Message 4: The Community of Learners

Turn to Acts 2:42
There are three major commitments that Christ is calling us to invest our lives in:
1. Communion – our deepening relationship with Jesus Christ
2. Community – our deepening relationship with Jesus’ people
3. Commission – our deepening relationship with Jesus’ world

We spent the last two weeks focusing on our COMMUNION with Christ through the pursuit of the Presence of Christ and through PASSIONATE WORSHIP.
For the next couple of weeks we are going to focus on the COMMITMENT to COMMUNITY OF FELLOW BELIEVERS. – The church family.

Look at Acts 2:42ff:
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 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, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47

The Bible calls the church the ekklesia of God. Ekklesia means ‘the called out’ people of God. We are called out of loneliness, isolation, self-centered living and sin and called IN to friendship, unity, service and holiness – into the Body of Christ!

What is the church to do? What will build COMMUNITY? How do we deepen our relationships with Jesus’ people?

I believe that early church teaches us two vital activities that lead us into community:
• The community of Christ is passionate about LEARNING.
• The community of Christ is passionate about LOVING.

Today we examine the first – learning. I’ll put it like this:
• WE ARE CALLED TO BE A COMMUNITY THAT IS PASSIONATE ABOUT LEARNING.

Most modern churches – including this one – has been very focused on TEACHING. TEACHING is not what Christ wants us to focus on – He wants us to be LEARNING-oriented.

Let me explain by contrasting some of the differences between TEACHING and LEARNING.

TEACHING: - transference of IDEAS LEARNING: - rebuilding the IMAGE OF GOD
TEACHING: - CONCEPTS LEARNING: - CHARACTER
TEACHING: - aims at the HEAD LEARNING: - aims at the HEART
TEACHING: - is about a TALKING HEAD LEARNING: - is about TRANSFORMED LIVES
TEACHING: - is EDUCATIONAL LEARNING: - is EXPERIENTIAL

If we were to DEFINE learning in a community of Christ, surely that definition would include something like this: “The process by which individuals, families and the church community mature into the likeness of Christ.”

You see – for each and every one of us – it is God’s will, His plan – that you would become like Jesus.

Read Genesis 1:26…
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:26, 27, NIV.

Read Romans 8:29…
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:29, NIV.

Read 1 Corinthians 15:49…
“And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” 1 Corinthians 15:49, NIV.

Read 2 Corinthians 3:18
“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV.

We were made to be like Jesus.

But, there is no doubt, we have a long way to go. But don’t lose heart – read as Paul wrote in Philippians 1:
“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:4-6, NIV.

That’s why it is vital that this community of Christ become a people who are committed to learning. We need to know how to be like Jesus. We need the character of Christ to be our character. We need to heart of Christ to be our hearts. We need to experience the experiences of Christ! We need our lives to be transformed. And ‘head knowledge’ won’t get the job done. We need the partnership of the Body of Christ!

So, how do we become a LEARNING COMMUNITY?

• LEARN THROUGH DEVOTION TO APOSTOLIC TEACHING – VS. 42 (1 CORINTHIANS 2:4-7)
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…”

The message given by Christ to the apostles is not simply words – it is power. Power to be utterly transformed.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:4-7…
“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-7

We need to become wise. We need to know how to take the Word of Christ in the power of the Spirit and become mature.

A learning community ‘devotes’ itself to this and seeks to discover all of its implications for life – in the midst of its current culture.

I am providing you with some tools for this: The daily scripture readings, the 3 day devotions, the website. These are tools to explore the Apostolic teachings. Use them – or don’t use them – but devote your lives to this message!

Look again at verse 42… ”They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship…”

• LEARN THROUGH THE FELLOWSHIP OF BELIEVERS – VS. 42 (1 CORINTHIANS 14:26)

In a culture that is as disconnected as ours – where even Christians feel perfectly justified ‘church shopping and church hopping’ – Christ calls us to move into deep relationships with one another – to the point where we can truly LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER.

We’ve talked in the past about how THE GLORY IS IN YOUR STORY. As you share with one another your spiritual journeys, it opens up the opportunity to LEARN from each other.

Paul said to the church in Corinth:
“What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.” 1 Corinthians 14:26, NIV.

Where do these words of instructions and revelations come from? Your personal walk with Christ. When we come together, our conversations need to take on a depth and quality beyond ‘how are you doing?’ and ‘what movies have your seen lately?’

This is an area we really need to work on. It’s time to move out of the superficial and into true fellowship.

Thirdly – look at verse 46: ”They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts…”
• LEARN THROUGH THE LOVE FEAST – VS. 46

The first church had their worship gatherings around table laden with food. They didn’t sit in rows or in pews. They sat around a table and ate together. They were Jews – and for Jews – MEALS were a vital part of spiritual festivals. It was perfectly natural for them to eat together. And as they ate, they talked.

They talked about what God was doing in their lives. They talked about how great it is to be free from sin, free from law, free from ‘religious obligation’, free from demonic invasion.

All of this LEARNING took place organically, naturally. Unless one of the Apostle’s happened to be in town, there wasn’t a ‘special speaker’ – there wasn’t an expert. The LEARNING came from the experiences the people were having with God.

Well, what about if someone was out of line? What if someone started teaching something different from the true Gospel? That’s why Paul told Timothy to appoint ‘elders’ in each church. The ‘elders’ were mature believers – recognized by the local church as such, and they would keep things pure.

The central point of the LOVE FEAST was when the group zeroed in on the MAIN THING: THE WORK OF Christ!

Paul wrote to the church in Corinth these words: 1 Corinthians 11
“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-28, NIV.

Prepare to meet with Christ at His table.

SING AND DO COMMUNION/OFFERING

In two weeks we are having a LOVE FEAST – be prepared to share – as the Lord leads – a portion of your story.

CONCLUSION: Can you see that God is calling us back to the CORE of what it means to be a church?
Our commitments are to:
• Uur COMMUNION with Christ.
• Our COMMUNITY with one another.
• Our COMMISSION to impact this world.

And for today – we are challenged to be a people who – in community – are LEARNERS.