A Church Of Excellence

If a coach could recruit such players, he would have one of the best teams in the nation.

Every coach knows that he would have a winning team if he could recruit such players.

We all know that the success of every team is based on recruiting.

We learn that as a child.

Illus: Remember, when as a child we used to play the game, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Johnny over?”

There would be two lines of kids and those two lines would stand about fifty feet from each other with their arms locked together. And when it was the receiving line’s turn, they would say, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Johnny over.” And Johnny would run as hard as he could to try and break through the line of the opposing team. If he could break through, he could pick someone to take back with him. If he could not break through the line, he had to stay with that team.

To have the strongest line, you had to recruit the biggest and strongest kids.

If a pastor could bring together the best Christians on this earth, what a church he would have!

The nearest thing to having a DREAM CHURCH is the New Testament church. Never has any one particular church been able to attract such a caliber of Christians as the New Testament church we find in the Book of Acts.

This great church at Jerusalem is our God-given example of "How to do it."

In this day, when hundreds of churches are like dead batteries, giving out sermonettes to Christianettes by preacherettes so they can get out and smoke their cigarettes, we need to seriously take a look at this great church in Jerusalem.

I sincerely believe that God placed them in the Book of Acts to be a church that shows us HOW TO DO IT!

THIS CHURCH PROBABLY WAS THE GREATEST CHURCH TO EVER EXIST! There are many good things we could talk about, but let me take a few minutes and point out a few of the good things about this church.

We see -

I. THEY WERE FAITHFUL IN ATTENDANCE

Look at Acts 1:12-14, we read, “Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. THESE ALL CONTINUED with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”

Look at the words in verse 14, “These ALL continued…”

Look at Acts 2:42 “And THEY CONTINUED STEDFASTLY in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

This was not a START and STOP congregation. The Bible says they CONTINUED!

One of the problems in our churches today is trying to reach the lost because so much time is wasted trying to find those that profess to be saved.

WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM IN TODAY’S CHURCH?

It is a problem for two reasons:

(1) TODAY’S CHURCH IS FILLED WITH UNSAVED PEOPLE

Illus: Dr. Billy Graham said that one of the biggest harvest fields of lost people is within the four walls of our churches.

This is not to say that they are not good moral people, they just have never been born again.

The reason they do not live like NEW CREATURES is because they are still the same OLD CREATURES. (2 Cor. 5:17)

This is why you can not keep some people in church!

I sincerely believe that THE DESIRE TO ATTEND THE HOUSE OF GOD is one of the evidences that we have received the Lord Jesus as Saviour!

The New Testament church was such a successful church because their church was filled with SAVED PEOPLE!

Listen, the Bible says the early church had church growth, but look at these words in verse 47, “And the Lord added to the church daily SUCH AS SHOULD BE SAVED.”

If all the members of the church were saved today, you would also have people faithfully attending the house of God.

(2) TODAY’S CHURCH IS FILLED WITH BACKSLIDERS

A church that has filled it membership with people that have never BEEN BORN AGAIN and those that are BACKSLIDDEN is going to have an attendance problem. Why? Unsaved people and backsliders will not attend church on a regular basis.

The New Testament church was a VERY SUCCESSFUL CHURCH, and one of the reasons they were successful was because they had SAVED PEOPLE that were on fire for the Lord and they LOVED TO ATTEND THE HOUSE OF GOD!