Sunday May 9, 2010					                             Phone: 
570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas					                 e-mail 
pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message Power and Glory in the Church- #4             	           		        Text: Acts 2:41-47

What Makes a Great Church? (Part II)

Introduction: As we begin this message would you focus your attention upon three 
passages of scripture?

First from Acts 2:41-47 we read, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the 
same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. (42) And they continued 
stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. (43) 
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. (44) And 
all that believed were together, and had all things common; (45) And sold their possessions and 
goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. (46) And they, continuing daily with 
one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with 
gladness and singleness of heart, (47) Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And 
the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

Second from Acts 4:31-37 we read, “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they 
were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of 
God with boldness. (32) And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: 
neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all 
things common. (33) And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the 
Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. (34) 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, (35) And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made 
unto every man according as he had need. (36) And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed 
Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of 
Cyprus, (37) Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.”

Third from Acts 5:11 we read, “And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as 
heard these things.”

I know you have heard it said, "You can't tell a book by its cover." It's an old saying, but still 
true. What it looks like on the outside has nothing to do with its content within. The same 
is true for people. Who hasn't been guilty of jumping to the wrong conclusions about an 
individual, having formed an opinion strictly on the basis of externals? What is true about 
a book or a person is also true about a church. "You can't tell a church by its buildings."

There are large churches with magnificent buildings.
There are small churches with simple buildings.
There are churches full of activities and programs.
There are simple and plain churches with very little to offer.
There are fundamental churches, liberal churches, and churches that are in between with no 
real convictions.
There are churches that are on fire for God, where souls are getting saved, and where the saints 
are being edified.
There are struggling churches, in discouragement and despair, fighting internally, and in some 
cases fighting to stay alive.

So how do you judge what a church really is to be? Again let's be reminded from Psalms 
127:1 that "Unless the Lord builds the house (church) they labor in vain who build it." 

First: We must understand that the primary purpose of the church is the place of the "Glory of 
Almighty God." 

Second: We must remember that "The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord." The 
Lord said, in Matthew 16:18 "Upon this rock (Christ) I will build My church." Not only is the 
church built on Christ, but the church is built by Christ. 

Third: The church of the living God is an empty shell unless it is empowered and energized by the 
Holy Spirit of the Living God. The church is set ablaze when the Spirit of God fills a Christian with 
the PERSON of Christ, the PRESENCE of the Holy Spirit and the POWER of God. 

Looking again at the last 7 verses of Acts 2, whatever we do as a church ought to fall 
within the parameters of 4 objectives. As a matter of review, to keep everything simple 
and easy for us to remember, we use the acronym, WIFE.

	W	stands for WORSHIP.
	 I	stands for INSTRUCTION.
	 F	stands for FELLOWSHIP.
	 E	stands for EXPRESSION.

First: WORSHIP was in the church at Jerusalem, verse 42, "And they continued 
steadfastly..." Their worship was one of spontaneous joy and unrestrained response of 
praise. 

	The Father was being exalted.
	The Son was being lifted. 
	The Holy Spirit brought fresh expressions of freedom.

Is there anything more glorious? There was a sense of worship during which they set their 
focus on God. Once you have tasted true worship, you will never want to play church 
again.

Second: INSTRUCTION was in the church at Jerusalem. These early Christians 
"continued steadfastly in the Apostles’ Doctrine..." Nothing caused the leadership in the early 
Church to relinquish the ministry of the Word. No petty concerns, no pressing needs, not 
even complaints within the assembly decreased the emphasis on Biblical instruction. 

Third: FELLOWSHIP was in the church at Jerusalem. The church was never meant 
to be merely a set of buildings where you come, sit, worship, learn, and leave. The early 
Christians were together.

They didn't come to worship like an isolated bag of marbles making a lot of noise as they banded 
together, then marched out in single file.

They came like a cluster of ripe grapes. Their lives naturally ran into each other, they willingly 
reached out and put their arms around each other, and in so doing they gave to each other. 

The church is not a theater where people go to watch what happens. The church is not a 
place where you sit and soak and do little else, and then flee at the first sign of trouble or 
pressure. Someone said we have the sickness of "the fickleness of the floaters, people who go 
where the ACTION is and where the PROBLEMS aren't." 

Two things need to be mentioned here:

Number 1: Became committed and get involved, don't sit on the side lines. Even with all its 
imperfections and human problems, God can and will still use you. By the way, there were 
imperfections and human problems even back in the early church at Jerusalem and Antioch.

Number 2: There may be a difference of opinion, but don't sow seeds of discontent and run with 
the difficulties. When we criticize our church, we criticize ourselves.


The church is where we do become involved in one another's lives. Hebrews 10-:24-25 
tells us, "And let us consider one another to provoke (To stimulate) unto love and to good works. Not 
forsaking the assembling together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting (that is encouraging) one 
another..." 

Fourth: EXPRESSION was in the church at Jerusalem, As this church reached out to 
others, notice verse 47, "And the Lord added to the church DAILY such as should be saved." What 
a scene! Here was a group of believers:

whose worship was spontaneous,
whose instruction was substantial,
whose fellowship was genuine, and
whose expressions were compassionate.

No wonder so many folks were getting saved and being added to the church. What 
makes this fact especially interesting, it was not just at the invitation on Sunday; it was 
happening daily, every day.

Did the message of the Lord's death and resurrection stay within the church?
Did they keep the good news to themselves?
Was it something enjoyed only during times of worship?

On the contrary, they couldn't wait to hit the streets and spread the word. Here was a 
witnessing Church. This was their main business. Remember the Lord's direction from 
Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you and ye shall be witness 
unto me." They penetrated their city with the gospel.

Acts 4:4, "But many of them who heard the word believed…"
Acts 4:33, "And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord 
Jesus..."
Acts 5:28, "…behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine..."
Acts 5:42, "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus 
Christ."
Acts 8:1, 3, "...there was a great persecution against the church..., and they were all scattered 
abroad...went everywhere preaching the gospel."

Don't you love it? "Every Day" they spoke openly of Christ. Their witnessing wasn't 
limited to an evangelistic invitation in the church. They modeled true evangelism where 
the need was, in the streets, not the church. This was a witnessing church, and the results 
proved it. First there were three thousand saved. Then in

Acts 2:47 "and daily such as were saved were added unto the church."
Acts 4:4, But many of them who heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about 
five thousand."
Acts 5:14, "And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both men and women."
Acts 6:7, "... the word of God increased...the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem 
greatly; and a great company of priests were obedient to the faith."

The church was growing numerically. And why shouldn’t it? Because they were 
EXPRESSING themselves in compassion and evangelism. The greatest need in our 
church right now is for us to be carrying out this part of the objective, evangelism.

We need DEACONS who are soul winners. The Bible never intended Deacons to just sit on some 
"Official Board." They are to be soul winners. The early Deacons were soul winners.
We need SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS, who are soul winners.
We need all those who serve in the ministry in whatever capacity to be soul winners.
We need a church filled with the drive to witness for Christ.


We will never see what God wants to do with this church until we see that happen! The 
model church was a witnessing, soul winning church. I am saying this in love,


We have a lot of leaders, but few soul winners.
We have a lot of talkers, but few soul winners.
We have a lot of sitters, but few soul winners.

This witnessing church at Jerusalem radiated Jesus. They talked about Jesus constantly. 
No wonder so many got saved. Before we leave this point, please allow one more 
observation. Evangelism was never limited to a church gathering. In fact, it occurred 
there least of all.

The church gathered for worship and instruction. 
The church scattered for encouragement and evangelizing.
People did not come to church to win the lost.
They assembled to worship and be instructed and find close fellowship. They spread out to 
evangelize.

Think of it like a huddle at a football game: You and I know that teams don't show up 
simply to huddle. They huddle only long enough to know the plays. Through the week 
we run the plays. Sunday after Sunday we return to the huddle to receive and learn the 
plays.

Going back to Acts 2:42 we can think of the church's ministry in two dimensions:

First: the DEPTH of a church is determined by its quality of worship and instruction.
Second: the BREADTH of a church is determined by its commitment to fellowship and 
evangelism.

We must keep reaching out to people who are not only in physical and emotional need, 
but who are also in desperate need spiritually with their eternal soul. Isn't it about time we 
stop talking and start doing what we ought to do as far as this church is concerned? 

Looking at the church in Jerusalem, as a result of the implementation of the four 
objectives of WORSHIP, INSTRUCTION, FELLOWSHIP and EXPRESSION, we discover three 
great outcomes.

Acts 4:33 we read, "...with GREAT POWER gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the 
Lord Jesus."
Acts 4:33, "...and GREAT GRACE was upon them all."
Acts 5:11, "And GREAT FEAR came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these 
things."

As a result of the carrying forth in WORSHIP, INSTRUCTION, FELLOWSHIP and 
EXPRESSION they experienced GREAT power, GREAT Grace, and GREAT fear.

First: They possessed GREAT POWER. For a church to posses great power 
corporately, each born again believer in that assembly must be filled with the Holy Spirit. 
Notice again:

Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you and ye shall be 
witness unto me..." 
Acts 2:4, "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit..."
Acts 4:8, "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit...."
Acts 4:31, "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; 
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…"
Acts 6:3 lists the qualifications for the first deacons, "...look among you for seven... full of the 
Holy Spirit..."
Earlier I said, 

"The church of the living God is an empty shell unless it is empowered and energized by the Holy 
Spirit of the Living God. The church is set ablaze when the Spirit of God fills a Christian with the 
PERSON of Christ, the PRESENCE of the Holy Spirit and the POWER of God." 

In Ephesians 5:18 we read that we are to be "filled with the Spirit."   You must be filed with the 
Holy Spirit individually if the church is to be filled corporately. The moment you came to Christ 
in salvation, the Holy Spirit of God according to Romans 8:9 took up residence in you. 
But the filling of the Holy Spirit comes moment by moment and day by day as we empty 
ourselves of self and yield ourselves to his control. Questions,

RIGHT THIS MOMENT does the blessed Holy Spirit have control of your heart, mind and 
soul?  Did you come spiritually prepared to hear what God has to say to you this morning in this 
sermon? Or did you just show up?

This church at Jerusalem not only possessed great power individually, but it 
possessed great power institutionally. Notice Acts 4:31, “And when they had prayed, the 
place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and 
they spake the word of God with boldness.” Isn't that thrilling? Their intercession was with such 
fervency, such sincerity, such manifestation of faith that the very place where they were 
gathered was shaken.

Why don't we have that happening today? Is it because we have for too long been 
operating in the human flesh, thinking this is Christianity and feeling we don't need the 
Holy Spirit? For the most part, our churches and lives today are devoid of the POWER 
of God. 

We have gotten used to functioning in our own efforts.  “If the Holy Spirit were taken out of the 
average church, 95% of the program would just keep right on going."

AS LONG AS WE THINK WE'RE DOING ALL RIGHT, WE WILL NEVER BE MOTIVATED TO 
EMPTY OURSELVES OF SELF SO THAT THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN FILL US! 

What we need is a great awakening in our midst; in our homes, in our lives and in our 
church. None of us knows what kind of a supernatural phenomenon to expect when 
God's people get filled with the Holy Spirit. Sometimes people say, "Church is somewhat 
routine and boring.” NOT A SPIRIT-FILLED ONE! Remember, "the place was shaken." Today, 
our church needs a shaking by the power of God, an awareness that God has met with us.

Second: They possessed GREAT GRACE. Acts 4:33, "...And great grace was upon them 
all." Notice the previous verse 32, "And the multitude of those that believed were of one heart and 
of one soul..." How wonderful it would be if every church were of one heart and one soul. 
If we possessed that unity it would take care of many our church problems. 

Someone said, "So many fall out with the Lord, the preacher and the church over really what 
amounts to nothing."

Great grace consists of LOVE. In John 13:34-35 Jesus said, "A new commandment I give unto 
you, that ye love one another...by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for 
another." The Biblical answer to our problems is to love one another. When you come to 
church, come expecting a blessing, and come expecting to put your arm around somebody 
letting them know you are praying for them and ready to help them in their time of need.


Great grace consists of liberality. For at the end of verse 32 we read, "neither said any of 
them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things in common." They 
gave freely. They gave cheerfully. They graciously shared in meeting the needs of others.

Third: They possessed GREAT FEAR. In Acts 5 we have the story of Ananias and his 
wife Sapphria who wanted to help with people’s needs. That was good, but they 
conspired to lie about their giving, and that was bad. So as a result, they both dropped 
dead right in the church. Then in verse 11 we read, "And great fear came upon all the church, 
and upon as many as heard these things." 

Hold it, how would you like to be in a church when two people dropped dead, and have 
to watch the ushers carry them out? You say, “For what?” 

Could it be because someone is living a lie as a Christian? On the outside they are one thing, but on 
the inside they are as rotten as dead men bones. They may sit there singing "Blessed assurance 
Jesus is mine," and yet they know that is not true in their life.
Could it be, listen carefully, because they are withholding their tithe?
Could it be they are living in secret sin?
Could it be God has had enough of their carnal attitude?
Could it be they are resisting Pastoral leadership? Someone may question that statement, but as 
a result, it could cost them their family or their life.

Don't think that it could not happen. I sincerely believe there are individuals who have 
been taken in death because of God’s discipline. There is NO FEAR of God in the eyes 
of so many. People think nothing of stealing the tithe, living immoral lives, or being 
disobedient to God's truth by living with a carnal worldly attitude. 

Oh, as much as anything, we need a holy fear and reverence of God. The Bible says, "The 
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Do you fear the Lord? Do you fear His holiness? 
Oh, to see God work in the lives of this congregation.

What this New Testament Church was able to achieve, the Green Street Baptist Chapel 
ought to be striving to achieve. Can we do it? I leave the answer to that question up to 
you.

Here was a church involved in WORSHIP, INSTRUCTION, FELLOWSHIP and EXPRESSION 
through evangelism. 
Here was a church experiencing GREAT POWER, GREAT GRACE, AND GREAT FEAR.

When these outcomes are kept in balance, this creates a magnetism that makes the church 
irresistible.

When the church is irresistible, then we become what God originally designed us to be.
When the church is irresistible, multitudes come to Christ, daily, day after day. 

Isn't it about time for us to fall on our knees and on our faces before Almighty God and 
cry out for the blessing and power of God? Isn't it time we repent of our:

Selfish fighting attitudes,
Petty carnal spirits, and
Looking more to personalities than praying for the power of the Holy Spirit to fall on the pulpit 
and the pew?

Far too long a heavy cloud has hung over this ministry. Again, let us rise up and pray and 
repent, so that we may again see what the Psalmist cried for, "To see the power and Glory, as I 
have seen thee in the sanctuary."

******************************************************
If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon, What Makes a Great Church? (Part II) then 
right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you. 

Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know 
Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in 

Acts 16:31, “...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...” 
Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: “I do want to go to Heaven. 
I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great 
salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin 
debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am 
completely depending on Him for my salvation.”
If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior let me know? Please send an e-
mail to, pdmikBBM@aol.com and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.
The “Weekly SERMON” was sent as a ministry of Bible Baptist Ministry, 48 Alexie Rd., Hanover 
Township, PA 18706. Privacy policy: your e-mail address will not be sold, or shared with any third party.

Copy write permission: Because the “Weekly SERMONS” will be reproduced into other formats, 
PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING: The “Weekly SERMON” in its original form, without 
any changes, may be copied and re-transmitted by electronic mail, and copies may be printed for 
individual or ministry purposes, provided that such copying, re-transmission, printing, or other use is not for 
profit or other commercial purpose.  Any copying, re-transmission, distribution, printing, or other use of the 
“Weekly SERMON” must set forth in full the heading that is given before each “Weekly SERMON.” 
Any other request for use, please contact Bible Baptist Ministries at pdmikBBM@aol.com or by phone at 
570.829.5216.

Page 1