Bible Text: Acts 4:32-37 | Preacher: Pastor Steve | Series: The Solid Acts of God
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 …On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it. For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
Acts 4:32-37 All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had. And the apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great favor was upon them all. There was no poverty among them, because people who owned land or houses sold them and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need.
Acts 2:41-47 Those who believed…joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer… And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity…
Example #1
Acts 4:36 Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”).
Example #2
Acts 5:1-9 There was also a man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.
One of the hallmarks of the Taladim (followers) of Jesus was generosity
There are 500 verses on prayer and faith and yet there are over 2000 verses on money and possessions
Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
ALL are equally important tithing, justice, mercy and faithfulness
The Jewish rabbis pictured God as having two scales one called justice, the other mercy
We make a living by what we do but we make a life by what we give
Malachi 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do, says the Lord Almighty, I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!
Generosity Blesses the Giver
Proverbs 11:25 The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
Psalm 112:4 When darkness overtakes the godly, light will come bursting in. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. All goes well for those who are generous, who lend freely and conduct their business fairly.
We are not called to be lone rangers but to be in community in God’s family
We are Better Together
1 Corinthians 1:10 I have a serious concern to bring up with you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I’ll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common (THE MESSAGE).
Studying Together
They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer…
All the believers were of one heart and mind…
Socializing Together
…devoted themselves to one another…
…And all the believers met together constantly…They worshiped together
…met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity
Serving Together
…they shared everything they had…and God’s great favor was upon them all…sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer…and shared everything they had…They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need…and shared their meals with great joy and generosity
Insula
Hebrews 10:24-25 Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.