Harmony of the Early Church Acts 4:32-37
I read about a lady, who called long distance to talk with her friend because she was terribly distraught. She told her friend that her church had become a scene right out of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s movie. “The deacons are fighting-with the pastor! Our people hate each other, it’s just awful,” she told her friend. Her friend replied, “Well, let me add this to our church’s prayer list. What’s the name of your church?”
The lady answered, “Harmony Baptist Church!”
Harmony ought to be more than just a name on the sign out front. Harmony should be what God sees when He looks inside the church!
In our passage, today, we find three ways the early Church expressed harmony. Each of these are expressions that should be in Elim Bible church today.
1. The Expression of Experience.
What do I mean here? This is where it all begins. It is all about experiencing REAL salvation, not some fairy tale version the world recommends.
In verse 32 we see the phrase “those who believed”
The early church called ONLY those who surrendered to Jesus “believers” or “Christ followers.” The word “Christian” came into play later.
Rom 10:10 NKJV - 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:10 NLT - 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
Paul is not talking about the blood pumping muscle. This verse deals with the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge.
If you remember, I have said many times that there is only 18 inches between heaven and hell. (The distance between the head and the heart)
A person is not saved simply by developing some mental acceptance about salvation. You can believe all the facts of salvation and still die lost in the clutches of sin. You can have a head knowledge religion but religion does not bring salvation.
Having real heart knowledge, believing in your heart, placing your faith in Jesus is what brings true salvation.
Far too many believe salvation is nothing more than just walking an aisle, or filling out a card, or praying some prayer. But it is so much more than a simple action. True and life changing salvation is a belief of the heart. True salvation affects you, there’s a change that takes place in you. There is a real commitment to the One who died for you! It is about placing your life in the Hands of Jesus, by faith.
I watched every single person walk in here, today and take a seat without giving a single thought to whether or not that pew would support your weight. No one stood there thinking “should I just stand here and think about whether it will hold my weight or do I trust it and sit down? (Stand next to a chair, brought in)
The truth is that I can believe in my head it will support me, but does that give truth to the chairs ability to hold my weight? No! It doesn’t matter what’s in my head! It doesn’t work until I sit down, until I put my heart into the sitting!
You might be asking, Pastor, just what does this have to do with Harmony in the church?
My answer…Everything!
Across town, on Third Loop Road we have a church by the name of Grace Baptist Church, where a friend of mine, John Collins, is the pastor.
I don’t know how you see it but for me, it takes a lot of grace to get along in the church and to move forward as a body.
Every church needs members that have grace working in their life. By this I mean they have been saved! If you look at the church today you will find that a high percentage has not been saved but simply have their name on some roll! The wrong roll I might add. Where will you be when the roll is called up yonder?
It’s no accident that in verse 33b it says “and great GRACE was upon them ALL”!
We all may have our disagreements, but if grace is operating in your life you CAN NOT stay mad!
The early church may not have had the same testimony, experience, feelings, etc. at the moment of salvation, but they ALL had that born-again experience! And so should we!
The second expression of harmony that we see is:
2. The Expression of Giving.
Some skeptics say that verses 34-35 reveal the early church was ruled by Communism.
Is that true? Is that what these verses refer to? No!
What we read in these verses was voluntary, and the motivation was love.
The early believers were persecuted and many had lost everything when they got saved.
This was done at a very specific time in history for a specific purpose…but it illustrates for us what sacrificial giving really is! It’s how God’s work goes forward.
I am always afraid to talk about money, but I’ve been learning that I’m failing our church by not talking about it. I am understanding that it is my responsibility to teach this body about the grace and the joy of giving. But not just giving what I think I decide. I am talking about giving sacrificially, as we hear God call us to give!
I want to show you a few who had the gift of giving.
A man named William was16 when he left home with all he owned in a bundle. His trade was making soap. He met riverboat captain who said, son, someone will soon be the leading soap maker in NY, it might as well be you. Be a good man, give your heart to Christ, pay the Lord all that belongs to Him, make a good soap and give a full pound.”
William got job at a soap making company and tithed his income. He later became a partner, then sole owner of the company. He gave 10% of the profits off the top. Then 20-30-40…finally, 50% before he died. His name was William Colgate.
Henry Crowell “The autocrat of the breakfast table”
Contracted tuberculosis as boy and was unable to finish school. He heard D.L. Moody preach and was stirred…he said, “Lord, I’m not called to preach, but I can be a successful businessman and give generously to the work of the Lord” He soon bought a run-down mill in Ohio, called Quaker Mill and in 10 years Quaker Oats had become a household name. He started out giving 10% but increased it to 70%, which he maintained for next 40 years.
Each of these men possessed the gift of giving.
I read this definition for the gift of giving: the special ability to prosper financially, and give liberally to the work of the Lord.
Oh I know what some of you are thinking…“So, that’s why I don’t tithe…I don’t have the gift of giving!” That prospering financially leaves most of us out, right?
Please don’t confuse the gift of giving with the grace of giving.
Every believer is expected to exercise the grace of giving by obeying the command to tithe their increase.
The gift of giving goes far beyond the tithe. They see the tithe as only the minimum or a starting point or maybe a launching pad.
James Cash Penney gave 90% of his profits to the Lord and built an empire of over 1600 stores that we call JC Penney. All on just the remaining 10%!
God gives the gift of giving to people that He knows He can trust to be a vessel that He can flow His resources through. And the cool thing is that you don’t need to be filthy rich to receive the gift!
God uses the person who realizes all he has belongs to God…and God can ask for any and all of it any time he wants to.
This person has attitude of a river…not a reservoir. A river is a constant flow while a reservoir is just deep hole in the ground that holds water until it dries up.
There was a man who wanted a bag filled with his life savings left in attic above him when he died. After the funeral, his widow went to the attic and found the sack of money still there. She said “I knew I should have put it in the basement!”
Why not give while you are still alive and watch what God can do with what you give. Watch, with your own eyes, what God can do with what you keep and experience in your own heart the joy of giving.
Pray for me as I seek the Lord’s direction on how to teach the grace of giving.
We have looked at two expressions of harmony: experience, giving. Finally we have:
3. The Expression of Evangelism
The church started with 120 praying in an upper room, which grew in a few months to at least 100k believers, not mere church members, according to scholars and historians!
Folks the absolute truth is that it takes participation. It takes harmony and a team approach. It takes each one reaching one!
Pray that God will show us how we can reach, not only this community but this county and our world, with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Think about starting your own personal outreach, using prospects that you know need a church home. Pray about how we, as a body can begin to expand our horizons and reach our world.
May we always be a church of one mind, one heart and one soul!
