Kingdom Culture | Week 2 | Pastor David Nunn
MESSAGE NOTES
Episode Notes
Kingdom Culture- Week 2
November 09, 2025
Teacher: Pastor David Nunn
Kingdom Culture: Bringing Heaven to Earth How the Kingdom Shapes Community Text: John 13:34–35; Acts 2:42–47 Welcome to week two of “Kingdom Culture: Bringing Heaven to Earth.” Last week Pastor Dave Brown spoke about the way Jesus kind of “flips the script” on what we tend to believe a blessed life looks like. A blessed life according to Matthew 5, is one of humility, mercy, gentleness, sorrow, and dependance on the LORD. It involves persecution, rather than accomplishment, fame, or wealth. I would suggest to you that bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth will never be accomplished through powerful political movements, or even through great spiritual awakenings. That is not to say that the Spirit of God doesn’t miraculously move through great populations of people. There have been several such movements in Christian history, beginning with Pentecost which we’ll discuss in a moment. However, these great spiritual awakenings are the exception, not the norm. The norm for bringing the Kingdom of God in earth as it is in heaven is for groups of committed disciples of Christ to live and witness to their faith in a way that touches the community around them. When the world sees disciples loving each other and loving their neighbors in the same way that Christ loves them, then unbelieving hearts and minds are refocused with a desire to understand the source of that love. That is a process that is not built on great preaching, exciting worship, or big evangelical events that draw huge crowds. It happens as believers build humble, loving relationships in their homes, neighborhoods, workplaces and communities, and through those relationships we witness to the life-changing presence of Christ in our lives. The key to growing a kingdom culture is welcoming and joining the presence of our King within our community. At its core, Christianity is not a religion based on rules of conduct, or commitment to a list of tenets of faith. Jesus never taught His disciples to go and establish a correct moral standard for rest of the world to follow. We are not called to be moral police for the world. We have enough trouble policing our individual, personal morality. Again, as Pastor Dave reminded us a few weeks ago we shouldn’t be wasting time trying to manage sin; not our own, and certainly not someone else’s sin. That’s like trying to hide the darkness. It’s not possible. Instead, we should just turn on the light. How do we do that? Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. When we give ourselves wholly to God, we invite Him to bless us with His presence, His power, and His holiness. When you invite the presence of God into your life, it flips on the light that overcomes darkness. Again, to cite the teaching of Pastor Dave Brown, repentance is not just a change of behavior, it’s a change of direction. It’s a moment-by-moment choice to follow Jesus, which is all He ever asks any of His disciples to do. When we do that, Jesus doesn’t change our behavior. He changes our nature. 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! This new creation is the result of “abiding in Christ.” Does that sound familiar? It should. We spent the months of September and October talking about abiding in Christ. It is only through the presence of Christ that any of us can experience this life-changing outcome. So, if this newly created nature comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ, what other relationships are formed as a result? The model prayer is “Your kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven.” So, we’re talking about establishing God’s Kingdom culture in a way that impacts the culture of the rest of the world. One person can’t do that. It requires community. Even Jesus didn’t try to change the world’s culture by Himself. Many believed that He would. They expected Him to miraculously overthrow the Roman’s, declare Himself King, and establish His reign on Earth. Instead, He recruited and taught a small community of believers who were committed to following Him. In the book of Acts, Luke shares the history of this group of 120 believers who, over the course of the first century, made a fundamental cultural impact on the entire Roman world, and beyond. In fact, the impact of that tiny congregation is still being felt 2000 years later, on the other side of the world in Redeemer Church in Tulsa, OK. That’s the power of a community of people who are committed to following Christ wherever and however He leads. I would submit to you today that the power to alter a culture through the establishment of God’s Kingdom happens only through a community of faith. It is never the result of a single individual, no matter how gifted he/she may be. Let’s see how God moved through that first Christian community. After the ascension of Jesus, we are told in Acts 1:15 that about 120 followers of Christ were constantly gathering to pray as they followed Jesus’ final instruction to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit to arrive. As they gathered on the Day of Pentecost the promise was fulfilled. Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Note, they gathered as a community. They had been meeting and praying together for the last ten days. When the Holy Spirit came, they were together as a community, and how many of them were filled with the Holy Spirit? ALL of them. And together they began to speak to the people outside their gathering place. They raised such a ruckus that a crowd gathered to see what was happening. At this point Peter stood up and addressed the crowd. Now you may say, “Look! Peter’s just one man, acting on his own.”
Acts 2:14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:
Peter wasn’t alone. He stood with His fellow apostles, and they stood with the support of the other 108 believers who were witnessing to the crowd.
People often note the courage of Peter on that day. This was the man who denied that he even knew Christ on the eve of the crucifixion. Now he’s standing up and telling this massive crowd not only was Jesus the prophesied Messiah, but he accused the crowd of crucifying their Messiah. In fact, He ended his message with these words.
Acts 2:36 “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
We wonder what happened? What changed in Peter to give him the courage that was lacking just a few weeks earlier, and of course we point out that He was filled with power of the Holy Spirit. I don’t want to, in any way, lessen the importance of the Holy Spirit in Peter’s courageous preaching, but I would suggest that there is at least one other important factor: Peter was NOT alone. In the garden outside the house of the high priest none of Peter’s fellow disciples were present. When he preached at Pentecost he stood as one of twelve apostles who were supported by a community of 120, who had spent the last 10 days in constant prayer together. Can you see the strength and power of a community, even a small one, when they stand together to preach the gospel to the masses who gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost that day? Had Peter been alone, he would not have been able to even get the attention of that crowd. The Holy Spirit worked through the empowerment of the entire group. Not just one or an impowered few. ALL were empowered, and ALL went into the streets to preach the gospel.
So, what happened next? At the end of the day around 3000 people were added to their number. That was an extraordinary day. A powerful movement of the Spirit that brought thousands into the fellowship of the church. We recognize that as an extraordinary day. As I said earlier, that is NOT the normal flow of Kingdom growth. It was an exceptional outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the entire community of faith. Again, it was a community movement. It wasn’t Peter acting alone. God chose to work through a community. That’s what He always does. Look what happened next.
Acts 2:42-47 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
In this passage, I believe we see what the norm for the growth of Kingdom culture in the world should be. Note the verbs that describe how this brand-new church acted:
They met together in the temple courts. This was the only place large enough for 3000 people to meet, but they weren’t just meeting. The Greek word used here actually means they continued together in one accord: as one mind. What do you think they were doing together in the temple? I think they were learning how to follow Christ.
They devoted themselves: Again, the literal translation is “steadfastly continued.” What were they continuing in doing? They spent time and effort, listening to, learning, so that they could follow the teaching of the Apostles. This is most likely why they met together in the temple. Like Jesus, the apostles were using this common gathering place to teach the people. These new converts were devoted to gathering daily and continuously learning and following the apostles teaching.
They were also devoted (steadfastly continued) to fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. Where do you think that took place?
They broke bread: In their homes. Breaking bread refers to sharing communion together as Jesus had taught the apostles. They met together in homes, ate together, and shared communion together with glad and sincere hearts.
So, they met together in the temple, not every Sunday, but every day, and they also gathered in homes sharing meals and fellowship and praying together in smaller groups throughout the week. This was not a “see you next Sunday” kind of congregational event. These people actually spent time together during the week. They were not just devoted to learning and following the teaching of the apostles, they were devoted to each other. They were devoted to being together with one another.
We in the ECC pride ourselves on our devotion to God’s Word. Some like to refer to us as people of the book. That’s good. The church in Jerusalem shows that devotion to knowing and following the teaching of Christ is fundamental to our spiritual formation, but that’s not enough. They also devoted themselves to one another. What was the evidence of that devotion?
In verse 44 we are told that the believers were together and had everything in common. The Greek word for believers is actually a verb meaning “having believed.” So Young’s literal translation says,
“all those believing were at the same place, and had all things common.”
Because they shared a common, foundational belief in Jesus Christ as their LORD, they saw each other as a family, holding everything in common. They didn’t use the pronouns my/mine, but our/ours. One of the hallmarks of a functional family is that they share. Even from a legal point of view family property is held jointly. So, these 3000 new converts didn’t just accept Jesus as LORD, they were adopted and assimilated into a brand-new family; a family built upon their shared commitment to Jesus as LORD.
So, they were devoted to learning and following the teachings of Jesus from the apostles, and they were devoted to each other; sharing with one another, caring for one another, finding opportunities to simply be together, share a meal, share communion with other members of the family. What was the result of this two-fold devotion?
v. 47 And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
That’s how kingdom culture spreads through a lost world. God works through His family. God has given us three fundamental tools to guide us through our spiritual formation. He has given us His Spirit, His Word, and His Church. What we see in the example of this first church is that all three are essential to both personal spiritual formation and kingdom growth. Too many of us who profess Christ as our LORD tend to neglect the importance of personal devotion to our community of faith. Let me just put it to you as simply and plainly as I can. If you aren’t devoted to this family that we call church, it’s because you aren’t fully devoted to Christ.
Jesus, Himself said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35