Foundation Stones #4 – What the 3000 Received

There was no difference in what was happening in Galilee in the fellowship with 20 men with Jesus Christ and what was happening in those living rooms in Jerusalem. There isn’t any difference, and when you go home, the church is that same fellowship. Granted, I will grant you that when those 12 men ministered to those 3,000 people, it might not have been a typical living room meeting, but I’ll tell you for sure, it also wasn’t a typical Sunday morning church service down at the First Baptist Church.

Let’s look at those 3,000 and let’s look at those 12. What all happened? Well, for one thing, I doubt very seriously that all 3,000 of them got together at one time for the simple reason that most of them had to go get jobs just like you did. So, there were early morning meetings. There were morning meetings, afternoon meetings, and night meetings. And there might not have been over 500, 200, 600, maybe a thousand. Probably more like four or 500 each time, and that’s not so bad when you’ve got 12 different men who can talk. One would speak in the morning and tell about the Lord, and the other 11 would listen or sleep or rest, and they’d get in on what one another was telling and they’d correct one another and they’d reshare, and if somebody said something that was really wonderful, the other one would cheat that afternoon and repeat it. But what was happening was the gospel was finally getting unraveled. Three and a half years were being reported in its totality and its fullness.

The full life of Christ on this earth was being made known for the first time, and people were hearing it and entering into the experience of those 12 men with that Christ. That’s what was happening, and then they were taking it home with them. And the church of the Lord ought to be basically the same thing today. There ought to be some meetings in which that which is, is declared, and some other meetings in which that which is experienced is shared. I think I should repeat that, shouldn’t I? When that which is, is declared, and other meetings in which that which is experienced is shared.

Now, you can do a little of both in both meetings, but there has to be some declaration of the living Word of Christ within us, for us to learn our heritage. I even have to tell you, don’t let this get out on me. We even have to teach the Bible. We have to teach what the New Testament says. I do it all the time, it’s all I do. I don’t do anything else but that, but I don’t want to make it central. I want to make the Christ of the scripture central. If I am to obey the scripture, then I will make Christ central, not the scripture. If I make the scripture central, I disobey the scripture, and I intend to obey the scripture and make my Lord central. And make Him practical and obtainable and practicable of and even edible for you, for your spirit, for your internal parts. That’s what they were doing.

Now you need a handle on how to know Him and how to share Him, and dear brothers, ‘ere you go home. I hope to have done both of those a little with you, give you a handle on how to know Him and a little bit of a handle on how to share Him. Will you be good students? Will you do whatever it is I ask you to do? If you will, let me see you raise your hand. Why didn’t you folks raise your hands? You raised your hand? Come out from behind that lens and make yourself visible.

The people go home. I do not know how the apostles taught them to fellowship with Christ. I don’t really know. I’d like to know that, but I know one thing they taught them: the apostles taught those people where He lives and where He dwells.

They told those 3,000 folks all about Him and then said to them, “He moved inside of you on the day you were saved.” And I’m sure they added, “You women have got to wear dresses down to the floor and let your hair grow out, and you men have got to stop smoking, drinking, and cussing.” And you got to tithe. We only had 2,500 people out for visitation, door-to-door visitation this week. The other 500 of you are going to lose your salvation if you don’t show up. It says that there was door-to-door evangelism in Jerusalem. If you’ll read real carefully, it tells you exactly who went door to door. It was the apostles. Can you imagine that? Howdy, lady? Good morning, my name is the Apostle Peter. I think that’s wonderful. I think that’s wonderful, that it was Simon Peter out knocking on doors. I like that, but it wasn’t the young brothers and sisters. There are apostles preaching the gospel from house to house. This is not the gospel according to a course of New Testament evangelism preached at somebody’s seminary somewhere.

Well, those men had picked up a lot of habits in their four years with the Lord. One habit they had picked up was being with Him; another habit they had picked up was watching Him pray and fellowship with the Father. Another thing they learned to do was to do nothing but watch. That’s all they had done; they had served Him for two full weeks out of four years.

They had really good stewards. When it comes to the city of Jerusalem, the other people do not serve the Lord. They do all the work. And they’re working like Turks. I mean, they are working night and day. Ain’t that incredible? It gets so bad that they’re even waiting on the tables. Good morning, Mrs. Sapphira. Good morning, Ananias. Would you have some soup this morning? They’re out there taking care of the distribution of the wealth. These guys are doing everything, and finally they decide that they probably shouldn’t wait on tables, that they should attend to the word. And so, they get seven men who wait on tables. I’m not sure that was a great idea. I think every once in a while an apostle ought to go out and serve a table, but, anyhow, that’s just my, I don’t know if that’s true or not.

Six years, they stayed in one town. Do you remember during those four years with the Lord, who got persecuted? Tell me. The Lord got persecuted. Did the 12 get persecuted during those four years? Absolutely no. The only one who got persecuted crumbled like an accordion. Do you remember that incident? Simon Peter, on the night the Lord was crucified, got caught and crumbled like an accordion. He wasn’t used to being persecuted, but he has seen his Lord persecuted, and brothers and sisters, during the next six years, there’s an awful lot of abuse. For the first five years and 10 or 11 months of that, that abuse fell on those 12 men and not on God’s people. They had learned how to be persecuted.

From where did they learn how to be persecuted? From their Lord, watching Him. Tom, and I’m sure this has never been written down, I’m sure no one has ever said it before, but if you were to ask a bunch of young preachers going out to pastor churches, give it some really serious thought. I think one of the things they would say is, “I wish somebody had taught me how to take persecution.” Ask a minister sometimes if that wouldn’t help him. Maybe the word persecution is too strong, but to take all the guff and criticism and nitpicking and backbiting and undermining and getting thrown out of the church and all that kind of garbage, which hurts so badly. It’s a strange thing to say, but a young Christian worker, a workerette, ought to have the privilege of watching somebody be persecuted and see how he takes it. By the way, I’m not a good candidate for that. I’m not the person you want to watch. I did that for 12 years. I let some brothers watch what it was like to be persecuted. I sure hope they remember.

I was sensational. I was great, and I’m worn out. I am tired. And when somebody starts that stuff on me now, I bite their head off. I took that for 12 years, and I took it just so, so godly. I was the greatest there was. I was a real witness to how to be persecuted with grace and godliness, and I am up to here with that. And uh, I don’t know what I’m going to do in the next round, but don’t watch me. Watch … and watch …. Watch some other brothers. They are the ones who are supposed to now show you how to be persecuted with all graciousness and godliness. Right, brother?