Coast Bible Church - The Marks of a Great Church - Audio

What 4 things are the marks of a Godly church? In The Book of Acts, the believers were devoting themselves to those things that brought them closer. What we share in common with other believers and sharing what we have with other believers. What's the difference? Given to hospitality, practicing forgiveness.

Broadcast on: 24 Jul 2016

Again, good morning. It is a great joy to be back with you at this time, and encouragement because your family. And I love you, and I know you love me, and that's something that's very special. A few months ago, as Tom was considering this ministry, and we got together and talked a little bit and encouraged each other, Tom asked me to speak on something that I have practiced, but I have never preached on, at least directly. And I am a little intimidated by the subject matter. But nevertheless, I think it's important in our day, and hopefully this will come out well. I'd like to begin by just asking you a question. What are the marks of a great church? Somebody want a couple, two, three of you tell me. What are the marks of a great church? Adherence to the Scripture. What else? Church that teaches the Word. Fellowship. Now let me ask you a question. If we were to ask the average American Christian what the marks of a great church would be, what do you think they would say? Numbers. Entertainment. Numbers. That's the mark. Where in the Scripture would we find such a concept being taught that we should be impressed by numbers? Anyone have any thoughts? There is a passage. Acts 2, it talks about 3,000. Believed. Acts 4 talks about 5,000 that repented. And I refer to that because that is what they refer to. It's the average American Christian. We'll go to those passages and emphasize the importance of numbers. But they failed to take into account the context in which that was found. You see, when the church began, it began as a Jewish gathering who believed that Jesus was their Messiah. And in believing that Jesus was their Messiah, they were thinking back to the fact he has died now and he's coming back. And he's going to come back because a remnant of Jews are going to call out for him to return. That's what it says. And in Zechariah it says that in a number of other places as well. That there will be a remnant that will call on his name. And so you put yourself in Peter's position and the early Christians there that were Jewish, they're thinking, look, look at all the people that are turning to Christ as Jesus as their Messiah. We're the remnant and we're going to be calling upon our Lord and He's going to return. He just went into heaven, He's going to come back and He's going to establish the kingdom that was promised. That's why the numbers are there. But it's interesting that after chapter 4 there's no more numbers. Never in terms of a Gentile church and the latter portions of the book of Acts, we don't know how big the church at Ephesus was. I have no idea how big the church of Pergamos was. We have no idea. It doesn't seem to be important because that's not what God uses to evaluate the marks of a great church. The marks of a great church, I would like to submit to you are found in Acts chapter 2 verse 42. And many of you have already brought it out, but let's go back and take a look at this. Acts chapter 2 verse 42. And we read, and they continued steadfastly, some versions would have, they devoted themselves to the apostles' doctrine or teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayers. Four marks of a great church. First, they devoted themselves, as you mentioned, to learning and understanding the nature and work of our triune God recorded in part in the Old Testament, but then explained and taught in fuller detail by the apostles and what became the New Testament. Secondly, or thirdly, they devoted themselves to observing the Lord's Supper, which reminded them of his great sacrifice, making possible our eternal salvation from sin and death. Fourthly, they devoted themselves to prayer, that they might be and become all the triune God intended them to be and become as his beloved children. Arch, you forgot something. Oh yeah, the second one. And they devoted themselves to fellowship, to greeting each other before and after church, to attending church dinners, and Christmas and Easter celebrations. Isn't that what fellowship is in our culture? Isn't that what it is? When it says they devoted themselves to fellowship, what exactly did that mean to the first century reader? What did it communicate? What did it encompass in respect to the rest of the New Testament? And lastly, what should it say to us now, right now, in our day and in this loving church that I was privileged to be a part of and still feel I'm a part of, even as a missionary? The English word for fellowship translates the Greek word koinonia, you've undolly heard of it, which most lexicons would

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