Abounding Grace

Pastor Ed Taylor: If you’ve been here for a while, you know this. Perhaps not, and you’ll hear it for the first time today, but the vision of our church, the direction of our church, where God has really settled why He put us in the community, why we’re here, is actually just one word. The vision of our church is just one word. It’s evangelism.

That’s why we’re here. Why else would we be here? Jesus came to seek and save the lost. So why would we be in a community but to do and follow the leading and doing what Jesus did Himself? He sought to seek out the lost and share the good news that their sins can be forgiven.

Larry: It’s good to be with you today. This is Abounding Grace, and we’re in the midst of Pastor Ed Taylor’s new study in Acts. We’re taking our time in chapter two as it communicates so very much to us. In verses 40 through 47, we find four key ingredients that made the early church strong and healthy. By the way, these are characteristics God wants to develop in the church today.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Take your Bibles, open them to Acts chapter two. We’re in this miniseries starting in verse 42, in a Bible series that I’ve entitled A Church That’s Well or A Well Church. We’re using the word "well," W-E-L-L, as a way to remind ourselves of four key ingredients that made the early church so strong.

We’re using the letters as an acronym, even though we didn't use the letters in order. We actually followed the biblical order. Notice with me in verse 42, it says they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

Now all who believed were together and had all things in common. They sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need. And continuing daily with one accord in the temple, 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. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Even with all of their weaknesses and all of their challenges, the early church was strong, vibrant, and growing. They were making a huge difference in their world, or what we might say today, making a huge difference in their city, in their community, and beyond. That’s what the whole book of Acts is going to highlight—how that first-century church took the gospel around the world.

Lives were being changed. Idolatry was being forsaken. They were using their physical goods to help physical needs. They were going about sharing the love of Jesus Christ. What was happening then is happening now. The Spirit of God moving through and using the Word of God, moving through and using the people of God to reach others. It’s always people to people, the Spirit of God using us.

We want to be a part of that church. That’s the church we want to be a part of. I know today as people look at the church, it looks very fragmented and divisive. In many ways, unfortunately, that would be an accurate observation. There are all sorts of denominations and all sorts of competitions, all sorts of stuff that Jesus never intended.

There is one true church. There’s one true church. We all get to be a part of that one true church, but there’s only one. It’s the church that Jesus promised to build. He said, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it."

Even though there is fragmentation and even though there are different churches, I do believe God has allowed that. I believe that God has allowed different churches in different cities and different flavors of worship because people are different. God recognizes and He sees the variety of people, so He allows a variety of expressions within the one true church.

As we speak about us desiring to be a part of the one true church, I want to be careful that you don’t misunderstand me. As a pastor, I’m not saying we are the only church, that we’re the one true church. I’m not saying that we’re the best church in town or we’re the only church in town. I’m not even saying we’re in competition with any other church because we’re not.

We just are who we are by the grace of God. God started this church 22 years ago. We’re following His lead, and we want to be a part of not something man has done, not some program we’re following, but we just want to be a part of the church. We want our history to go far beyond Jesus Movement Calvary Chapel, going way back to the book of Acts.

That’s your history and mine. In order to do that, we have to question things. We have to sit back and go, "Is this from the Lord? Is this what God wants us to do? Is this the right way to do it? Is this the heart of Jesus?" As we let the Bible answer those questions for us, we’ll be surprised in the course corrections that God has for us.

I think we’ll also be surprised in how well the Lord has led us and how well we followed His lead. We’re not perfect, but we’ve been following His lead, being used by Him. We’ve learned that the key parts in the early church—remember number one—they were a learning church. That’s what it says here; they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. They were singularly focused to follow what Jesus taught and what He fulfilled in the Old Testament.

Secondly, they were also a loving church. We learn that they were in fellowship, or that Greek word was *koinonia*, where they came together and they encouraged one another in the Lord. Then thirdly, we learned that they were a worshiping church. We learned in verse 42 that they were breaking bread together, which can mean sharing a meal and also taking communion. They were praying together, and then notice in verse 47, they were praising God together. They worshiped God in spirit and in truth.

Today I want to add the last letter to the word "well." It’s the letter E, and that is that the early church was an evangelistic church. It's very important to understand that their heart was to share the gospel and the good news with others. The word for evangelistic, the word *evangel*, is a word that speaks of a person with a message. It goes back to the times of kings where kings would have a very precise, specific message, and it was the *evangel* that would take that message.

Evangelism comes to us from that word. It’s the taking of the message, and it fits so well with us as Christians. The King of kings has a very precise message to a culture that’s lost, that needs to be saved and have their sins forgiven. We are to carry that message very precisely and very carefully with love, care, and concern for the world around us.

Not only was the church evangelistic, but in their evangelism, the church was also very attractive. There was an attractiveness about the church in the lost and broken world. Why is that important? Because there was something about the believers that drew people to the message and to the Person. There was something in the messengers that the message was received. They were attractive.

The lost and dying world saw something among the believers that created an interest, a desire, and a natural curiosity. They were attractive. When there was an offense in the early church, it was the message of the gospel, the message of the cross that brought offense, not the believers necessarily.

You and I carry a message, and it can be offensive to people. It’s not easy talking to people about failure and sin, but you don’t have to be offensive. As you carry the message, you and I don’t have to be offensive. We don’t have to be known by our latest political opinion. We don’t have to be known by whatever cause we’re into. We need to be known by the cross of Jesus Christ.

There’s an attractiveness, whether it’s spoken or not, in the hope that my sins can be forgiven, that life can be something different than it is today. There was an attractiveness about the church. Now, don’t misunderstand this either. The attractiveness of the church wasn't because of compromise. A lot of times people say, "I can’t believe they’re an attractional church." We’re not interested in compromising the truth.

I’m not interested in watering down the gospel. I want to speak the truth in love, but I will say this: I am interested in finding new ways to share that really validate that I love the person in front of me, as hard as the message is going to be. It does come from a position of being saved myself and being delivered myself. When I’m sharing this, I’m not just doing it as some pastor or some guy that tells everybody they’re sinners and pounds on the pulpit.

No, that’s actually not why I’m here. I’m here to introduce you to Jesus Christ who gave His life for you. The Son of God eternal, He left all of glory and He came and He took on the form of a human. He took the place of a servant and died a sinless death. Even if you took the most moral person who stayed out of the most trouble, you don’t even come close to the perfection of Jesus.

Then you take somebody like me that’s way down low, and I share the gospel because I love you and I care for you. Yes, we have to talk about things. There are certain things that God says aren't good for you, that it's not the right way to act or speak. But we want to find ways in attraction to draw out an understanding of the love of God and the goodness of God.

By now you know here at Calvary, the vision of our church is just one word. It’s evangelism. That’s why we’re here. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. So why would we be in a community but to follow the leading of what Jesus did Himself? He sought to seek out the lost and share the good news that their sins can be forgiven.

With the vision of evangelism comes a responsibility. The responsibility is found in three words. We have a responsibility to win a person to Christ, to disciple them and train them so that they become a learner and grow in understanding. That’s why we do Bible study. You’re being trained so that you then can win, disciple, and then we send. That could be missionaries or church planters, but you know who we send every time we gather? You.

In just a few moments, you’re going to leave. You will then be sent out from this property as the church into the various nooks and crannies of this community that only you have uniquely been created to fill. It’s a beautiful thing. We have a heart to see other people get saved. Once they get saved, we want to see them strengthened in the Word and strengthened in following Jesus. Then we want to see them sent with the responsibility to see it happen all over again.

Everything we do here has something to do with connecting someone else with the life-saving power and Person of Jesus Christ. Even downstairs, we’re trying to find new ways of communicating this. Not too long ago, I asked Pastor Michael to paint on the wall when you walk in that we will do anything short of sin to reach the lost.

We mean that. We won’t compromise, but we will be open to new ways and new things to reach the lost. We want to fulfill what God has called us to do: to go into all the world and preach the gospel, make disciples, and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It doesn't just happen on the property; it happens everywhere through you and through me.

We use this phrase in the church when it comes to evangelism: "Let's go witnessing." The idea is you’re going to go out and share the gospel. But evangelism is not you going witnessing; evangelism is you *being* a witness. You’re never going to go witnessing until you are a witness.

Isn't that what Jesus taught us in Acts chapter one? He taught us that the Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will become witnesses of Me. That is witnessing—living out your life to the glory of God. When I think of evangelism, I think of the importance of being witnesses, of just being ourselves in Christ.

When I think of evangelism, I think of a person in the Bible that’s just known for bringing people to Jesus. Turn over to John chapter one with me. The early church was healthy and strong because they were evangelistic. They were reaching the lost. It wasn't like a holy Christian country club where they were coming together, hanging out with each other, and never interfacing with the world. No, they were very much involved in ministering to one another, but they were also very much involved in reaching their community in a variety of different ways.

One of the main ways is bringing people to Jesus. Notice with me in John’s gospel, chapter one, verse 35. Before we get into the text, I just want you to notice the verse number 35. In many of your Bibles, you’ll notice the verse 35 is in bold compared to the rest of the verse numbers. The reason why is because whenever the verse numbers are bold, it’s the beginning of a paragraph.

English classes in high school or college teach you that paragraphs give a full thought. So whenever you’re looking at it, I really wanted to start in verse 40, but sometimes when I’ll say that, I go back to get context. I try to go back to the beginning of the paragraph because that’s where the new thought is and that’s the context. Whenever you’re looking for context, start with the paragraph.

Pick up with me in verse 35. "Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. This is John the Baptist. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God!' And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, 'What do you seek?' And they said to Him, 'Rabbi,' which is to say, when translated, Teacher, 'where are You staying?' Verse 39: He said to them, 'Come and see.' And they came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day; now it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah,' which is translated, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus."

Andrew is often known in the Scripture for bringing people to Jesus. That’s how God chose to use him. Here we have the example of him bringing his brother, which is super significant. I am so grateful Andrew went after his brother and brought him to Jesus because now we have the books of Peter and everything about Peter’s life to encourage us and strengthen us in following Christ.

I know the hardest people to reach are often our family because Jesus said a prophet is not without honor except in his own home. But that didn't matter to Andrew. He went to share with his brother first. You notice with Andrew that the immediate move of the Holy Spirit upon his life was to go and bring other people to Jesus. We see someone get saved, they get excited, then they tell someone else. That’s natural evangelism.

You’re saved, you’re excited about being saved, and you want to tell other people that you know about the excitement that has come to your life. I just love this. Andrew brought him to Jesus. I want to be like Andrew. Andrew is so significant for us that from time to time over the years, when we’re coming up on Easter or Christmas, a few weeks before services, we’ll hand out flyers and we call it Project Andrew.

The whole idea is that we prep ourselves and prepare ourselves to be like Andrew. We put a bunch of names on there, start praying for people, and we invite them to services. That’s one way to bring people to Christ—you invite them to church. Another way you can connect them to the radio and say, "Just listen to this. Listen to this guy, it's where I go to church."

The radio is kind of cool because people can listen to the radio and never tell you they’re doing it. They can keep going and keep going and pretend that they’re not connected. I’m sure there are people listening right now. They’re listening to the radio and go, "Oh no, I got found out." Actually, I can’t see you, but I’m glad you’re listening because I know you’re curious. I know you live with the weight of being disconnected from God, and that’s a great way to do it.

One thing that we’ve tried to do here at Calvary over the years is not only provide the training—we’ve got a brother in the church, his name is Dale, and he loves to share the gospel. He’s retired now, so he goes out virtually every day and shares the gospel. He provides evangelism training here. We would open up the sanctuary and he would train every single one of you how to share the gospel in your own personality if you wanted it.

Not only do we provide the training, but we provide the tools. Over the years we’ve been asked why we do sweatshirts and beanies and t-shirts and cards and bumper stickers and license plate frames and pens. I’ll tell you why: to start a conversation.

Do you know when it comes to evangelism, there’s a lot of fear involved with sharing the gospel? Basically, when you have two people together, there are two people dealing with fear. Of course, the first person is probably you, the believer. You just don’t know what to say, you don’t know how to start the conversation, and so you’re there going, "I don’t know what to do, I think I’ll just talk about football."

Next time, next time, next time, and you’re afraid. Do you know who the other scared person is in that conversation? The person that’s standing with you going, "I know they’re a Christian, I hope they don’t tell me anything about Jesus." You’ve got two people here never opening the topic. Then you walk in with a sweatshirt and somebody goes, "What is Calvary? What is that?" That’s an open door. You just start answering that you go to church. You don’t even have to explain anything to them. Just come with me one day. We can have a coffee together.

Larry: Well, thanks for studying the Word with us here at Abounding Grace. catch a replay when you visit aboundinggraceradio.com or listen wherever you get your podcasts and at oneplace.com. And if you haven't already downloaded our free mobile app, you can do that. The Calvary Church app is a great way to listen to the very latest content from Pastor Ed.

Pastor Ed is back with us now. Ed, today we were encouraged to bring people to Jesus just like Andrew did so long ago. That could be as simple as an invite to come to church with us, but as you said, fear often keeps us from doing it. Do you have any suggestions that might help our listeners overcome those fears?

Pastor Ed Taylor: The first thing to overcome the fears, Larry, is to admit it and repent from it. If fear is holding you back from obedience to God, it is not okay. We want to be careful when there are real issues like fear that they don’t become an excuse for disobedience.

The first step would be to be real about it and admit that it's wrong, that your fear shouldn’t hold you back. Secondly, pray that the Lord would take away that fear. Pray that He would encourage you and help you over that hump of just being held back by fear.

Thirdly, do it, because everything is awkward and fearful until you do it. Then you find out, the Lord is with me, and I’m able to do it. We hold back, like I was talking to someone recently, Larry, where we were talking about asking for something. They were hesitant, thinking they might say no.

I shared with them this truth, and I want you to understand it’s universally applicable. The answer is always no if you don’t ask. I think that’s true for evangelism, isn’t it? The answer is always going to be no if you never ask. They might say no, they might be upset, but you just leave that all to the Lord. Be faithful, be obedient, and when you do ask someone and reach out, email me. I’d love to hear how it went. Email me at ed@edtaylor.org and share your testimony with me. I know we’ll be encouraged.

Larry: Thanks again, Pastor Ed. Here in the month of August, we’ve picked out an excellent book written by Bob Hoekstra called *How to Counsel God’s Way*. This book is a call for God’s people to return to Jesus as our wonderful counselor so that we avoid the pitfalls of following after man’s wisdom and trust the Lord Jesus for His reliable riches that are already ours in Christ.

We’ll send you a copy with our thanks for a gift of $25 or more to Abounding Grace. Please remember, it is through your financial support that we’re able to come to you day by day on this station and others like it. Your gift, whatever the size, would be greatly appreciated and put to good use.

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