MESSAGE

FROM THE

WORD

“FAITH CHRISTIAN CHURCH SEEKS TO CARE FOR OTHERS

Acts 2:38-46

SERIES:  40 Days                                                                                                                              Message #  7

            One of the great struggles missionaries to India must face is the ingrained Hindu belief in reincarnation.  Because they are taught that those who are suffering do so because of past sin, there is little desire on the part of the people to minister to the needs of others.  That is one of the great distinctions between Hindu and Christian beliefs.  One of the great characteristics of our Lord is revealed in Matthew 9 and can be contrasted with so many of the other world philosophical belief systems.  We read,        MATTHEW 9:36-38            aren’t you glad that the God we serve is compassionate?  I can't imagine serving a God who was stern, mean and cruel.  That was the majority viewpoint at the time of Jesus.  The Greek and Roman gods were totally oblivious to the needs of people.  The God of the Bible is not like that.  God cares for His creation.  We are told by Jeremiah,                   LAMENTATIONS 3:19-24                     don’t you love that phrase, "HIS COMPASSIONS NEVER FAIL.  THEY ARE NEW EVERY MORNING…"  Maybe even more amazing is that this compassionate God also wants His people to be compassionate.  We are to show compassion to those who have lost hope.  It is in showing compassion to those who are helpless that we reveal a God who is compassionate.  This was the incredible power of Mother Teresa.  She had no power and no authority, yet she was one of the most respected women in the world.  Why?  Because she showed compassion to those who had lost hope. 

            As we continue our study in why our church exists, we want to look at the last of the four actions God calls us to incorporate into our ministry.  Our Mission Statement says, "FAITH CHRISTIAN CHURCH SEEKS TO BRING PEOPLE INTO A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST BY STUDYING HIS WORD, ENJOYING HIS PEOPLE, PRACTICING HIS PRESENCE AND CARING FOR OTHERS."  This morning, we want to look at what it means to care for others.  Again, our passage is from the birth of the early church.  We read,               ACTS 2:42-47               There are several ways we can approach this topic and this passage.  Rather than get real theological, let me just give you some thoughts by which the Lord might minister to your heart.  How can we show a caring spirit for others?

            FIRST, WE CARE BY DEMONSTRATING FAITHFULNESS TO GOD.  We are told that these believers were "CONTINUALLY DEVOTED…" to the things of God.  How does our devotion to God show care for others?  Maybe you have never seen your faithfulness toward Christ in this way before, but let me give you some food for thought.

            It is our devotion to Christ that is the basis for our caring for others.  We care for others because that is the pattern Jesus showed us and we want to be like Him.  We care for others because our devotion to the word reveals to us God's command to care for others.  We care for others because the love of God in our hearts naturally burdens us with that which burdens God's heart.

            Let me give you another thought on this.  As we are totally devoted to God and manifest His love, we become like a magnet to hurting people.  Why were people so attracted to Jesus and not the Pharisees?  They saw in Jesus, God's love.  All around you are people who are hurting.  Most of them will not open up to anyone.  That is why chat rooms are so popular on the Internet.  You can bare your soul and still remain anonymous.  It is also why the fastest growing program at seminaries across the nation is counseling.  You can bare your soul to a counselor because he's paid to be non-judgmental and to keep his mouth shut.  People do not bare their souls to others until they feel they can trust that person.  As they observe our faithful devotion to God, a wall comes down so that those close to you feel they can share their hearts with you and will not be unfairly judged or betrayed.  It is your devotion to God that opens the door for people to trust God to heal their hurts through you.  Do you want to help your friends and neighbors with their problems?  The best way is to live your life devoted to the things of God and watch the Lord open up doors.  There is a great illustration of this is the prophecy of Jeremiah.  The people of God were in captivity.  Jeremiah writes          JEREMIAH 29:6,7              Do you want God to prosper our city?  Live a life faithful to Him.  When we are faithful to God, it gives those around us confidence.

            SECOND, WE CARE BY REVEALING AN AWESOME GOD.  Don't miss the significance of this point.  We read,             ACTS 2:43            There are many messages the church needs to communicate to the world.  We need to talk about sin, judgment, righteousness, families and the future.  More than anything else, the church needs to communicate hope.  Paul wrote,             ROMANS 5:2-5               Where does this hope come from?  We might think prosperity, political power, health, indulgence or family might be the key.  It fact none of those bring hope.  They may help, but basically hope comes about from the realization that God is able to work out whatever problem we face, that God knows what He is doing.  In other words, hope comes from comprehending an awesome God.  When we are hopeless, it is often our trusting in someone else who comprehends an awesome God that gets us through to where our own faith can be rekindled.  Haven't you had that happen in your life?  You went through an experience that caused your faith to waver and the faith of another believer kept you going.  It wasn't until later that having seen God get you through that difficulty of life, you could then trust again. 

Our task when caring for those who are hurting is not to bring them comfort, but to bring them to the one who can comfort.  Doesn't Jesus even call the Holy Spirit the "Comforter"?  When Jesus announced that He would be leaving, He promised the Father would send "ANOTHER COMFORTER".  Our role in the ministry process is to bring them to "The Comforter".  Believers make a serious mistake when they try to solve everyone's problems.  Our task is not to solve people's problems, but to help them come to the point in their life where they see God as having the answers to their greatest needs.  For many believers, they see people with desperate needs and they want people to be in awe of them.  Our task is to help people be in awe of God.

            This manifests itself in two ways.  First, we see God as the one who is able to deliver people from their struggles.  Second, we see God as the one who wants to walk them through the "Valley of Death" and stand beside them every step of the way.  It is not our task to choose which one God will be for them, it is our task to bring them to God and let Him be God.

            Did you notice how the chapter ends?  God was adding people to the kingdom.  Do you know what happens when God’s people walk in awe of Him?  The lost get saved.  They come into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Isn't that what our mission statement says is our reason for existence?  Do you know what the greatest hindrance to most people coming to Christ is?  It is believers who do not have a very high view of God.  They are bored with God, don't think He can do much in their life and rarely ever give Him credit for what He does do.  Who would be attracted to that?  However, when God moves and we are in awe of Him, others take note and they want to get in on the action.  Can I say this too?  Most unbelievers are not looking to God to cater to their every whim; they are looking for a God who will meet the deepest needs of their heart.  Don't promise them the sun and the moon.  Promise them a God who walk through the valley with them and love them to death.

THIRD, WE CARE BY GIVING OF OUR TIME.  Time is our most valuable commodity.  We even have a phrase on this; “time is money”.  When we give people our time, we are giving them something really important.  The text states, that they met, "DAILY".  On a daily basis they were caring for the people around them.  Let me add this, you only have so much time.  You cannot meet everyone's needs.  Therefore, you must choose wisely whom you give those precious moments to.  I am constantly amazed at how many times Jesus turned down offers to get together because He had a higher priority.  You need not; in fact you cannot meet the needs of others, so choose wisely.  To care for one person often requires that you say no to another. 

            This is true even in your own spiritual life.  You cannot study the Bible two hours every day, pray two hours every day, witness to every neighbor, serve on several church boards or para-church boards, help the neighbors with their problems, attend three or four church meetings a week, visit those in jail, take care of the widows and orphans, read to those in retirement centers, make sure the facilities at the church are maintained and have time with your family.  You cannot do it.  Wisdom requires that you analyze your gifts and abilities and choose where the Lord wants you to serve.  You need to have spiritual devotions of Bible reading, prayer and meditation, but you can't do everything.

            FOURTH, WE CARE BY SACRIFICING FOR OTHERS.  Throughout this chapter and into the rest of the book of Acts the believers were selling some of their possessions for the welfare of others.  This was not forced and it was not mandatory.  However, what you truly believe in, you sacrifice for.  There are all sorts of priorities each of us have.  When a conflict arises, what we choose indicates what our priority is.  If I say I want to lose weight, but eat like a pig my priority isn't losing weight but indulging my flesh.  If I say God's work is a high priority but give little financially and seldom attend, I have higher priorities. I may want my priorities to be God, but what I'm willing to sacrifice for indicates what my priorities are truly.  A willingness to suffer is what separates our priorities from our preferences.

            FIFTH, WE CARE BY TOUCHING EACH OTHER.  I will be honest at this point; this is not specifically stated in our passage.  However, they were constantly getting together, having meals together, praying and so forth.  They were constantly with each other.  Whether they did it physically or emotionally, they took the advice of the telephone company and "reached out and touched someone". One of the amazing ministries of Jesus was simply touching people.  He obviously could have just commanded people to be healed.  In almost every case He touched them. 

I read an article recently on a study done by the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine.  In their studies, they found that when premature babies were given short daily massages, their growth rate increased by 50%.  Most of us can understand that.  Children held do better than children who are not held.  However, their research discovered other facts that they did not anticipate.  When diabetic children were given nightly rubdowns, their anxiety and depression levels dropped, and their blood-glucose levels dropped to normal.  Asthmatic children experienced better breathing and fewer attacks.  They even discovered that autistic children, who generally don't like being touched, showed a drop in detrimental hormones when regular massages were given.  Karen Mains in her book Comforting One Another writes, "We are always learning about ourselves and we will make mistakes in holding.  I may never understand the frantic clawing (or misbehavior) of that one tormented by fear.  But I can learn to say, 'This is what happened to you; you have been waylaid.  You are the victim of a drive-by emotional shooting.  You are here in this place, it is called depression, and it is called sorrow.  I am beside you.  I will not leave you to suffer alone.  You do not need to be afraid.  Fear will only abrade the pain.  I cannot keep you from entering death; you will suffer divorce, the business failure, the crippling disorder.  Despite all my efforts, you will enter that dark place.  But I can hold your hand.  I can sit by your bedside.  I can ease your journey.  I can make sure you hear the sound of my voice."  God does not offer a pain free life.  He offers comfort in the midst of pain.  Isn't that what Paul meant when he told us to "…bear one another's burdens and thus fulfill the law of Christ."

            We live in a very impersonal world.  In Southern California 1/3 of those who live here belong to no organized group.  People do not know their neighbors.  Is it any wonder that in these crazy shootings almost invariably you will hear the comment, "they were a loner"?  In the old days, support systems such as the church, Boy Scouts, Campfire Girls, YMCA and bowling leagues gave people an outlet to vent and work through their problems.  I recently read that one of the fastest growing sports in our state is single bowing.  That is, people who bowl by themselves.  That is the bad news.  The good news is that these lonely people are openings for the people of God to offer hope and fellowship.

            There is in the world of religious art a theme called the "pieta".  A pieta is one individual holding another person who is unable to hold themselves.  The most famous of these artworks is by Michaelangelo and pictures Mary holding Jesus after he has been taken down from the cross.  Several years ago Charles Porter IV took the picture that will be remembered as the most stirring "pieta" of this century.  It pictured fireman Chris Fields holding the limp body of Baylee Almon, having removed him from the wreckage of the Oklahoma City bombing.  That photo touched a nation.  However, each of us has the opportunity on a regular basis to be a pieta in the life of someone else.  We live in a hurting world and God wants us to wrap our arms around a hurting soul and hold on.

            The story is told of a city in France that had in the center square a giant statue of Jesus.  During World War II, A bombing raid hit the city and the statue was knocked down and broken.  The city fathers picked up the pieces and placed them in a bunker.  After the war, the city square was cleared out and the statue was re-assembled.  Much to the dismay of the city folks, the statue was missing two pieces.  The marble work was all together except that both hands had been destroyed in the bombing.  The people were despondent and didn't know what to do.  Next morning, the city awoke to a startling change.  At the base of the statue had been chiseled these words, "We must be the hands of Jesus".

            Did you notice the result of these believers caring for those who were hurting?  Luke writes in verse 47, "The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."  There are many evangelistic plans around.  The most effective is the one that causes you to reach out to those in your neighborhood and love them into the kingdom.  Let me give you a project for this coming week.  Begin to pray that the Lord would lay one person on your heart to reach and begin praying that a need would develop in their life that you might be able to meet.

          This message is from the teaching ministry of Glen Jackson, Pastor of the Faith Christian Church in Simi Valley, CA.