One Heart And One Soul

Introduction

Turn, if you will, to Acts the fourth chapter. Acts chapter 4. I’m glad to be back with you all, back from our meeting. Glad to see all of you, glad to have our visitors with us today. Today I’m going to preach a shorter lesson because we’re going to be appointing deacons. And so this lesson will be about half of the normal length. In Acts chapter 4, and in verse 32, it says, Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul. I find that to be a very encouraging verse. And a good example for any congregation to strive to achieve. To be like this early church that was of one heart and of one soul. The word heart means the effective center of our being.

It has to do with our desires, that which makes us tick. And then the word soul here doesn’t mean like your spirit within you. It has to do with one’s distinct identity. Really, what makes one individual different from another. But if you consider a group of people having one heart and one soul, it would be that they share one desire and they have one distinct identity. This is true unity. This is the kind of unity that Jesus prayed for in John the 17th chapter for his apostles, and not only for his apostles, in verses 20 and 21, Jesus prayed, I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.

So this unity, like the Father and the Son had. That’s what Jesus desired. And I think this is a great example of that. Being of one heart and of one soul in Acts 4 and verse 32. You know, there’s a difference between unity and union. You can tie the tails together of a cat and a dog and you’ll have union, but you sure won’t have unity. And so we we might come together and have union just because we’re in the same building and do some of the same sorts of things together, but that doesn’t in and of itself necessarily mean that we have true unity. The unity that we read about here is a unity that has to do with our hearts and our souls being tied together as one.

1. Agreement Is Absolutely Necessary

I think it’s extraordinary that this early church that was now up to 5,000, Acts 4 and verse 4, it had one heart and one soul. I mean, you think about that. In today’s religious climate, you you might, if you get 4,000, 5,000 people rather together, you might have 5,000 hearts and 5,000 souls going in 5,000 different directions. But this was one group with one heart and one soul, yet a very large group. I find that to be pretty amazing. I want to suggest to you that there are five keys to being of one heart and one soul. And the first one is agreement. Agreement is absolutely necessary if you’re going to have unity. Paul was talking or writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 10, and he said, Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined or made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.

You really cannot have Bible unity in the absence of conviction. And that’s really what the religious world around wants to try to convince everybody of that all you need is to just water down sort of your convictions, and as long as you believe in Jesus, then you have unity. That is not what the Bible teaches. You cannot have Bible unity in the absence of conviction. We must share the same convictions. Not just about Jesus, but about everything that we are doing and practicing that is from God’s word. And so there must be agreement about things like doctrine. Now that’s certainly not all that unity has to do with. I mean, we could talk about that, and that would be a great lesson if that’s all we spend our time on.

2. Support: A Safe Haven of Support

But there’s more to unity than that. There’s more to unity than just agreement. You and your spouse might agree on a lot of things, but maybe it’s possible for that to happen, but there not to be much of a relationship there. And so there’s much more to unity than agreement. And so the second key to being of one heart and one soul is support. In this very context where we had the main verse that I started with, the passage, the verses that lead up to that verse, are in a context of after Paul, uh Peter and John were released from prison, and we start reading there in verse 23, and being let go, they went to their own. Now, if you notice, the word companions is in italics, which means it was inserted for understanding.

So literally, it reads, they went to their own. And there’s something about that. Their own. And reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord, and they prayed this prayer, this powerful prayer, asking for God to give them boldness, and asking for God to look upon the threats of their enemies. And there was this togetherness about this, the support. You know, the truth is the church should be a safe haven of support from the dangers of the world that we’re around every day. Sadly, all too often the church is toxic for some individuals. I’m talking about local churches where they come and they hope that this will be a safe haven, and instead there’s gossip and there’s back biting, and there’s fighting and warring between the members, and there’s division, and that’s terrible.

3. Service: We Serve One Another

We ought to be able to come together and for this to be a support team that we have in one another. The third key to being of one heart and one soul is service, service. They’re following where we just were talking about, starting in verse 32. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul. Now there’s our key verse. Neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own. But they had all things in common, and with great power, the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked, for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles’ feet, and they distributed to each, as anyone had need.

I really appreciate the lesson that Greg presented this morning. It really made me think, and I hope it made all of us think, about the financial commitment that we make to the Lord and even to one another. And here we see a great example. That these brethren, in a time of necessity, really, we’re stepping up to the plate and we’re making tremendous sacrifices for one another physically and monetarily. And you know, this is where unity requires a little bit of pain and sacrifice. It’s easy to say, oh, I love those guys. We’re really united. But if you don’t ever help one another, you’re not involved in anybody’s life, you’re not there to give of your energy, of your time, and maybe even of your resources, your financial resources, to help your brethren, then that’s not real unity.

4. Teamwork: Striving Together for the Faith

So, in order to have one heart and one soul, then it requires this kind of service. We serve one another. And of course, you know that today we’re going to be appointing deacons. And Mr. Bob did some lessons a couple weeks back on deacons. And you know what the word deacon means? It means servant. And though those are appointed in a special role of service, all of us are to be servants and to wash one another’s feet, as Jesus taught in John the 13th chapter. And so that’s really a key ingredient to unity. The fourth key of being a one heart and one soul is teamwork. I love the verse in Philippians chapter 1 and verse 27, where Paul says, only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

So that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. I think that is a tremendous description of what the church is to be about. We talk about the work of the church. Well, I think this sums up what the work of the church is to be on a practical level, that we are to stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. And there’s a power in that. There’s a synergy in that. When we’re doing this together, it’s easier for us to all do our jobs. We’re encouraged to do that. And there’s a power that really is greater than the sum of all the parts.

There’s a in a peanuts cartoon, Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn’t. What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over? asked Linus. She says, These five fingers. Individually, they’re nothing. But when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold. Linus says, which channel do you want? Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, Why can’t you guys get organized like that? And so there’s a power of not organization, so to speak, as much. What I want to focus on this application is that we’re just all moving in the same direction and reaching to the same goal. And there’s a power that we can wield as a congregation if we are working together, striving together for the faith of the gospel.

5. Love: The Bond of Perfection

Number five is love. This is the fifth key to being of one heart and one soul. In Colossians chapter 3, in Colossians chapter 3, and in verse 14. It says, But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Now the word bond there really comes from the idea of a ligament that really binds the bones, the joints together. Oh, what would we be without ligaments? A mess. Totally disorganized. How would we function without ligaments? Well, what is the ligament that binds us all together? What is the bond? It is love. So it doesn’t matter if we do all of these things, if we have agreement and support and service and teamwork, if we don’t have love, it is profitless. It leads to nothing.

We can accomplish nothing. Another way, maybe to think about this is just to picture a pile of bricks. This is the way some churches are. They’re not really joined together in their heart and their soul. They might come together. They gather together in the same building an hour or two a week and do some of the same things together, but they’re not really joined together. Maybe they don’t really even like each other. But when you take those bricks and you cement them together, you can form a structure that is formidable and that is one single unit. And what we are to be is we are to be a household of the Lord. And the way that we as the stones are living stones are joined together, the cement that binds us together is love.

Conclusion

If you don’t have that, we’re just a pile of bricks. And we we’re not accomplishing that for which the Lord would like us to accomplish. And so, let’s remember these five keys to being of one heart and one soul. Agreement, support, service, teamwork, and love. Ultimately, brethren, we want to be joined together in heaven. And how could we possibly be of one heart and one soul in heaven if we aren’t even of one heart and one soul here on earth? Would you bow your head with me in a word of prayer? Our Father, thank you so much for the good example that we see in this early church. Would you help us, Father, that we can put ourselves to the side and put other people ahead of us and their needs before our own needs, and that we could seriously think about the unity of the church as not a goal in and of itself, but really as an outcome of the fact that we truly love one another and that we love you, Father.

May you help us to dedicate ourselves to that and help this church to be of one heart and of one soul. It is through your Son that we pray. Amen. We do leave this opportunity open. If anybody is not a Christian, you can certainly become one today. If you need the prayers of the saints, then you can certainly do that. If you would like to become a Christian, it’s as simple as believing in the Lord, as repenting of your sins, confessing his name, and putting on the Lord in baptism, and then continuing to walk in the ways of Christ, to walk in the light as He Himself is in the light. If you would like to become a Christian, why don’t you come now as we stand and song sing the song of invitation?