First Mennonite Church
Sunday, May 18, 2025
The Church and Its Mission—Evangelistic Outreach and Service
Text: Acts 2:37-47
In chapter two of Acts of the Apostles, Peter addressed the bewildered crowd that was inquiring about the meaning of the Pentecost event. He told the crowd it was God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to Jesus’ disciples in fulfillment of his promise made through the prophet Joel. But it only happened after God had raised and seated Jesus at his right hand that he poured out the Holy Spirit to empower his disciples to continue the task of spreading the good news. And so we read from Acts 2:37-47:
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The Fellowship of the Believers
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 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, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Let me just highlight a few things that, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, immediately transformed the life, size, and impact of the first disciples of Jesus.
The disciples had just gone through their lowest of lowest hour. Jesus had been arrested, crucified, and buried. In Luke’s gospel narrative, Jesus only appears to his disciples twice, first to those two on the Road to Emmaus and on that very evening to those who were hiding behind locked doors out of fear. But when Luke retakes the story in the book of Acts of the Apostles, he says that Jesus appeared to his disciples for 40 days, speaking to them about the kingdom. But although Jesus was appearing to his disciples, they were not in the mood to do anything they were supposed to do, namely, to spread the gospel. They were, as some have described some churches, the “frozen chosen.” They were frozen by fear. They were simply gathered and waiting for something to happen, which was the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them. They did not know when, how, and what it would do to them, except they knew it would help them to be Jesus’ witnesses.
As Acts chapter two tells, the Holy Spirit came and tongues like that of fire alighted upon all those who were in that upper room. The holy fire not only thawed them off but set them ablaze. They were moved, guided, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. They yielded their time, energies, and resources to the Spirit’s will. They devoted themselves to learn and to be shaped in the ways of Jesus. They joined together in fellowship, that is, they united as one. In chapter four, 32, Luke says, “All the believers were one in heart and mind.” They took care of the needy among them, had fellowship in homes, and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. They worshipped and praised God and devoted themselves to prayer. The church became a new and radically different society known to outsiders. The disciples’ life of sincere and joyful community life and reverent and with new expressions of worshipping God impacted the surrounding society. The disciples were no longer the chosen frozen, but a community ablaze with holy fire. It was a life-giving community to their world. Then Luke adds: And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Here we see several things happening that led the community of believers to grow.
- The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. We have the Holy Spirit poured into our hearts the day we believed (Rom. 5:5).
- Peter communicated the message of the gospel and even directed his audience on what to do. Therefore, proclamation of the word is central, not only for outsiders but also for the disciples who dedicated themselves to the teaching of the apostles. The Word of God has to dwell in us to shape and saturate us in order to share it.
- The disciples allowed themselves to be shaped, empowered, and moved by the Holy Spirit. They did things they had never done before. They did not resist the Spirit’s guidance, but rather followed its lead. There will be things we will do that we have never done before. But let us not be afraid or resist. Let us remember that even what we have been doing these last weeks are things we have never done before. Let us remember that there might be things we will not get right. We might fall, but falling is part of the learning process. Babies fall in their attempt of learning to walk. Have you ever heard a mother or father say to their baby, “You have never walked; so don’t try it or you will get hurt?” And so, he or she refuses to allow the baby to be on the floor by him/herself? No. And I am sure, God would not mind if on attempting to serve him, we also fail getting it right the first time.
- Changing hearts is the work of God. The early Christians followed the Spirit’s lead and did what they needed to do “And the Lord added to their number . . . .” We cannot convert anyone. God does that, but God always uses people like you and me to be the channels by which he reaches out to others. We are God’s channels to bring his living water to our friends, relatives, and neighbors. Amen.
Discussion:
What resources do we have to do outreach?
Spiritual resources:
Material resources:
Personnel:
How do you see yourself involved?
Pastor Romero