Week 2 – The People of Encounter

? Ready for a wild ride? Imagine trading your busy chaos for a divine encounter that changes everything. Let's dive into Acts 2:42-47 and ask, "What made those early Christians shift their lives so dramatically?" ? Join us at Harmony Christian Church and let's explore together! ? IT'S EASY TO GIVE at Harmony, text any amount to (859) 459-0316  to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give ). ------------- OPENING ILLUSTRATION: I have a basic principle I live my life by.  I learned it teaching my kids to ride their bikes.  I’ve shared this before, but I think it’s a good way to set up this sermon.  My kids, when they were learning to ride their bikes, would always look down at their feet.  They’d inevitably end up in the ditch. It finally hit me, it’s because they were looking at where they were instead of where they wanted to go.   It’s become a principle in my life: Look where you want to go, not where you are. In life, lots of us are stuck and doing all the same things we’ve done for years.  We are being dragged around by the  Tyranny of the urgent Some of you don’t know how you got so busy, working multiple jobs, taking kids to endless practices, keeping up with the jones’.  Buying cars & trucks you don’t need, etc. You don’t know where you want to go, so you just give your time, attention, and resource to whatever is “loudest” Today, I want us to go on a quick adventure.   We are going to look at a group of people who got a glimpse of a place they want to go and completely shifted what they were doing because of their encounter. SCRIPTURE: We are jumping into the first church that ever existed.  Jesus has died, risen from the dead and He ascended into Heaven.  He is no longer on earth.   Listen to what happens after Peter preaches this sermon - thousands come to Christ and this is what these early Christians do.  If you’ve been in church for very long, you’ve probably heard a sermon on this passage: Acts 2:42-47 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. I want to ask a question I’ve never heard anyone ask. What was it that caused these people to shift their patterns of behavior so drastically? I know for you, you’ve grown up in a culture where it’s acceptable to worship Jesus - this God/man who they had all seen and experienced but now the story is he flew up into the sky.  What made them think they needed to continue on with anything?  What made them think that it wasn’t all over now that He left?   These people have shifted drastically: -They devote themselves to apostles' teaching (they committed to being present and listening to preaching) -They fellowshipped (they hung out around each other in a way that encouraged one another) -They broke bread (they ate together) -They prayed together (they were committed as a group to bringing things before God) -They sold property to take care of those in need (they were shockingly generous) b Something that had never hit me, is each of these behaviors required leaving one thing for another b Time is a static commodity - if you do one thing, you are not doing another.   b These people gave up in order to go up in their faith. b Still, the question is, what would cause such a deep shift? b These people were not experiencing a God who had come and left, but a God who had come and left Himself through the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew this day was coming.  He knew there would be a period when He wouldn’t be around.  And this is what He said… John 14:15-21 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” These people had shifted where they were looking.   b Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commands.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help…” They had decided the aim of their life was to live for Jesus and in the midst of that they encountered the Holy Spirit. ILLUSTRATION: When I first came to Christ, my brother had also come to Christ.  He was coming out of a drug life and was on fire and really got pumped about the Holy Spirit.  He told me to have the holy spirit, I needed to speak in tongues.  He asked me if I wanted to pray for the gift of tongues.  I said, I guess… He prayed 3 times for me to receive it and nothing happened.  Finally, on the 3rd time, I thought, “he’s not gonna stop till I do this…”  so after he prayed, I started speaking gibberish.  He was like, Praise God!  and I was like, ugh… Listen.   There is lots of misinformation about what it means to live by the Spirit and have the Spirit in your life. I believe the Holy Spirit does give some people miraculous gifts, but for lots of us, He’s just what Jesus said - he’s our advocate to help and be with you forever. b The Holy Spirit is literally Jesus’ Spirit - it is Him, taking up dwelling in you. b What I want you to get is Christians have always been a people of Encounter.   The reason these early Christians were so different was because they encountered God’s Spirit.  He spoke gently to their spirit and was like, “hey, what if you sold your property and gave it to that person over there…”  “Hey, why don’t you guys gather and learn what I taught…” These Christians were not worshiping a God who had left them, they were worshiping a God who left Himself CLOSING ILLUSTRATION: I know, personally, it’s easy for me to get my eyes on something other than Jesus.  I’ve got pressures, business that has to be taken care of.  A million things to do for my kids.  Some of you have babies that are keeping you awake all night.  Some of you are dealing with end of life issues for parents or a spouse and everything has changed and you are struggling to just make it.  Today, I wanted to remind you that you are of a people of Encounter.  And the encounter is simple.  “if you love me, keep my commands”  All Jesus really is asking for is your love.  “Will you love me”  Will you point your life at me?  He’s saying.  And He offers His Spirit as your advocate.  He is your legal defense team, your counselor, your therapist, your heart doctor.   Some of you don’t know what it is that Jesus even commanded, you want to love, but you don’t know how to live for Him.  That’s why we have created basecamp.  We are actually ALL going to go through that over the next several months.  Because we want you to have a foundation.   Others of you have just let your eyes drift and you need to reengage the God of encounter.  Don’t miss Him! ------------------