Page 16 - Florida Sentinel 9-24-21

Believers Praise God Acts 2:32-33, 37-47 (KJV)
SCRIPTURES
Acts 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are wit- nesses.
33 Therefore being by the right hand of God ex- alted, and having re- ceived of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall re- ceive the gift of the Holy
Ghost.
39 For the promise is
unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this un- toward generation. 41 Then they that gladly re- ceived his word were bap- tized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thou- sand souls.
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44 And all that be-
lieved were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their pos- sessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
46 And they, continu- ing daily with one accord in the temple, and break- ing bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and single- ness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
The Call To Community (Acts 2:32-33)
Peter has been giving his audience the full story of God’s history-spanning plan of sal- vation. He concludes with the exciting news, only 50 days old: Jesus Christ is risen, and ascended to glory, power, and honor. The Father gave Him the Spirit to pour out on His followers. This is the explana- tion for the speaking in tongues that had astonished everyone.
In this explanation, we see that the very basis of Christi- anity is grounded in commu- nity between the Persons of the Trinity. Each has a role,
each affirms the others’ pow- ers. It is a communion of love that naturally calls others to join in its love.
The Community Forms (vv. 37–43)
After listening to Peter’s convicting message, the Scrip- tures affirm that the people were ready for a change in their lives (v. 37). In essence, they tell Peter, “Whatever that is you have, we want it in our lives today.” The apostle tells the people that all they have to do to receive God’s power is repent of their sins, receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, and they will receive the pre- cious Holy Spirit.
Many people believe that Peter’s words were only appli- cable to the people whom he addressed. But Peter makes it clear that the promise of God’s power is available to all who would believe in Jesus Christ throughout this age (“unto you, and to your children”) and the age to come (“to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call”).
The Holy Spirit’s presence and power for the believer did not cease at Pentecost (Acts 8:5; 10:44-46). The Holy Spirit is the birthright of every
true born-again believer in Christ (Joel 2:28; Matthew 3:11; Luke 24:49).
Those in the crowd whose hearts had been “pricked” by Peter’s words accepted his call to repentance and were bap- tized that same day. On the birthday of the New Testa- ment church, 3,000 people were converted to Christ and formed the first Christian community. Once the people had received Peter’s word, they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine.
The Community Grows (vv. 44–47)
The 3,000 new converts joined together with the origi- nal 120 believers (Acts 1:15) to form a community of believ- ers who “had all things [in] common” (2:44; 4:32). This meant that everyone in the community was ready and willing to sacrifice for the good of the whole. They shared a commonality of participation, prayer, and purpose. They re- garded their material blessings as a means of being a blessing to others. All their posses- sions, talents, and time were dedicated to furthering the mission of the Church and meeting the needs of the brothers and sisters. The group continued to meet daily in the Temple and at various homes after the services to share meals and companion- ship. The table of fellowship provided members of the early church with an opportunity to gather together in small groups and discuss the day’s teachings. As the church was faithful in its mission, God demonstrated His faithfulness to the church. Not only did God continuously provide for the needs of His people, He “added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). The church did its job, and God did His.
Lesson Learned
During the reconstruction period and through the period of Jim Crow segregation, the church was the spiritual, so- cial, and political center of the Black community. In modern times, the church has become far less influential. What are some of the social and political factors that may have con- tributed to this decline? What are some of the implications of the church’s decline in influ- ence? What can the church do to improve its relevance to Black society? To society in general?
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