Sermon – Acts 4:32 - 37 - Of One Heart and Mind

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Acts 4:32 - 37 - Of One Heart and Mind

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Second Sunday of Easter

April 15, 2012

Last week we celebrated Easter Sunday. We decorated the church in white and sang the familiar hymns. We wore our Sunday best and many of our families joined us in church. It was a glorious time. And it was the time for me, as your pastor, to proclaimed the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the promise to all who believe of eternal life. Today we will see what happens when this good news is proclaimed and the Holy Spirit begins its work. Something amazing happens. We will look at all of this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Acts 4:32-37 ³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. ³⁴ There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. ³⁶ Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), ³⁷ sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts tells us that all the believers, all who believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead “were one in heart and mind”. This is truly amazing. We know that this first church was very diverse. Around five thousand people had become believers. Their sins were symbolically washed away in baptism and they professed their belief in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But they came from many different countries, spoke different languages, possessed various amounts of wealth, and even though they were all Jews some held onto their ancient Hebrew culture while others had become, culturally, more like the Greeks. This was not a recipe for unity and accord. A diverse group will have many different opinions. And since the church was just being formed they would have had many opinions about how the church should be structured. You would expect a church like this to experience many divisions.

You can see what I am talking about in Grace's new church in Princess Anne. Crossroads International Fellowship has been meeting for over a year and have developed into a very diverse group. There are rich and poor, young and old, blacks and whites and Asians and Africans attending worship services. And these often differ on the path the church should take as it grows. Grace has worked hard maneuvering through various minefields as she has put this group together. Not everyone is happy with the decisions made and some leave. All this is to be expected with a diverse group. But Grace is continuing to proclaim the resurrection of the Jesus from the dead and the promise of eternal life, and her church continues to grow.

Luke tells us that this happened in the first church. The first church was united by the proclamation of the gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life. As long as this is the proclamation of the church the church will be unified. But if something else comes from the pulpit then our unity dissipates and we have conflict. Take a look at the Presbyterian Church USA. We are divided. Churches are leaving the denomination. A new denomination has been formed to receive the more conservative congregations. The problem is that we have focused for too long on controversial issues that divide us. The more we argue the more a great the chasm comes between us. It doesn't matter which side you are on, we are all at fault. We have forgotten that what unites us is the clear proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the promise of eternal life. Were this to be our focus our divisions would be healed, and we would become of one mind and spirit.

The first church was focused like a laser beam on the truth of the resurrection and the assurance of eternal life. This united them and gave them a common mind. And it motivated them to do the next thing we will look at. Luke tells us that “they shared everything they had”. This does not mean that they sold all their possessions and depended on one another as some have thought. Rather what Luke is describing is a situation where the believers in the church were very generous in working out Jesus' command to love one another. They were generous in their giving to the church. They gave their gifts to the Apostles who were tasked with giving the proceeds to those who needed it most. This system ensured that everyone, even the poorest among them, had their basic needs met.

Recently I spoke with our church historian, Emily, who I believe is the oldest and longest serving member of our church. She remembers Pocomoke with dirt roads and Pastor Lytle riding in a horse drawn carriage from Pitts Creek to Beaver Dam each Sunday. She told me that during the Great Depression the churches of Pocomoke took on responsibility of seeing that everyone had enough to eat. Each church took turns providing a free soup lunch to anyone who was hungry. We cared for the people in our community. We were generous in working out Jesus' command to love our neighbors.

This continues today. We have groups in the church who raise funds and give them to families in need. We have given to mothers of sick children and to families whose homes have burned to the ground. We have helped people in jail get a fresh start in life. We have delivered boxes of food to needy families to help them celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are countless things we have done that I am not even aware of. Each one of us in our own way is trying to love others as much as God loves us.

So where does all of this come from, all this unity and generosity. Luke tells us that it is work of the Holy Spirit moving through the proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the promise of eternal life. Wherever this gospel preached the Holy Spirit is unleashed into the hearts of those who believe the good news and unity and generosity will be the result. When this happened in the first century they had to call it something. Luke tells us they called it “church”. So a church is a place where the gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is proclaimed, the promise of eternal life is made and the Holy Spirit encourages unity of mind and generosity.

Luke tells us the story of one young man who came to belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His name was Joseph Barnabas, which means the Son of Encouragement. Barnabas was from Cyprus. So he probably spoke, dressed and lived like a Greek. This would have made him very different from the ethnic Jews of Jerusalem and Galilee. He had probably heard Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost and was attracted to the good news that Peter had proclaimed that Jesus Christ had been resurrected from the dead assuring all who believe the promise of eternal life. But would he, as a Hellenistic Jew, one who was culturally Greek, be accepted into a more traditional group of Jews? He discovered that he was accepted. His dress and way of speaking didn't matter. The only thing that did matter was Barnabas' belief in Jesus Christ. And he was accepted into the church.

Barnabas was a descendant of Jacob’s son Levi. The tribe of Levi, according to the Old Testament, was not given a share in the promised land. Rather than being farmers who cared for the land, the Levites would care for the church. Even though Barnabas was from the tribe of Levi he owned a field. But he heard from God a call to be a Levite and serve the church of Jesus Christ. So he sold his field, gave it to the church and became a dedicated worker for the church. Barnabas became one of the most effective evangelist for other Hellenistic Jews and Gentiles. He was the one who recruited Paul and brought him to the apostles attention. And Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to visit the new church that had started in Antioch. From there he went to Tarsus and brought Paul back to the church. And he accompanied Paul in his first missionary journey. Barnabas, the son of encouragement, encouraged the first church to grow and form other churches. For this he will always be remembered.

For us here at Beaver Dam the same thing is possible. We can grow to the point where this sanctuary is too small. We can sponsor new churches. We can bring new people to belief. What we need to do this is to hear the proclamation of the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and be filled with the Holy Spirit. With these two things nothing can stop us. We will be united in our mission and generous in our giving and nothing can stop the growing of the church.

Lord God, we have proclaimed the gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and your promise of eternal life. We believe what we have heard. Fill us now with your Holy Spirit so that we may be evangelists in your world. Unite us in this mission and give us generous hearts. Use this to grow our church and plant seeds of your kingdom. This we pray in you Son's glorious name.