Lechem Panim #126 "Healing At The Table" (Acts 2:43-47) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. We’re glad you are here today. In our study of the second chapter of the book of Acts, we have been taking a look at some of the fundamental practices of the early Church that began to take place in the wake of the Holy Spirit’s coming. Devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship were the first two. And the temple was still very much the central place they would go together to to receive that teaching. But then we come to the next one: the breaking of bread together.

Breaking Bread— And this third fundament practice of the early Church continues to show the depth of their unity. And there is actually a lot of debate about whether this was a common meal they shared together or actually the Lord’s Supper. In Luke’s Gospel, [The {Greek} word…κλαω is used of breaking bread at the ordinary meal (Lu 24:30 ) or the Lord's Supper (Lu 22:19 ). {But} It is generally supposed that the early disciples attached so much significance to the breaking of bread at the ordinary meals, more than our saying grace, that they followed the meal with the Lord's Supper at first, a combination called αγαπα or love-feasts.] And I just think what a great concept, by the way; love-feasts. The fellowship of Jesus Christ is characterized by feasting together on a shared receiving of the love of Christ pictured by the body and blood of Christ! I LOVE THAT!!!! But it’s more than just the Lord’s Supper. To say it is just about taking communion together [is to…mar the picture of family life, which the text places before us as the ideal of the early believers”.] These early believers really saw themselves as family. They were regularly eating and fellowshipping together.

Forgiveness— Now there is something else I would like to add to this. In Jewish culture, to break bread with somebody was a very intimate thing. Keep in mind that you always laid down at table, with your head at the chest of whoever was sitting next to you. So you are very close, intimate and personal. And so you would only eat with people that you were one good terms with. Now keep in mind that Jesus intentionally ate with tax collectors and sinners; something that no self-respecting Jew (and especially a Rabbi) would do. Because to do that was a way of saying that they are part of your crowd; they are your friends; there is a special relationship you have with them, which is why the Jewish leaders reacted so strongly to Jesus’ eating and associating with people like that. But they were the very people that Jesus most wanted to reach; and so He breaks bread and eats with them. Now there is something else you need to know about Jewish custom in that time. If you had a fallout with someone and the relationship was broken and needed to be mended, you could verbally try to fix the situation. But in Jewish culture the forgiveness process was never considered complete until you actually shared a meal with that person. That was the outward sign that forgiveness had taken place.

Zacchaeus’ Reconciliation— This is part of what makes the story of Zacchaeus such a radical thing. Because remember that Zacchaeus was a wicked, cheating tax collector; and yet Jesus invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ home, which meant that he was going to break bread with Zacchaeus? Do you begin to see now what Jesus was visually communicating to everybody and why Zacchaeus was probably bawling his eyes out in joy. Because Jesus was saying (with a picture) that forgiveness had taken place. Now how did the people react? They went crazy! ARE YOU KIDDING US JESUS?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? And yet Jesus says in…

Luke 19:9-10 (NIV)— 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house {which by the way implied that God had forgiven Zacchaeus his sin}, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Zacchaeus Excited— Can you begin to understand why Zacchaeus reacted to this meal the way that he did? He knew what it meant for him personally and spiritually. Now I say all of this because here (and throughout the book of Acts) you have people from all over the empire (from different walks of life; different social statuses; different races; different political alignments; democrats; republicans; men, women, boys, and girls; barbarians, scythians, slaves, and free) who are all breaking bread together. What does that tell you? Forgiveness and healing has been made between them all at the deepest possible level. And where does this take place? AT THE VERY TABLE OF CHRIST JESUS.

Coming To The Table— Now I don’t know how much that impacts you. But let me tell you, THAT is the key to healing culture. Social reform? We need it. Fighting for a good government? That is our responsibility (especially in the United States where we have a say in who comes into office). But let me tell you, our differences are never going to be reconciled and true healing is never going to happen until we are willing to come together to the very table of Jesus Christ. Christ and Christ alone is the starting point of true forgiveness and healing; because He offers reconciliation with God Himself out of which comes the overflow of healing in all our earthly relationships as well. 

Prayer— Now the fourth practice is one of the biggest things that brings us into unity with one another. And sadly it is something that we often neglect. And that is [Prayer. Prayer was a constant practice in the early church (1:14; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 10:4, 31; 12:5; 16:13,16). The apostles prayed for those they ministered to.… But prayer was not only in response to crises and needs. Because of the references to worship, we can assume that prayers of praise were a significant part of the community life of the early church.] The air of prayer was the lifeblood of the Church. And these [prayers {were made both} in house meetings and likely also in the temple (vv. 42, 46).] So all these Christians are eating together, worshiping together, and praying together. And it’s interesting; anywhere in life you find lack of prayer, you will always find tension.

From Hate to Love through Prayer— A number of years ago my wife and I went to Dublin, GA for our former denomination’s annual conference. And after one of the evening services we headed for the fellowship hall. And there we had the privilege of talking with a couple (the Pastor and his wife of a local Church there in Dublin). And they were obviously deeply in love with one another. And during our conversation with them they told us that they were celebrating their anniversary. They had been married for over 30 years. And I asked them what their secret was; because it seemed to me that they had the perfect relationship. But then his face grew very serious. And he confessed that during their first years of marriage; there was actually a lot of tension. And it actually led them to hate one another. That’s the word he used. But then he said everything changed when his wife was led by God to begin praying for him more. And she said that as she did, not only did God bring about change in his life, but God began revealing her own faults as well. And then he began praying fervently for her. And their marriage grew to becoming totally and completely healed. And now they experience true unity and true love in their marriage.

The Secret To Unity— What is the secret to unity in the Body of Christ? Prayer with one another and for one another. And that ought to lead us to ask ourselves, “Are we lifting one another up before the throne of grace on a regular basis? Are we interceding before God on behalf of one another?” If we want to be a Spirit-filled Church, we have to pray. Prayer always precedes healing and transformation. Just look at what it produced in…

Acts 2:43-45 (ESV)— 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

“I Have A Dollar— Once there was a Junior Sunday School Teacher who was teaching her kids. And [The Junior Sunday School Teacher asked her eight eager 10 year-olds if they would give a $1,000,000 to the missionaries. “Yes!” they all screamed! “Would you give $1,000?” Again, they shouted “YES!” How about $100?” “Oh, yes we would!” they all agreed! “Would you just give a dollar to the missionaries?” she asked. The boys exclaimed, “Yes!” just as before, except for Johnny. “Johnny,” the teacher said as she noticed the boy clutching his pocket, “Why didn’t you say ‘yes’ this time?” “Well,” the boy stammered, “I have a dollar!”] How great is our attachment to those things we have?

Generosity and Service— The fifth practice of the Early Church that we see here is: [Generosity and Service. The sharing of personal belongings and financial resources among members of the early church was impressive. {And} This generosity was not dictated. There was no obligation to pool their resources, as in modern Communism, or to unselfishly serve each other or reach out to strangers. Rather, it was voluntarily done for the sake of those in need (see the example of Barnabas in 4:36, 37, and later the Macedonians in 2 Cor. 8:1-4).] By the way, you can tell a lot about the level of someone’s salvation by observing their relationship with their stuff. What comes first? People and the fulfilling of the ministry and mission of Jesus? Or their stuff?

A Release of Possessions— You know, some ancient groups (like the Pythagoreans) rejected having private property altogether. But Christianity (interestingly) never went there. It was okay to have your personal property and possessions. Rather [the early Christians {(when it was necessary)} sold property whenever anyone had need (4:34–35 ); they valued people more than property without rejecting private property altogether.] This was incredibly rare during that time; and what made it even more rare was that it wasn’t something done just by a small group of radicals, but was something that was characteristic of all the followers of Christ. And what this shows us is that when we walk in the Spirit, we cease to see our possessions and our money as our own; it’s God’s. And when we see our possessions like that, we allow God access to them in order to do with them what He wills. The question is, “Is all that we have accessible to God to meet the needs of another person?” If not, they need to be.

Joy Overflowing as Evangelism— Now the sixth practice we see is [Joy Overflowing as Evangelism. Whether corporately in the temple or within each other’s homes, the believers lived “with one accord” and “with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (2:46, 47). {And what I want you to note here is that} Evangelism wasn’t a program in the Jerusalem church; it was a way of life. The believers’ lives and behaviors created such favor with the population of Jerusalem that people were drawn to the Lord.] And that is why [In our churches today, we should examine our mission {and practice in order} to ensure these basic tenets are being fully lived out before {anything else}. Whenever a group of believers return to their foundation {(as lived out in these foundational, life-giving practices)}, they find the strongest connection to the heart of Christ. And seeing His heart on display will draw others to Him.]

“Day By Day”— Now I want you to notice three final words given to us here that ought to re-shape how you and I think about Church. It says in verse 46 that they were doing these things together day by day. Not once a week, but daily.

The Secret Service— Once there was a church service that took place; and [At the end of the service the minister was standing at the door of the church shaking hands. He grabbed a man by the hand and pulled him aside and asked him, “Are you a soldier in the Army of the Lord?” The man replied, “Why, yes I am.” The minister then asked, “Then why do we only see you at Christmas and Easter?” The man quickly whispered, “I’m in the Secret Service.”] Now we laugh at that, but what we need to ask ourselves is “Are we true Koinonia Christians or are we Secret Service Christians?” Are we fighting to make our faith, our Church, and our abiding in fellowship with one another a DAILY reality? Because what we see here in this [daily sharing…is {so} unusual in antiquity and most resembles how people treated members of their own family.] But you know that is exactly how we are supposed to think of the Body of Christ; we ARE TRULY the FAMILY OF GOD! And so Christ’s challenge to us today is for us to live our faith together in community in a real and powerful way. Let us be a Church made of people who have allowed themselves to be filled with the presence of God; a Church that shares together; a Church that prays for one another; a Church that seeks to be united towards that single purpose of embracing the God who loves us; and let us be a Church that is reaching out to the lost so that they might also experience His presence. Let’s do so. Amen.