Commencement 31 A.D.

Well, for many, late spring, as we just recognized today, late spring is the time of high school and college graduations, or what we often call commencements, all across the United States.

We were driving back from Texarkana this afternoon, and there were a number of garages opened up. They had congratulations. I don't think it's because they're getting a new car, but it looked like they're having a barbecue, family cake, and that sort of thing. It's a very exciting time of the year, and it's a great time to see that not only sometimes I remember my high school graduation, I was actually depressed because suddenly this vast void opened up in front of me, and I didn't have my routines. What would I do? Would I survive? Would I ever get a job? Will I be digging ditches like my parents warned me I would if I didn't work? None of that happened, and since then I've had many things like that happen, as you have, and you realize that the ending of one thing is often the beginning of the next. It's actually a commencement is what we often call it. Commencement. It's a time of beginning new things. Well, late spring is also the time we know of God's Feast of Harvest, or it's called the Feast of Weeks. It's called both in the Book of Exodus, several places. In ancient Israel, the Feast of Harvest, or the Feast of Weeks, because you count seven weeks and then one day. That was the time of the spring harvest of barley, and closely followed by wheat. These were the early feasts, because in the agricultural year, the much greater feast would occur in the fall. The greater feasts had to do with grapes and olives, pomegranates, late summer figs, that sort of thing. A much bigger harvest. And of course, that is pointed to, that is associated with the Feast of Tabernacles and the other fall holy days, the feast then. In the New Testament, this festival is known as Pentecost. And yes, as I mentioned in the announcements, we'll be observing Pentecost next Sunday, rather, a week from tomorrow. It's called Pentecost because of the, it comes from the Greek word for fiftieth. And Pentecost reminds many, related to the Feast of Weeks as well, for many it's a reminder of when God, at the same time, God revealed His law at Mount Sinai.

And in the New Testament, it was on Pentecost, and we believe it was in 31 A.D., that God poured out His Holy Spirit in the church Jesus Christ promised to build began. The church commenced according to God's will and plan. And so Pentecost does mark the beginning, or, as I will say now, the commencement of God's church, the beginning, the commencement of God's church, the ecclesia of God, the called-out ones, the assembly of God. And this is the same church into which God has called you and God has called me to be members united together as one under Jesus Christ and united as one with the Father. And so today we will recall how the church began in 31 A.D., and we will also be reminded of our own vital part in remaining faithful members of the church. The church and scripture is giving a number of attributes, and part of what we'll be ending the sermon with today is to see how well, to consider how well we might be living up to those attributes given to the church. And so the title of the sermon is Commencement 31 A.D. Commencement 31 A.D. Yes, I'm playing on the graduation theme today. So to begin, let's address and think about who those first disciples were. Many of these first disciples, especially the names we find listeners, scripture would become very important figures in the church of God. Who were these first disciples? Were they powerful political leaders? No. Were they among the religious authorities of the time? No. Were they among the rich and famous? No. Were they among what we might call the influencers of their age? If you don't know what influencer are, ask someone that's on YouTube and gets into TikTok and all that. These are people that persuade us and interest us in trying new things, buying new things. No, they were none of these. They were hardworking, God-fearing people.

They were people like Andrew and Simon. They were brothers. Another set of brothers, James and John, they were all fishermen by trade. They were among the first ones. Jesus said to them, he said, follow me. And they left their nets, they left their boats, and they followed Christ. They are among the very first disciples. And of course, Jesus would later call others. And later, he chose eight others, twelve and all to be apostles. And the apostles were sent out to preach the gospel.

And you can find their names listed in Matthew 10, 1 through 4. But they were all just rather, in the world's view, unimportant people. They were nothing important. In many ways, they were the fabric of society. They were steady members of society and God-fearing. But they are nothing special in the eyes of the world. But they were very special in the eyes of God.

Now, Jesus Christ said that he would build his church. We find that in Matthew 16, verse 18. If you turn with me there, let's touch base with some of these scriptures. Matthew 16, verse 18.

And as we read this, we'll see that Simon, who became known as Peter, Simon Peter would have a special role. In Matthew 16, verse 18, here's what Jesus said. And he said, And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.

And the gates of Hades, meaning the grave, shall not prevail against it. Very encouraging words, telling us that God's church will never die out. We may find little country churches shrink up. We may find churches move now and then, but not God's church. Not God's church.

Now, Matthew 28, verse 20, over a few more pages, Matthew 28, verse 20.

Jesus assured his disciples something else. He assured them that he would guide and preserve his church until his return. In fact, he puts it this way. I'm going to pick up the last part of that sentence, the very last verse among the last things recorded as Christ's saying in the Gospel of Matthew, the Book of Matthew. Jesus said, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Of course, he's not just speaking to one individual or to his disciples. He's speaking about his people, who would be his church, who'd compose his church. Now, Jesus was not talking about a physical building. Many of us may know that, but that was one thing I had to wrap my brain around when I became acquainted with the church God was calling me. I constantly grew up thinking of a church as a building. It's interesting, our nomenclature here, when we talk about church, we tag on the building. You notice that? We talk about going to the church building, because we're aware that the church is not a building. We're aware that the church is not a organization of mere men. We have a church called the Lutheran Church, founded by the name of a man called Martin Luther. There are other groups. We even have cowboy churches, founded by, I suppose, cowboys. But that's not what's going on here. That's not what this is.

The church, the ekklesia, is the Greek word for church, was and remains the called-out assembly of Christ spiritually transformed and faithful followers. That's what the church is. The called-out assembly. We're going to find out and remind us who calls them out. The called-out assembly of Christ spiritually transformed and faithful followers. Now, in John 644, we should know and respect and be greatly appreciative that God the Father is the one who calls us unto Christ, into the church.

God the Father called the twelve disciples, who became the apostles to Christ and his church, and he does the same today. God the Father does the calling, and oftentimes we might call it the invitation. We don't have to accept it. We can reject it. But I recommend you accept it personally. I really do. John 6, verse 44 through 45. Here's what Scripture tells us. Jesus, these are the words of Jesus, he said, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be taught by God. Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. And so I had to learn that truth as well. I thought, Oh, I found the true church. No. God opened my mind. He opened my mind somehow at some time. I probably don't even really know how or when, but I recognize now that God opened my mind to understand, to be interested in this group and delve in a little bit more, and a little more became true, and more I began to agree with, and I was hooked. Well, not just hooked. I dove in. I dove in. I embraced it. And so have us. Verse 65 as well. And again, Jesus said, And he said, Therefore, I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by my Father. So God the Father continues to call people to Christ and then Christ his Church. And there to be firstfruits of salvation. That term firstfruits takes us back to this first, the Feast of Harvest. It's called, again, that feast in ancient Israel of barley and wheat, the first of a much larger harvest that would occur later in the agricultural year of ancient Israel. And of course, this represents the firstfruits who are Christ now and at his coming when he returns, they will be resurrected to immortality, to these glorious beings.

The later harvest of billions of people, we believe, will occur much later after Christ has established his kingdom on the earth. That fall harvest, the fall festivals picture that part of God's plan of salvation. Now, sometimes, I want to touch on this, sometimes even after we've been called and we may stop and pause maybe through a series of sad occasions or doubts in our lifetime, we may wonder, are we good enough to be a disciple? Am I cut out to be a disciple? Now, sometimes we may feel that way, more, well, I was going to say think, but actually, I think it really is more of a feeling, more of that edginess that maybe I'm not worthy. And we may say that because perhaps as we look at Scripture, when we see these accounts of men and women like the apostles and others who did such wonderful, faithful things, we may compare ourselves to them and think, I can't do that. I'm not there. Maybe we'll look among others that we've come to know through the years and think, oh, I can never achieve what they've achieved. And of course, there's a little principle that it's wise not to compare ourselves among ourselves. Because until you walk into somebody else's shoes and peer behind the curtain, we don't know what others are dealing with. We should be careful of making those sort of comparisons, frankly. But we may especially feel that we're not cut out to be discipled if we find that we keep falling for the same temptations. That's part of our life. Or when we keep slipping up and doing the same old stupid sins, we don't want to do, and we hate, but we keep doing it. You know, maybe you should take some confidence knowing that Paul had the same experience. But such thoughts and feelings are not good to dwell on. Such thoughts and feelings are self-defeating. What we should do instead is pray to God, our Father, if we have such doubts and concerns. We should humbly confess to Him our sins or doubts, ask for His forgiveness and faith, knowing that Christ is paid for our sins. All of them. Even those that we don't even want to think about because we feel they are so bad and maybe they are bad. But God can forgive even those. And then, believing that God has forgiven us, ask for His help to keep fighting sin and then go on. Go and sin no more. Strive harder to do that sin no more. And if, as it's possible, you do it again, you go back and repeat the process as often as it takes. You don't stop going to God in repentance. We don't want ourselves to become hardened and calcified in that sinful practice. Keep resisting it. Now, as far as not thinking ourselves good enough to be a disciple, let's, in that idea, let's look at Luke chapter 5 verse 8. You know, we really should pause and remember and realize that no disciple is without sin. I don't know if you've thought of it that way. No disciple is without sin. And you might want to recall, as I'm going to take us to here, Luke chapter 5 verse 8. Remember what Peter said, and I'm just going to read this one verse, the larger context. Maybe you can read a little later.

But here's what something Peter said, and he realized that Jesus had just miraculously filled their nets, their fishing nets, full of fish. They're about ready to sink. And when he saw it, verse 8, when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus's knee, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord, for he and all who are with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken. And so he recognized that this was a holy man of God, and he was such a lowly sinner. I shouldn't even be in your presence. It seemed to be how Peter thought about it. Peter knew he had sin. And so the church Christ is building, and he's still building his church. The church Christ is building is made up of people who sin. But through faith in Jesus Christ, they choose not to remain in their sin. They choose to repent. They meaning we choose to repent. We seek God's forgiveness, and we continue in faithfully following Christ. And so being a disciple of Jesus Christ, a member of his church, is always a matter of putting aside our sinful ways and putting on the mind and ways of God in Christ, that vital, important lesson we learned during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. But of course, we can only do that with God's help. As scripture shows, that those very first disciples also had to work with their own mistakes in life. They had things they kept doing wrong. And I want to look at just to remind us a few things they struggled with to give us a sense that God does not want perfection now. That's something we'll achieve with his help when Christ returns. We're to be working towards it. We're to be working to become more complete, to have more of God's mind and heart and his behavior. And our conformity is to be to Christ and not to the world around us and not yielding to ourself and our sinfulness.

But let's consider a few examples that part of discipleship does mean a discipleship is a learning situation. They're students. We are students of God and Christ. We will make mistakes. Sometimes that's how we learn. Let's look at Luke 9. We're here in the neighborhood. A few more pages over.

Luke 9, verse 52 to 56. Just a reminder of some of the things they did. This is not to denigrate the disciples in any way. This is just to give us a pause to think that they were not so different from us.

Luke 9, verse 52-56. Here we see an example how James and John, if we may remember this, sometimes they suffered from a little bit we might call excessive zeal.

And the example here comes from a time that they with Christ were making the way to Jerusalem. They were going to stop at a Samaritan village, and they didn't get quite the friendly reception they had expected. And so breaking into the thought there in, let's see, Luke 9, verse 52.

And it talks about how they sent messengers before his face.

Next sentence. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans to prepare for him.

But they, that means the Samaritans did not receive him because his face he was set for the journey to Jerusalem. Samaritans didn't always like Jews and vice versa, and so they didn't welcome him into their village. But they did not receive him because his face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John, sons of Zebedee, sons of thunder, saw this, they said, Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven to consume them just as Elijah did? But he turned and rebuked them. He said, I don't know what he said, he rebuked them. Are you crazy? No, I don't know if he said that. But it's, you get the sense that totally no, no, absolutely not. And he said, Jesus said, you do not know what manner of spirit you are of. That is not our approach. How many times I've been teaching you these things? Follow my example. And he continues, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.

Totally opposite approach. And they went to another village. That's how Jesus handled it. He just went, okay, well, not gonna get angry. We're just gonna move on then.

Now the point is, it seems that in their zeal, and I'm gonna say this, in their zeal to humbly serve their Lord, to humbly serve their Lord, James and John, it seems to have given into maybe a little hurt pride in their part and anger. Perhaps even, it seems even thinking themselves of being akin to righteous Elijah. But Jesus cracked to them. He just simply turned to another village. He let them know that is not the approach. He set the appropriate example. Let's also consider Matthew 16. Matthew 16, verse 21 through 27. Here we find that Peter, Peter once thought he knew better than Jesus.

And there are other places we can turn. And again, he wasn't doing this out of arrogance, the context shows, but it seems he was behaving this way in this particular situation, now the desire to protect and defend Jesus. And so in Matthew 16, verse 21, and breaking into the thought again, from that time Jesus began to show his disciples, he was telling them these things, talking to them about the plan. And from that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised the third day.

It seems Peter maybe focused too much on the idea of being suffering and killed. And then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Another synonym for rebuke could be correct him or scold him, saying, Far be it from you, Lord, this shall not happen to you. But he, Jesus, turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan. It's almost as if Peter was acting like a tempter of Satan to tempt him away from wanting to lay down his life so that humanity might be saved.

Because that inadvertently was what Peter, if Peter had his way, would have happened. But of course, Peter, I'm not saying that's what Peter understood, but that's what Peter probably would have come to see. He didn't understand things as well at this point. And he says, Get behind me, Satan. You are an offense to me. For you are not mindful of the things of God. Similar to what he told James and John. You're not mindful of things of God, but the things of men.

You're looking at this from a human point of view. Now, no matter how noble his intent may have been to protect Jesus—and I think it was a noble intent—Peter's rebuke did aim to dissuade Jesus from being killed. And I don't think Peter understood that he was actually trying, and he intended to actually deter Jesus from making salvation available. But that is the reason Christ came—to lay down his life, to pay the penalty of death for all human sin. Peter at that time had an incomplete understanding of the purpose for Christ's coming.

He had a way to grow and learn yet. And so, a point we might remind ourselves here is that we too must allow ourselves, and must not allow ourselves, to think we know better than what God's scripture says.

If God's scripture says we should be doing something and it's clear, and we understand it, well then we—or even if we don't understand it, but it's clear—sometimes we go ahead and do these things. Because clarity will come later oftentimes. We must first be mindful of things of God, not the things of man.

Now, of course, there are other examples we could turn to. One of the big controversies, problems the disciples had, that they kept arguing about authority, a topic we heard about in today's sermonette. They wanted to know who would be the greatest in the kingdom.

It popped up several times. You read the Gospel of Counts. It pops up a number of times, too. I'm thinking even three times. And it's one of the reasons Christ paused on that last time of Passover, last night of Passover, and he washed their feet and instructed him, you, as you do this, you'll be blessed. He was trying to teach them that they were not to be lording over one another, but true leadership is serving others.

And, of course, they had other difficulties. They didn't always understand. Jesus said, beware the leaven of the Pharisees. They're thinking, oh, we forgot the bread again. No, that was not it. And so what I'm telling you is that they had to learn, too, and we are learning. And the good news is God kept, Christ kept working with them. And then later we read the wonderful things they did in the book of Acts and the other accounts we find in the New Testament. It's simply amazing what happened. It's amazing what happened.

So my point is that Christ's disciples were and are very human.

We are human, too, and they are prone to human weaknesses. We are prone to human weaknesses.

His disciples then, and I believe his disciples now, at least we should be striving to be humble.

They are teachable. They are eager to serve. And yes, sometimes we may overdo it. We may be overly zealous at times. Sometimes pride may get in the way. And sometimes we want to be boss, so to speak.

We want to be in charge. But we work through those things. If we love one another in the congregations, we work out our reconciliation when we do step on one another's toes. This is part of the growing in unity process. The disciples in those days had to learn about God's way of love, just as we do. And again, they are very much like us. And so for three and a half years then, Jesus Christ taught them, and they learned God's way of life. And they also became more like Christ as time went on, and especially so later. But the point we now need to understand, it comes to this, despite their own very best efforts, despite their own human strength and will, their own willpower, despite, well, what nowadays we might call our own grit. You know what grit is?

Grit is that stubbornness, that determination to do what it takes, no matter what. We can do a lot as human beings. And I'm looking at a number of you in this congregation. I know you are people of grit. We may not be climbing Mount Everest, but we are climbing our own little mountains.

But it takes more than just our own grit, our own strength, our own human willpower.

What they lacked at that time, and just what we lack until we receive this gift from God, they lacked the component that would transform their way of thinking, and that would also seal them as God's faithful and special people for all eternity. They lacked what Jesus described as the Helper. Let's be turning to John 14. This is where Christ talks about this. He talks about this to them on that last Passover evening night he had with them. They lacked what Jesus described as the Helper, God's Holy Spirit, which he promised them from the Father. And we see this bit of this discussion here in John 14 verse 16 through 18. Let's read here. Jesus told them, I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that it may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth which the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, but you know Him, and He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. That's a very encouraging phrase. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. It's promised that He had returned. They'd see Him again. Let's also look at verse 26, a few verses down. Again, He stresses, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, which the Father will send in my name, it will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. And so it is, as we're about to see, as we can be turning now to Acts chapter 1, and so it is that the pouring out of God's Holy Spirit, the pouring out of God's Holy Spirit, was the event that commenced and marked the founding of God's Church, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Let's look at Acts chapter 1. Acts chapter 1. And so now we fast forward in the timeline after Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, and it was between the time of His resurrection and the founding of His Church on Pentecost, 50 days after His resurrection, that Jesus appeared to His disciples over the course of those first 40 days. And what He was doing to that time, we see in Acts 1.3, He was giving them further instruction about the coming kingdom of God. He was prepping them for more service. He was prepping them for something big.

And so Acts 1 verse 3, He said, and then there it is, in the middle of verse 3, being seen by Him during 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

And during that time, continuing on verse 4, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which He said, you have heard from Me. And we just read that in John 14. He mentions it again in John 15, though we didn't read that. And then in verse 8 of Acts 1.8, and He explained to them, verse 8, He said, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. And so this, He was gearing them up for their mission, their responsibility and mission. And it, by the way, is also our responsibility and mission.

Now later, referring, talking about the Holy Spirit. Let's segue a little bit here.

Later, as we read, you can hold your place in Acts, but let's look at Romans 8, verse 9 through 10.

Romans 8, verse 9 through 10. At a later time, Jesus inspired Paul to explain the crucial importance, the crucial importance of receiving the Holy Spirit. It's important in the process of becoming a truly converted member of His church, becoming a member of that spirit body.

Verse 9, Romans 8, verse 9, Paul writes, but you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin. Dead, we would say, symbolically. But the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

And then skipping down a little more to verses 13 through 14, Paul also said, under inspiration of God, of Christ, where if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit, you allow yourself to yield to God's Spirit, to yield yourself to understanding and believing and following God's Word as well. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. And a little bit more he gives is Philippians chapter 2, verses 12 through 13. Philippians 2, 12 through 14.

Did I say 14? Philippians 2 verse 12. I'm sorry. Philippians 2 verse 12 through 13.

And here, Paul continues to explain that it's through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit within us that Jesus Christ and God the Father actively participate, involve themselves in our lives, to strengthen us and to inspire us in our obedience and service to God and service to fellow man. We must love God and love our neighbor. That's not normal for human beings to do.

But God's Spirit makes us have that compulsion to do so if we will yield ourselves to it and to follow through and do it. And so Philippians 2 verse 12.

Let's take this very seriously. Don't be complacent about this. Verse 13. And here's the verse you can underline. For it is God who works in you, be through his Spirit, is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. Very important. It is God's Holy Spirit then at work in us that gives us that will and even desire to serve him. That's not something we will normally naturally come up with on our own. God gives us that strength, that desire, that will. Even gives us the strength of faith we need to carry through his will.

And so the presence or absence of God's Spirit is what determines whether a person is truly a servant of Christ. Those who have received God's Spirit are the spiritual body. They make up the spiritual body that is the church Jesus founded, Jesus commenced in 31 A.D., the Holy Spirit. Now let's go back to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2. We're going to read verse 1 through 4. And so therefore the church, the church is the spiritually transformed body of believers. They have God's Holy Spirit dwelling in them. It's that down payment, that guarantee of salvation.

And so the church, that spiritually transformed body of believers, began when Christ's apostles received the Holy Spirit just as he promised. And so now Acts 2 verse 1. When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all in one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And so it seems that God's Spirit instantly changed them, instantly did something.

Now many were there. Many Jews had gathered there. Why? Because it was the Feast of Weeks. They were there in the temple area, Jerusalem, and they heard this noise. And many who heard them realized that they had received special inspiration and power from God. Let's read now verse 5 through 8, continuing on a little bit more. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem, Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, hundreds of them rushed together, and they were confused because everyone heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? You know, when did Galileans learn to speak the Greek language or the Arabic language? All these other things. It was confusing to them.

How is it that we hear each in our own language in which we were born? Verse 11, We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. So what were they preaching?

Well, the apostles at once began preaching that Jesus of Nazareth was a long-awaited Messiah.

He was the Christ, and they were announcing this in all these various languages. And these people from different parts of the world understood it in their native tongue. They probably knew a number of languages, but they heard it in their native tongue. Very interesting, a very truly wondrous miracle. Acts 2.36. Here's part of what they heard. I'm just going to take a bit of this. Acts 2.36-39.

And Peter here is speaking at this point, part of his sermon. He says, Acts 2.36, Therefore, as he wraps up coming to the conclusion, he says, Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified. Of course, he's speaking to the Jewish leaders, especially in the nation. You whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? They did not want this upon them. They wanted forgiveness. They wanted this to be wiped away, this responsibility, this accountability.

Now, of course, not everybody bought it. They thought it was unreal. But there are devout men there. God had opened their minds. The Father had opened at least 3,000 others we're going to learn. They heard it, and they believed it. And what was the answer? Men and brethren, what shall we do? Verse 38. Then Peter said to them, Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promises to you and to your children, and this is the underlining part for us, and to all who are far off as many as the Lord our God will call, even to this day and beyond this day. And with many other words, verse 40, he, Peter, testified and exhorted them, encouraging them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. That's a message for our day and age, too.

41. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. Not everyone did, but those who gladly received his word were baptized. In that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. They were added to the church. Now, earlier in Acts 1, I don't have my note here. There are only about 120 people gathered with the disciples before this time. I can't do the math, but that's quite a percentage increase, isn't it? It's amazing. And, of course, Peter was inspired by God. Peter spoke the words. He preached the gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

God the Father, who had opened their minds to receive this. And many here, at that time, chose to believe it and act upon it. The church that Jesus had promised to build had begun.

Its members were repentant people who gladly received the truth of God.

They were baptized, meaning immersed in water, even their toes, symbolizing their acceptance of the sacrificial death of Christ for forgiveness of their sins and the burial of their old sinful ways. And with the laying on of hands by the apostles, they received God's Holy Spirit. That's the process. That's the process.

Also, verse 42. Let's look at Acts 2, 42. Acts 2, verse 42, 47, as we read on here, describes the unity of fellowship that was shared among those who likewise shared God's Spirit and truth. This is a mark of God's church. Verse 42, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. That's what we're doing today in many ways. Verse 43, then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Verse 46, and so continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. Everybody noticed something. They recognized something special about them. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

That was a commencement of the church, God's church, in Pentecost, 31 A.D., the called-out assembly of Christ, spiritually transformed and faithful followers.

But the church that Jesus founded is to be doing more than just sharing in Godly fellowship.

There's more to be done than breaking bread and prayers. There's more to be done than sitting and listening to sermons, listening to God's Word preached, listening to worshiping together. There's more. Jesus Christ has given the church a responsibility and mission to carry out, and that impacts each one of us. So now I want to shift gears a little bit and have us consider, well, what is, what do we do now? We recognize when the church began, we are part of God's church, what are we to do? Not we only as the body, the entirety of the church, but what are we to do in our congregations? What are we to do as individual members who comprise the church, God's church? The church's mission is given in several places. One place is Mark 1615.

Mark 1615. And here we read Mark 1615. And he said to them, Jesus said to them, this is part of their commission, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, referencing every human being.

Also, Matthew 28 verse 19, another place we see Christ having been recorded as giving the commission, we might say the responsibility and mission to the church, what we are to be doing as a body and as individuals. Matthew 28 verse 19 through 20, part of this we've read earlier, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And as we read before, in low, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

And so what we find here is that the work of the church is to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. It is to proclaim how salvation will be brought to humanity. Most people don't understand.

Most people have never heard of this gospel. And of course, most, I mean, of all humanity have ever lived. But Christ is with us in this work, very encouraging. And this work will be done until the end of the age. And so God's church as a whole has a part to uphold in preaching Christ's gospel to the world. And we're familiar with that through our effort in the media, Beyond Today program, magazine, all these things. It's a very vital part of getting the gospel out to the world and fulfilling the mission God has given us. But we also have our own part as individuals.

Scripture assigns to the church various attributes. And we're going to look at those here.

Scripture assigns to the church various attributes. And these attributes help to define what the church and what we as members of the church need to be living up to, what we need to be putting out there as members in service to God in humanity. So what are these attributes of God's church? And secondly, how well do we live up to these attributes?

And so again, we're going to look at now the church's responsibility and mission, and that means also our individual responsibility and mission. And so I have a number of attributes here we're going to look at. And we're also going to question at the end of these, give you some things to think about, about how well do we live up to these attributes.

So here's a list. Number one. Attribute number one. The church is to exemplify God's way of life to the world. The church is to exemplify God's way of life to the world. Matthew chapter 5, if we turn back, this is part of the what's often called the Beatitudes of Christ, Matthew 5 verses 14 through 16, part of this concept of being examples to the world.

Here Jesus declared that we are the light of the world. We are the light of the world.

Matthew 5, 14, you are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, in order they light a lamp just to put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. And so let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. And so we are to become so much a part, let God's mind, Christ's mind becomes so much a part of us, that our very way of thinking and doing, speaking, our conduct is reflective of Christ and of our Father. And people will notice, and may they'll say, you're such a nice person, and that is nice to hear, isn't it? We like that. We like that. But we're not a nice person all by ourselves, are we? We're a nice person because of what God is doing in us and what He is helping us to learn and to do, even giving us that will and desire.

Let's also look at 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 12. 1 Peter 2, 12. Here Peter echoes Christ's instruction, adding that we need to avoid, we must avoid, the lust of the flesh and instead maintain good conduct, that conduct defined by God in Scripture. 1 Peter 2, 12. Actually, I'm going to begin verse 11. Peter writes, Be loved, I beg you, I beg you, as souljourners and pilgrims, abstain, stay away from fleshly lust, which war against your soul, which will destroy our lives, which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles. We're to be living lives that will be noted for being exemplary. Exemplary. Why can I say that word? I think I said it right that time. Among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

So again, they may see us behave a certain way. They may see our kindness. They may see us always with a smile on their face. They may see us helping people in need around them, and they may not know why, but one day they'll be confronted with life's real issues, and perhaps they'll think, now I know. Now I know why that family was always doing that service. It's because they belong to the Church of God. They were part of God's Church. I never knew that. Or I didn't understand what that really meant. Well, now how well do we live up to this attribute? How well do we live up to this attribute? Do the things we do give people we know, and even strangers, reasons to glorify the Father?

Are we living up to our responsibility as members of God's Church? Are we setting good examples?

If not, then we need to... we found something we need to be working on.

Attribute number two. The Church is a household or family of God. Let's turn over to 1 Peter 4, a few pages. 1 Peter 4, 17. Attribute number two again was, the Church is the household or family of God. The Church is the household or family of God. 1 Peter 4, 17 tells us that we, as the Church and household, which is another name for family of God, we are being judged now. God is watching us. We are being accountable for what we know and how well we're practicing it now.

And we read here, verse 17, for the time has come for the judgment to begin at the house of God.

And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

And so, again, a reminder that we are to be living as members of the household family of God. Ephesians 2, verse 19, another scripture we can tie in here. Ephesians 2, 19.

Paul also emphasized this family aspect, this family relationship, that is an attribute about God's Church, an attribute of God's Church. It's a relationship we should be building with one another in the Church. Ephesians 2, 19.

Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners. No, we're family.

We're fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

How well do we live up to this attribute? Are we living? Are we treating one another like sons and daughters of God should? Are we treating one another as brothers and sisters? Now I'm going to put a caveat with that, because sometimes as brothers and sisters, we don't treat each other the way brothers and sisters, godly brothers, and sisters should treat one another. I remember how I used to treat my brother and sister, but I'm not that person anymore. I don't think. And so we have to treat one another according to God's way. We're not supposed to be treating each other with some sort of dysfunction.

No, we're to be treating one another with godly love, putting down our lives for another, being kind, surprising one another with kindness. There's a little axe that means so much.

And there's in sons and daughters, it's such a treat for parents and grandparents to get an unexpected thank you or a nice little thing done by our kids or grandkids. It's very important, and we should be doing that for one another within the body of Christ as well. A third attribute is the Church is the Mother of us all. Yeah, the Church is the Mother of us all.

One scripture here, Galatians 4 verse 26. Galatians 4, 26. Here, Paul makes a brief analogy, a brief metaphor, figurative example. He refers to the Church here, and this verse is Jerusalem above. And so that's what when Jerusalem above, he's speaking of the Church as it is, we're. And when he states verse 26, but the Jerusalem above, referring to the Church is free, which is the Mother of us all. And so here, this brief reference, Paul is telling us that the Church is like a mother, in the sense that the Church exists to nurture, to help nurture, God's sons and daughters, that motherly role. And how do we live up to this attribute?

Are we treating one another with that sort of nurturing care that I hope we've all experienced from our mothers or our grandmothers or special women in our lives, the maternal instinct and beyond just being an instinct in many ways? Are we being kind? Are we being loving?

You also notice that moms don't neglect people.

Moms try very hard not to have favorites. You know, we should be careful in the body of Christ and the Church of God that we don't play favorites in only nurturing certain people. But how do I say this? That we even nurture those less lovable ones in our family. You know what I mean, you know?

We are all at different places. We're all different steps along the way in the conversion process.

And when we're first called into the Church of God, we may seem to other people, have been in the Church many decades, a little rough around the edges. Well, that's where we need some extra nurturing to go there, to help those new among us to feel like they belong, to help them, and they do belong, as God is calling them. We need to be nurturing and loving and helping them, too.

A fourth attribute of the Church. The Church is the pillar and ground of truth.

The Church is the pillar and ground of truth. We find this reference in 1 Timothy, verse 3 through 15. Paul, again, makes reference to the Church as a house.

It could mean household, or, of course, from their family. It's amazing when you start stitching together all these references to the Church as a family, you should begin to quickly realize that this is just not some cliché or motto that we have adopted for some marketing technique in the United Church of God. It's what Scripture says. It's what Scripture says we need to be living up to.

In 1 Timothy 3, 15, we read this. Paul's letting Timothy know that he's writing this down in case he doesn't get there. He says, But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth, the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. You see, the Church is to be... well, it is. If we allow it for ourselves, the Church is rock solid. God's Church is rock solid when it comes to God's truth. God's true Church upholds the Word of God and His way.

It's like a stony pillar. A pillar may not be the slender little column. A pillar in ancient times referred to a massive rock that would jut up out of the desert. You'd be seen from many ways. I call it a beaut, but it was a rock. It was a pillar. It was strong.

And so the Church upholds the Word of God in His way. Well, how well do we know? How well do we know and understand the truth of God's Word? I'm constantly, in my own life, I'm finding myself on soft ground sometimes because I realize, oh, I don't know how to explain this, that someone's asking me a question. I don't know how to explain that as well. So what do I do?

I do what you do. Well, I do what you should do. You look it up. You study. You delve into it, and you see what God's Scripture has to say. We want to be on solid ground when we answer questions, when we answer our own questions. And also, how well do we practice God's truth? It kind of goes back to being that example. Are we establishing our lives on that solid ground of God's truth? That's up to us. God, nor His church, will force feed you.

We have to want to feed. We have to want it. Attribute number five, the church is led by Jesus Christ. Attribute number five, the church is led by Jesus Christ. In Colossians chapter 1, verse 17 through 18, Paul declares that Jesus Christ is the head of the church. It's not some man. It's not some committee. Certainly, it's not anyone sitting on a throne on this earth.

Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Colossians 1, 17, and he, referring to Christ, he is before all things and in him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence.

And so Jesus Christ directs the work of the church. He directs what happens. And we, as members, we are part of the body, you might say the organs that make up the body, we are totally dependent upon him. For he provides all we need to fulfill our responsibility and roles in God's church.

And let's also look at 1 Corinthians 12, verse 24 through 25. 1 Corinthians 12, 24, and 25.

Here Paul adds that God has carefully placed each member in the body where he wants it, so that we would work in unity, the unity of love and respect and support for one another.

God, and it's amazing when you think about it, the Father has called us, and once we accept and we find our place in the church, it's a place that he has placed us. And that can move from time to time. We may not always be doing the same thing. We may not always find ourselves being great at sweeping floors. We might move on from there. But wherever it is you do, whether you used to serve in great ways and now because we diminish through time, maybe you find all you can do is pray.

And I say that. All you can do is pray. Probably one of the most important things anyone can do.

Isn't that something? First Corinthians 12, 24. I'm going to pick it up at the first part of the sentence, but God. But God composed the body, referring to the physical body, but he's using a parallel analogy to the church's body, that God composed the body, having given greater honor to the part which lacks it, that there should be, or seemingly lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. So wherever we find ourselves in the body of Christ, we're there. We should serve to the best of our ability, whatever that role may be. We should do so gladly, knowing that we are doing a vital part in the church of God. And so are we living up to this attribute of the church?

And that requires, of course, we can't all be an eye, we can't all be an ear, we certainly don't all want to be a toe, but we have our different parts. Are we submitting to one another, then? Are we serving one another in whatever way we can? And however we are able, we are told we must serve. Are we humbly submitting to Christ's authority and to the authority over us?

One thing that concerns me, and it should concern you, as time goes on, there can be an eroding of respect for authority, not only in the world, but a lack of respect for authority even within God's church. That's a very dangerous slippery slope to get on. We need to respect the authority. This is not an advertisement for you to listen to me, no. I'm just saying this is something we need to be aware of.

God is, Christ is the head, and he has put all of us where we are, we believe that, and we do the best we can to serve humbly, not lording over others, but doing our service in the love for God and our love for one another.

And so we must be very careful that Christ rules in our hearts, that we don't allow pride or ourself to take charge of the way we do. That will not be good for us. And finally, attribute number six.

Attribute number six, the church is the betrothed bride of Christ. The church is the betrothed bride of Christ.

I went to a wedding the last few weeks, and we've been to weddings, and we know something about how brides should be. Ephesians 5, verse 23 through 27, Paul describes, here Paul is describing, in his own way, the full relationship Christ will one day share with the church.

He's describing the full relationship Christ will one day share with the church, and he's describing it in terms of human marriage. And so it'd be well worth your time to read this entire chapter, but for now let's look at verse 23. Here Paul writes, For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church, and he is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let wives be to their own husbands and everything. And husbands, you love your wives.

Just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for us. This is what a husband will do for his wife. This is referring to that marriage relationship. Verse 26, Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So Christ wants to marry the church, and that's his plan. And it's kind of odd in some ways for us to say it that way, but that's what he's talking about. It's that absolute oneness that is best simplified through human marriage. And if you also look in Revelation 19, Revelation 19, verse 7 through 8, this kind of helps tie it together. When Christ finally does return, when he finally returns, those who are the firstfruits, the firstfruits, his church, they will be fully transformed. You can remember what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, 53, this corruptible must put on in corruption, this mortal must put on in mortality. When Christ returns, then it will be declared, verse 7, Revelation 19, 7, Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and his wife has made herself ready.

And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Are we living up to this attribute of the church? We are members of the church.

Are we making ourselves ready for the marriage of the Lamb? Are we keeping ourselves spiritually pure? Are we doing good works, good righteous acts of the saints? However it is, we are able. And so these are six attributes of the church. There are surely others. And so Scripture reveals that Jesus Christ, who founded his church, he's building his church, he expects us to be striving to live up to his expectations, to the Father's expectations, of what he has outlined, what he has told us the church needs to be. And the good news is, again, the Father and Christ his Son are always with us. They'll never forsake us. They're helping us. They're helping us to become more like Christ, more like our Father.

We have our responsibility and mission to fulfill. And the good news, again, God gives us everything we need to be able to accomplish it. We don't need to beat ourselves up that we can't do it. We just need to ask God to help us pick ourselves up and move. And if we need help along the way, if we need encouragement along the way, that's what we're all here for. We don't exist in tiny insular bubbles. We're to be united as one. And maybe you're hearing a lot about that word unity, because as time goes on and we see more fractures and more division in our world, I would hope it makes you and me and all of us more aware of how rare and how precious unity is becoming and how desperately we need to maintain that unity in the Church of God. Not just our congregation, but in the broader, bigger Church of God.

And so, being members of the Church, we have a personal and active responsibility to fulfill before God and before all people. And as we follow Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, who gives us all we need, including God's Spirit, both strength to do, to will and to do His way, and He has made available to us the way of salvation through repentance by faith and the sacrifice of Christ for our sins, we can do this. We can now and forever always be members of the Church of God. But Christ, commenced in 31 A.D., will never cease until this time when Christ finally comes and we experience that marriage of the Lamb. And what a wonderful time that will be.