Covenant: A People of the Potluck

ACTS 2: 42-47

APRIL 27, 2008

Joe Kutter

God made a covenant with Noah following the flood and the rainbow was the sign. God made a covenant with Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation and circumcision was a sign. God made a covenant with Moses and the Ten Commandments was a sign. God made a new covenant with Jesus’ disciples and the cross is the sign.

Today, we are looking at the covenant that Jesus’ disciples had with one another following his death and resurrection. A reminder about the nature of Biblical covenants; it is the agreement that people make with God and one another in response to God’s grace. God’s gift of salvation was sealed on the cross. Now the question is, how did the early believers respond? What was their covenant?

This covenant we know in a different way. To see this covenant, we see the disciples’ behavior and then we deduct the agreement that bound them together with Christ.

Now, let me draw a little picture for you from a Biblical story. In our story, Jesus has recently died and returned to be in heaven with God. Those who had believed in him and followed him continue to meet together regularly, very regularly.  They have just lost Jesus and they are continuing to meet together, probably in somebody’s house.

Now, I want to look at the last verse in the scripture that we read this morning.

“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Here’s the picture: Jesus has died and has gone to heaven. His disciples are continuing to meet in houses. And, every day, somebody new joins the group.  There is something in that group of people that is so powerfully attractive that every day, somebody new joins.

Imagine the disciples as individuals. What is it about Mary and Peter and Martha and John that draws other men and women into their fellowship. What do they have that others want?  Do they have what you want?

And imagine the group. What in the world is going on in that group that may cause you to want to be there? Do they have what you want? 

Because so many wanted it and because within a very short time, that little group transformed the world, I am going to make an assumption that they had what we want. Let’s take a look.

Before we look at the group, we need to look at events leading up to the group’s meeting.

After his resurrection and before his final departure for heaven, Jesus made this promise to his disciples.

Acts 1:7-8 (NIV)

⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

And then on the day of Pentecost, they were given a gift, the gift of God’s presence, the gift of the Holy Spirit.

  “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2: 1-4, NIV)

What did they have?  They had the gift of God’s presence, the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Now that they have this remarkable gift, what do they do? How do they live? What is it that other people see that causes so many to want to join the group? 

This is the way that they live together; Acts 2: 42-47.

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he 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’s break it down. Let’s look at they way that they lived in response to the presence of God’s Spirit in their midst.

1.      They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. When they gathered together, they gave some time to study. And what did the apostles teach?  The taught about Jesus and they gave instruction as to how to live out the spirit of Jesus. Every day, they asked the questions, what would Jesus do and how would Jesus think and what would Jesus have me be?

2.      They devoted themselves to the fellowship. They were committed to one another, they were committed to the church. That means that they spent time together. Why? They spent time together because of that which they shared in common, Jesus Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit. They broke bread together. They shared meals together. Being together was a significant part of their spirituality. They talked with one another. Did they talk about Jesus? Absolutely and about the Holy Spirit. But they also talked about their jobs and their parents and their children and their work and…they shared life together. How do we know? That’s what people do when they eat together and spend time together.

3.      They devoted time to prayer.  Together, the consciously and intentionally spent time praying to God together. They sought, together, to absorb the spirit of Jesus. They said “thank you” to God and they confessed their sins to God and they prayed for the sick and the dying and the oppressed and the lost. They prayed…together.

4.      They were filled with awe. They looked for the signs of God’s presence and they found them. They rejoiced in healing and they took delight in the signs of God’s creativity in nature. They allowed the overwhelming majesty of God to fill them with wonder and praise.

5.      They held all things in common. Why? They saw to it that no necessity of life was denied to any one of their members. Their life was shaped by the love that they had for one another and because of that love, every person had what was needed. They took care of each other. Jesus had taught them to love one another as he had loved them and they took that literally. (Here is an aside. Is it not interesting what parts of the Bible we choose to take literally? We’ll fight over one doctrine or another and then we’ll simply ignore the commandment to love one another as Jesus has loved us. That is what they were doing. They loved one another as Jesus had loved them and for some, that meant selling some possessions in order to take care of the needy among them. It was a matter of sacrificial ministry.

6.      They regularly went to the temple. Public worship was a part of their regular life together.

7.      Their home life must have been really important. It is mentioned twice. They visited with one another. They spent time together. They ate together. That is why this sermon is called “The Covenant of the Pot-Luck”. Eating together was a really important part of their life together. As they ate, they must have talked together. They praised God together and….the enjoyed the praise of the people.  the people

8.      And what happened? The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. The people saw it. The people were impressed. Every day, somebody else joined. Every day, somebody said, “That is precisely what I want. I want that fellowship. I want that community.  I want that shared ministry. I want to experience God’s love in that way. 

If you want to nurture an on-going experience with God, this is the process. If you want to share the experience of God with another, this is the process.