 Acts chapter 2. I'm taking my time through verses 42 through 47 as you already know. Let me read verses 41 through 43. But I'm really going to spend some time looking at verse 42. I just want to bring this together. Verse 41, those who gladly received his word were baptized and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers, and fear came upon every soul. Many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Before I became a Christian and even after I had come to faith in Jesus Christ and been born again, I had what would be called an uninformed view of what the church actually is. So when somebody would use the word church, if somebody said church, well I would think of a building. I would think of a building that was normally used on a Sunday. So if somebody began to speak to me concerning that and they actually pressed me to give a greater definition than a building that people meet on Sunday, if they actually said, say more to me about that, I would have said, because I was raised as a Catholic, this is how I'd have responded, I would have said, well it has people in it, in this building, kind of like an organization, who run it and we call them priests. And that's what I would have said to you. I would speak concerning members. I'd say, well there are people who show up, I guess you would call those members of the church. But I looked at the members of the church kind of like they were in a club or on a team of some sort. So there is a captain, we'll say, and that was the priest. There are team members who basically show up whenever the team has meetings, that's how I thought. And they do that normally on a Sunday, normally only Sunday. The idea of going more than once a week would have been foreign to me. I thought, why would you do that? One day you go to church, maybe, and the other days you do whatever you want. And so if you said, no, can you tell me more, tell me how that church runs and how it's organized and how it's supported, I'd say, well they have what they call offerings, and I look at those as membership dues. Now I regarded myself as a visitor. I wasn't going to be calling myself a club member, so I didn't think I needed to pay any dues at all. You see, I was a guest. And other people, well they were the hosts. And so I as a guest, having hosts, needed to have things provided for me. So if something needed fixing, or if there was help that was needed, well the members of the club should be doing that. So I'm not alone in this. I think there are a lot of people who think pretty much like I used to think. I'm pretty sure that's common. You see, I didn't have a clue of what the church really was. I also had no idea of what the church was created to do. And to be honest, I really didn't care, because it wasn't something that I felt I was part of. Well, because I once thought like that, I thought, you know, it's a good idea for us to talk a little bit about what the church is. What is the church? Because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are still multitudes of people who think pretty much like I did. Multitudes. So let's begin by saying this. Throughout the Bible, throughout the New Testament, there are different words and names that are given to what we call the church. If you read your New Testament, the church is called the bride of Christ. It's referred to as the church of God. It is referred to as the church of the living God. The church is called God's building. It is the household of God, the people of God, the temple of God. It's called the body of Christ. Those are a few things that you'll see when you read your Bible that is describing the church. So in the New Testament sense, the word church speaks of Christian believers. The word church is used around 74 times in the New Testament. It literally means the called out ones. It was used in the Greek language to speak of a synagogue. And so when you look at the church, the Ecclesia, well, we are what are called the called out ones. So Christians have been called out. We're called out of the world and we've been brought into the body of Christ and have been created to be a new community that's intended to serve God. In 1 Peter in chapter 2, verse 9, the apostle said, You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. So we have been literally called out of darkness. So we're called the called out ones, the Ecclesia. We've been called out of darkness and we've been translated into the kingdom of God. Now the word church is first used in the Gospel of Matthew. As a matter of fact, Matthew is the only gospel that actually uses the word church. You might find that interesting. Let's turn our Bibles to Matthew 16 for a moment. Let me share something with you out of Matthew. Matthew chapter 16, and it developed five things out of Matthew 16 that I think are important as I bring this introduction to this particular portion of Scripture. Matthew chapter 16. In Matthew chapter 16 at verse 13 following, what you have is an incident that takes place in a region in the north of Israel called Caesarea Philippi. And in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus is there with His disciples. Caesarea Philippi, if you had a chance to go to Israel, perhaps you already have been there, you will know that Caesarea Philippi was like a resort area. It's very beautiful up there. And Jesus had taken His disciples into that region that He might minister to them. And while He was there, He began to speak to them. And He asked them a question. He said, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And when He asked that question to them, you see that in verse 13 following, when He asked that question of them, they immediately began to respond. Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, others Jeremiah, one of the prophets. But then Jesus went on and said, But who do you say that I am? And so what we have here, and I'll say this briefly, is that Lord Jesus Christ is asking questions of them because, one, He knows that they have been influenced by what is being said about Him. And that's why He asks the question. Who do you say, well, who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Who has influenced you, because listen to church even to this day, is still influenced by those who don't even belong to it. You are still being influenced by those who don't even belong to it. Think about that for a minute. You say, No, I'm not. But you are. If you go to college and you have a professor who's anti-Christ, which a lot of professors in our secular schools are, they will say things to you. I had it done to me when I was in secular school, and it's been going on for a long time. You guys are foolish for believing in this book called the Bible. You guys are hypocrites. I've heard it. Some of you have. So the world really does try to influence you to the point of just be quiet. If you want to worship God, it's up to you. You're unenlightened. You're pretty stupid and ignorant for doing so. Forgive me for being honest and blunt with you, but that's what you are. You need to be more open and enlightened. I mean, we hear this all of us in one form or another, whether you're watching the news or you're watching a program or listening to somebody debate or conversations or some friends or your family. We've all heard things like that. If you haven't yet, you will. It's just part of life. We hear these things all the time. But we're also influenced, and that's why Jesus asks the question, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? He already supplied the answer in the question, by the way. And he said, the Son of Man, he's telling him who he is. It's like one of those open book tests that you get sometimes in school. Yeah, there's the answer right there. Who am I? Well, some say. And so you get the Jeremiah's and Elijah's and John the Baptist and other prophets. You get those things because that was what was going on at that time. That's why he says, but who do you say that I am? And when he asks that question, but who do you say that I am? You're aware of what's being said, but I want to know what you say. Thou art the Christ, the Son of Living God. Is the immediate response. Blessed are you, Simon by Jonah. Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father. Blessed are you. This has come through Revelation. And then he goes on, and he says in verse 18, I say to you that you are Peter. And on this rock, I will build my church. And the gates of Haiti shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. You basically see five things in this exchange, at least five things in this exchange between Jesus and his apostle, the apostle Peter. One thing you see is that Peter was not saved because he showed an interest in or was intellectually agreeing with Jesus. That's not what saved him. There are people who show an interest in Jesus or they're intellectually intrigued by the teachings of Christ. But that's not what this is saying. You see Peter was saved because God revealed who Jesus is. Flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you, but my Father. And so when this was revealed to him, that's how he put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In another place in John chapter 6 verse 44, Jesus said, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And so, blessed are you because my Father has revealed this to you. So you get saved because God has revealed Christ to you through conviction. He draws you. Second thing that you see, notice how Jesus said, I will build. Meaning he's the designer and the builder of the church. I will build. So growing churches is God's business and it's not done through our fleshly efforts. So sometimes people want to build their congregations and all, but the plans and programs will be in vain if God isn't doing the work. In Psalm 127.1 it simply says, except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain, that build it. So Jesus says, I will. Third, he said, I will build my church. In other words, the church belongs to him. It doesn't belong to any man and it belongs to Jesus because he purchased it and he purchased it and he owns it. In Acts chapter 20 verse 28, take heed therefore to yourselves, to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to feed the church of God which he has purchased with his own blood. So Jesus said, it's my church. He also makes it clear that the church is intended to last and be victorious. The gates of Hades shall not prevail. Death will have no power over God's people and death will never be victorious. He says also a fifth thing about the, says something about the kings, keys to the kingdom of heaven. And these keys have been entrusted to believers. Keys open doors and evangelizing others opens up the kingdom to them. When I got saved, I got saved in a revival and it wasn't at a little church revival. It was a revival where God was pouring his spirit out on young people and it has since been referred to as the Jesus movement. That's what I was saved in. And so when I got saved, we were told you need to pray, you need to read the word of God, you need to fellowship, and they said, and you need to tell somebody. You need to share what God has done in your life. Now I have people to this day after all these years who say I'm just too shy to talk about God. I'm shy, I'm introverted, and I had somebody just the other day talking to me and they asked me, well, they said this to me. They said, you're shy, aren't you? And I looked at my feet. You're shy, aren't you? And I said, yeah, by nature I am. Yeah, reserved. I don't know if the word shy is the right word. Reserved? Yeah, I am, I'm reserved. The question came after that, then how do you get up there and talk to so many people? It's a good question. How do you get up and talk to somebody like that? Do you know that there have been surveys? All of you know this. I'm telling you what you know. The number one fear that you have every human being has is talking in front of people. Number one fear. And then some people are afraid of zombies, but that's another... There really aren't people afraid of zombies, but that's a different message altogether. Number one fear. So the question was asked, how do you do that? Quick answer, anointing. Anointing the Holy Spirit. He moves on you and you just speak. You don't even notice that you're doing it. It's one of those things where the Holy Spirit just begins to move and you say, yes, and you open your mouth. So all you need to do is just learn to trust the Lord, open your mouth, and he will fill it. That's all you really need to do. There's nothing quote-unquote magical about it. It's simply, it's like this. Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross? Well, yes, I do. Do you believe that Jesus died to save people from their sins? Yes, I do. Do you think people need to believe in Christ to be saved? Yes, I do. Do you believe that Jesus told you to talk about him? He has other people do that. But does he have you to do that and do it? Now you don't understand. It's easy for you to do. No, it's not. No, it's not. It's just I'm one of these guys and there's a lot of people like me. I'd be in a classroom and that atheist professor would be saying something that was just wrong and I was the guy who opened the mouth. I'd say, you know what, if nobody else is going to speak up I will. And let me tell you something. I was just as intimidated and couldn't still be as anybody else except for one thing. The Lord has saved us to talk about him. That's what we're supposed to do. Because without him, people go to hell. And I actually believed that there's a place called hell. And I don't want him to go there. And the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. And so he said, you're Peter. Pondous Rock, I will build my church. The gates of hell, Hades, shall not prevail against it. And I give to you the keys to the kingdom. The keys, what are keys for? They open doors. The keys to the kingdom, you will evangelize. You will take this message and you will share it with the world. Which is exactly what the church has been commissioned. We have been called to do. The keys were used when the apostle Peter preached on Pentecost in Acts 2. It was used when the gospel was preached to the Samaritans in Acts chapter 8. And the keys were used when he preached to the Gentiles at the home of Cornelius in Acts chapter 10. That's why we emphasize sharing our faith. And that's why I encourage people to do that. Because that's what I was taught when I got saved. So that's what happened on Pentecost. The apostle Peter preached. Heaven's door was opened. 3,000 entered in. They understood that they needed to be taught in order to grow as believers. And that's why we emphasize the teaching of the word of God. Second, they understood they needed to fellowship with their community of faith. You see, if they're going to stay on fire, they need to remain close to one another. Anybody here like to barbecue? Anybody? I do. I like to eat barbecue and I enjoy burning meat every once in a while. I make burnt offerings for the family during the summer. You get those coals, right? And they get red hot. All you need to do is get some tongs and lift one of the coals that's in the center. Lift it up and move it off to the side. And notice, it doesn't take long for that coal to go out. It just doesn't. Why? Because it needs the other coals so that it can remain hot. And here we are in our day voluntarily removing ourselves from the center and putting ourselves on the outside. And I have people tell me, you know, I just don't have the fire I used to have. Are you in the word? Well, not like you used to. Are you in fellowship? I don't have time. I have to work and I've got things to do. And you're wondering why your fire went out. The answer is return to the first things. Get back in the word. Get back in fellowship and watch what God will do. He'll reignite you. And see, the early church knew that they needed to remain close to one another. They also continued steadfastly in the breaking of bread. Now, I want to spend some time looking at that. As a matter of fact, that's what we'll look at for the next several minutes. That phrase there, and I'll turn you back to Acts chapter 2. I'll read verse 42 again, and I'm going to speak to you a little bit about the breaking of bread. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread. Now, let's look at that. That would be more than simple fellowship over a meal. It actually alludes to what we call in the church two ordinances. The ordinances that I'm referring to would be baptism as well as communion. Now, baptism reminds us of resurrection life through the work of God's spirit. Communion reminds us of his sacrificial death and promise to return for us. I want you to notice in verse 41 now, the first thing that they did as Christians was to receive water baptism. It says in verse 41, those who gladly received his word were baptized. So they gladly received water baptism. Now, the Jews were familiar with the ritual of washing for external cleansing. They also knew that Gentile converts to the Jewish religion were to be washed. They were to be actually baptized. But it was after Jesus' death and resurrection that Christian baptism came into being. In Matthew 28, verses 18 through 20, Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded you. I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Teaching them, he said, to observe all things. When he says teaching them to observe all things, and he's speaking in context of making disciples. And you do that, you make a disciple through the teaching of the word of God. And baptism is the outward demonstration that this person is a disciple. You might want to think though about the fact that teaching them to observe all things would normally eliminate the baptizing of infants. Because babies don't understand anything yet. You know, my mom took me when I was around four months older, so it was in December. I was born in August. She took me in December to a little church in Los Angeles. Everybody here would know the church. It's a little plaza church there by Alvaro Street. A lot of people have been baptized there. I've never asked this question. Anybody here get baptized in the little church? Ah, we have some there. Yeah, I thought every Mexican in California was baptized there. My mama was 20 years old, and I was four months old. And she's told me the story. I've actually gone into the church there, and I walked in there and looked around, and I thought, how interesting. My mama is a little girl. I call her little girl. She was only 20. She already had two kids. I had an older brother and myself, and mama went in there. She said, I just wanted God's blessing on your life. She said, and I took you into this little church. I sought out the priest, and he water baptized you, and that's where you're baptized. I have my baptismal certificate from the little church there at my house. And so, a lot of people have been baptized, but I was baptized at four months old, and Jesus had teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded you, and the question has to be asked, how could I at four months old observe all things he's commanded? And that's the reason why I don't believe you baptize infants. You baptize converts. We dedicate babies, but when we dedicate, we become here on Sunday, third service, and you'll see me dedicating. We're simply, actually, listen to my prayer, and what do I pray? Father, that this house will be filled with your spirit, a love for your word, that Jesus Christ might be Lord there. What am I saying? Lord, we want you to save this little child. It's going to come through the ministry of the parents. It isn't coming because I'm holding the baby up here and praying. It's coming because they'll be raised in a home that is dedicated to Jesus, and that's what we pray for. And so, baptism. Baptism is a picture of our total identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The word baptize is the Greek word baptizo, and that word means to dip or immerse. It was used to refer to the dying of cloth. If I had a white piece of cloth and I dipped it into purple dye, they would have said at that time that I baptized it. I immersed it and it took the color purple. In the New Testament, that word represents our faith in Jesus Christ and the new life that we have in him. In Romans chapter 6 verses 3 and 4, Paul said it like this, Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. And whenever I do baptisms, which incidentally we are planning on having a baptism, for those of you who have yet to be water baptized, we are planning on having one in June, I will give a teaching out of Romans and I'll share about the identification that takes place. And so in baptism you are in the water standing there. You go down and you come up and I'll share with you that is a picture of dead, death and burial, water representing the grave. Death and burial, when you come out, it's a picture of newness of life in Christ. I am dead and buried but alive because of him. And that's what happens symbolically when you are water baptized. Dead and yet alive. We call it a watery grave. You are being buried alive. You go down and you come back up. So we are baptized. We are immersed. And in doing so we confess Jesus is death, burial and resurrection. That dramatizes the old nature that was crucified with Jesus but it also pictures that we are raised in new life. Galatians 2.20 says it like this, I've been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And now here's something for you. Now that we are water baptized and all, what really demonstrates your salvation isn't that you climbed into water because if water alone would save you, then every time you took a shower, once a week at least you would be getting saved. See water according to 1 Peter 3.21 symbolizes baptism that now saves you. Not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So the water itself of course doesn't wash away your sin. Why? Because the Bible does not teach that water does that. What washes away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. So the water doesn't save you. It symbolizes that you've been saved. And when you are water baptized, there's something else that helps you to demonstrate that you know God and that is the way that you live. You walk in what is called newness of life by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. In Ephesians 1.19 and 20, it says the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in heavenly places. It's the same spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. I ought to get up and shout but I won't. That powerful Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead resides in you. Don't forget that. Because the enemy lies to you, your flesh agreeing constantly. You can't do it. You're the same old pig you were before. Give up. What makes you... That's a lie from the devil. When you gave your heart to Jesus Christ, you became a new creation. Old things are passed away but all things are become new and the spirit of God dwells in me and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It may not be easy but it can be done. It is done for all things are possible with him. All things are possible with him. He can change your life. Don't buy that nonsense that you were a drunk. You'll always be a drunk. You were loose. You'll always be loose. You were in a drunk. You'll always be. That's the way you are. You were a liar. You'll always be a liar. No, I once was that. I am not that now. I once was that. We do our cardboard testimonies. First time I did it, I've only done it once. But I put on my cardboard testimonies. You know, drunk, liar, thief, druggy. But I turned it around and said, pastor, because God can change your life. And when you're water baptized, it's not saving you. The blood of Christ did. It's symbolizing that I am dead and I am buried because of him. And that's what happens. And so when you're gathering together, that's one of the ordinances that we need to celebrate. But secondly, breaking of bread, I want to speak specifically of that now. Breaking of bread reveals the Jewish understanding that, first, that God provides our basic needs. That's what Jesus said in Luke 11.3. Give us this day our daily bread. We Americans say, give us this day our yearly bread. Jesus said, no, I want you to day by day depend on me. Day by day depend on me. It's an everyday thing. And so give us this day our daily bread. It's just a reminder that the Lord Jesus Christ provides our daily bread for us. You see, the early church gathered regularly for what has been called a common meal. The New Testament would speak concerning what we call the agape feast. In Israel, community meals were common. You had the Passover. You had Sabbath meals. And you had meals at Bible studies. You had weddings with meals and engagements had meals. There were feast days. All of them had community meals. And so at these community meals, you had a host. And the host would break the bread. He would generously give portions to his guests or his guests. And the host would be the first partake of the bread. And after he had, he would distribute it. Now, Jesus had taken this practice of breaking bread and gave it new meaning. When he was celebrating the Passover, he spoke of this bread as representing his body. In Matthew 26 verses 26 through 28, Matthew says, as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, said, Take, eat, this is my body. Then he took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to them saying, Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. This is my body. I became flesh for you, he's saying. I suffered, I died for you. I did it all for you. In 1 Peter 3 18, Christ died for sins once for all. The righteous for the unrighteous to bring it to God. So as the bread of life, his body was broken when he was beaten and crucified. Isaiah in chapter 53 verses four and five said it like this concerning Messiah. Surely he took up our infirmities, carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted, but he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him by his stripes. We are healed. So the body, the bread of life, he said this is my blood, the blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. The word remission speaks of releasing from bondage or imprisonment. It's used as a word to describe forgiveness of sins. It speaks of letting them go and interestingly enough as if they had never been committed in the first place. Somebody says, I forgive you, but I won't forget. Anybody ever hear that? I forgive, but I don't forget. Then remember this, pow! I mean, is that forgiveness? It isn't. It isn't. You basically, you're holding it over me. You're holding it over me. When my children would do wrong, I tried to teach them grace. Just today, my two-year-old granddaughter was getting in trouble. Just today. And I was there and she's looking at her mama and she says, give me grace. I didn't tell you that. Give me grace. And I'm looking at her mama saying, you better because I gave you plenty. But he busted me up. But I tried to teach the children the concept of grace. Undeserved favor. I should actually discipline you and you deserve it. But I'm extending to you something you don't deserve, which is grace. And so, when God saves you, He's extending His grace to you and your sins are not brought up again. He casts them into the deepest part of the sea speaking of it being placed beyond retrieval. It's a picture. God chooses not to remember those sins and doesn't hold them against you. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine that? Every one of your sins, let it hammer you. Every, every one of your sins. Every one. And if you start thinking about some of the things you've done, we'll be here all night, wouldn't we? I've only gotten up to when I was two years old. Everyone, can you imagine that? A lot of people can't. They say, you don't know my sins. No, and I'm not supposed to. But God does. God knew them. But He washed the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son. The Scripture says, for the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanses us from all sins. How many of your sins were still in the future when Jesus died on the cross 2,000 years ago? How many? All of them. Why do we think then that He forgave me all of my sins up to the point when I got saved and after that I'm responsible for the rest of them? One of the amazing things is God knows exactly who I am and who you are and He loves us anyway. Imagine that. I'm dating Maria and I'm trying to put my best face on. You didn't know what a scoundrel I am. Where do you want to go? Sure. What kind of music do you like? I love it too. And then you get married. Mask is off. And I don't want to trivialize this. I want you to allow it to impact you all of your sins are washed. Does that give me permission to continue in sin so that grace may abound? God forbid. How can I, who have been cleansed from sin, return to it and go back to it and do it even worse? No. It's just that I appreciate what He's done so much that I don't want to do anything to add to that, which He cost Him to save me from. I don't want to add to it. It's that way. Jesus is not cheap. But He has forgiven me. And that's what we understand when we receive communion. He said, this is a cup of the new covenant. This new covenant being built on His blood. Again, shed for the remission of sins. So when you take of this communion, you actually look back. Do this in remembrance of me. You look back. You're capturing that event, the emotion, the reality, even the significance of that action. You're remembering. You're remembering His one time for all time sacrifice. But you also, in the future, you're looking forward to it. Because in 1 Corinthians 11, 26, Paul said, as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. So you're looking back in the sense of that Jesus did this for you in the past, but you're looking to the future for the promise of His return and then you're celebrating the fact that the body of Christ is one in Him. You see, the bread represents the body of Jesus. It reminds us that we belong together. It reminded them in this fellowship that they were one in Jesus Christ through His sacrifice for them. Doesn't matter. I said this recently. Say it again. Doesn't matter where I'm from. What city, what country, what ethnicity. None of that matters. What does matter is we belong to Him and to one another. Now that matters. In 1 Corinthians 12, 13, by one spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jew or Greek, whether slave or free. We've all been made to drink into one spirit. We belong together. So when the church would gather together, they remain steadfast in the apostles' doctrine. They remain steadfast in fellowship. They remain steadfast in the break in the bread. I want us as a church to remember that. That we belong to Him. We belong to one another. And we can be used by God to bring honour and glory to Him.