Acts 2:42-47 & Matthew 11:28                “Come Unto Me”                   April 6, 2008

By Pastor Ron Retherford

 

Today’s meditation on the front of our bulletin is one of Jesus’ most familiar statements. His words, ‘Come unto me’ literally reach into the very core of our being to invite us to draw us closer to him no matter who we are, where we are, or what we are doing. And whether we’re weary and heavy laden (as some of us are), or consumed by grief (as others of us are), or just wanting to draw closer to Jesus, when he says “come unto me” he not only offers us a whole new way of life but he’s also ready to provide us with the strength and help we need to live faithfully in these challenging time. Let’s unite our hearts, as we go to Jesus. Bless us, O Lord, as we open our hearts to hear you, and open our minds to know you, and open our lives to come unto you seeking the strength, and the help, and the blessing that you alone provide. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

O what power and excitement filled that New Testament church that Luke describes in today’s text! After telling us all about Jesus and his ministry in his Gospel, Luke couldn’t help but tell us the rest of the story. So today, and for the next several weeks, Pastor Sue and I hope to unpack some of the wonderful truths in what many church scholars believe is the most important book in the New Testament. If we didn’t have the book of Acts, we’d have very little information about the early church that was so filled with the power of God. So were deeply indebted to Luke who provided us with vivid descriptions of some of the greatest leaders and most incredible events in the history of Christianity. And with a doctor’s skill, Luke not only explained how Christianity helped everyone who came to follow Jesus, but also how Christianity worked through these believers to spread our faith throughout the whole known world in just a few years.

And you see, like many of us today, those who started following Jesus had become very concerned about their lives and their world and their future. So when Jesus called to them “Come unto me,” they responded in hope! And as they came to him, their lives were literally transformed! And at last, they began to believe what their prophets had foretold. So they listened intently to what the apostles were teaching them and faithfully broke bread together and prayed daily. And their excitement about all that Jesus was doing in their lives helped others to discover what Christ could do for them.

And in today’s passage, Luke helps us to understand how this miraculous change happened. And he makes it very clear that the apostles’ teaching was a priority. This was obviously a learning community that was deeply committed to study their faith daily. In fact, their hunger for the teachings of Jesus and their desire to learn more of the basic beliefs of Christianity was almost insatiable. Any day they didn’t discover some new insight in faith or delve more deeply into the mystery, wonder, and majesty of God’s love was a wasted day. And so the courage and commitment these first Christians demonstrated as they APPLIED WHAT THEY’D LEARNED helped them to become one of the most vital and lively communities of faith the world has ever known! And one of the first ways they expressed their faith was to gather in fellowship to share what they’d learned and discover how God was working in their lives.

And they quickly discovered that Christianity was never meant to be a solitary experience. And even though many of us do find great help and strength and comfort in our prayers, and in devotional time, Christianity offers some of its greatest blessings through the personal relationships that we develop with each other through fellowship, and sharing, and prayer, and study as we support each other as two or three or more gather together.

And these fellowship gatherings in the early church were the predecessors of our Serendipity Small Groups, our Sunday school classes, our Bible study groups, prayer groups, United Methodist Women’s Circles, Men’s Bible breakfast, youth fellowship, choirs, retreats, and camping experiences. And it was in these small and sometimes very personal sharing groups that these early believers began to EXPERIENCE some of the greatest blessings Christianity offers. And the fact that these small group experiences became a cornerstone in that New Testament Church demonstrates how important these experiences and basic practices of our Christian faith are. For when Jesus said, “Where ever two or three of you gather in my name, I am there in the midst of you,” he reminds us of the necessity of gathering in small groups for prayer, and study, and sharing meals, and working in the community so Christ can be with us, too.  

And the joys those New Testament Christians found were so wonderful that they just couldn’t help but share them with others. But as they tried to explain the major changes they’d experienced as they came to Jesus, they found that it hard to explain.

So to demonstrate one of their most basic beliefs, that Jesus could provide for all their needs, some of these early Christians began giving away their possessions to those in need. And the idea really caught on, and pretty soon, the whole community of faith began to do the same thing. Because they discovered that others didn’t really care how much they knew about Jesus, until they knew how much these believers cared about them. And when these believers began to give away their possessions to those in need, everyone could tell that they really did care.

In fact, those early believers were so generous and so caring of those around them that others couldn’t help but like them. They had a spirit of joy and generosity like people had never seen before. So many asked them why they were so generous. And as they answered these questions, they had opportunities to tell others about Jesus and to share their faith. So it’s very clear why that New Testament church began to grow so rapidly that within years, it was in ministry to the whole known world. And it all began because they listened to Jesus when he said, “Come unto me.”

And in a voice so filled with love, and so deeply aware of all our needs, Jesus still calls to us:  “Come. Come unto me,” because he cares so deeply about us, and our souls, and our eternal destiny.

And this morning, he invites us to join him at a meal we are sharing in his honor. It’s a very simple meal, but it’s one that has the potential to nurture our souls, fill our hearts with joy, and give new life to our spirits like no other meal on earth. And it will provide us with the strength we need to learn more about him and this ministry we share so that others will know why we are so generous – why we freely give away what we work so hard to earn. We do that so others will know how much we care about them.

Do you hear Jesus calling to you, “Come unto me?” I pray that you will not only hear him, but that you will also come to him today, so that he can transform your life, and fill your heart with such joy and generosity that others can’t help but know that you are following Jesus too.

Let us pray. O Lord, we do hear you calling to us. And we do long to come to you, we really do. So help us to focus on you, and to turn away from everything that draws us away, so we can come to you today, and again tomorrow, and forever. Amen.