition. Maybe we will too. And then, of course, another big question is, why such a severe punishment?

Right? That's a question that goes through my my mind, and the truth is I don't know the answer to all those questions, but I do know this. Let's look at this slide. I do know this, that the enemy was at work within the church. There's no doubt about it.

And in the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira, what what the the church came as a as a unified body, and the enemy was at work to try to pull them apart. And Peter exposes it. He says, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? You've not lied to men but to God. Why is it that you've agreed agreed together to put the spirit of the Lord to test collusion?

You know, you're dividing the body here, and these are things that threaten the integrity and unity and purity of the church. That's what was happening. And as one of Ray's professor professors point out here in this next slide that if God acts to preserve the integrity of the community that the Gospel produced, we can have an increased confidence in the truthfulness of the message itself. Can I read that again? Because I thought this was very well said.

That if God acts to preserve the integrity of the community that the gospel produced, we can have an increased confidence in the truthfulness of the message itself. That's good news for the inquirer, but bad news for anyone who would take a casual approach to entering the kingdom of God. So that's been sitting in my lap for a few weeks, and I'm just gonna go ahead and I'm gonna put it in yours. Okay? You're welcome.

And then verse 11 ends with, and great fear came over the whole church. And looking at this word fear, this is interesting. It can actually mean fear or terror, like a real fear terror, but it can also mean reverence and awe and respect, a recognition of God's power and holiness. So in the negative sense, fear of danger or judgment, but in a positive sense, that reverence and awe and respect for the Lord. So as we go on in acts, we're gonna see the result of that fear.

And this fear is not a bad thing. That multitudes look at this. Multitudes in men and women were constantly added to their number. That's where Ray's going next week. As a result of that fear in the Lord, it was an awestruck terror.

Oh my goodness, Ananias and Sapphira, but also a reverence and an awe and a respect for the holiness and majesty and might of the Lord. A good healthy fear that drew people to God. So as a matter of application, I'm gonna wrap it up here. Here's just a few points drawn from the text today. Alright?

And they are, encourage one another, be alert, and to fear the Lord. Encourage one another, be alert, and fear the Lord. Now I understand not everybody is a Barnabas. Right? But we can still encourage one another and build each other up.

We can do this, whether it is a word of encouragement or active service or generosity or compassion. Whatever it is that God has gifted you with, you can use it to build one another up. I also believe that there is a warning here to be alert. You remember Jesus in ten ten saying, the enemy comes to do what? To steal and kill and destroy.

What does Jesus come to do? To give life and life abundant. But the enemy, to kill, steal, and destroy. First Peter says, he prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. He didn't want unity in the church.

He didn't want these these believers in Christ in this new era of the church to be unified and together and on the same page with Christ at the center with a common heart and a common purpose. The enemy didn't want that nor does he want it now. But the good news is, and this really is the good news, is we're not sitting ducks here. We have God's armor to stand firm against the strategies of the of the enemy. We have protection here.

Ephesians six, and it tells us to put it on. Put on these things. Put on truth. Put on righteousness. Put on the gospel.

Put on faith. Put on the hope of our salvation and the word of God and prayer. Just going back, see, to to Luke chapter four where Jesus is tempted in the desert, what does Jesus use to combat the enemy's lies? He's using the scripture. So all to say that we are not defenseless against the enemy, and there is enemy, and he seeks to kill and steal and destroy and divide the unity that we have in the body of Christ, but we are not defenseless against the enemy.

The warning here to be alert. To be alert. To be aware. And then last is the fear of the Lord. I think we tend to see the fear of the Lord as something that's negative.

And in the study this week, was I I you know, looking at this again, I thought this isn't a negative thing at all. This is wonderful, and it's important. It's very important. Proverbs tells us it's the fear of the Lord that's the beginning of wisdom. If we want real wisdom, wisdom from the Lord, it's the fear of God is how we get there.

And the knowledge of the holy one, that's understanding. So that when we view God with reverence and awe and respect, recognizing him for who he is, that's the beginning of real wisdom. So in this very short brief message here, there it is, Acts four thirty two through five eleven, there's a description of the church's common life. There's a positive example being Barnabas, the encourager, and a negative example we learned from Ananias and Sapphira. And then just a few applications points, and there they are again.

Encourage one another to be alert and to fear the Lord. So I'll I'll end with that. And would you join us in in one last song too? And while you two are coming up, may I may I pray? Lord God almighty, I am just absolutely amazed by you, and I thank you that as we go through the scripture chapter by chapter, verse by verse, which you reveal to us through your spirit and through the word, your holiness.

We see your might. We see your power. We see your sovereignty. Lord, we see how important the church is then, but also today. And God, as we devote ourselves to your teaching and to fellowship and sharing of meals together and prayer like the early church, God, would you fill us with your spirit?

Would you fill us with your brand of love, your self giving, others focused love? Would you fill us with unity, God, with the what the enemy seeks to destroy and tear apart, God, would you bring us close together as the body of Christ? Thank you God for generosity. And as you taught us to pray, protect us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and glory forever. Amen.

Alright. Would you stand? We're gonna shift right over here again. Lori, do say? And it's fitting, isn't it?

I surrender all. And This week as I was thinking about a benediction, something to send us off with, it was Philippians two that came to mind. So I wanna share this with you. Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ Church, do we have do we have that? I sure do.

If any comfort from his love, indeed we do. If there's any common sharing in the spirit, amen. If any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being in one spirit and one mind, there's more there. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, rather in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interest, but also to the interests of others. And Lord, would you help us?

We want to be like that early church, filled with your spirit, and love, and unity, and generosity. Lord, not just looking to our own interests, but the interests of others. And Lord, may a church we that we would be winsome and attractive, God, to those around us. As we devote ourselves, Lord, to the apostles teaching, and fellowship and breaking of bread and prayer. All these basic things, God, that will always work.

God, would you help us to walk in them in your spirit. In Jesus name, amen.