• A church committed to love and the welfare of the individual members: Being very conscious of the instruction of the Lord Jesus Christ to love one another, the early church practiced love. The Lord gave it as a commandment that the individual members of the church should love themselves the way God loves us. (See Jn.13:34,35; 15:17) 1 Jn.3:16 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”. We must love to the extent of laying down our lives for the brethren.
It is with this kind of love alone that we can be united and build community. That is the only thing that can cause us to have burden when a brother/sister is in problem so that we pray for him/her. Just as the church prayed for Peter (Acts 12:5), and Jesus prayed for the church (Jn.17). Only this kind of love can make people to have genuine interest in the affairs of one another and pray for each other. Family altars will be filled with prayers for others who are in one need or the other; even without the individual knowing it. Instead of making the weakness of a person a subject for gossip, it is made a topic for prayers.
The early church practiced love and when people saw it in Antioch, they called them Christians – Christ-like (Acts 11:26). Jesus said that “by this shall all men know that Ye are my disciples” (Jn.13:35 KJV). Love is the criteria for the people of God to be seen by the world as Christ’s. We remember that the apostles knew how important mutual care is and appointed 7 deacons to handle the affairs of welfare. The love was genuine and they increased tremendously. (See Rom.12:9,11; 1 Jn.3:17-23). Love is the greatest. One of the challenges of the contemporary church is making sure that the church is not dominated by bureaucracy and organizational hierarchical politics that they forget to take good care of their members. It is a lie that if you take good care of your pastors and they live well, you have taken care of the church. Taking good care of the church institution with teeming members struggling with the basic provisions is an indictment to the so-called wealthy church. The life of the members, without any contradiction, is the life of the church.
• A church committed to holiness and right living: The apostles taught the members to abhor sin and live righteously as children of light. Because of the challenges and accusations from the Jews, especially, trying to find a loophole or an opportunity to discredit the gospel, the early church committed themselves to letting their light shine. The people saw their good works and glorified God.
The first day Peter preached, he asked them to “repent…for the remission of sins” and “save yourselves from this untoward generation” (Acts 2:38a, 40b). Later at the Solomon’s Porch, Peter urged his listeners “repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” (Acts 3:19) RSV. The church knew the real devastating nature of sin and were exhorted to avoid it. They lived for God. The teachings of the apostles emphasized the issues they majored on. Peter instructed the church, “as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct”. (1 Pet.1:15 RSV). The writer of the book of Hebrews also declared “strife for peace with all men and for holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb.12:14). Both leadership and the led all gave themselves to living up to what they claimed they believed. The life of the church was different from the life of the world and the border line was very clear. Peter even agreed that this kind of living can change a man without speaking to him. (1 Pet.3:1). Though persecuted, their righteous living was an indisputable challenge to their accusers. They prospered.
• A church obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit: Finally, we see that the church was filled with men and women who were willing to do the bidding of the Holy Spirit. They recognized that the Holy Spirit is the One in charge of His church and they listened to Him. He has to lead and teach His church. He was allowed to work unhindered. Peter broke his Jewish barrier and entered Caesarea in order to preach to Cornelius in obedience to the Holy Spirit. (Acts 10:17-20). They buried their sentiments and obeyed the Holy Ghost in their first Council in Jerusalem (Acts 15: 28-29) where they decided the fate of the Gentile Christians as concerns the Jewish dogmas. When the Holy Spirit asked them to separate Saul (Paul) and Barnabas in Acts 13, they obeyed. Paul on one occasion was forbidden to speak the word in Asia and in another occasion, he was stopped from going into Bithynia to preach the gospel (See Acts 16:6-10). He was asked to enter Macedonia. In all these circumstances Paul did not argue with God. He obeyed. Because they were obedient to the Lord of the harvest, they had abundant prosperity in the work. He showered His gifts on them and they were continually edified. They increased.
In conclusion, we have seen the 7 things the early church was committed to which made them successful. If we are to succeed in our generation and prosper as a church participating in God’s agenda, we must consider seriously these points. If we desire to get the kind of results the early church got, we ought to do what they did. It is left for us whether to be a church on the wheels or a sleeping church.
Showing posts with label the apostolic church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the apostolic church. Show all posts
Thursday, 4 June 2020
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
The Church on the wheels (Part 2)
• A church committed to love and the welfare of the individual members: Being very conscious of the instruction of the Lord Jesus Christ to love one another, the early church practiced love. The Lord gave it as a commandment that the individual members of the church should love themselves the way God loves us. (See Jn.13:34,35; 15:17) 1 Jn.3:16 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”. We must love to the extent of laying down our lives for the brethren.
It is with this kind of love alone that we can be united and build community. That is the only thing that can cause us to have burden when a brother/sister is in problem so that we pray for him/her. Just as the church prayed for Peter (Acts 12:5), and Jesus prayed for the church (Jn.17). Only this kind of love can make people to have genuine interest in the affairs of one another and pray for each other. Family altars will be filled with prayers for others who are in one need or the other; even without the individual knowing it. Instead of making the weakness of a person a subject for gossip, it is made a topic for prayers.
The early church practiced love and when people saw it in Antioch, they called them Christians – Christ-like (Acts 11:26). Jesus said that “by this shall all men know that Ye are my disciples” (Jn.13:35 KJV). Love is the criteria for the people of God to be seen by the world as Christ’s. We remember that the apostles knew how important mutual care is and appointed 7 deacons to handle the affairs of welfare. The love was genuine and they increased tremendously. (See Rom.12:9,11; 1 Jn.3:17-23). Love is the greatest. One of the challenges of the contemporary church is making sure that the church is not dominated by bureaucracy and organizational hierarchical politics that they forget to take good care of their members. It is a lie that if you take good care of your pastors and they live well, you have taken care of the church. Taking good care of the church institution with teeming members struggling with the basic provisions is an indictment to the so-called wealthy church. The life of the members, without any contradiction, is the life of the church.
• A church committed to holiness and right living: The apostles taught the members to abhor sin and live righteously as children of light. Because of the challenges and accusations from the Jews, especially, trying to find a loophole or an opportunity to discredit the gospel, the early church committed themselves to letting their light shine. The people saw their good works and glorified God.
The first day Peter preached, he asked them to “repent…for the remission of sins” and “save yourselves from this untoward generation” (Acts 2:38a, 40b). Later at the Solomon’s Porch, Peter urged his listeners “repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” (Acts 3:19) RSV. The church knew the real devastating nature of sin and were exhorted to avoid it. They lived for God. The teachings of the apostles emphasized the issues they majored on. Peter instructed the church, “as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct”. (1 Pet.1:15 RSV). The writer of the book of Hebrews also declared “strife for peace with all men and for holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb.12:14). Both leadership and the led all gave themselves to living up to what they claimed they believed. The life of the church was different from the life of the world and the border line was very clear. Peter even agreed that this kind of living can change a man without speaking to him. (1 Pet.3:1). Though persecuted, their righteous living was an indisputable challenge to their accusers. They prospered.
• A church obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit: Finally, we see that the church was filled with men and women who were willing to do the bidding of the Holy Spirit. They recognized that the Holy Spirit is the One in charge of His church and they listened to Him. He has to lead and teach His church. He was allowed to work unhindered. Peter broke his Jewish barrier and entered Caesarea in order to preach to Cornelius in obedience to the Holy Spirit. (Acts 10:17-20). They buried their sentiments and obeyed the Holy Ghost in their first Council in Jerusalem (Acts 15: 28-29) where they decided the fate of the Gentile Christians as concerns the Jewish dogmas. When the Holy Spirit asked them to separate Saul (Paul) and Barnabas in Acts 13, they obeyed. Paul on one occasion was forbidden to speak the word in Asia and in another occasion, he was stopped from going into Bithynia to preach the gospel (See Acts 16:6-10). He was asked to enter Macedonia. In all these circumstances Paul did not argue with God. He obeyed. Because they were obedient to the Lord of the harvest, they had abundant prosperity in the work. He showered His gifts on them and they were continually edified. They increased.
In conclusion, we have seen the 7 things the early church was committed to which made them successful. If we are to succeed in our generation and prosper as a church participating in God’s agenda, we must consider seriously these points. If we desire to get the kind of results the early church got, we ought to do what they did. It is left for us whether to be a church on the wheels or a sleeping church.
It is with this kind of love alone that we can be united and build community. That is the only thing that can cause us to have burden when a brother/sister is in problem so that we pray for him/her. Just as the church prayed for Peter (Acts 12:5), and Jesus prayed for the church (Jn.17). Only this kind of love can make people to have genuine interest in the affairs of one another and pray for each other. Family altars will be filled with prayers for others who are in one need or the other; even without the individual knowing it. Instead of making the weakness of a person a subject for gossip, it is made a topic for prayers.
The early church practiced love and when people saw it in Antioch, they called them Christians – Christ-like (Acts 11:26). Jesus said that “by this shall all men know that Ye are my disciples” (Jn.13:35 KJV). Love is the criteria for the people of God to be seen by the world as Christ’s. We remember that the apostles knew how important mutual care is and appointed 7 deacons to handle the affairs of welfare. The love was genuine and they increased tremendously. (See Rom.12:9,11; 1 Jn.3:17-23). Love is the greatest. One of the challenges of the contemporary church is making sure that the church is not dominated by bureaucracy and organizational hierarchical politics that they forget to take good care of their members. It is a lie that if you take good care of your pastors and they live well, you have taken care of the church. Taking good care of the church institution with teeming members struggling with the basic provisions is an indictment to the so-called wealthy church. The life of the members, without any contradiction, is the life of the church.
• A church committed to holiness and right living: The apostles taught the members to abhor sin and live righteously as children of light. Because of the challenges and accusations from the Jews, especially, trying to find a loophole or an opportunity to discredit the gospel, the early church committed themselves to letting their light shine. The people saw their good works and glorified God.
The first day Peter preached, he asked them to “repent…for the remission of sins” and “save yourselves from this untoward generation” (Acts 2:38a, 40b). Later at the Solomon’s Porch, Peter urged his listeners “repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” (Acts 3:19) RSV. The church knew the real devastating nature of sin and were exhorted to avoid it. They lived for God. The teachings of the apostles emphasized the issues they majored on. Peter instructed the church, “as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct”. (1 Pet.1:15 RSV). The writer of the book of Hebrews also declared “strife for peace with all men and for holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb.12:14). Both leadership and the led all gave themselves to living up to what they claimed they believed. The life of the church was different from the life of the world and the border line was very clear. Peter even agreed that this kind of living can change a man without speaking to him. (1 Pet.3:1). Though persecuted, their righteous living was an indisputable challenge to their accusers. They prospered.
• A church obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit: Finally, we see that the church was filled with men and women who were willing to do the bidding of the Holy Spirit. They recognized that the Holy Spirit is the One in charge of His church and they listened to Him. He has to lead and teach His church. He was allowed to work unhindered. Peter broke his Jewish barrier and entered Caesarea in order to preach to Cornelius in obedience to the Holy Spirit. (Acts 10:17-20). They buried their sentiments and obeyed the Holy Ghost in their first Council in Jerusalem (Acts 15: 28-29) where they decided the fate of the Gentile Christians as concerns the Jewish dogmas. When the Holy Spirit asked them to separate Saul (Paul) and Barnabas in Acts 13, they obeyed. Paul on one occasion was forbidden to speak the word in Asia and in another occasion, he was stopped from going into Bithynia to preach the gospel (See Acts 16:6-10). He was asked to enter Macedonia. In all these circumstances Paul did not argue with God. He obeyed. Because they were obedient to the Lord of the harvest, they had abundant prosperity in the work. He showered His gifts on them and they were continually edified. They increased.
In conclusion, we have seen the 7 things the early church was committed to which made them successful. If we are to succeed in our generation and prosper as a church participating in God’s agenda, we must consider seriously these points. If we desire to get the kind of results the early church got, we ought to do what they did. It is left for us whether to be a church on the wheels or a sleeping church.
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
The Church on the wheels (Part 1)
A good study of the first century church shows a lot of progress that the apostles made. In spite of the fact that they were introducing an entirely new system over an already existing old one, it is evident that they prospered. 3000 men gave their lives to the Lord the first day Peter preached. Later 5000 believed in Christ and the Lord continued to add to their number day by day those who were being saved. Both Jews and Gentiles were obedient to the faith. The church blossomed.
It was not a stagnant church. It was not a lukewarm church. It was a vibrant and dynamic church - always on the wheels. They were able to withstand, by the power of God, the challenges of their days and had something they kept for the subsequent generations.
Now, why and how did they succeed? What made them so prosperous? What did the apostles do that made them record such tremendous results? In trying to answer these questions, we shall consider the 7 things the apostolic church committed themselves to. For us to have similar results, we are expected to do what the apostles did.
• A church committed to God: The first thing we discover is that the members of the church were not just committed to the church religious practices. They were committed to God and His glory. They had vibrant personal relationships with the Lord, thus they were able to co-exist in love in their fellowships. Individual members having a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, through repentance to God and faith in Jesus Christ, is the only basis or foundation for a church having a cooperate relationship with the Lord. Organizational structures are useless, no matter how religious, if the members do not know God and pursue His glory. Our horizontal relationship with our fellow humans cannot be good when our vertical relationship with God has problems and vice versa. If a church is filled with people who do not know the Lord personally, it is going to be very difficult for it to pursue the glory of God. We find that in the early church, the people were totally sold out to God Himself. When they were imprisoned and beaten, they rejoiced and counted it as a privilege to suffer for the Lord. They were even ready to die if that was God’s will for them. It was a church made up of people that knew their God. No wonder they did exploits.
• A church committed to the Great Commission: Also the early church was committed to the preaching and spreading of the gospel. Having received the charge from the Lord to preach the Good News in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and the Gentile Nations of the world, they were all out to obey their Master. (See Mat.28:19 Mark 16:15). Peter was a married fisherman but he was involved. Barnabas was a rich man and yet he obeyed the commission. Luke was a Medical Doctor but became a missionary physician. Philemon and Onesiphorous were wealthy people and yet were committed to missions. Timothy was a young man and yet preached the gospel. Priscilla and Aquila was a couple that supported missions and gave out their house for fellowship. Throughout the Book of Acts, we see the early church on fire for the Lord. Men from different walks of life were committed to the preaching of the gospel. One thing is clear, whenever a church is distracted and is not committed to the vision of preaching the gospel and the expansion of the Kingdom, the devil will commit her with trivial issues, quarrels, division and politics.
Furthermore, the gospel was not just preached to fulfill all righteousness, it was preached with power and demonstration of the Spirit. (See 1 Thess.1:5; 1 Cor.1:24; Col.1:27 etc). It is a sin for a church to lack the power of God or to preach the gospel of God as if it has no power.
• A Church Committed to prayer: We equally notice that the church was a praying church. Jesus once threw away the money-changers out of the temple telling them that the temple was supposed to be a house of prayer. (Lk.19:45,46). The church is not a place where emphasis on money and earthly success should take upper hand. It must be made up of a people who have both private and cooperate altars – people that pray as individuals and together as a church. The apostles once decided on issues of priority saying “it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables…we will devote ourselves to prayer” (Acts 6:2, 4a. Also see Acts 12:5,12; 3:1; 16:13 etc). Paul gave testimonies of what his prayer life and that of those who worked with him was like. (See 2 Thess.1:11,12; 1 Thess.1:2,3; Col.4:12; 1:3,4; Eph.1:16-23 etc). In line with the Lord’s admonition in Luke 18:1, “Men ought always to pray and not to faint”, Paul urged the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing”. (1 Thess.5:16). The early church was a praying church and members were involved. No wonder they experienced the power of prayer.
• A church committed to the Word of God: In Acts 6:2-4 as we noted above, another issue of priority the apostles decided was the Word of God. They said, “we will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of God’s Word”. Christians were not lazy to study doctrines (See Acts 2:42). They were committed to both teaching and exhorting each other in their homes, house fellowships and in the temple. Many of the people following the apostles were determined to confirm what they were being taught by themselves like the Boreans (Acts 17:10-12). Members of the church were not slothful as we see today in most of our churches. They were not swallowing hook line and sinker what the preachers tell them. They were both individually and as a church committed to the study and obedience to the Word of God. Paul instructed Timothy, “Till I come, attend to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching, to teaching”. (1 Tim.4:13). There are plausible words of wisdom, the so-called ‘prosperity’ gospel, and peddlers of God’s word (2 Cor.2:17). Unfortunately, none of these can save a man from hell nor change his eternal destiny. The apostles majored on the things that matter. 1 Cor.2:12; 1:23-25. They preached the full gospel. If the Bible is not the sole guide for faith and practice for a church and its members, man-made traditions and vested interests will dominate and they will not be able to accomplish anything tangible for God.
To be continued...
It was not a stagnant church. It was not a lukewarm church. It was a vibrant and dynamic church - always on the wheels. They were able to withstand, by the power of God, the challenges of their days and had something they kept for the subsequent generations.
Now, why and how did they succeed? What made them so prosperous? What did the apostles do that made them record such tremendous results? In trying to answer these questions, we shall consider the 7 things the apostolic church committed themselves to. For us to have similar results, we are expected to do what the apostles did.
• A church committed to God: The first thing we discover is that the members of the church were not just committed to the church religious practices. They were committed to God and His glory. They had vibrant personal relationships with the Lord, thus they were able to co-exist in love in their fellowships. Individual members having a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, through repentance to God and faith in Jesus Christ, is the only basis or foundation for a church having a cooperate relationship with the Lord. Organizational structures are useless, no matter how religious, if the members do not know God and pursue His glory. Our horizontal relationship with our fellow humans cannot be good when our vertical relationship with God has problems and vice versa. If a church is filled with people who do not know the Lord personally, it is going to be very difficult for it to pursue the glory of God. We find that in the early church, the people were totally sold out to God Himself. When they were imprisoned and beaten, they rejoiced and counted it as a privilege to suffer for the Lord. They were even ready to die if that was God’s will for them. It was a church made up of people that knew their God. No wonder they did exploits.
• A church committed to the Great Commission: Also the early church was committed to the preaching and spreading of the gospel. Having received the charge from the Lord to preach the Good News in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and the Gentile Nations of the world, they were all out to obey their Master. (See Mat.28:19 Mark 16:15). Peter was a married fisherman but he was involved. Barnabas was a rich man and yet he obeyed the commission. Luke was a Medical Doctor but became a missionary physician. Philemon and Onesiphorous were wealthy people and yet were committed to missions. Timothy was a young man and yet preached the gospel. Priscilla and Aquila was a couple that supported missions and gave out their house for fellowship. Throughout the Book of Acts, we see the early church on fire for the Lord. Men from different walks of life were committed to the preaching of the gospel. One thing is clear, whenever a church is distracted and is not committed to the vision of preaching the gospel and the expansion of the Kingdom, the devil will commit her with trivial issues, quarrels, division and politics.
Furthermore, the gospel was not just preached to fulfill all righteousness, it was preached with power and demonstration of the Spirit. (See 1 Thess.1:5; 1 Cor.1:24; Col.1:27 etc). It is a sin for a church to lack the power of God or to preach the gospel of God as if it has no power.
• A Church Committed to prayer: We equally notice that the church was a praying church. Jesus once threw away the money-changers out of the temple telling them that the temple was supposed to be a house of prayer. (Lk.19:45,46). The church is not a place where emphasis on money and earthly success should take upper hand. It must be made up of a people who have both private and cooperate altars – people that pray as individuals and together as a church. The apostles once decided on issues of priority saying “it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables…we will devote ourselves to prayer” (Acts 6:2, 4a. Also see Acts 12:5,12; 3:1; 16:13 etc). Paul gave testimonies of what his prayer life and that of those who worked with him was like. (See 2 Thess.1:11,12; 1 Thess.1:2,3; Col.4:12; 1:3,4; Eph.1:16-23 etc). In line with the Lord’s admonition in Luke 18:1, “Men ought always to pray and not to faint”, Paul urged the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing”. (1 Thess.5:16). The early church was a praying church and members were involved. No wonder they experienced the power of prayer.
• A church committed to the Word of God: In Acts 6:2-4 as we noted above, another issue of priority the apostles decided was the Word of God. They said, “we will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of God’s Word”. Christians were not lazy to study doctrines (See Acts 2:42). They were committed to both teaching and exhorting each other in their homes, house fellowships and in the temple. Many of the people following the apostles were determined to confirm what they were being taught by themselves like the Boreans (Acts 17:10-12). Members of the church were not slothful as we see today in most of our churches. They were not swallowing hook line and sinker what the preachers tell them. They were both individually and as a church committed to the study and obedience to the Word of God. Paul instructed Timothy, “Till I come, attend to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching, to teaching”. (1 Tim.4:13). There are plausible words of wisdom, the so-called ‘prosperity’ gospel, and peddlers of God’s word (2 Cor.2:17). Unfortunately, none of these can save a man from hell nor change his eternal destiny. The apostles majored on the things that matter. 1 Cor.2:12; 1:23-25. They preached the full gospel. If the Bible is not the sole guide for faith and practice for a church and its members, man-made traditions and vested interests will dominate and they will not be able to accomplish anything tangible for God.
To be continued...
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