Week of Meetings 04 1 John 1: — Svend Christensen

Pentecost and the Marks of a Healthy Church

The Book of Acts, Chapter 2, please. We should thank the Lord for this beautiful chapel. I'm just sitting, thinking here, too. Men, God raises up different abilities and gifts. You think of Brother Harvey, the ability and gift God has given him to plan such beautiful buildings around the state.

Or Satellite Beach in Orlando, down in North Palm, Lake Howell in Gainesville. Now here, thank the Lord a man has these abilities and will use them for him. Let's just read from Acts 2, just two or three verses at the beginning, and then we'll jump down to the end of the chapter.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind. And it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them offerings.

Verse 14. Verse 12, by the way, just the last little place in verse 12. What meaneth this? Verse 14,. But Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken unto my words.

Now, verse 41, Peter in preaching. Now we see the effect of his preaching. They that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers.

And fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and that all things common, and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

And they continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. May the Lord bless to us the reading from his holy word. Now in these last verses we have what we might speak about the marks of a healthy church conditionally.

The book of Acts is a transitional book. You cannot really build doctrine, church doctrine, from the book of Acts because of its transitional nature. But you certainly can get what the spiritual tune of a spiritually conditioned church should be like from the book of Acts.

And that's what we have here. Remember in the Old Testament, the Spirit of God came, the glory of the Lord came and filled the tapernacle. Later on when King Solomon dedicated the temple, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

Then because of Israel's unfaithfulness, the glory departed. Then we see in a sense where the glory turned and abode, came upon the Lord Jesus and abode upon him. And then he promised, when I go back to heaven, I'm going to send a comforter.

You wait, you'll tell me here, he told them before he went up. Not many days, then you're going to be endued with power from on high. And here we read it in Acts chapter 2. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, the Spirit of God came as the mighty rushing wind.

And he filled the house and he filled the disciples collectively and individually. Now we know that the real house of the Lord now is his body, the believers. When they're gathered together collectively as a local expression of testimony, ye are the temple of the Holy Spirit, says Paul to the Corinthians.

We are the temple, we are the place where he truly abides. But this afternoon we are also dedicating this building where the temple dwells, where they meet together as we're here for worship and fellowship, for the study of the word and expression.

And I'd like to speak for a little while on the condition of the, what the condition of this church should be to really see the blessing of the Lord. The early church, you know, they enjoyed such blessing from the Lord.

And this is something that they'd like to touch about, to touch on. You know, Peter, mighty vessel of the Lord, I don't know how many of us would ever thought of using Peter so soon after his backsliding and denying of the Lord.

Because the Lord knew his heart and the Lord used Peter. After the Spirit of God came and filled these and all these gathered there for the feast, of Pentecost, which by the way, Pentecost means fifty.

It took place fifty days after the resurrection, fulfillment of what you have in Leviticus chapter twenty-three. The type there of the, after the waving of the first sheep, then fifty days after that, then you have the feast of Pentecost.

And here on that day of Pentecost, it was one of the feasts, three times a year, when all the meals had to go up to Jerusalem. They were all gathered. And now they're all gathered because here they were hearing every man the gospel preached in his own language.

And the answer, they asked the question, what is this? In verse twelve, and Peter's not slow, he stands up on his feet. In contrast to the old Testament teacher who usually sat down to teach, Peter like a herald.

And thank God the eleven stood up with him. That's a wonderful thing better than, I might say, here's one good sign of a church that together when you stand with the man that, at the time delivering the message, all the Christians are, as it were, standing with him.

They stood up with him. They were with him and behind him. They were praying with him. He had all their support. And he stood up and then he lifted up his voice. I don't think they had this system, but he had one built in apparently because I understand the whole temple there, they could probably get around 200 ,000 people in that whole courtyard in there.

So he had a real, I would think it would be something for George Whitefield, you know. They could hear him a mile away. George Whitefield was preaching one time about a man dropping into hell, a fellow sitting on the sidewalk a mile away.

He jumped up and he said, catch it! That's preaching in a powerless spirit like Peter was doing. Peter was preaching in a powerless spirit. And if you look down through this chapter as he preaches, he chose the right scripture, the only scripture I believe he could choose, where the Spirit of God is told in the Old Testament he would be poured on all flesh.

I stand and seek of this speech about him being poured on Israel, but he chooses a scripture from Joel chapter 2 where the Spirit of God would be poured on all flesh. He preaches in fulfillment of the Psalm, Psalm 60, I think it is, or Psalm 110.

He preaches the Word. He preaches the Word with power. He's standing up and he is preaching directly to this audience. He says, hear, O house of Israel. He was a direct herald of the cross. He didn't preach along with people to entertain people.

He preached to them, to their heart and to their conscience. And this is what we need today in how he preached. He preached about the manhood of the Lord Jesus. He spoke about the miracle, the power of the early ministry of the Lord Jesus.

He spoke about his rejection in verse 22, 23, 24. He spoke about his crucifixion. He spoke about his boy's resurrection. He spoke about his ascension into glory. He spoke about his exaltation. He even referred to his coming again.

Sit down here. I'll make your footstool on tail. And when Peter really preached that, it was of conviction that people said, what will we do? And then he preached straight down the line again. He applied the message out.

He told them, O house of Israel, you have crucified this man that God has made, crowned Lord and Christ. You have crucified him with wicked hands. He brought to bear their conscience their sin. Then he told them to repent.

He told them about forgiveness of sins through faith in the Lord Jesus. He spoke about them receiving the Holy Spirit. He told them to be baptized. He really preached to them through the word of God. And in a sense, in verse 41, they then gladly received the message.

Thank God those are reception of the message. They received the message. And the Lord added. Nor did it was the Lord that added them. It wasn't Peter. The Lord added the souls. About 3 ,000. And what kind of fellowship was this?

I want to say one thing. There were all saved people in this fellowship. There were people that really knew the Lord. They were obedient to the word. They were baptized right after they were saved. And then it goes on.

The Worshiping Church and the Lordship of Christ

We want to just jump down to verse 42. And they continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayer. The first thing, I think, the highest thing that we can do or give to the Lord is all worship.

And you cannot think of breaking bread without worship. We really come and we break the loaf and drink that cup in full remembrance of the Lord Jesus. When we think about what He passed through, the deep waters He passed through.

The agonies that He passed through. How He glorified His Father. What it cost Him to bring redemption. What it cost the Father. As we think upon all these things, our hearts just wail. They overflow. And we're taken up with the worth of the person.

You know, you can thank a man for doing a favor for you. You can praise a person for doing something well. But you cannot worship a man. But you can worship the Lord Jesus. They've been taken up with the value, with the worth of the person of Christ.

They worship Him. And I trust that you saints use this beautiful building here. This place, as we read in John 12, will be filled with the fragrance of the ointment of the worship as it ascends up to Him.

The Father's looking for worshipers. And oh, so often we come, Lord give us this and give us this and give us that. And Lord bless this one and help this one. We're all the time asking, all the time receiving.

Oh, friend, let's give something back to Him. That's the highest thing, worship. They were a worshiping church. Furthermore, they were a studious church. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine.

Studying and Memorizing the Word of God

They studied. They studied the Word of God. And mark you well, any of us know that have watched Christians new convert for any length of time, that if anyone ever goes any place in their Christian life in the way of spiritual growth and maturity, it's only those that get into the Word of God.

There's no shortcut for spirituality. There's no shortcut to get to know the Word of God. It must be those that study to show themselves the food, workmen that need it, not the eschanged, rightly dividing the Word of truth.

You learn a lot by listening to teachers and preachers. But I'll tell you this, friend, if you get on your knees, and I'm saying this to myself, and we really study the Word of God carefully, praying before we read it, open now my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

You really go in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Study the Word. They were studious. They went into the book. God has given us this wonderful book. What a treasure. We used to sing that in Sunday school.

I have a wonderful treasure, the gift of God without measure. We will travel together, my Bible and I. What a treasure. Use it. Memorize it. Study it. Let it study you. And as you study it, pray with the psalmist, search me, O God.

And try me. See if there's any evil way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. They were studious. Something else, they were praying. They were praying assembly or church. They continued in the apostle doctrine, fellowship, breaking the bread, and in prayers.

The Praying Church and Persevering Intercession

And you trace it through the Acts. You'll find how often they prayed. In chapter four, they prayed to the place of Shagin. In order to live there, they prayed. They knew how to lay hold upon God. The greatest progress we can make in reaching out and having fruit, to realize some of these things here will be going ahead on their knees.

Satan, as the word trembles when he sees the weakest, Satan at knees. More is accomplished than this world will ever know through the medium of prayer. Prayer is the hand that moves the hand that moves the world.

Whatever you should ask in my name, says the Lord Jesus, shall be done unto you. If you and you should agree. I have noticed in our own short experience in Orlando, if we get a while when no one is getting saved, and if a few of us really get in earnest, we have a Saturday morning prayer meeting at 6 .30, and if a few of us get there and our knees are on that front bench or pill there, and you really get down in earnest, and that bench gets a little bit wet, you know, with a few earnest tears, it's not long afterwards you see souls, souls getting saved.

He that goeth forth to weeping there in precious tears shall doubtless come again, bringing his tears with him. But it has to be travail. Children are not brought in except as travail. Prayers, not saying prayers, but really laying hold upon God.

These were a praying church. Something else, they were a spirit-filled church. You notice that in the earlier part of chapter two? For the Spirit of God, He came with His rushing, showing Him the fullness of time was come for the Spirit of God to come.

You know, there was a death and a set time for the Lord Jesus when He came. There was a death and a set time when the Holy Spirit came. And when He came, though He came with that mighty rushing wind, He just filled their hearts with love that their tongues were enflamed, spreading the wonderful gospel of the love of Christ.

The Spirit-Filled Church and the Fruit of the Spirit

The house was filled. The believers were all filled. Oh, we trust that the believers meet together here, that each one of us, each one of you, in the days after this, after Thanksgiving conference, that you make it your business to be before the Lord in His Word, that the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, that you're before Him, that the Spirit of God can have all of you and fill you.

What a blessing it is when you get a body of Christians that are spirit-filled. The love that you see upon earth, the fruit of the Spirit is love. Have that love, that joy unspeakable and full of glory, that peace, that gentleness, the faith and all these other fruits of the Spirit.

Could you imagine what a church like that would accomplish? This church here was a spirit-filled church. And as we saw, they had power. They had power. We see that directing their gospel outreach. Verse 41.

Verse 47. They were an evangelistic church. They had a vision. And they went out with that vision. I want to say, dear friends, as much as we're in favor of a nice, attractive building like this, if not the complete answer, there's no substitute for hard work.

There's no substitute for prayer. There's no substitute for going. He that goeth, bearing precious feet, he shall doubtless come again. There's no substitute for getting laid down in keystone heights and making personal contact and having the love of God in your heart and being filled with the Holy Spirit and dealing with people in that frame of mind.

They don't flock to nice new buildings. Of course, you put up a nice new building. But I'll tell you this, if you have the love of God, you're just full of the love of God, the fruit of the Spirit is love, and we have that love of Christ constraining us, so we go out, they'll come in.

The churches used to say, the home-going pastor made a church-going people. And that's true. Well, if you get a whole group of people going out, visiting homes, what are you going to get back? I challenge you today to put it to the test.

We trust the group here will be a group with that vision, that missionary seal, that gospel seal, that evangelistic seal that goes out to reach the lost for the Lord Jesus Christ. And then they were a fellowship that enjoyed and practiced Christian fellowship and hospitality.

Christian Fellowship, Unity, and Hospitality

Look at verse 42,. And they continued steadfastly in the apostle doctrine and fellowship. Fellowship. We were speaking about that this morning. They enjoyed that fellowship. Look at verse 46,. And they continued daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, and did eat their meat and bled with gladness and singleness of heart.

Oh, what a bond of fellowship was there. There was a close knitness there. They had been baptized by the Spirit into that one body, so have we. And I do believe, dear Christians, if we have such a feeling of the Spirit, of such a baptism of love, that we'll be together in such a love for love and fellowship.

The world is so starving for this. They feel it when they come in. When Christians are under this kind of condition, the atmosphere is different. They can feel it when they can sense it when they come in to our midst.

They'll say there's something different there. These people have something. And help to notice it. Furthermore, they were a giving church. And all that believed were together and let all things come in their soul, a possession of the goods and part of them to all men as they demanded need.

A Giving Church That Sacrifices for Others

They didn't put more value on their possessions than they did on the need of others. They were a sacrificing giving assembly of believers. If these things really mean something to us, friends, then we're going to be willing to sacrifice.

Christianity was born to sacrifice. It was continued through sacrifice. And it will only prosper as God's people sacrifice, as they gave of themselves and of their time and of their substance. They gave.

They spent themselves. They spent what they had. People that will give and give and give. Never seen a cartoon one time, a fellow coming up the steps to a building, a church building, and coming up to hide amongst the dogs.

It was a purse with a head and feet and tails on it, a dog's head and tail and feet. And the man says, go home, purse. Go home, Percy. This is no place for you. Early church, everything was the Lord's.

I wonder, has your pocketbook, all you are, your time, is everything the Lord's? Overlaying our things, phones, protection, and not trusting the Lord. Something else though, a persecuted church. They were not very long here when they found, when they ran into the fires of persecution.

The Persecuted Church and Faithfulness Under Trial

It started quite mildly. Why, these thoughts were filled with new wine. But I tell you, it wasn't long until Satan started to show his teeth. They were cast in prisons and other things. You read on through the book of Acts.

You'll see they were persecuted. Remember the Lord Jesus said, Marvel not that the world hate you and hated me before it hated you. For these disciples they counted it a great privilege to be persecuted through received some retreat with the Lord Jesus received.

They counted it an honor. And I suppose one of the reasons we're not persecuted very much nowadays is we're not enough like all blessed master. They were persecuted. If they'll do it to me, he says, they will also do it to you.

They knew something about persecution. A couple more, then I'm going to close. Verse 42 and verse 46, there's a same word in there. And they continued steadfastly. They continued steadfastly. Verse 46, and they're continuing daily.

Steadfastness, Dependability, and Spiritual Endurance

They continued steadfastly. They continued daily. We heard about that when Father Harvey gave that talk about the building to perseverance. I don't know of any better abilities for a Christian to have than steadability and dependability.

These are great abilities to have. These continued steadfastly. To be there for steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. You know some Christian's lives are something like a roller coaster.

Up and down. They're up the mountains one day and the next day you meet them, how are you? Oh, everything's against me like Jacob said. All these things are against me. Next time you meet them, they're right up in the top.

There's not the steady consistency. Be you steadfast. And then the continuing daily. It's all the time, continually. And running the race. Having to go before looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of all faith.

God grant that the Ascended and the Meteor will have these qualities. And there's something else that's very, very important. There were one accord. Five times in the early chapters of this book, that little thing is used.

Unity in the Church and Opposition from Within

One accord. There was one accord. One accord. They were together. There was unity. I believe, dear friends, this afternoon, that if God's people are knit together in love and unity, all the forces of Satan from without cannot hinder their testimony.

It will only strengthen them. But it's when Satan gets an advantage and starts working from within, when the gossip starts, you know, idle talk begins, when we start speaking evil one of another, envy creeps in, and other little things creep in, and we allow the devil to come in and how he loves to work through the flesh, that's when the work of God is hindered.

But when we have all one mind and one purpose, one heart to glorify God, together, being filled with His Spirit, full of His love, what a fellowship. What a blessed fellowship to be part of. So they enjoyed unity.

And how good and how blessed it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. One last thought. Something that Marquis believed us to was simplicity and sincerity. In the last part of verse 46, they did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.

Simplicity and Sincerity in the Assembly

Things were very simple. As you look around Christendom today, it will hardly resemble what you have here. The early church was marked by sincerity. They were all out for the Lord. And they were all marked by simplicity.

This is, I think, two marks that should mark the company of believers as they gather together to the Lord Jesus. Sincerity and simplicity. These are some of the marks of many others we haven't brought out here, but time has gone.

But may the Lord help the believers meeting together at this Bible Center to be a worshiping church, to be a studious church, to be those that will be praying together, a spirit-filled assembly, an assembly with a gospel outreach, with a vision, an assembly that will practice the fellowship of believers in a real practical way, an assembly that will be a giving church.

May you know something about persecution. Not that I'm wishing persecution upon you. And don't you go out looking for persecution. If you're really faithful to the Lord, you'll get persecution of one kind or another.

And they were a continuing group of believers. Step back. They enjoyed unity. They were marked by simplicity and sincerity. And when I say they preached the full message, they preached the Lord Jesus Christ and all that it entailed.

And the Lord blessed them. And all prayers today that God will singularly bless you the same manner. And I believe the same God is still the same. If we meet these conditions and we're in the right condition spiritually, God cannot go back on His word.

He will have to bless you. May it be so for His name's sake. Father Willie. Shall we turn to number 25, the Church's One Foundation. I wonder if we might stand as we sing. A couple of nights ago, Mr. and Mrs. Harold McKay came in from Goldsboro, North Carolina.

Mr. McKay has been in the Lord's work, working in new groups, new churches, establishing new churches. And God has blessed him over the years very much. It's a joy and a pleasure and privilege to have him to ask God's parting blessing this afternoon.

Mr. Harold McKay. And now, our God, may Thy presence, Thy power, and Thy richest blessing be known in this chapel from this day on for the glory of that fearless name. And may the love of God our Father, who gave for us His only Son, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became full, and the communion and fellowship of the Holy Spirit of God rest upon all who know and love our Lord Jesus Christ in truth.

Amen. Now, it's fast getting dark. The sun is going down, but we ought to try and get a conference photo. If we don't get it now, we never will get it. It's not too likely. If you all get out that end quickly, we'll see if we can get a photograph.

Thank you.