Dear Christian friends:

A well known minister has given us an interesting definition of a local church. He says, "The church is a corporate group of happy, Holy Spirit inspired Christians, who allow themselves to be minds through which Christ thinks, hearts through which Christ can love and hands through which Christ can help. In that sense the church is the living body of Christ, helping hurting people in a local community.

I would like to add a fourth thing which a church should allow itself to be: a voice through which Christ can speak of repentance and forgiveness of sins.

The problem is, however, that sometimes a local church is not so Holy Spirit inspired and therefore does not allow Jesus to do these good things in the community.

Our text, which is the First Lesson for this Sunday from Acts 4, tells us about a local church that was indeed Holy Spirit inspired and united and which did allow Christ to think, love, act and speak through it. It was the church at Jerusalem shortly after the risen Lord had ascended into heaven.

So, on the basis of this text and with the Spirits leading, let us consider the topic:


As a church we are inclined to separate and disintegrate. Because we still have the old sinful nature along with our new nature we, as individuals, tend to focus on self-preservation.

We worry about this life, what we will eat and drink and about our body, what we will wear. We think and sometimes say, "If I give some time, talent and treasure for the work of the church, I won't have enough left for myself and my family." So, frequently we don't give enough time, talent and treasure for the congregation to be the church in the community.

We forget that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and lavishly supplies all our wants and needs. We confessed before: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing." But do we really believe it and act on it?

Many years ago a deaf member of the church at Butte, Montana decided to give the tithe for the church. He was delighted to do this and visited the other members and encouraged them to do likewise. Many of these members agreed to do so, but one member did not. He said to the tither, "You are a fool to give that much money to the church. You had better save your money for a rainy day. If you lose your job, will the church pay your rent and your grocery bills?" Needless to say this caused a bit of disunity in the church. So we had to deal with the brother according to our Lord's instructions in Matthew 18:15-17.

So we see that frequently the danger to a church comes from within, from the members themselves. Sometimes pressures and threats from outside the church make us fearful to be the church in the community and especially afraid to speak the truth, to witness of the Christ.

We probably have no threats to our life or threats of imprisonment from the government and the church authorities such as this congregation at Jerusalem had.

Our text tells us that Peter and John had just been released from prison. (Acts 4:23) They had been arrested and put in prison for preaching and teaching that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, something the government and the church authorities wanted to squelch. They would not have released them at all, but they feared the citizens because many had know the crippled beggar whom Peter had healed in the name of the crucified and risen Christ. Several thousand citizens had become believers largely because of this miracle.

We may not be so severely threatened here in the United States, but in many other countries thousands of Christians are so threatened. In 1996, 159,000 Christians were killed simply because they were Christians.

Dr. Paul Marshall, a scholar who has studied this matter for several years and has recently written a book on the subject, estimates that in sixty nations around the globe some two-hundred million Christians live under conditions of active persecution and another four-hundred million live in situations of severe discrimination. We, too, might suffer discrimination if we speak-up for Jesus and the truth. We could lose friends or even family members or fail to get a promotion at work or suffer other losses.

We might think and say, "I don't want any trouble. I've learned to keep my mouth shut. I've been burned." So we could fail to be the mind, heart, hand and voice of Jesus in our community.

And when we are not being what our Lord wants us to be we are easy prey for Satan and our own sinful flesh. We are tempted to separate from Christ and from one another and disintegrate as an effective church, being so concerned on self-preservation.

(Tell the story of the Talking Parrot) The parrot died because it didn't say something. Churches also die because they don't speak up for Christ when they should.

The remedy for this malady is the Spirit of God, who alone is able to make fearful, timid believers into bold testifying Christians, who do not fear those who can harm the body, but cannot harm the soul.

God unites us and empowers us for bold witness to the risen Christ. Notice how the church at Jerusalem handled these fears, which resulted from threats to their temporal lives.

Our text tells us that when they heard of the threats from the Sanhedrin which Peter and John related to them, "they raised their voices together in prayer to God." (Acts 4:24) And what a prayer they prayed! You can tell from their prayer that they were well read in the Old Testament Scriptures, the Word of God through which the Holy Spirit is given, the Spirit who enables us to love, act and speak for Jesus, the Spirit who gives life and power to the very words we speak. They had regularly studied the Scriptures together and so their leader could offer a powerful, effective prayer, laying hold of God's promises to defend them against their enemies and to undergrid their witness to the crucified and risen Lord.

"And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:31) The Spirit of God had united them in mind and heart so that they could testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them. (Acts 4:32-33) The Holy Spirit also led them to be good stewards of their time, talent and treasure our text tells us. (read Acts 4:32 and explain)

The Spirit of God would do the same for us today. We become united in heart and mind when we study the Word of God together. Then, through the discussions, the questions and answers the Spirit can lead us to a consensus, so that all the members know what the will of the Lord is for this congregation. If there are differences of opinion or conflicts between members we learn how to deal with these differences and conflicts in a brotherly, loving way, instead of biting and devouring one another.

As we hear the Word of God together during the church service, and then also discuss it with each other in the Bible Class we become aware of our weakness and are constrained to pray for the Spirit's power. Then we will be more United to Witness Of The Risen Christ and be the church in this community.

In conclusion I want to lead you in a prayer similar to the one those Christians prayed long ago in the church at Jerusalem.

Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. We trust You to defeat all hostile forces arrayed against Your Anointed One, Jesus Christ, whom you have raised from the dead, just as Your prophets have foretold. Forgive and deliver us from our concerns for this temporal life, so that we may be freed to spend our time, talents and treasure in Your ministry of proclaiming repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations. Now, Lord, consider those opposed to Your Christ, and enable us, your servants to speak Your word with great boldness. Stretch out Your hand to heal and to turn men from darkness to light, from eternal death to eternal life through the name of Your holy servant, Jesus.

Amen.