Great Grace was Upon Them All

Well, it's good to be back with you this morning.

I've been away for three weeks.

! I was supposed to be teaching a few weeks ago in Central Asia.

That did not happen.

There was a little bit of a change to our schedule,

as some of you are aware of.

About a month ago, Sunday night,

many of you are aware, some of you are not,

my daughter had a cardiac arrest right after the service.

And she, for all intents and purposes,

died right there in the bathroom.

But by God's grace,

through some of your actual activity

in helping to restore her, resuscitate her,

over the next several minutes,

she is now at home.

Actually, I think she's here.

She's here.

Right?

Right?

This morning's passage is going to be a picture

of what our family,

what our family experienced

over the past several weeks.

A picture of investment.

A picture of interest.

A picture of

a church that is vested.

A church that cares.

A church that has been faithful to pray.

A church that has been engaged

in the process

of ministering to

Rachel and her husband and family.

Also to us

and extended family.

I am grateful

for Maranatha Baptist Church.

I cannot think of another church

I would rather be in

than Maranatha Baptist.

It's the work of the Spirit.

God's work

through the lives

of

the saints

who were here

that came through,

that was evident,

that was,

that drew attention

to the power of God

and drew attention

to the work of God

in your lives

as God's Spirit

worked in you

to minister

to our family.

Thank you

for your

active,

deliberate,

and faithful

investments

in ministries

to us

over the last

several weeks.

Thank you.

This morning

we're going to be

looking at a passage

that is familiar

to us.

A passage

where the Holy Spirit's

power

is so visible,

is so evident,

and draws

so much attention

to His work

in the lives

of people

that it is

extraordinary.

It helps

to accentuate

what God

intends

or wants

and desires

to do

for every

single one

of us.

God's Holy Spirit

dwells in

every believer.

Everyone this

morning of you

who know

Jesus Christ

as your Savior,

who have come

to the place

of admitting

your sin,

confessing

your sin,

and believing

that Jesus Christ

not only died

for your sin,

took the cost

of your sin

and mine

on His body,

and then was

resurrected

on the third day

to extend

to us

eternal life

for those

who believe.

For everyone

in this room

and everyone

who is watching

on the live stream

who have come

to enjoy

and experience

the saving work

of Jesus Christ

through faith,

you have

the indwelling

Holy Spirit.

And since you

have the Holy Spirit,

the Holy Spirit

intends to do

something in you.

the Holy Spirit

will not allow you

to stay where you are.

If you

and if I

are responsive

to His work,

His active,

consistent,

deliberate,

faithful work

day by day,

if we are responsive

to that work,

what we're going to see

this morning

from our passage

in Acts chapter 4

Acts 4 · chapter mention

should shine

through every single life,

every single member

of this body.

I think all of us

could say

that we want to see

the power of God

work in our life.

Would you agree?

I want to see

the power of God

work

in my life.

I want it to be

so unmistakable.

I want it to be

so clear.

Not because I want

attention

on me,

but I want the attention

to go to Him.

I want God's glory

to be so evident,

to be so visible,

to be so obvious,

that the people

that see my life

and the people

that see

the lives

of every believer

filled

with the Spirit

will say,

I want what they have.

There's something

quite exceptional

about their life.

Something quite

extraordinary

about them.

I want that

to be true

of me too.

But as we work

through this passage

today in Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

and I would encourage

you to turn there,

Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

if you're using

the Pew Bible,

it's on page 912.

The truth

of this passage

this morning

is that while

the power

of the Spirit

is present

and the power

of the Spirit

is available,

in order for us

to really access

and enjoy

and experience

the power,

most times

it comes one way.

You're not going

to enjoy

or experience

the power

of God

if you don't

need it.

You're not

going to experience

or enjoy

the power

of God

if you

push it away

and choose

a road

that's easy.

You're not

going to enjoy

the evident

power of God

without a struggle,

without opposition,

without hard things.

That's when

the power

of God

shows up

and by

God's grace

His power

was so evident

four weeks ago.

His power

was evident

and I want

to see God's

power

but what often

like,

oh,

I want to see

your power

but I want

to see the power

easy,

I want it to be

easy, Lord.

But it doesn't

happen that way

because when

things are easy,

you just don't

need God's power.

power.

I want to

encourage you

right in this

moment

before we even

get started

in this passage

today.

I want just

you and the

Lord,

can I just

encourage you

to close,

just you and

God right now,

close your eyes

and think,

you and God

right now,

answer this

question.

God,

I want

to see

your power.

Oh God,

please,

let me see

your power.

And oh God,

please,

this next step,

allow me

to be open

to you doing

whatever it takes

for that power

to be evident.

Would you be

willing to have

that conversation

with the Lord?

God,

whatever it takes,

I know you

are good.

I know you

allow hard things

sometimes to

happen so that

your power can

show up.

God,

it's worth it.

It's worth it

so that your

glory can be

put on display.

Well,

I trust that

is your prayer

this morning.

And our passage

today from Acts

Acts 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

will encourage us

to see what

that power

looks like.

It is the

power of God.

The power

of God

is resident

in your life.

Do you see it?

Can you enjoy it?

Are you experiencing it?

I trust you are.

And I trust

that as people

are looking at

your life,

they're like,

oh wow,

the Spirit of God

is so powerful

through them.

I can see

Him at work.

Oh,

may God be glorified

through His

evident power

in us.

You remember

the context

of Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

We're going to be

in verses 32,

but you remember

the story.

It actually traces

back to Acts

Acts 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

Where Peter and John

are going to the temple

on the day of prayer.

And it's this hour

of prayer.

And they encounter

this lame man.

He's been lame

since birth.

And we come to find out,

well,

he's been alive

for the last 40 years.

And so,

he's been there

at the temple

asking for money.

This is just about

survival for him.

He wants money.

So he asks Peter and John,

they're walking by,

do you got anything

you can give to me?

And Peter says,

well,

you know,

silver and gold

have I none,

but what I have

I'm going to give to you.

In the name of the Lord

Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

rise up and walk.

And he doesn't just try

to kind of

creak up

and try to stumble

into place.

No,

it says he leaps up.

He's walking

into the temple.

He's praising God.

It is clear

that the work

of God has happened.

And because of this

work of God,

it says the people

in the temple

rush to where he is.

They're like,

we know this guy.

What is going on?

There's something

taking place here.

What are we,

what's happening?

Some power

has happened.

And of course,

these people

in the temple,

they remember

just a few weeks

before

that the same power

was present

in the Lord Jesus.

And they're making

this correlation.

Okay,

wait a second.

This same power

happened just a few

weeks ago

in Jesus.

Now it's happening again.

Who are these people?

And Peter

and John

take,

capitalize on the opportunity

to teach the gospel.

They teach in boldness.

And it says that Peter,

by the power

of the Spirit,

he says,

it's by the power

of Jesus Christ,

this man,

has been healed.

Not that by the power

of us.

And he shares

the gospel with them.

It says he shares

the gospel

about the death

of Christ

and the resurrection

of Christ.

He shares with them

the truth

they need to hear.

The only truth

that will save them

from their situation,

from their sin.

And it's the same gospel

that we preach today.

And I would have you know

the consistent pattern

as we work our way

through the book

of Acts

is that every gospel

message must include

the resurrection.

There is not a gospel

without the resurrection.

And we're going to see

attention drawn to that again

as we work our way

through this passage.

Well, the people

are excited

about what God

has done.

Their response

is 5,000

come to faith

in Christ.

But while

they're excited,

the religious leaders

are not.

And they arrest them,

they draw them in,

they interrogate them.

And Peter and John

are there along

with this

once lame man

who's now

in the company.

And they're interrogated

and threatened

by the Sanhedrin.

Well,

the Sanhedrin releases them.

They go back

to their place.

So we find

in chapter 4,

verse 23,

speaking of

John

and Peter,

when they were released,

they went to their friends

and reported

what the chief priests

and elders

had said to them.

And when they heard it,

they lifted

their voices

together

to God.

And we find

that they prayed.

This is the first lesson.

This is not in the notes,

by the way.

Not the first point.

But I think it's

an important lesson

for us to know.

If we want

to be people

who are demonstrating

confidence

in God,

we want to be people

who are experiencing

the power of God,

we're people who pray.

We're going to be

people who pray.

That's what they do.

They pray.

They exalt

the sovereignty

of God.

They acknowledge

His authority

in all situations.

I love the fact

that they

don't pray

like me.

They're not praying

that God

would fix

this hostility.

That He would

put down

the resistance.

That He would

do away

with the adversity.

They're not praying

that way.

They know that God

is sovereign,

that God has a plan,

and that God

delights in using

hard things

to call attention

to His glorious power.

They understand that,

and so they're praying

not for the problems

to go away,

but for courage

to speak

in the midst

of those problems.

give us boldness,

God.

Oh God,

help us

to be courageous

and bold

to speak

about You

because they want

the power of God

to be evident

in their life.

They want the gospel

to be clear.

They want God

to get glory.

It only happens

this way,

and so God answers.

We find that in

chapter 4,

verse 31.

And when they had prayed,

the place

in which

they were gathered

together was

what church?

Shaken.

And they were filled

with the Holy Spirit

and continued

to speak the word

of God

with boldness.

The Holy Spirit

comes on them

in an extraordinary way

and the room

is shaken.

It is unmistakable.

God is present.

God is here.

God's power

is uncontested.

You can trust it.

And if we get

a sense of that,

we will enjoy

the benefits

of this unstoppable God.

The same God

who dwells

in every single believer

and promises

the same power.

Want access

to that power?

You have it.

You want to enjoy

the benefits

of that power?

You can.

And what does

that power look like?

Well,

sometimes,

it doesn't often look

like a room

that shakes.

Matter of fact,

sometimes it looks

a little common

and I think that's

sometimes what

our problem is.

And that's what

we see.

We're going to see

this extraordinary

work of God

among these people.

And maybe it doesn't

look extraordinary

but it is.

I wonder this morning

if this is your experience.

Have you experienced

God's power this way?

Do you want

to experience

God's power this way?

I trust we do.

But it's costly.

It's costly

because God's power

has to make

a weak people

so that His glory

can show up.

because,

as Paul will say,

His grace

is made perfect

in weakness.

We have to be willing

to be

shattered

in order for

God's power

to overcome

the breaking.

Just a brief word

about filling

with the Spirit.

They were filled

with the Spirit.

What is that talking about?

Well,

it's not talking about

a second indwelling.

Okay?

Once we have

the Spirit,

we have the Spirit

fully,

completely.

It's not a second filling.

It's not a power-up

as it were.

Like they got

some of the Spirit

and they're able

to operate

a little bit

but now this

you got this power-up

and the Holy Spirit

I'm filled now.

Now I can do ministry.

No.

They had access

to the Spirit

entirely

at the beginning.

This filling

is about

more about

dispensing

self

so that we can be

more filled up

with the Lord.

It's about

putting away

the things

of our flesh

so we can allow

God to occupy

more of our life.

Paul refers to it

this way

in Ephesians.

He talks about

do not be

drunk with wine

but be filled

with the Spirit.

And the Greek

is actually

pretty emphatic

where it says

be being

kept filled.

This is a continual

process

of the Christian life.

This is laying down.

This is submitting

to His authority

in our life.

And this is moving

moving according

to His plan.

Not grieving

the Spirit.

Not quenching

the Spirit.

But walking

in the Spirit.

What the Spirit

says through

His Word

we do

without question.

The more we do that

the more the Spirit

will occupy

the spaces

of our life

and we'll enjoy

His power.

Okay.

How do we see

the Spirit show up?

First we see

the Spirit show up

in their united

participation.

Their united

participation.

Acts chapter 4

Acts 4:32

verse 32.

It says this,

Now the full number

of those who believed

were of one heart

and soul

and no one said

that any of the things

that belonged to Him

was His own

but they had everything

in common.

We see their

participation.

This Greek word

plathos

is the word

full number.

That's the

that's where we get

the translation

full number.

It's really the word

multitude.

It's the word

for many.

This specific group

is also governed

by this definite article.

It is the multitude

not just an anonymous group

and it's the multitude

of those who believe.

Every single person

who believe

is part of this number

and the full number

every single one of them

united.

That is the work

of the Spirit.

Full participation.

a church

that knew

they belonged

together.

And

it wasn't just

something

theological

that they

gave mental

assent to.

It was something

that they

were actively

a part

of

shoring up

the process

and

making sure

that was

true about them.

That they were

in fact

as a multitude

however large

that multitude

must have been.

they were

together.

They were

unified.

One heart.

One soul.

As many of the

individuals

as there

must have been.

And we saw

from Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

there's at least

3,000 men.

We see from

Acts chapter 4

Acts 4 · chapter mention

there's at least

another 5,000 men

plus all the ones

that got saved

along the way.

In Acts chapter 2

Acts 2:47

verse 47

day by day

the church

grew and multiplied

as God had favor.

this could have

been at least

10,000 men

and you add

women and children

who knows

20,000

30,000

and God

had done such

a work in their

life

they're characterized

this way

one heart

one soul

full participation.

It's extraordinary.

It's a work

of God

and it's

significant

that when

the first signs

of persecution

begin to confront

this church

it doesn't

fracture them

it makes them

that much more

enabled

and empowered

to settle in.

We belong

together

and we've seen

this over and over

again as the mark

of this

people

going all the way

back to Acts

Acts 1:14

chapter 1

verse 14

these all

with one

accord

were devoting

themselves

to prayer

together

with the women

and Mary

the mother of Jesus

and his brothers.

Acts chapter 2

Acts 2:1

verse 1

when the day

of the Pentecost

arrived

they were all

together

in one place.

Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

42 and 44

and they devoted

themselves

to the apostles

teaching

and the fellowship

the breaking of bread

and prayers

and all who believed

were together

and had all

things in common.

Their unity

is a work

of the Spirit.

That's what

the Spirit does.

He unifies

a people.

He makes them

one.

One heart

one soul

this is exactly

what Jesus Christ

prayed

for

future followers

of him.

This is what

Jesus Christ

prayed for

Maranatha.

Here's his prayer.

Jesus Christ

prayer for

this church

captured

in John

John 17:20

chapter 17

verse 20

says this

I do not

ask for these

only

but also

for those

who will

believe in me

through their

word.

That's you.

That's me.

That they

may be

one

just as you

father are in me

and I in you

that they may

be in us

so that the

world may believe

that you

have sent

me.

Jesus

cares

about

oneness.

He cares

about

unity

of this

church

and not

just that we

all kind of

gather in

one spot

and not just

that there's no

presence of

conflict here.

That's not

what we're

talking about

in terms of

unity.

No, we're

talking about

a church

that is so

vested,

a church that

is so

involved,

a church that

cares about

one another

so much

that they

are one

heart,

one soul,

one objective,

one priority,

one purpose,

one mission.

It's all,

they're all

in.

All in.

There's a

research done

back in the

mid-90s.

It's called

the Robin Dunbar's

research on

social network

layers.

And basically,

they did an

evaluation of

how many

relationships do

we have and

kind of what

are the

different spheres

of those

relationships.

And what

they found

is this.

In the

study,

5,000

recognizable

faces.

People that

you recognize,

you walk

along,

I think I

know that

face.

I think I've

seen them

before.

I can't quite

place it.

There's about

5,000 of

those,

okay?

And then

within that

group,

there's 1,500

of people who

would be

considered familiar.

Known

names.

You can

generally

identify that

person by

name.

Then,

a subgroup

of 500,

500

acquaintances.

You actually

know who

they are,

but the

relationship is

a little

superficial.

Now,

we're tightening

even more.

Now,

150

meaningful

relationships,

people with

whom there

is real

history,

reciprocal

relationship

and trust,

some sense

of obligation

to them.

And this

was kind

of all done

through a

study where

who sends

Christmas cards

and how many

are being sent

and who do

you send

them to.

And usually

this 150

is this

group,

okay?

That there's

some relationship,

there's some

reciprocity

happening,

there's something

reciprocal,

give and take

that's happening

there.

But then we

kind of tighten

a little bit

more to 50.

50 what would

be considered

good relationships,

good friendships,

people with whom

you maintain

personal relationship

with.

And then 15

who would be

close or

considered best

friends,

people you

would confide

in and turn

to when there's

something significant

in your life.

And then 5,

intimate,

intimate

friendships,

these are the

people who will

drop everything

to come to

your assistance.

I wonder

who are

your 50.

Who are

your 50?

How are

you cultivating

in that 50

of good

friendships

here at

Maranatha,

how are you

cultivating

better friendships?

I think it

usually happens

through service.

It happens

as we

are ministering.

Maybe it's

a little bit

more casual,

but there's

service taking

place.

There's a

give and take

that's happening.

There's an

interest in

their life.

There's a

personal

commitment

to try

to minister

to their

needs.

I wonder

who are

the 15?

Who are

these close

friends or

best friends?

Who are you

praying for

faithfully?

Who do you

care about

enough to

know what

their needs

are and to

take it to

the throne

of grace

and to

follow up

with them

to make

sure that

that friendship

continues to

grow deeper?

And maybe

the five,

this intimate

circle?

Who are you

inviting to

your home?

Who are those

friendships that

you're developing

and taking

deeper?

This is

something that

takes activity.

It doesn't

just happen

by accident.

It's something

that as the

Holy Spirit is

working in your

life, he

cultivates this

kind of life,

participation.

But it takes

work.

It takes

work.

Are you

vested?

Do you

care for

the Holy

Spirit to

show up in

your life

this way?

I've got to

admit, this

is one of

the harder

ones for

me.

It's

something I

definitely

need to do

better.

And those

of you who

are part of

the Maranatha

directory app,

it can be

really easy.

And those

of you who

are following

along with

the powerhouse

prayer, there

are names

that are in

that and

through the

course of

the months

working through

every family

and every name

of individuals

who call

Maranatha

their home.

Are we

serious about

seeing the

Spirit's power

show up in

our life?

Enough to

take this

seriously.

To be

participating in

one another's

lives.

Not just

showing up on

a Sunday

morning, but

being active

in participation.

I know I

need to do

better.

I trust that

you will

also press

in.

Their united

participation.

Second, we

see their

eager

cooperation.

Their eager

cooperation.

We see that in

verses 32 and

34.

It says,

Now the full

number of those

who believed

were of one

heart and

soul, and no

one said that

any of the

things that

belonged to

him was his

own, but they

had everything

in common.

Verse 44,

And all who

believed were

together, and

had all things

in common, and

they were selling

their possessions

and belongings, and

distributing the

proceeds to all as

any had need.

Now I just want to,

just a word of the

book of Acts.

This is descriptive,

not prescriptive,

meaning this is what

the church did, not

necessarily what the

mandate for us is.

But let me tell

you, when the

Holy Spirit is

present, we want

to follow the

Spirit's lead,

right?

And so, if this

is what extravagant

love and

participation looks

like, if this is

what cooperation

looks like, if this

is what the

Spirit on a life

looks like, oh

Lord, please help

me.

Help me to do

better at this.

Help me to be

aware of needs.

Help me to be

cooperative in the

process.

And look at the

comprehensiveness of

these words.

How comprehensive.

No one said any of

the things, everything

in common.

Comprehensive nature

of their sharing

because they were

all one heart, one

soul.

They were a family,

a spiritual family.

family.

This body was

engaged.

They were alert.

They knew the

needs.

They were actively

identifying and

meeting those needs.

They knew who they

were.

They knew who the

problems were.

They knew how they

could contribute to

those problems and

help to remedy those

problems.

You know, when I was

a kid growing up, I

learned from the

example of my

family.

And I trust that

as families, we

are setting this

pattern for our

children as well.

And I think a lot

of the things that

I've learned and

have benefited from

have resulted from

the great

indoctrination of

my mom and dad.

When I was growing

up, my dad being a

pastor, he did not

make much at all.

But my mom and dad

had a spirit of

generosity.

They wanted to

invite people into

their home.

They wanted to

meet needs.

And oftentimes

what that meant is

when we had people

over to our house,

there was only so

much that could be

put on the table.

And so when you

have a family of

six plus other

guests that are

coming, then that

means there's not a

whole lot to go

around.

So my dad had a

code.

The code that he

would say before

any of us would

sit down was

FHB.

FHB.

What does that

mean?

Well, it means

family hold back.

Family hold back.

And so when he

said FHB,

we knew our

portions were

going to be

intentionally small

so that we

could defer to

our guests.

I wonder if

in the church

of Jerusalem

that was kind

of the mantra.

Hey, FHB.

FHB.

Family hold

back.

We have the

joy of

contributing.

The joy of

sharing.

The joy of

distributing.

Family hold

back.

for the sake

of the glory

of God

and the

wonder

of God

providing

through

us

and his

spirit

working in

us

not only to

meet the

needs of

others

but then to

see how

God graciously

meets and

attends to our

needs as well.

You see,

we can't

understand or

see that God

is able to

meet a need

when that

need is not

present.

And what a

beautiful portrait

of God's work

when we're

willing to

share.

And that the

family intentionally

holds back.

It was also

important to

see is that

there wasn't

a needy person

because the

needy people

also had the

same goal.

They

understood

that

they needed

to press in

as well.

They needed

to contribute

as well.

And so

their needs

were smaller.

They were

real needs.

They were

truly impoverished.

They were

truly in short

of what was

necessary.

And they

only took

what was

necessary so

the rest

could be

distributed

to others.

It was a

collaborative,

cooperative

effort.

MacArthur

has said

they were

focused

beyond

themselves

to reaching

the lost

world with

the truth

of the

gospel.

That left

them little

time to

bother with

trivial

personal

matters.

Sharing

requires

awareness.

It requires

alertness.

It requires

being involved.

It requires

relationship so

we know what

the needs

are and the

work of the

spirit in our

life to be

willing to

share for the

glory of God.

So we've

seen their

united

participation,

their eager

cooperation,

and in

verse 33

we see their

spirit-filled

proclamation.

Spirit-filled

proclamation.

And with

great power

the apostles

were giving

their testimony

to the

resurrection,

here it is,

resurrection of

the Lord

Jesus.

Great

power.

It's the word

mega.

mega.

Mega

dunamai.

Great

power.

And this

is the

mark.

This is the

mark of a

church that

is filled by

the spirit.

This is the

promise that

Christ gave to

the disciples

very early on

in Acts chapter

Acts 1 · chapter mention

1.

He says in

Acts 1.8,

remember what he

says?

You will

receive

power when

the Holy

Spirit has

come upon

you.

See,

power always

has a

purpose.

Power always

has an

objective.

It's always

directional.

It's always

with the

purpose of

making much

of God,

not in

making much

of me.

And that

power was

promised early

and it

becomes this

consistent

evidence of

what we see

all the way

through.

Acts chapter

Acts 2:43

2,

verse 43,

awe came upon

every soul

and many

wonders and

signs were

being done

through the

apostles.

That's

power.

Acts 3.12,

and when

Peter saw

it, he

addressed the

people, men

of Israel,

why do you

wonder at

this or why

do you stare

at us as

though by

our own

power or

piety we

have made

him walk?

Power was

present.

The Spirit

was working.

It was a

power of

proclamation.

That's what

they prayed

for.

Courage,

boldness to

proclaim Christ.

And this is

when people

turn to God.

They find that

God gives

them overcoming

strength.

Overcoming

strength.

And they

return to

pray with

their friends

and God

through his

Spirit gives

them, his

Spirit fills

them for a

purpose to

proclaim, to

witness.

And when they

come back, what

do they do?

They witness,

they speak.

I wonder how

many of us

need that

kind of

power.

Man, it's so

easy to be

afraid, isn't

it?

It's so easy

to be

intimidated by

opposition.

And maybe

some of you

are in

positions where

you've been

told to keep

your mouth

shut.

That if you

say certain

things, that

you're going to

risk losing

your job.

And I

don't know,

there's wisdom

in speaking at

the right times,

being wise as

serpents and

harmless as

doves, but I

wonder, even in

some of those

casual relationships,

how much of us,

God, I need

your power to

be present in

my life.

I need your

speaking,

proclaiming power,

not only to

have courage, but

the wisdom of

your Spirit to

be able to say

what needs to be

said in this

moment.

He will give

that.

He gives

wisdom.

He gives

power.

His Spirit

provides it.

United

participation,

eager

cooperation,

Spirit-filled

proclamation,

and then

Spirit-enabled

transformation.

We see that at

the end of

verse 33.

And with

great power,

the apostles

were giving

their testimony

to the