Revitalized / Week 3

God Does Amazing Things When His People Gather

Passage February 13, 2022

I. Introduction:

A. God does amazing things when his people gather together!

1. Not just gathering together to hang out and eat or to watch the Super Bowl

together but when they come together to do the life and mission of Jesus

together!

2. As we said before, you can be an individual believer but you cannot be an

individual church.

B. The Greek word for church is ekklesia.

1. Vines Dictionary says it is made up of two words joined together

a) ek – out of klesia – a calling = to call out of

2. In its most basic use it was a Greek political term that was in use for

hundreds of years before the Christian era. It referred to “a gathering of

citizens called out from their homes into some public place; an assembly”

(Thayer)

3. louw-nida, another Greek word, the dictionary defines it this way: “an

assembly of persons constituted by well-defined membership” They go on

to say that in the New Testament it is an assembly of God’s people and may

be rendered as “a gathering of believers” He also say it implies they are

“interacting” with each other!

4. Bottom line when we come out from our normal routines and places of life,

gather together with, and interact together with other Christians around the

things of Jesus.

C. We learned last week that the church (we the believers, the church) is vital

because it is God’s chosen instrument to carry out His mission and to express the

life of Jesus in this world and to each other.

1. We also learned it is revitalizing because when we interact with other

believers whether it be of spiritual gifts or just the one another ministry of

Scripture it makes an impact upon us that revitalizes our spiritual lives.

D. We are going to learn this morning that gathering together regularly both in larger

and smaller contexts was a kingdom norm for the early church.

1. That is where we interact with each other and that is where amazing things of

God happen!

• Turn to Acts 2 where we see the birth of the church

II. Acts 2

A. We see at the start of Acts 2 that there were 120 people gathered together in one

place praying the thing that Acts 1:14 to which it says they were dedicated.

1. It was during that time of prayer when they were together that the church was

born as the Holy Spirit came to dwell within each one of them.

2. It was at that moment that the church of Jesus Christ was born and later that

day 3,000 souls were added to the church!

B. Then we see in Acts 2:42 -47 what the norm was for that newborn church, the

norm we are seeking to get back to after the cultural earthquake we have

experienced that has impacted our lives and church.

1. As I read Acts 2:42 note the four things they were devoted to, what they built

their lives around, what they persisted in. Read

C. Now we see in the verses that follow what that devotion to these four essential

norms looked like in real life

1. Read v44 – they were together, the believers were together – that simply

means a group of people, believers were with each other in one place at one

time!

2. Read v46 – note also that they gathered together day by day

3. Note that they gathered together around the things of Jesus!

a) Read v46a one mind in the temple means they were everyday going to a

big gathering at the temple where they were together in unity. we learn

in Acts that two key things happened at the temple everyday - teaching

(Acts 5:21,42) and prayer (Acts 3:1)

b) Read v46b-c. Secondly, we see that day by day they were in smaller

gatherings in their homes taking communion and openly sharing their

lives together around a meal!

D. Later on in Acts we hear about them gathering together to:

1. Pray (12:12)

2. Hear ministry reports of what God was doing (14:27)

3. Hear decisions from the leadership of the church (15:30)

4. Take communion and hear God’s Word (20:7-8)

E. Bottom line the norm of the early church was that they were together, they were

together often to interact with one another regarding the things of the Lord since

they were continually devoted to each other!

1. We can be revitalized as a church and as individual believers as we get back

to the eternal norms we see in the early church. - meeting together to

interact with other believers around the things of Jesus, gathering together

regularly in large gathering and smaller gatherings

• The book of Hebrews gives us an encouragement about the importance of gathering

as believers. Turn to

III. Hebrews 10:24-25

A. The background of the book simply is that Jewish believers were being tempted

and pursued to be drawn back into their old beliefs in Judaism. But the writer

was showing them the superiority of Jesus over any Old Testament saint, the

superiority of the new covenant over the old covenant and the superiority of one

time for all sacrifice of Jesus over the sacrifices in the Mosaic law.

B. Thus, they arrived at the point in the book where we see that because of the blood

of Jesus they/we are able to enter with confidence right into the presence of God.

Then he gives three major outcomes of this:

1. They could approach God in prayer with full confidence

2. They could hold onto the hope of Jesus return without wavering

3. Consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds

C. The final half of this third application is what I want to focus on now

1. Read v24-25

2. Not forsaking our assembling together

a) Not neglecting nor abandoning our meeting together as believers.

b) In context of v24, it appears that these meetings are of the nature that

they are small enough to allow one another to make a significant

difference in each other’s lives. Close enough to each other to stimulate

each other.

c) For some all they know of church is coming to a 90 minute service on a

Sunday morning and partaking in the service in a manner that is no

different than sitting in the stands at a baseball game as they cheer from

the stands of the church with an amen here and there when something

they like happens!

3. As is the habit of some

a) It appears that it was a problem at that time that people were not

intentional nor consistent in meeting with other believers. In addition,

some totally abandoned it all together.

b) That is clearly a problem today as statistics of churches in general state

that before Covid most people attended church about two times per

month. After Covid, WSJ – reported recently that in-person church

attendance is roughly 30% to 50% lower than it was before.

4. But encouraging one another

a) We need to encourage, urge believers to get together with other believers

in a small group context and going to the corporate church, whether that

is a home church or in a church building!

b) Note that this urging does not come from the pastors or elders but rather

from each other. Responsibility is on each one of us as a body and not

sit back and wonder why the elders or pastors did not call.

5. All the more as we see the day drawing near –

a) This instruction is all the more important as we see the return of the Lord

drawing near.

b) Those who understand what the Bible says about the end times and the

signs that it is near know how important this exhortation is to us in these

days

c) We need each other all the more, as this world will be tougher and

tougher for Christians as the return of Jesus draws near.

• So how are you and I doing in gathering together with other believers?

IV. Application

A. Let us do a self-evaluation. Give yourself a score between 1 and 10 – 1 terrible

and 10 great

1. Gathering with other believers in a larger corporate setting? 1-10

2. Gathering with other believers in a smaller personal setting? 1-10

3. Interacting with other believers in those settings around the things of Jesus?

1-10

4. My Christian experience is an everyday experience with other believers 1-10

5. In light of this evaluation, what next step you believe God would have you

take?

6. Share with someone what you feel is the area you are strongest and weakest

and what next step God would have you take.