God’s Pattern for His Church (April 30, 2023)

Everyone that knows me knows that I LOVE Easter Sunday, not for eggs or bunnies, but for the fact that Jesus is ALIVE! Everyone that knows me ALSO knows the face that I LOVE Seven Sundays just as well, because that is Pentecost Sunday! This year that date is May 28, 2023. On Pentecost, that is the birth of something wonderful and exciting for the New Testament Church.

Before we get there, we need to talk about God’s Pattern for His Church. Over the years, man has distorted the pattern and I firmly believe that the modern day church needs to get back to our roots and become God’s Church once again.

A few years ago, I preached a series called the Modern Fallacy of the Church, in which there were several in this series:

• Being a Seeker Friendly Church

• Call Upon God

• Confess

• Humble Self

• Pray

• Repent

In this series we looked at things about the Modern Day Church that needed to be corrected, all which lined up with the Word of God. Today and for the next few Sundays I want to look at God’s Pattern for His Church and how He wanted His Church to operate, even today.

It all started on the Day of Pentecost over 2,000 years ago, the Day of Pentecost was an amazing day, the Holy Spirit was given and the God’s Church was born. The God’s Church that came into existence that day was a sight to behold:

• It was a church operating in the power of the Holy Spirit.

• It was a church on mission, taking the Gospel to a lost world.

• It was a church excited about its Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

• It was a church committed to holiness, obedience to the Word of God, and to worship.

• It was a church that was hated by the world around, but it was steadfast in the face of horrible persecution.

• It was a church that was growing, as God added to it.

• It was a church that enjoyed the manifest presence and power of God.

• The church described in the book of Acts was unlike anything the world had ever, or will ever see again.

We could talk about how the modern day church has changed, but let’s look at the Pattern of God’s Church in Acts and how He wanted the Church to be like:

• The church in Acts was united

Act 2:44–46 ~ “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. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,”

 

Acts 4:32–37 ~ “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. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

 

• The people loved one another.

• They were being persecuted for their faith, and many were losing their jobs.

• Others were forces from their homes.

• Many were poverty stricken.

• The people in the church rallied together, sold their possessions, and gave to meet the needs of other believers.

• Acts 2:46 says they were “attending the temple together” meaning they were all in one accord.

• Acts 4:32 says “those who believed were of one heart and one soul.”

• They held their faith in common.

• They stood with one another and not against one another.

• They presented a united front to the hostile world in which they lived.

• The church in Acts was committed—We are told that “day by day”

Acts 2:46 ~ “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,”

• They were so committed to their worship of the Savior that they came together every day to worship and to honor the Lord.

• Get that in your mind! They didn’t just go to church on Sunday; they came to church every single day! That’s commitment.

• They were committed in the face of persecution and hatred.

• Stephen was stoned to death for his faith, Acts 7.

• John and Peter were arrested and beaten for their preaching, Acts 4–5.

• The whole church operated under the threat of persecution, jail, and death,

Acts 8:1–3 ~ “And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”

Acts 9:1–2 ~ “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”

• The church in Acts was powerful—The early church enjoyed the power of God in their midst.

• They saw people saved

Acts 2:47 ~ “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

• They witnessed miraculous conversions as first 3,000 and then 5,000 were saved by grace and brought into their number.

• They saw God deal with hypocrisy in their midst by judging guilty members in the presence of all

Acts 5:1–11 ~ “But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

• They witnessed many miracles and many manifestations of the power of God.

• They were hated by the world, but they had the power of God on their ministries.

• There was so much spiritual power on this church that they were said to have “turned the world upside down,”

Acts 17:6 ~ “And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,”

• The church in Acts was militant—They carried the Gospel to everyone they met.

• Peter and John shared the Gospel with a crippled man in Acts 3. When he was healed and saved, a crowd gathered, Acts 4. Peter and John preached the Gospel to that crowd and 5,000 people were saved.

• They sent out missionaries to carry the Gospel to the world.

• They witnessed were they lived, and everywhere they went.

• They literally fulfilled Acts 1:8, which says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

• They had the Gospel, and they did not hesitate to use it!

• The church in Acts was feared—While they were hated by the word, they were also feared.

• When Ananias and Sapphira were killed for lying to God, fear fell on the people because of the power of God that rested on His church.

• Acts 5:13 says, “None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.”

• The world around them knew something was different about this church.

• Many feared the church because God’s presence was so real.

By Comparison, the Modern Day Church looks nothing like the Church of Acts, God’s Church:

• The modern church is divided

• The modern church is so fractured that there can be little cooperation on issues that matter.

• Denominations, doctrines, problems real and perceived, all combine to divide the church into small, isolated groups that refuse to accept those who are different.

• The modern church is uncommitted

• Most people in our generation treat the church like it is expendable.

• Their commitment to the church is conditioned on their schedules, their routines, their convenience, the whims of the moment.

• There is no real commitment to the mission of the church, the worship of the church, the outreach of the church, or the needs of the church.

• The modern church is afflicted with a “take it or leave it” attitude.

• Often those in positions of leadership and pastors are the worst offenders.

• Sunday School teachers, Deacons, preachers, pastors and other leaders should set an example of faithfulness for the rest of the church. If they don’t they should resign from their positions.

• The modern church is powerless

• Lost people come into our churches and there is little to no conviction.

• In many cases, the people in the pews are not so different from the lost people in the world around them.

• Church members give little attention to prayer, daily worship and devotion, and personal holiness.

• As a result, when we gather for our meetings, they are often lifeless, powerless, and lacking in the manifest presence and power of God.

• Lost people come into our churches and see no difference between us and them.

• The church today is doing everything in its power to make itself more attractive to the lost world.

• We lower our standards, water down our sermons, adopt a more modern style of music, and do all we can to make the church attractive to the lost.

• It should not be that way!

• When the world steps into the church, they ought to feel as though they have entered an alien world.

• The way we talk, the way we dress, the way we worship, the way we preach, should all leave them with the impression that we are different.

• The way we dress when we go to church does not add to our diminish or power with God. However, the way we dress when we go to church does reveal how much we respect God and His house.

• The kind of music we choose will not add to or diminish the power of God in the church. Our choice of any music style should be based in a desire to worship and magnify the Lord, and not from a desire to attract the world.

• The way we preach is determined by a lot of factors. No two preachers deliver the message the same way. We must never be guilty of dumb-ing down our doctrine, or changing the Gospel to make it more appealing to the world.

• If we are going to impact our generation, we will only do so through the power of God’s Spirit. His touch must be on our singing, our preaching, and our church.

• The modern church is not militant

• We hold in our hands the precious, inspired Word of God.

• We have been entrusted with the Gospel message, the very message that every lost soul in the world needs to hear.

• Instead of taking that message to the world and engaging them with the Gospel, we tell no one.

• Then we wonder why no one is being saved.

• The LGBTIA+ movement in our world is loud and vocal. They comprise about 7.2% of our population. That’s about 24 million people out of the 332 million that make up America, yet they act as if they are the majority.

• They push their radical agenda, an agenda that will change the shape and dynamic of the family in coming generations.

• While this is happening, the redeemed church of the living God, sits on our collective backsides and says nothing!

• We have ceased to be the church of Matthew 16:18, which says, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” but we should be!

• The church is being increasingly marginalized in our society.

• No one cares what we think about social issues.

• No one wants God’s perspective on anything today.

• We deserve that kind of treatment because we have forgotten how to take a stand.

• The modern church is not feared

• The world mocks us.

• They mock our Bible, our worship, and our God.

• When hollywood or television portrays a Christian, they are usually pictured as some simpleminded lunatic, a child molester, or a psycho nut job.

• They laugh at our powerlessness.

• They find humor in our Gospel.

• They believe we are all hypocrites, and in far too many cases they are right.

• The world doesn’t fear us; they have no reason to.

• When I say “fear us,” I mean there should be something “other worldly” about the church.

• There should be such power on the people of God that while the world may hate us, but they cannot deny that we have been with the Lord, and that He stands with us

Acts 4:13 ~ “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”

I am very interested in our church being the right kind of church. I am interested in having the kind of church that is as close as possible to the type of church God founded in the world 2,000 years ago.

To understand the kind of church the church in the book of Acts was, we need only look at the verses we have read today. This passage reveals God’s Pattern For His Church. The verses speak about the characteristics that should be the distinguishing marks of God’s church. If we dare, let’s lay our church alongside this template and see how well we line up with God’s Pattern For His Church.