Chapter Four — Part Six: The Book of Acts
By: Pastors Rodney & Adonica Howard-BrownePublish date: 04/25/2021
Foundation Scripture:
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul. Acts 4:32a KJV
1. One Heart.
a. ‘Multitude’ means a great number of men or things, but it also means the whole number, the whole multitude, the assemblage.
b. That means many and all.
c. There were many of them who believed, and all of them—the whole lot of them—were of one heart and mind (soul).
d. This is a work of the Holy Spirit.
e. Unity cannot be achieved by sense knowledge or by natural means.
f. Unless hearts are touched and brought into harmony with God, they will never be brought into harmony with each other.
g. Each of us needs to make our own relationship with the Lord a priority.
h. Each of us needs to be completely submitted to the Word of God.
i. Each of us needs to allow the Holy Spirit to do His will, and have His way, in our heart and life.
j. When we are individually one with God, we will be one as a Body.
2. One in Him.
a. John 17:11 AMPC — And [now] I am no more in the world, but these are [still] in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep in Your Name [in the knowledge of Yourself] those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We [are one].
b. Jesus prayed that we would be ONE even as the Father and Son are ONE.
c. John 17:21 AMPC — That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.
d. We must be one in Him, before we can be one with each other.
e. This union and this unity testify to the world so that they may be convinced and believe on Him.
f. John 17:22-23 Wuest — And as for myself, the glory which you have given me, I have given them, in order that they might be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, in order that they, having been brought to the state of completeness with respect to oneness, may persist in that state of completeness, to the end that the world might be understanding that you sent me on a mission and that you loved them even as you loved me.
g. The glory—the very presence—of God comes to live in us, both to do a work and to be a witness.
h. He brings us to a state of perfection, or wholeness, completeness.
i. The Father loves His children as much as He loves Jesus!
j. We must get the revelation of this deep and great and wonderful and everlasting love He has for us.
k. Only then, will we be able to effectively love others.
l. Love is an action.
m. When we act in love, this love—and the other fruit of the spirit—work together in us, to bring us to a state of being perfected and complete in Him.
n. 1 John 4:12 AMPC — No man has at any time [yet] seen God. But if we love one another, God abides (lives and remains) in us and His love (that love which is essentially His) is brought to completion (to its full maturity, runs its full course, is perfected) in us!
3. One in the Body.
a. 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 NKJV — That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member
suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
b. The only way to be in unity and harmony with each other, is to walk in God’s love toward one another.
4. Speak the Same Thing.
a. 1 Corinthians 1:10 NKJV — Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
b. There is only ONE Body of Christ.
c. The fact that the Church has split up into various denominations is completely unscriptural and a work of the flesh (senses) and carnal thinking and reasoning.
d. We are commanded rather to:
- Speak the SAME things.
- Allow NO divisions, or schisms.
- Be unified—perfectly joined together—in mind (thinking).
- Be unified in judgment (opinion; purpose; intention).
e. Preach the Word (2 Tim. 4:2a)!
f. You cannot speak the same thing if you preach opinions.
g. The only way to speak the same thing is if you preach the Word of God, with no private interpretations or ‘revelations’ (2 Peter 1:20).
5. Have United Purpose.
a. If each one of us is on the same mission, and have the same purpose, it will bring a unity of action and results.
b. This is how you flow together to accomplish God’s will and plan.
c. Do not be competitive or think of yourself more highly than you ought to think (Romans 12:3).
d. Be in submission to God in every area of your life (James 4:7).
e. Have a Kingdom mentality, or mindset.
f. Make souls and the Kingdom your priority.
g. Philippians 3:12-16
h. Do not think, or act like, you have arrived, or been perfected already.
i. Keep pressing on to accomplish the plans, the purposes, and the goals that Jesus has set for you.
j. Forget about the past—both your setbacks and your triumphs—and reach forward to those things which are ahead of you.
k. Press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
l. Everyone—who is mature in Jesus Christ—should have this attitude.
m. If you do not, the Lord will bring a correction to you and reveal it to you.
n. Wherever you are on your path, as you walk with the Lord, and grow in Him—together, walk by the same rules and be of the same mind.