The King's Church in Ilford
The following is the text of the talk given on 13th June 2010 by Georges Kisombola
"Challenges of Growth"
- Acts 4:32-37
I must start by saying that the subject of giving is an important subject in Faith building and Spiritual growth. Today we are going to look at the situation that the first Christians found themselves in and how they dealt with it. Then we will look at four challenges that the passage throws up for us.
This passage is an introduction to the story of Ananias and Sapphira which follows in Acts 5. If you've never read Acts as a book, perhaps you should start at chapter one. It is certainly better than Harry Potter for excitement AND it is a true story. First let's see what has happened so far.
In Acts 3 there is the healing of a lame man, and another sermon from Peter, after which he and John get arrested. This doesn't seem to bother the crowd, as we are told that the number of MEN grew to about five thousand at the start of Acts 4. Peter and John get the chance to tell the Sanhedrin that it is impossible for them to stop talking about Jesus, and are let off with a stern warning. The disciples pray some more, their building is shaken and they continue their witness about Jesus. People do love changes but do not realise what change brings with it.
Here in Acts 4 the baby church was beginning to grow, and so was the opposition to it. First century Jerusalem was not a peaceful place to live, it was under occupation. Its' political and religious leaders were weak, indecisive, and ineffective. We have already seen how they dealt with the first leader of Christianity, but crucifixion had not produced the fruit they hoped for, and here were new leaders - doing the same things. Right now Jerusalem was still full of visitors from all over the empire. Everything in the city would have been under strain, supplies of food are likely to be short, and there was famine in some regions. There were just so many people, and they were not going home as quickly as usual.
Try to imagine such a situation at King's. Suddenly there are 5000 more people to look after. They have travelled here for the Olympics, but something remarkable has happened, and most of them have decided to stay. We - King's Church - are the centre of events, the other churches have disowned us, and will not offer help in some cases, and they will no longer even be friendly. There is uproar in the town; our counsellors are demanding that something is done. The police are under pressure to disperse the crowds. Maybe they will prevent us from meeting. The people who are leading the events have already been arrested and warned about illegal assembly. Where will all these people stay? Where will they sleep? How will they be fed? Will there be enough water for them? Will our toilets system cope? How will they move around - what transport is available? That's where you and I come in. They are our guests, as they get thrown out of their hotels, and turned away from their hosts in the other churches, it's our job to find them somewhere to stay, to eat, sleep, and live their lives. Many of them are young and are running out of cash; some of them were poor to start with. How will we cope?
For the Jews in Jerusalem hospitality was considered a good deed. They would have been Very reluctant to turn anyone away. Somehow they would find a way, or would this be too much even for them? We jokingly say that this is a nice problem to have - that we'd like to see the church grow massively and quickly. The reality is that some will find it not to be a nice problem to have.
As I read through this passage, I found four challenges we may face. They will help us to understand what God was doing with His church, and how the people's responses in Acts can challenge the way we do things now.
1. Claiming Ownership
"No one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common". The first thing to note here is that they had very little compared to us. It is sometimes easier to give up things when you don't have too much in the first place. The Jews had a principle of hospitality, so would always be prepared to share with a stranger.
We, in our sophisticated, advanced society have lost some of the basics of human community. What would it take for us to be able to say that we did not claim ownership of our goods? To answer that question we must first address the last challenge.
2. Use of capital
Joseph also known as Barnabus was a Cypriot, a member of the Jewish family of Levi from the dispersion. It is even possible that the field he sold may even have been in Cyprus.
The sharing of everything was not so literal that Barnabus allowed others to determine that his field should be sold. This passage is often seen as a kind of Christian communism. That is not the case. Communism is based on compulsion - you have no choice but to give up you wealth, your property, your belongings - for the good of everyone. That is most definitely not happening here. Barnabus is responding to God, and the needs of God's people he sees around him. Sale of a field is the sale of an asset that allows you to make money. The field is used to grow food, or raise cattle, without it there will be a reduction in income, but the capital raised will keep God's people from starving. This is sacrificial giving - Barnabus will be worse off from now on - his income has been reduced.
What do you have that you could sell if the need arose?
And I don't think I need to say anymore about this to you. I know you to be a faithul congregation especially with regard to your giving. I know that I can put a need before you and that it is going to be taken care of. God is planning great things before us and I trust Him to provide through His people.
3. Where does your giving go?
This is not about how much you give. "Each of us should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" 2 Cor 9:7.
My question is where do you put the money that you set aside to give? I've heard all sorts of ideas as to exactly what counts towards giving to God. Some people will tell you that giving to Greenpeace counts towards their giving to God. Yes, we are supposed to look after the environment, but really?
Others will tell you that Amnesty International or Christian Aid and that count towards their giving to God. Well I can see the connection, but is that what the Bible says about giving? Well maybe it does, but take a look at this passage. When Barnabus sold his field, he put the money at the disciples' feet. That may be literal, or it may be symbolic, whichever it is, Barnabus brought his money, and gave up control over how it was used.
Malachi 3:10 "Bring the whole tithe into the store house". This means that the tithe was to be given to the temple for the use in God's Work in that local place. God is consistent in his approach between the old and the New Testament. However much you decide to give God must be given in total to God through your local church.
Now don't let that stop you giving to Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Christian Aid, or any other organisation. Just I am not sure you would tell God that you're giving it to Him. And that brings me back to the story of Ananias and Sapphira.
4. Testifying to the resurrection
This may possibly be the greatest challenge for us all. What was the priority of the very first believers? Church? Preaching? Eschatology? Prophecy? Writing a bible - so that posterity would be able to follow in their footsteps? or something different?
NO - they are just about one man -the resurrected Jesus WHO IS coming back. Peter and John have already told the Sanhedrin - the Jewish supreme council, that they cannot stop talking about Jesus. Every time Peter speaks he mentions the resurrection.
How often do we tell people who don't know, that God has raised Jesus from the dead? There is a consequence to the willingness of the disciples to talk to everyone about Jesus. "great grace was upon them all". It is the grace of God that has allowed the few to share what they have, to not claim ownership of their belongings. It is grace of God that has allowed them to meet the challenges to turn they have into capital, and provide support for the poor - the needy - amongst them. It is grace of God that allows them to trust the disciples implicitly, to bring what they have and to trust that the disciple will distribute it wisely.
Conclusion
The baby church was growing under God's care, already they had 5000 plus members. The people involved were filled with the spirit, and had God's grace to help them overcome the unique problems that they faced. The miracles that Jesus started are continuing, and it can only be a matter of time before all these changed people start to have a dramatic effect on their society. Here we see the enormous excitement that a work of God brings - huge crowds, dramatic miracles, run-ins with earthly authorities. It's a great story, and we know that our God was in control of everything that happened, but there were also great sacrifices.
Whenever God is at work there are things to do, things to learn, and blessings to be received. There is much to make us think about how we live our lives in this passage, so I leave you with the four challenges.
