Life Together
Text: Acts 2:42-47
Core Idea: A church is the people who are devoted to God and to one another, but it also acts as an embassy to affirm, empower, and equip Christians to live as Christ’s ambassadors in this world. This is the kind of church Lighthouse strives to be.
INTRODUCTION
Good afternoon, Lighthouse. It’s always a delight to worship together. If you’re joining us online, we’re so glad that you’re with us. We’ve been in this sermon series on the Church ever since we started our journey together – and today is a meaningful day for us because we’ll have an opportunity to sign the membership covenant here at Lighthouse Toronto. I’m incredibly humbled and thankful knowing that God has brought us to this point. So, today is all about God – a day to celebrate His goodness: praising God for who He is, thanking God for all that He has done, and depending on Him to lead us as we take this step of faith together. So, let’s do just that by opening our Bibles to Acts 2:42-47. If we’re choosing to do life together, what better way to prepare ourselves than to turn to the first church to see how they did life together. Let me read this for us.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
Let me start with a simple question: what makes a healthy church? What makes a church that you want to invest in? The quality of music? The quality of Sunday school? The size of the church? The people who make up the church? What’s a church that you want to commit to? Now, I understand that talking about membership or committing to a church may be a little difficult to swallow for some of you. It feels like the church is being exclusive, unfriendly. And according to Pastor Mark Dever, it doesn’t help the fact that the people today struggle with two things that make it hard for them to accept this idea of membership. First, “commitment-phobia.” It’s the fear that in committing to something we’ll miss out on other opportunities. So, even though we see good things to commit to, we would rather just keep our options open. Second, individualism. “Why depend on someone else if you can do it yourself? I might be a burden to them, but they certainly can be a burden to me. Then why involve others?” Put all these things together and you get a culture that’s hostile to Christianity and definitely not comfortable with the idea of church membership. But despite these hurdles, I’m convinced that all believers should belong to a church because it’s not only biblical but it’s also absolutely essential to the spiritual health of a believer.
Our passage describes the first church that was birthed after Jesus’ ascension. And this was no ordinary community – their unique way of thinking and living made them distinct from the world. This was a Spirit-filled, God-honoring, healthy church. Then I want us to explore this passage to learn what a healthy church looks like, to define a church that is worthy of your commitment, and to pray that our church, Lighthouse Toronto, will become just that. Three things to consider:
THE FIRST CHURCH
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
OUR CHURCH (LIGHTHOUSE TORONTO)
1) THE FIRST CHURCH
Let’s actually start at the beginning of this chapter. Verse 1 tells us that it was the day of Pentecost, which was a Jewish festival that celebrated the day when God gave the Torah (the first five books in the Hebrew Bible) to Moses at Mount Sinai. And to commemorate this, the Israelites were required to gather at the Temple in Jerusalem. This is why Luke tells us in verse 5 that “there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.” And verses 9-11 tell us of the diversity of race represented there: Asians, Africans, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Jews, and more. You could imagine how packed and busy Jerusalem must have been. But what Luke wants us to focus on is not the people, but a strange sound and a sight recorded in verse 2: “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Now, in the midst of this craziness and chaos, Peter calmly stepped forward and preached about Jesus to this crowd of confused people. He explained that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, the Savior of the world. Then he says something shocking, offensive – at the climax of his message, he accuses them of killing Jesus, the Son of the living God (v.36). There must have been this silence – people just staring at each other, utterly shocked. It wouldn’t have been surprising to see a mob forming – dragging Peter down to stone him. But there was no outburst of anger. In fact, the people were “cut to the heart” (v.37) as they desperately asked him, “What should we do?” Without hesitation, Peter boldly declared, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (v.38). Peter invited them to submit their lives to Jesus and publicly declare their allegiance by getting baptized. And remarkably, the people responded in obedience. There were 120 Christians in Jerusalem. After this event, 3000 more were added and a church was born.
Now, we get to verse 42. No one told them – but just because they were filled with the Holy Spirit, just because they committed their lives to Jesus, they naturally began to live this way – a life devoted to God and to one another. First, they were devoted to God through the Word and prayer. It’s no accident to see that they were first devoted to the apostles’ teaching. Luke could’ve written that they were devoted first to loving one another or evangelism – but as important as they might be, they weren’t mentioned first. It’s because the commitment to God’s Word is what inspires and holds all other things together – it’s the only thing that tells us of everything we need to know about God and our salvation. No wonder they were hungry for the Word. There was this eagerness, passion for the truth. Then this is what we learn: a healthy church loves the Bible. A good church places the Word at the centre – it’s what drives them, instructs them, shapes them. A healthy church studies, preaches, and meditates on the Word. This is the kind of church you should be looking for, worthy of your commitment – and this is the kind of church that we should strive to be. I pray that our church will regularly, joyfully, intentionally engage with the Word – and that we would constantly be challenged and transformed by the truth.
Now, they were also devoted to prayer. Prayer is how we communicate with God; it’s how we align ourselves to His will; it’s what we need to deepen our relationship with God. I love what Pastor S.D. Gordon said, “Prayer wonderfully clears the vision; steadies the nerves; defines duty; stiffens the purpose; sweetens and strengthens the spirit.” This is what prayer does in us. Now, even though we know how important prayer is, we continue to neglect it. Somehow, we still find excuses not to, and the scary thing is that we learn to be content with our prayerlessness. We justify this by saying things like, “We’re busy actually doing the work.” But we don’t realize that without prayer, we’re slowly but surely drifting away from God, which means that we may do the right things, but we’ll forget why we do the things we do. Then how important is prayer to a church that is called to do the work of God? This is why a healthy church is devoted to prayer – and I pray that our church would love and value prayer so much that it’s no longer a matter of “should we” but rather “when should we.” We must strive to be a church that zealously prays.
Second, the first church was not only devoted to God but also to one another through fellowship and the breaking of bread. The word “fellowship” is the Greek word, “Koinonia,” which also means sharing and participation. And that’s exactly what we see in the first church. They shared their lives together. They spent time together; they ate together; they encouraged each other; they supported each other; they gathered in big groups but also in small groups. And what’s amazing is that they did this with “glad and sincere hearts” (v.46). I don’t know if all 3120 of them did this together or they had small groups of 10 to 20; we don’t know the details – all we know is that this is how they lived. Now, they didn’t just share their lives; they also shared their resources with one another. They literally sold their possessions to give to anyone who had need. Now, this wasn’t a type of Christian communism because people still had their own private property. This was a display of radical generosity and unselfishness.
All this to say, their lives were interlocked with one another. They were in proximity; they cared to know what was going on in each other’s lives; they listened; they sacrificed; they blessed others and welcomed the blessings of others. Now, this is even more astonishing if you recall that these people were not of the same race, culture, and language. Then we can only imagine how difficult this must have been, yet with the help of the Holy Spirit, this is how they lived. Then this is what a healthy church looks like. You might say, “Well, we live in a different world. That kind of interlocking of our lives with people in the church is impossible to achieve today.” And you might be right – it’s not going to be easy. But if this is the model that we have in the Bible, it must be worth pursuing after, no matter how difficult it is, no matter how long it takes. Then this is the kind of church that I’m praying for: that we wouldn’t be just friendly for an hour on Sunday but that we would bear the burdens of others, that we would inconvenience ourselves, our time, wallet, for the blessing of others in the community, that our homes would become a ministry centre where lives would be shared; that there would be this vulnerability yet complete acceptance; that there would be forgiveness, patience, love, and care for one another – this is the kind of church that we should strive to be.
Friends, let me ask you: is this the kind of church you want to invest in, be part of? Is this the kind of church you’re praying for? I’ll be the first to admit: we’re not a perfect church. We’re not fully there yet. We don’t have everything put together. I personally need to grow as a pastor, a leader, and a preacher. But we’ll continue to make every effort to be the church that God desires – a church that is devoted to God and to one another.
Now, wonder if some of you are saying, “I get what a healthy church looks like. But why should I commit to a church? Why can’t I just hop around different churches? Where is membership mentioned in the Bible?” Great questions. Let me help you through this in our second point.
2) CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
Before I begin, I want to mention two books that helped me wrestle through this: Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever and Church Membership by Jonathan Leeman. They’re both informative and inspiring in talking about the church – worth reading it through.
Then with that, I want to begin by sharing what Pastor Leeman said, “The word membership is a club word.” I think this is what causes a lot of misunderstandings. Clubs have memberships – but this word wouldn’t be used in relation to a nation, which I believe bears more resemblance to what a church is. No one says, “So, what’s the membership of Canada at? I heard it’s reaching around 38 million members this year.” Then to make sense of this membership idea at church, it’s imperative that we clarify a few things. First, the church is not a club. We’re not a group of people choosing to come together because we have similar interests. As we have learned the past few weeks, we’re a body of Christ, a chosen people, invited to be the citizens of heavenly kingdom, now called to live as foreigners in this world.
Then it may be more appropriate for us to think of church not as a club, but as an embassy. What’s an embassy? It’s an institution that represents one nation inside another nation. It declares its home nation’s interest to the host nation, and it protects the citizens of the home nation living in the host nation. Let’s say that you’re travelling somewhere, only to realize that your passport expired. If you try to leave the country without renewing your passport, you would be in a lot of trouble. You need valid documentation affirming that you’re a Canadian citizen. So, you visit the Canadian embassy where you could get your passport renewed. Now, the embassy didn’t make you a Canadian citizen, but it officially affirmed it. That’s what the local church does. A church doesn’t make you a Christian, it affirms and equips you to live as the citizens of God’s kingdom here on earth. Then it makes sense why Paul calls us Christ’s ambassadors in 2 Corinthians 5:20 – we represent Christ and His interest to the nations. If this is true (and it is), membership isn’t optional for Christians; it becomes essential for their spiritual health.
Let me go one more step with this metaphor. There are many Canadian embassies in different cities and nations – and each embassy would know best how to help in their own context. For example, a Canadian visiting Paris would not travel all the way to a Canadian embassy in London for help – he would go to the “local” embassy. In the same way, it makes sense for us to be part of a local church located in the city we live in so that we would be best nourished, edified, equipped according to our context. It doesn’t help us to be “part” of a church in the States or anywhere around the world. We should be part of a local church where God has called us to be.
Brothers and sisters, God is not only concerned about the length and regularity of our quiet time each morning; He’s also concerned about how we do life with others in the church. God intends for us to be a committed part of helping others become faithful disciples of Christ. This is why you need to invest your life in others and allow others to invest their lives in you – and we can do this most effectively when we’re part of the same local church. Friends, church membership is not about being selective, exclusive; it’s about choosing to devote ourselves to one another with love. Pastor Mark Dever said, “We must begin to view membership less as a loose affiliation useful only on occasion and more as a regular responsibility, becoming involved in one another’s lives for the purposes of the gospel.”
Then who joins a church? Here’s the super simple answer: Christians. This is to say that the standard for church membership should be no higher or lower than the standard for being a Christian – those who believe the gospel in faith and repent of their sins. What does this mean? It’s someone who says, “I know that I’m a sinner. God should judge me. But Jesus died on the cross for my sins. And now, He’s my Lord and I’m following Him.” It’s not a person’s moral perfection that qualifies one for church membership. It’s just the opposite. It’s those who declare spiritual bankruptcy and turn to Jesus for His intervention, His forgiveness, His love.
But here’s one more thing: you must be baptized or confirmed to become a member. Let me explain why. In the NT, almost in every case, we see that the first step of the Christian life is always baptism. That was what Peter did; that’s what happened to Paul; and that’s the first thing Jesus commands His disciples to do when making disciples (Matt. 28:19). It’s true that baptism doesn’t save us, but it’s a declaration that Jesus wants us to make so we can publicly identify with Him and His people. Does the Bible say, “You must be baptized or confirmed before joining a church”? No, but it does say, “Repent and be baptized.” It’s one mark of faith that Jesus commands us to have – then I pray that you’ll joyfully obey if you’re a Christian.
A healthy church is the one that’s devoted to God and to one another. Church membership helps Christians do just that. This then leads us to our last point.
3) OUR CHURCH (LIGHTHOUSE TORONTO)
Before we talk about our own membership covenant, I want to take this time to honestly share some thoughts with you. There must be a number of you who may feel that everything is being rushed – and that might be causing you to be cautious or even hesitant to sign the membership covenant. “We’ve only met seven times – why are they talking about membership and election? Couldn’t we have focused on other more important, urgent matters to help this church heal, be restored, and grow? How can they rush into something so serious?” If this is you, I want to affirm those thoughts by sharing that this is how I felt too. When the talk of membership and election came up, instantly, I felt like we were being rushed. I understood that these things were being prompted by our connection to GCF and all the other legal things; but I couldn’t help but to question, “Are we being hasty?” Then the only question I was wrestling with was this: “Is it wise for us to pursue this or not? Is this the best decision for the church?” And I’ll be honest, the pressure I felt was heavy because I felt like it was on me to make the right call.
Then in my prayer, the Spirit prompted a completely different question in my heart. He asked me, “Woohyun, are you thankful?” I honestly thought, “Thankful? Sure, of course. But is this the right call?” And He asked me again, and He really pressed this question on me, “Woohyun, are you thankful?” When I stopped to think through this, it dawned on me that He was inviting me to see that He was the One orchestrating all things to come together. God is sovereign, and there’s nothing that happens apart from His knowledge and desire. If God wanted to, He could’ve stopped, delayed, or changed the course of our steps. But for whatever reason, He has allowed all these things to happen. We thought that we would be doing a house church for a while. We thought that it would take time to transition into gathering on Sundays. But God had different plans. He brought a lot more people than we expected. God helped us find this place, Gibson Centre, to worship together – and we already feel like we’re outgrowing this room. Administratively, legally, things were starting to move faster than we thought. But this was His doing. And now, we’re in a place where we could have the stability and structure to our community through membership and election. When I began to reflect on all these things, all that He had done, all I could say was, “Yes, Lord. I’m humbled and thankful.”
Friends, a few weeks ago, I honestly shared with all of you that I have no idea how to build a church. But I firmly believe that God has been and will continue to build this church. I’m confident that He will lead us every step of the way. If you’re asking me, “How sure are you about the timing of all these things,” all I can say is, “I don’t know. It could be that we’re rushing our decision. But I’m choosing to trust God because He’ll use my strengths, skills, flaws, wisdom, and even my mistakes, to build this church into a community that He desires us to be.” Then this membership covenant is not a way for me as your pastor to say, “We have it all together. Whether you’re ready or not, just sign!” No, this is an invitation to participate – not just associate yourself to this community but to deeply commit and journey with us. It’s true that we don’t have all the answers, but this is what we do know:
Our Mission Statement, which shares why we exist: “Lighthouse exists to glorify God and enjoy Him as we devote ourselves to the Word of God and prayer, loving the body of Christ, making disciples, and making Christ known to the world.”
Our Vision Statement, which shares what we hope to be: “Lighthouse seeks to be a gospel-shaped community sent out by God to glorify and enjoy Him forever.”
These are the things we know, the things we desire, and the things we will continue to pursue after. Friends, this is the starting point of Lighthouse. It may feel rushed for some, and it may feel like it’s the perfect timing for some. And that’s okay and this is why we need each other. Let’s learn together. Let’s help each other. Let’s pray for one another – so that we will be shaped to become a beautiful bride of Christ.
Now, I understand that there will still be those who may not be ready. If this is you, please don’t feel pressured to sign. We pray that you will continue to come. But God may be inviting you to pray – so, pray for yourself, pray for the leaders, and pray for this church. But I’ll be praying for you – that you’ll be in a place where you’ll be able to joyfully commit to this church and journey with us.
Lastly, there are some of you who are just visiting us today. Thank you for coming. We’re so glad that you’re with us. I pray that God will minister to you powerfully – reminding you of the beauty of doing life together – and that you too will joyfully commit to the church that God is calling you to be at.
With that said, let’s go through our membership covenant together.
(Reading through the Membership Covenant)
CONCLUSION
A church is the people who are devoted to God and to one another, but it also acts as an embassy to affirm, empower, and equip Christians to live as Christ’s ambassadors in this world. Then this is the kind of church Lighthouse will strive to be. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, “I will build my church.” As Jesus is committed to the church, I pray that you’ll be committed to building up this church.