New Community

Well, good morning, everyone. It's great to be with you in church here this morning and to connect with you online as well.

If you've not met me before, my name's Steve Jeffrey. I'm the senior pastor here at St Paul's,

and it's my joy to be able to connect us into the next stage of the book of Acts, which we're journeying through at the moment.

Very few, I think, would argue about the quality of community has declined in society in recent years.

In fact, not just recent years, over quite a number of years.

In fact, one of the biggest social issues in our community here in Chatswood is, in fact, social isolation,

as it is for many people in large cities around the world.

There is, if you like, a superficiality to our personal relationships.

But it's not new.

In 1955, in his book, The Sane Society, Eric Fromm, who was a social psychologist, wrote this.

There is not much love to be found in the world of our day.

There is rather a superficial friendliness concealing a distance, an indifference, and a subtle distrust.

The radical psychologist R.D. Lang wrote in his 1967 book, The Politics of Experience,

we are born into a world where social isolation awaits us.

Before we can even ask such optimistic questions as what is a personal relationship,

we have to ask if personal relationships are even possible in this present situation.

So how do we react when we hear phrases like that?

When we hear things like superficial friendliness and social isolation and emotional isolation, words like that.

These are real issues in our society, in our community.

And in fact, it may be for you personally right now,

whether maybe even you sitting at home right now, all alone, watching, engaging with this.

I think it's an issue which we've become more aware of.

I'm certainly hearing statements and phrases like feeling disconnected in this COVID-19 season.

We live in a sick society that desperately needs to discover this idea of community and connectedness and relationship.

There is a sign of hope for us.

The opening chapters of Acts points us to such a community.

It's a special community.

It's called many things, but most frequently in the New Testament, it's called the church.

So we're going to journey today to see what it is.

What is this church?

So if you've got the St. Paul's app, you can open up and you'll see an outline.

I've got four things.

It was going to be five, but I've narrowed it down to four because the fifth thing was addressed last week.

So four things in Acts chapter 4 verse 32 through to chapter 6 verse 7.

Acts 4:32

So if you haven't got the St. Paul's app, at the very least, you can open up a Bible and follow along with me on this one.

There's four things about this new community.

It's a saved community.

It's an organic and gracious community.

It's a disciplined community.

And it's an organized community.

They're the four things.

So first of all, and foundationally and fundamentally, this new community is a saved community.

In Acts chapter 2, we saw it a couple of weeks ago.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

It's the day of Pentecost.

The apostle Peter gives his first and his greatest sermon, an experience that most preachers don't ever have.

His first and his greatest sermon.

And he gets to the application of this sermon in verse 36 of Acts 2.

So have a look at that.

Skip back a couple of chapters for me.

It says,

Therefore, this is his application.

Therefore, let all of Israel be assured of this.

God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.

And there's a multitude that are gathered there listening to this sermon from across the Roman Empire,

all different cultures and languages.

And it says they were convicted.

They came under deep conviction.

Conviction both of their own sin and of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

And so they said, Peter, what are we going to do now?

What happens now?

And Peter called the gathering to repent and to be baptized.

And what Luke concludes, he concludes a description of that day by adding in verse 40 of chapter 2,

with many other words, he, that's Peter, warned them.

And he pleaded with them, save yourselves from this corrupt generation.

And those who accepted his message were baptized and about 3,000 were added to their number that day.

Notice what Peter does is he warns them.

He pleads with them to be saved.

That's the essential thing that they need to do is to be saved.

And he declares in another sermon he gives, which is also pretty good, in chapter 4, verse 12,

Peter says,

So what Peter's talking about there in Acts 4, and the same experience in Acts 2,

is that what he's talking about is not some kind of optional spiritual experience,

but about a radical moral rescue,

which all of humanity must experience,

lest they perish under the judgment of their creator God.

That's what he's talking about.

Jesus Christ is the resurrected, death-defeating, sin-crushing,

relationship with our creator-restoring, Lord of the universe.

He sits enthroned as king,

never to be challenged.

No greater authority,

and therefore no other alternative,

no other rescue plan.

And what Peter says here is,

in Acts 2 and in Acts 4,

you neglect Jesus at your peril.

He's saying there is a must about Jesus.

Not a maybe,

it's a must.

Jesus Christ is the most important thing

that has happened in the history of the world.

And what you saw in Acts 2,

if you sort of tuned in a little bit to the language of what Peter uses,

is that Peter divides the world into two groups.

Only two.

He says,

save yourself from something.

Save yourself from a particular community.

This corrupt generation.

You are part of a group,

a community.

And he says,

save yourself from that community

that lives as if the God of this universe doesn't matter.

As if Jesus isn't King and Lord of the universe.

As if he isn't the Messiah.

Save yourself from that community

and join a new community.

A new society.

A new group.

Saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

And what Peter declares,

and as the New Testament declares,

in fact,

what the whole Bible declares,

what Christianity declares,

is there's only two groups of people.

You're either in one corrupt group that rejects God

or you're in the group that has been saved by Jesus Christ.

On either community.

And so for the early Christians in Acts,

being saved by Jesus

was a matter of leaving a community under judgment

to finding refuge and joy

and hope and life and forgiveness

and new salvation

in the community of those who have been saved by Jesus Christ.

Christians are bound together

as a new people

because of our common salvation.

There is no such thing

as isolated,

go it alone,

choose my journey,

my commitment levels,

Christianity.

I do not get an option.

It is not up to me

to choose what I think level of commitment

I will give and won't give.

Those are the defining things

of the corrupt generation,

not the new community

under the Lordship of Jesus.

And Christians are bound together

as a new people

because of a common salvation.

They have a new common salvation

and that common salvation

trumps everything

because there's not much else

that they necessarily have in common.

But it's enough.

Chapter 4, verse 32,

all the believers

were one in heart and mind.

They were made up of believers.

This new community

is made up of believers

who differed in opinions

on a whole range of different things.

Who to vote for?

Not that they did it back in those days,

but who to vote for?

Food, clothing, language, customs,

all kinds of different personal opinions.

They were, however, united

in one fundamental,

most important thing

that rose above every other difference

and that is that Jesus

is Lord of all

and he's the Messiah who saved us.

We make him the main thing.

We are bound together

because of our common salvation.

1982, British Airways Boeing 747-200

was flying at a very high altitude.

You know, your cruising altitude

over Indonesia

flying to New Zealand,

I think from memory.

And what the crew could not see

as they were flying the plane

was this cloud of volcanic ash

right in their flight path.

Mount Galganan in Indonesia

had erupted just days before

and there's this huge cloud

of volcanic ash

which back in those days

were not picked up on radar

and then when the plane

flew through the volcanic ash,

what it did was,

was in a couple of minutes

clogged up all four of its engines

and shut them down.

So this 747 became a,

what is technically a glider now

and it was gliding in the air.

You can imagine the silence of this

for 16 minutes.

16 minutes,

no, under no power whatsoever

and descending at a kilometre per minute.

Or something like that.

Every certain minutes.

Fast anyway.

Most people sitting on that plane

in that moment

were convinced they were going to die.

They grabbed bits of paper

and pens as they could

and scrawled notes

to family members

in the hope that in the wreckage

those notes would be found.

Amazingly,

because of a fluke thing

that the captain did in that moment

in deciding to descend faster,

which is against all logic,

actually the descent going faster

unclogged the engines

which allowed him to restart the motor.

It is now,

you can look it up,

it is now in the Guinness Book of Records

as the longest unpowered flight

by an aircraft

not designed to fly unpowered.

Now,

if you are sitting on that plane

in that moment

when after 16 minutes of silence

all of a sudden,

boom,

the engines kick in,

the excitement,

you start gaining altitude

and eventually you land safely.

You have a new lease on life.

Everything changes in that moment.

And so what did the passengers

on this plane do?

They formed a club.

It's known as the Galganan Gliding Club.

The Galganan Gliding Club.

They get together annually

on the date of the flight

and they celebrate life together.

That's what they do.

That's their whole existence,

to celebrate a new lease on life.

To be saved by Jesus

is to be a member

of his saved community.

Church is not what you attend.

Church is what you belong to.

Church is who you are.

You now have been redefined.

Saved into the new community

of the saved.

Secondly,

we see that this new community

that has been graciously saved

by the Lord Jesus Christ

becomes an organically

gracious community

under the power

of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 32 again.

No one,

this is this new community,

no one claimed

that any of their possessions

was their own.

But they shared everything

that they had.

Then down in verse 34,

there was no needy persons

among them

for from time to time

those who owned land

or houses sold them,

bought the money

from the sales

and put it at the apostles' feet.

And it was distributed

to anyone

who had need.

Joseph,

a Levi from Cyprus,

whom the apostles

called Barnabas,

which means son of encouragement,

sold a field

that he owned

and bought the money

and put it

at the apostles' feet.

This is not

an early form of communism.

That's not what's going on here.

Did you notice

the high degree

of voluntary commitment

that these believers

displayed towards each other?

Voluntary commitment.

Private ownership

was recognised,

but no one pressed

their rights

to private ownership.

This is spontaneous.

It is extraordinary generosity.

It's organic.

It's not structured,

not planned.

There's no

sell your property campaign

going on here.

There's no campaign

by the apostles.

Their sharing

was selfless,

it was sacrificial

and it was voluntary.

There's no law

imposing these standards.

This is simply

a desire

that has grown

in them

because of the work

of the Holy Spirit

in their life

and God's radical generosity

to them

in the Lord Jesus.

This is a church

that has

a social conscience.

It didn't appear

to be a strategy

for growth.

It was simply

an organic,

spontaneous expression

of the love

of the Holy Spirit

had poured

into their hearts.

And what's more,

crucially,

there is no evidence

that the early church

confused this ministry,

this ministry

of meeting people's needs

with the evangelistic task

in which Jesus

had given them

to proclaim

the good news

to all peoples

to the ends of the earth.

No confusion.

Verse 33,

right in the middle

of all this,

with great power,

the apostles

continued to testify

to the resurrection

of the Lord Jesus.

Resurrection truth

is the key

to this new community.

The historical bodily

resurrection of Jesus

means that everything

that Jesus declared

about his identity

as God

and all of his saving plans

are for humanity

and his lordship

over all the universe

are right.

They're right.

He's vindicated.

And this early church

didn't substitute

social action

with proclaiming

that truth.

Nor did they

merge social action

with proclaiming

that truth.

they preached

the love

of God

in Jesus Christ

in the context

of a community

that had demonstrated

the love practically.

They'd been captivated

by the gospel

and it overflowed

in their life together.

Thirdly,

this new community

is a disciplined community.

Up until now,

the picture

that we have

of the church

is love

and spontaneity

and organic life.

This is

really attractive

for those

who prefer church

to be free

from regulations

and budgets

and structures

and organisation

and strategic plans

and just to be

free

to come and go

as we please

and just spontaneous

to where

the spirit

might lead us.

Some love

the language

of organism

as a church

and particularly

push back

against

it's not

an organisation

it's an organism

as if those

two things

are the polar

opposites.

It's true

the church

is an organism

it is a living

thing.

It's certainly

not a machine

and it's not

a company

it's not a business

but while

Christ's body

like our

human body

is not

a machine

that does

not mean

that there's

no order

or control.

We all

have what

they call

a central

nervous system.

Central

nervous system.

Our bodies

are not

random

collections

of limbs

each doing

their own

thing

randomly.

The church

is not

modelled

on the

precise

movements

of a

computerised

robot

nor

on the

haphazard

antics

of a

mentally

deranged

monkey.

Organisation

and discipline

are no

substitute

for life

but they

are

indispensable

an

indispensable

condition

for effective

living.

A healthy

church

is an

organised

disciplined

organism

and

ironically

it was

the

organic

spontaneous

welfare

of the

early

church

that

highlighted

the

importance

of its

discipline

and its

organisation.

Have a look

chapter 5

verse 1

Now a

man named

Ananias

together

with his

wife

Sapphira

also

sold

a piece

of

property.

With

his

wife's

full

knowledge

he

kept

back

part

of

the

money

for

himself

but

bought

the

rest

at

the

apostles

feet.

So

this

incident

brought

the

issue

of

discipline

to a

head

for the

early

church.

How the

church

dealt

with

this

moment

of

corruption

and

sin

was

vital

for

its

long-term

effectiveness

as a

new

community.

There is

a need

for

discipline

and

for

standards

in

God's

new

community

unless

it

would

degenerate

into

something

which is

no

different

from

the

corrupt

community

from

which

it

has

been

saved.

In

verse 4

Peter

points out

that

Ananias

and

Sapphira

were

under

no

obligation

whatsoever

to sell

their

field

nor

were

they

required

to

donate

all

the

proceeds

of

the

field

to

the

church

which

leads

me

to

believe

that

their

motive

in

this

behaviour

is

not

greed

they're

not

driven

by

greed

here

they're

not

forced

to

do

this

it's

most

likely

that

they

were

motivated

by

jealousy

or

the

coveting

of

reputation

the

coveting

of

reputation

being

seen

by

others

and

praised

by

others

so it's

quite

possible

it's

narcissistic

behaviour

at the end

of chapter

four

we see

Barnabas

did the

same

thing

that he

sold

the property

gave it

all to

the

apostles

and he

received

a whole lot

of praise

for it

I can

imagine

he's

been

held

up

people

look

to

him

he's

a

model

disciple

fantastic

work

people

are

encouraged

to give

a new

name

the son

of

encouragement

and I

would

suggest

that

Ananias

and Sapphira

wanted the

reputation

that

Barnabas

had

they

loved

the

applause

that he

received

they

wanted to

be

known

as

philanthropists

too

they

wanted to

be ranked

with

Barnabas

in the

esteem

of the

Christian

community

but they

wanted both

the money

and the

esteem

and so

they hatched

a plot

a deception

in an attempt

to fool

the church

and God

but they

were wrong

verse 4

this is

Peter

what made

you think

of doing

such a

thing

you have

not lied

just to

human beings

but to

God

himself

when

Ananias

heard this

he fell

down

dead

immediately

just like

his wife

now the

savageness

of this

judgment

shocks many

Christians

today

it also

shocked the

early community

it says

great fear

seized them

not just the

Christians in the

community

but the

surrounding

community

who were

not there

Christians

looking at

the Christian

community

great fear

seized them

as well

and yet

it did

not hinder

the progress

of the

gospel

it's

possible

that Luke

had in

mind here

the similar

incident

in the

book of

Joshua

in the

Old Testament

we read

in Joshua

Joshua 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

that of

Achan

who stole

some

treasure

from Jericho

which was

supposed to be

dedicated

to God

he steals

it

hides it

under

his

tent

and as

a result

the

Israelite

community

was suffering

defeat

after

defeat

after

defeat

in battle

and Joshua

goes to

God

in the

ark of

the

covenant

and

prays to

God

what are

you doing

the glory

of your

name

is going

to be

hindered

here

the more

that we

suffer

defeat

people are

going to

laugh at

us

and they're

going to

laugh at

you

the advance

of your

kingdom

is going

to be

hindered

here

and God

be true

to your

name

resolve

the

problem

and

there's

Joshua

get up

it's not

my problem

it's yours

there's sin

in the

community

I haven't

broken my

promises

you guys

have broken

yours

there's sin

in your

community

and this

is right

at the

very beginning

as the

people of

God

cross over

the Jordan

river

and start

as the

new

community

people

in

their new

home

very

similar

situation

here in

the book

of Acts

as this

new

community

begins

as the

new

community

of

God's

people

what

happened

in

Joshua

7

is

the

deception

is

discovered

Achan

and his

family

are

executed

for their

crime

against

God

and all

their

possessions

burnt

and their

name

wiped

out

their

name's

wiped

out

and the

point of

Joshua

7

and the

point

of

Acts

5

here

is that

we are

a disciplined

community

to fulfill

the purpose

that God

has for

his

saved

community

they must

maintain

a much

higher

standard

of conduct

than is

tolerated

in the

world

around

us

and so

it is

a dreadful

thing

when the

church

has

as an

institution

the

stain

that

it

has

they

have

wandered

far

away

from

being

the

community

of

God's

people

and

under

the

lordship

of

Jesus

God's

people

must

be

different

their

moral

standards

must

be

maintained

we have

been

saved

from

one

corrupt

generation

being

made

in the

image

of

the

Lord

Jesus

and

so

therefore

personal

and corporate

holiness

absolutely

matters

to

every

local

church

and so

at the

beginning

of this

new

community

as it

was

in

Joshua

7

and now

in

Acts

5

an

example

is

made

of

God's

priorities

God

will not

have

the purity

of his

church

adulterated

by

hypocrisy

now

sometimes

there are

anxiety

prone

Christians

who

accuse

themselves

of

hypocrisy

unnecessarily

that is

I think

it is

natural

for when

the spirit

of God

is working

in your

life

that you

become

aware

of the

sinfulness

that's

in your

life

and

when we

become aware

of our

sinfulness

and become

acutely

aware

of our

sinfulness

is that

we can

question our

place amongst

God's

people

do we

belong

here

am I

a hypocrite

because I've

identified

sin

hypocrisy

is different

hypocrisy

is a

deliberate

pretense

it's

deliberately

pretending

to be

something

that you

are not

you see

what makes

this incident

in Acts

5

so serious

is the

deceit

that made

this crime

so horrendous

open deceit

attempt to

fool God

and to

fool others

in the

church there

is no

expectation

of perfection

the church

is a hospital

for sinners

it's not a

shop window

for ready

made

angels

the one

thing the

church does

have a right

though to

is to

expect that

every member

be honest

about where

they are

in their

relationship

with God

that's what

we should

expect

it is

those who

cloak

their sin

under the

mask of

moral

respectability

that the

church

must

discipline

and keep

a watch

out over

each other

for

the church

must

discipline

now I'm

glad that we

have a core

value that

addresses this

issue

specifically

but as a

value it's

got to be

practiced

it's got to

shape the

culture for

us here at

St Paul's

it's got to

be written

not just on

our walls

but in our

hearts as

well

it's called

humble

authenticity

because we

are a

saved

community

at the

very least

what that

should tell

us is that

we needed

saving from

something

that should

humble us

to know

that this

plan of

God's

salvation

is so

grand

because our

problem is

so deep

we can't

fix it

ourselves

that nothing

less than the

creator God

had to jump

in and solve

it

that should

break your

heart

humble

authenticity

says that

as a

church

we are

committed

to

communicating

in large

and small

group

settings

with

honesty

authenticity

and transparency

and being

vulnerable

with our

imperfections

that encourage

candor

and not

concealment

that's the

community

that we

hold

ourselves

up to

so lastly

so we're a

saved community

an organic

and gracious

community

a disciplined

community

and lastly

we're an

organised

community

hot on the

heels of

the first

discipline

place for

the church

is the

first business

meeting in

Acts chapter

Acts 6 · chapter mention

6

now this

section in

Acts 6

begins with

a reference

to growth

in verse

1

it says

now in

these days

when the

disciples were

increasing

and then if

you jump

right to

the end

of it

in verse

7

it says

and the

word of

God

increased

and the

number of

the disciples

multiplied

greatly

in Jerusalem

and a

great many

of the

priests

were obedient

to the

faith

so what

is sandwiched

between

those

two

statements

where the

growth of

the church

is documented

and celebrated

are two

threats

there's two

threats

two threats

to the

effectiveness

of the

church's

mission

and also

how both

those threats

were overcome

so the

first threat

is the

more obvious

one

it's the

conflict

between the

Greek speaking

Jews

and the

Aramaic

speaking

Jews

there's a

major tension

point for

the early

church

the Greek

speaking

Jews

weren't

quite

culturally

at home

with the

the real

Jews

you know

the

the Aramaic

speaking

Jews

the full

blooded

Jews

there was

a great

rivalry

even though

they both

sat in

the Jewish

camp

they were

both

there's a

great

rivalry

between

these

two

cultures

Jewish

cultures

they had

their own

churches

their own

synagogues

that they

met in

they weren't

connected

together

when the

gospel hits

town

when Jesus

and the

good news

of salvation

him hits

town

the church

the new

community

is formed

from both

of those

groups

both

those

groups

become

one

in the

new

church

the new

community

the early

church

is a

multi-ethnic

and economically

diverse

church

and the

tragedy

here in

Acts 6

is the

cultural

rivalry

the cultural

rivalry

was

perpetuated

within the

new

community

that Jesus

had

established

and the

apostles

were on

it

they

could

rightly

see

that the

corporate

witness

of the

church

and the

spread

of the

word of

God

was at

stake

here

if people

weren't

cared for

and the

murmuring

continued

then the

church

would come

into

disrepute

that's the

first threat

to the

spread of

the word

of God

the

second

threat

to the

church's

mission

is even

bigger

than that

threat

and

it's not

as obvious

in the

text

the second

threat

is solving

the first

threat

in the

wrong way

that's the

second threat

and it

seems to me

that Luke

thinks

that the

second threat

is actually

bigger than

the first

threat

and I

say that

because the

way that

he links

verse 2

the word

of God

and the

word of

God in

verse 7

in verse 2

he quotes

the apostles

as saying

that leaving

the ministry

of the word

of God

would be

a mistake

and in

verse 7

he reports

in fact

I would

suggest

he celebrates

the impact

of the

apostles

not leaving

the word

of God

the word

of God

spread

the number

of disciples

in Jerusalem

increased

rapidly

and a

large number

of priests

became obedient

to the

faith

his point

is that

the word

of God

kept spreading

and bearing

fruit

because the

apostles

did not

make the

strategic

mistake

of leaving

their calling

to fix

a pressing

pastoral

problem

he is

saying here

that it is

so right

that the

apostles

focus

stayed on

the ministry

of the word

and prayer

the major

threat to

the church's

mission

is whatever

threatens

the word

of God

spreading

so what

the apostles

do is they

delegate the

ministry of

meeting the

needs to a

group and

they focus

themselves on

their primary

calling

now there is

no hint

in Acts

at all

there is no

hint that

the apostles

the ministry

of the food

distribution was

somehow below

them

not even a

hint of that

there is not

even a hint

that the apostles

didn't love

or care

for the

widows

because they

did not

distribute

the food

personally

not even

the widows

complained about

the apostles

not distributing

the food

personally

in fact it

seems that the

widows and the

whole church

were satisfied

their care

had been

offered under

the leadership

of the apostles

even though it

wasn't the

apostles doing

it personally

so the

quick issue

here for us

is entirely

a question

of calling

this is a

vital

principle

for us

as a

church

God

calls

all of

his

saved

new

community

to be

people

in the

ministry

all of

us

he calls

different

people

to different

ministries

each

calling

and

ministry

is to

work

together

to in

order

for in

order

that the

word of

God

would

increase

and spread

and the

new

community

grow

that's

God's

agenda

and Luke

celebrates the

solution of

the apostles

the two

threats are

overcome

both

were utterly

crucial

either of

these threats

could have

undermined the

church and

ended its

amazing growth

and the

solution here

was the

diversity

of gifting

diversity

of calling

working

together to

see the

influence of

the word of

God spread

that's the

way we

organise the

pursuit of

our vision

here at

St Paul's

pursuit of

our vision

our ministry

is that we

are staff

led

we are parish

council guided

and we are

church member

enacted

everyone

involved

in the

community

in order to

see the

word of

God spread

and increase

that is

you've heard me

say this

before

we are not

the manly

ferry

where there's

a few

people

on the

boat

doing the

key jobs

to get us

from point

A to B

and the

rest of us

are sitting

there reading

our phones

scrolling through

the phones

reading the

taken photos

we are not

the manly

ferry

we are more

akin to a

yacht

in the

Hobart

yacht race

on boxing

day