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Acts 2:42-47 "Vision for the Church: Holy Community"

by The Rev. Clancy Nixon

April 10, 2005

Church of the Holy Spirit (Episcopal/Anglican)

Ashburn, Virginia

www.holyspiritdulles.org.

Over 350 years ago, a shipload of travelers landed on what we now call New

England. In the first year, they built a small town. The next year, they elected a town

government. The third year, the town government agreed to build a road five miles

westward into the wilderness. In the fourth year, the people tried to impeach their town

government, because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five

miles into the woods. Who needed to go there anyway?

Lynn Anderson asks us to think about this, and I paraphrase: Here were a people

who had the vision to see three thousand miles across the ocean and who managed to

overcome great hardships to get to their promised land. But in just a few years, they were

not able to see even five miles outside of their tiny coastal town. They lost their

pioneering vision. With a clear vision of what we can become in Christ, no ocean of

difficulty is too wide. Without it, we rarely move beyond our current boundaries.

Friends, you and I are pioneers on this frontier of exurbia called Ashburn. You

and I are pioneering a new Christian community in a new neighborhood with new

families and new friends. We are living in our promised land, but we have not settled

yet. We worship in a rented school and move our stuff around in a trailer. We are

pioneers.

Let's look at our corporate identity, at who we are, in order of priority: First, we

are Christians, committed to the person of the Lord Jesus. God comes before anything

else. Second in defining our identity are our theological commitments: we are

evangelical, committed to the authority of Scripture in our lives and the need for personal

conversion, and we are charismatic, committed to the present day ministry of the Holy

Spirit in power. The third priority in our identity is our commitment is to the extension of

the Kingdom of God, to rescue those who need a hand to be pulled up out of the swamp

of life without Christ. Being on mission is part of our identity. After all those, the fourth

part of our corporate identity is that we are Anglicans. That means that we are followers

of the particular way of being a Christian that came to us from the Church of England.

So those are 4 answers to the question of who we are.

Right now, the Anglican Church worldwide, close to 80 million of us, are having

a family feud over what it means to be an Anglican. For over 200 years, the Episcopal

Church was the recognized branch of the Anglican Church in this country. That has

changed in the last few years, as ECUSA has increasingly gone its own way and away

from orthodoxy. It has become increasingly clear that a large and formal split is coming

soon, and every Episcopalian in America will have to choose either to be Anglican, or to

be Episcopalian. Very soon, it will not be possible to be both. That is what the Primates,

the Archbishops of the worldwide Anglican Communion, have said. You and I are

pioneers in the United States of America, since we have already determined that we will

remain orthodox Anglicans.

Okay, Clancy, if we are pioneers, where are we going? I said earlier that with a

clear vision of what we can become in Christ, no ocean of difficulty is too wide. Our

difficulties are small, and our opportunities are great. This is the fastest growing county

in the nation. The sovereign hand of God is moving people here who think that they are

coming because they can afford a house with a back yard in Loudoun, and in Fairfax,

they can't! I think God has something bigger and better than that in mind. Amen? I

think God is bringing all these people to Loudoun County because He wants to win it for

Christ! God has plans for our county. I don't believe that it is an accident that God

placed Patrick Henry College, Prison Fellowship Ministries, and Breakthrough Prayer

ministries here in this county. Pastors from every denomination are praying together for

revival here. God is laying the groundwork for a sovereign move of the Holy Spirit right

here in Loudoun. Are we ready for it?

God gave me the vision for this church five years ago. I see us as a Holy

Community like the first church in Jerusalem. A vision is a picture of a desired future.

Though I can imagine a different vision for our church, God keeps turning my head,

insisting that I stay focused: Church of the Holy Spirit is to be a Holy Community like

the first church in Jerusalem. Say that with me: Church of the Holy Spirit is to be a Holy

Community like the first church in Jerusalem.

It is not surprising that community is our vision. I've read the book through all the

way to the end; salvation history has a goal, and the goal is holy community. The biblical

vision of the church triumphant the church in heaven - is of holy community. If you

read Revelation chapter 21, you'll see that at the end of all things, there is the New

Jerusalem, shining like a city on a hill. John sees a new heaven and a new earth, paradise

regained, and there is the holy city as its crown jewel. It was prophesied by Isaiah in

65:17, where God says "I will make a new heaven and a new earth."

The church is holy by definition, or it is not the true church. The Greek word for

church, ekklesia, means literally the "called-out ones." To be holy means to be set apart

by God for His purposes. God chose you from out of the world from the foundation of the

universe, because he has a plan for you, and he created you to fulfill that plan. You and I

have a higher calling than to make a living and raise our kids. We are called to be holy, to

become conformed to the image of his son, to live according to the pattern of the book.

We're to be like Jesus. That's my dream for you, my prayer: that you live like Jesus.

Live for others. God has set you apart and called you into his service. Just as each

individual has a particular calling, I believe that each congregation has a particular

calling.

What is our calling? Church of the Holy Spirit is called to be a Holy Community

like the first church in Jerusalem. What did that look like? Doctor Luke paints a picture

for us in the book of Acts, chapter 2. You can find it on page 1079 of your blue pew

Bibles, Acts 2:42 and following. The passage you heard read is the end of Peter's

sermon after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The disciples in the Upper

Room all spoke in languages that they had not previously known. Peter preaches Jesus as

the crucified Christ, and 3,000 repent and are baptized in one day. You might think,

instant megachurch! They considered themselves one church, but they met in homes all

over the city. Acts 2:42 to 47 describes what their life was like, and it is a picture of

what God is calling us to become. They were a Holy Community. We are not called to

play church; this is our life together; we are bound by our sacred honor.

Verse 42: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the

fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." What an awesome verse. These first

spirit-filled believers were devoted. What did they devote themselves to? Let's say it

together: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the

breaking of bread and to prayer."

First, they were devoted to the Apostles' teaching. This was a teaching church, a

learning church. They were devoted to learning the teaching. The Apostles had had forty

days with the resurrected Christ, Acts 1:3, when he taught them many things about the

Kingdom of God. Don't you think that they were all ears at that time, learning from the

resurrected Christ, now that it was clear who he was? Those teachings about the

Kingdom are likely what the Apostles taught the church after Pentecost, and the church

was devoted to learning it. Friends, we need to drink in the New Testament. That is the

Apostles teaching! Our church should be known as a church where they know their

Bible. It's our authority we'd better know it. If you have not read it through, pick up a

One Year Bible and just do it. Go for it. Get in a small group and just learn what the

Apostles teach. It will change your life.

Second, they were devoted to the breaking of bread and the prayers. This was a

worshiping church. They worshiped in each other`s homes, and they even worshiped

every day in the Temple Courts. The breaking of the bread is understood by scholars to

refer to the Eucharist. Why do we celebrate the Lord's Supper every week? Because we

are back to the Bible people. We want to follow the ancient path and pattern of life that

the Apostles did. We worship the way we do because the liturgy we follow is the oldest

pattern we can find that the early church followed in the first and second centuries. We

have Eucharist every week because it appears that the early church did. A few years

back, when archeologists discovered a more ancient liturgy than we previously knew, we

changed our liturgy to conform to it. The closer we are to Apostolic practice, the closer

we are to Jesus.

They were devoted to evangelism. That's not verse 42, that's verses 46 and 47.

We know that they were devoted to evangelism because it says "they enjoyed the favor of

all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

When you take care of the poor, some of them get saved. You also win favor from

unbelievers. When you are glad with each other, then others want to join you. When

people are being saved into your church every day, then evangelism is not just a program

or an event. When people are being saved into your church every day, evangelism must

be a lifestyle and a conviction.

Our major outreach this fall will be the start-up of our traditional service. Our

Launch team needs help with every part of organizing this outreach that will strengthen

our faith community and enable us to reach a totally different group of people with the

gospel.

They were devoted to the fellowship. It says in verse 46 that "they broke bread in

their homes and they ate together with glad and sincere hearts." They liked each other

they were glad to spend time together. They were a loving church. They had home

fellowships, and everyone had them. They were young and old, slave and free, rich and

poor. All that became irrelevant when they believed in Christ. Now, they were a family.

Verses 44 and 45: Like a nuclear or extended family, they even shared their material

possessions with each other, so that none who was poor remained in want of basic

necessities. They even held their possessions in common. Does that mean we should,

too?

Jesus and the Apostles never say that giving up private property is a requirement

for the discipleship of all. To be sure, some individuals, like the rich young ruler, are

called to voluntary poverty. However you read this, it is clear that the Apostolic

community had far less regard for possessions than we do. I think that at the very least it

means that we need to share what we have with the community. Do you have an empty

bedroom? You can offer it to one in need, as our family did for several months. Did you

get a bonus or windfall? You can share that with those in need right here in our

community through the Benevolence Fund. Do you have time to share? You can

telephone people who need a call through the Pastoral Care Team. We are already known

as a loving church, but we can do better. More of us can follow Doug Schnelzer's

example. Doug drove Joey to and from work every day for weeks until a car came

through for Joey. Even the car was a gift.

Money is a touchy subject. One Sunday, a preacher was speaking on what it

would take for the church to grow. He said "If this church is to advance, it must take up

its bed and walk." The congregation said "Let it walk, Preacher, let it walk." Encouraged

by their response, he went further. "If this church is going to become better, it will have

to throw aside its hindrances and run!" The congregation replied, "Let it run, preacher, let

it run!" Now really into his message, he spoke stronger. "If this church really wants to

become great, it will have to take up its wings and fly!" "Let it fly, Preacher, let it fly!"

the congregation shouts. The Preacher gets louder. "If this church is going to fly, it will

cost money!" The congregation replied. "Let it walk, Preacher, let it walk." [pause]

Now I know you would not say that!

God has set eternity in our hearts! We are doing better than most congregations,

as our average pledge is about $9600 per year. Our income is good, but it could be

better. Our vision includes land fifteen acres of land in eastern Loudoun. And

eventually, a nine hundred seat sanctuary, chapel, soccer field and Christian preschool. I

have this vision of a beehive of activity. We need a permanent home. We are looking for

one now. Right now, you can give to entities apart from Church of the Holy Spirit where

you need not fear that it might ever be taken away in the event of a church split. You can

give to the United Anglican Fund. We need a Barnabas who will sell some of their real

estate and give it to such an entity. We need a capital campaign soon to raise the money

that it will take to buy and build. Will you help organize a capital campaign? Many of us

live in enormous homes, and some even have second homes. Who will build the Temple

of God? Who is devoted enough to the fellowship and to worship to give sacrificially?

Will you join me to build this holy Community with your dollars?

Let's look beyond the oceans of difficulties, and see the holy community that God

is calling us to be, like the first Church in Jerusalem.