www.rossvillechurch.com

781 Salem Road, Rossville, GA 3074118-17-11

Three thousand souls were savedsaved on the Day of Pentecost, after the Holy Ghost came upon the disciples.

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Five thousand menmen were saved when Peter preached after he and John healedhealed the lame man.

We don't know how many othersmany others were saved in those early days of the church.

They didn't meet in one mega-churchmega-church that they had built somewhere in or near Jerusalem.

The church met in the upper roomsupper rooms of people's homes who had room for a group.

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The 16,000 seat sanctuary of the Lakewood Church in Houston.

Even though there were mormore than eight thousand ChristiansChristians in Jerusalem in these early days,

They met in small groupssmall groups to worship together and to hear the Word of the Lord.

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Acts 2 46-47 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, andand breaking bread from house to househouse to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Text -- Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heartone heart and of one soulone soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

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It came out of a generosity of spiritgenerosity of spirit that is possible only when people are focused on Jesusfocused on Jesus.

33 And with great Power gave the apostles witness of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

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Their prayer for boldnessboldness was answered;

They kept on preachingkept on preaching Jesus Jesus ChristChrist and His ResurrectionHis Resurrection.

33b "And great grace was upon them all."

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They graciously acceptedgraciously accepted one another,

LovedLoved one another,

And helpedhelped one another.

They were a very diverse group of people:

Slaves, shopkeepers, laborers, rich people.

Yet they came together with love and acceptancelove and acceptance.

34-35 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had needaccording as he had need.

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We see a tremendous generosity of spiritgenerosity of spirit in these early believers,

And an absence absence of the love of this world,

Its thingsthings, its pleasurespleasures, and its wealthwealth.

36-37 And Joses, who by the apostlesby the apostles was surnamed BarnabasBarnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

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Here we meet BarnabasBarnabas, a man who would later traveltravel with the Apostle Paul and be used mightilyused mightily

by the Spirit of GodSpirit of God to spread the Gospel.

He was such a comfortcomfort to the church that the apostles gave him a new namenew name.

He sold his landland, and probably his homehome in Cyprus, and threw in his lotthrew in his lot with these Christians.

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Now he was freefree to dodo whatsoever GodGod wanted him to do, and to gogo wherever

GodGod wanted him to go.

2 Timothy 2 3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

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Romans 8 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

We have to know that GodGod is leading us to do such a thing as Barnabas didas Barnabas did -- to sell his possessions and give allgive all to the church.

This Scripture is not givennot given as a pattern for the only wayonly way Christians should come together.

We don't have to become a communecommune.

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But the qualitiesqualities we see here should be evidentevident in and among all of God's childrenGod's children.

Love