Sheryl Brady - Keeping It Real - Part 1

I’m going to call today’s message «Keeping It Real» because in the Book of Acts, it discusses and paints for us the picture of what real Christianity should look like. In a time like this, in the season we’re living in, over the last 12 to 14 months, it is imperative that we don’t lose sight of the church and what we are called to be. There is definitely a clear picture of what real Christianity looks like, and as you look into the Book of Acts, we are given a glimpse of what the first church, the early church, looked like in 33 A.D. when Jesus died on the cross, rose again, and went back to heaven. There were only a handful of disciples—120 disciples—and yet within 300 years, those 120 believers began to dominate the Roman Empire. Even Caesar himself became a Christian. Christianity then became the official religion of the entire known world. My question is, how did that happen? They only had 120 believers. How did they grow so exponentially? How did they grow so fast? That’s interesting to me. Here’s why: I’m thinking about how they grew like that when, even in the early stages, it was illegal to be a Christian. Those who were Christians faced intense pressure and were persecuted ruthlessly. As a matter of fact, it was not a good way to get ahead in life; being a Christian back in those days was a good way to lose your head and your life. If they discovered you were a Christian, they would take you and crucify you—sometimes upside down—and they would persecute you without mercy. They would throw you into the lion’s den, and people would watch as the lions came to eat you. It simply wasn’t something you did unless you were fully committed. It was not just a socially nice thing to do, and you didn’t worry about seeker-friendly people back then; everybody would stay away unless they were totally committed in their hearts. Yet, despite all of that, within 300 years, Christianity dominated the entire world. I must reiterate: in spite of all the torment and persecution they endured, it grew in the midst of struggle. The Book of Acts is the story of the first church. Today, for the next few moments, I want to reflect on what the original church looked like and point out some of the characteristics that real Christianity possessed. Today, so much is done in the name of Christianity; it’s done in the name of Jesus, in the name of God. Yet, I believe that some of the things done would cause even God Himself to say, «Wait, wait a minute! That’s not Me. That’s not how I would do it, how I think, or how I feel. That’s fake Christianity, and that is not the real deal.» Before you take that term «fake Christianity» and start judging people out of your self-righteousness, let me clarify: not everyone who slips into error is a fake. Sometimes, they are in error because they went astray along the way. That doesn’t mean their heart is twisted or phony. Many times, people err or miss the mark, or fall short of the goal—they don’t finish the race as they need to. Sometimes, it’s because the goal has been distorted or ill-defined, or maybe it is indistinguishable or dull. It’s like taking a picture of a picture of a picture; you lose clarity over generations, and the final picture isn’t as sharp as the original. So, what happens is that it moves further away from the original image, leaving a greater chance that the quality of the picture will be lost. Today, I want to write the vision. I said all that to say, I want to make it plain and point out some things to us because if we’re going to serve God, and if we’re going to call ourselves the church, the people of God, the bride of Christ, and claim all of those things, I believe it is important that we…