Acts 4:32-37
32: Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common.
33: And with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
34: There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold
35: and laid it at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made to each as any had need.
36: Thus Joseph who was surnamed by the apostles Barnabas, a Levite, a native of Cyprus,
37: sold a field which belonged to him, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Oz and Our Need for Companions
Open your Bibles to Acts 4:32-37. This is a description of the people of God after Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit came. The whole group, of those who believed, were of one heart and soul. No one claimed private ownership of any possessions. Everything they owned was held in common.
What does the Wizard of Oz have to do with this passage of scripture? Christians are people who are on a journey. It’s much more than just conversion. We have a destination. The destination is home, or the city of God. You dare not go on this journey by yourself. There are obstacles that lie ahead. There are forces at work that will attempt to keep you from reaching your destination.

Pilgrim's Progress
It is summer time and summer time is a great time to read a book. I’ve got a homework assignment for you. There is a book that was first published in 1678. It is a classic. It is the book most read next to the Bible. The book is "Pilgrim’s Progress". It was written by John Bunyon who, in 1675, was jailed for his faith. Kipling calls Bunyon the "father of the novel." It’s in Old English, but is really worth reading.
It is a novel about a person by the name of Christian. Christian is on a journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. On his way he passes through places such as the Slough of Despond, Doubting Castle and Vanity Fair. All of us on this journey find ourselves in one of these three places. A lot of us in the church today find ourselves in Vanity Fair. Christian can never make this destination by himself, so along the way he is given travel companions. They have names such as Faithful and Hopeful.

The Holy Spirit
There’s something exciting happening in this church. The Holy Spirit is working in a powerful way. Do you know that in less than one year the attendance in this church has gone up over 1000? Statistics that came in this past week show that of the 200 people that joined this church in the past six months, exactly half of those people had no previous church background and professed meeting Jesus Christ for the first time in their life.
I have a word of caution to you. Don’t try this alone. The journey is not a "me and Jesus" journey. It is not an individual journey. It is something we do together. You need to be connected to people. You need traveling companions. Do not try this on your own.

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