We have been considering God’s promise for His people from Act 11:21, “And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.”(KJV)
We will consider in detail the life of the early church, and see what we ought to do, in order for the Lord to fulfil this promise to bring many people into His Kingdom.
• The believers were a praying people
Acts 1:14, “They gathered frequently to pray as a group,”
Acts 2:1, “When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. (GNB)
Acts 4: 30-31 says, “Reach out your hand to heal, and grant that wonders and miracles may be performed through the name of your holy Servant Jesus. When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim God's message with boldness.” (GNB)
The early church was a praying church. We read how they gathered frequently to pray together. They were all in one accord in prayer, and the very place where they met was shaken. What happened as a result was that all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were also specific in their prayer. In Acts 4:30 we read how they were praying that the Lord would stretch out His hand and do mighty wonders and miracles, and also heal the people, so that the name of Jesus could be greatly honored among the non-believers.
The call of God today to the church is that we be a praying church. A praying church is a powerful church. Prayer is waiting in the Lord’s presence. Only if we take time to pray as individuals, as families, and collectively as a body of Christ will God’s promise to bring in souls into the church, be fulfilled. Today the church is sadly lacking in the dynamic of prayer. We come together for worship and to listen to the word, but there are very few who are willing to spend time in prayer. Revival begins only when the church prays together. Moreover, our prayers need to be precise as was the prayer of the early church. We must seek the Lord to perform wonders and miracles through us so people will come to believe in the Lord. Only as we become a praying people will the Lord be able to fulfil His promise to lead the multitudes into His Kingdom.
• The believers were a power-filled people
In Acts 2:4, we read, “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” (GNB)
Also in Acts 4:31, we read, “When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim God's message with boldness.” (GNB)
We also realize that the early church was a power filled church. As they prayed and waited on the Lord that the entire meeting place was shaken’ and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit in our life is so that we can lead the holy life that the Lord requires of us. Without the power and the filling of the Holy Spirit we will never be able to fulfil God’s plans and purposes.
• The believers were a people who preached the word
We read in Acts 4:31, “When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim God's message with boldness. (GNB)
In Acts 2:14, we read, “Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means. (GNB)
Also in Acts 2:41 we read that, “Many of them believed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people were added to the group that day.” (GNB)
What happened as a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit was that believers began to preach the word boldly. Once they were filled with power of the Holy Spirit, they did not just stay inside the comfort of the building, but went out into the world, and preached with boldness. We see how the Lord transformed Peter, the one who denied Jesus earlier that he stood and preached fearlessly to the entire crowd in Jerusalem. The outcome was unbelievable. Three thousand people who heard the message believed, were baptized, and added to the church that day.
Each one of us is called by the Lord to be those who will preach and teach to those in our own neighbourhood, and the people we come in contact with every day. This mandate is for every believer. We are called by the Lord not just to be members of His body, but to be the ones who proclaim the gospel to those outside so they too can come in and join us.
• The believers were a practicing people who practiced what they preached
We read in Acts 4:32, “The group of believers was one in mind and heart. None of them said that any of their belongings were their own, but they all shared with one another everything they had.” (GNB)
The believers in the early church also practiced what they believed and preached. They all gave up what was theirs and shared everything with everyone. It may not easy for us do this, but the Lord gives us the Holy Spirit who enables us to accomplish this. Only because they put into practice what they professed, did 3000 people come to believe, and be added to the church.
So we see how the believers in the early church were a praying people, a power-filled people, a people who preached the word and those who practiced what they preached. Only if we emulate these four characteristics found in the early church, will we be able to have a definite impact on our society. Those in darkness will come into the light, the ones in bondages will be freed, people will be rid of their problems, those with infirmities will be healed and most assuredly God’s promise to add people to the body of Christ will be achieved.
The Miraculous Healing
In Acts chapter 3 there is this amazing incident of Peter and John encountering a man who was 40 years old, crippled from birth, left to beg at the temple gate. Day in and day out many people including the Priests and leaders had passed him by, and all they did was gave him alms. Not one of them could change his situation. When Peter and John saw this man, who also begged them for money, but they replied, we do not have silver or gold, but we have Jesus, and in His name you rise up and walk. What happened as a result was astonishing. The man who was begging outside the temple in Acts 3:2 was walking, leaping and praising the Lord inside the temple in Acts 3:8
To be agents of change in someone else’s life, we need to have what the believers in the early church had. If only the church functioned outside as the Lord designed it to, many who have never stepped into the Church will do so gladly.
The Problem from without
We read in Acts 4: 5-6 “On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. (ESV)
The ones who were questioning Peter and John were the very leaders from the temple.
In Acts 4:16 we read "What should we do with these men?" they asked each other. "We can't deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. (NLT)
Suddenly Peter and John were getting noticed because of the miraculous sign the Lord performed through them in healing the lame man, and they started to wonder what should be done to them.
In Acts 4:21, we read, “When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened;” (NASB)
As the great crowd that gathered, were filled with awe and were glorifying God for the miracle the leaders were unable to do anything except threaten the apostles and release them.
We need to pray and desire that the Lord will use us to perform mighty miracles through us just as He did through the believers in the early church. The reason God brought us into the church is so we can bless those outside, and also be channels to bring them in.
The church was growing in leaps and bounds. Acts 4:4 says more than 5000 were added to the church. In the Old Testament only a few men were chosen, and filled with Spirit of God to accomplish a particular task. But in the New Testament the Holy Spirit is available to everyone who believes, and the reason for the Lord’s anointing is so that the church will be built up. Peter and John were ordinary and unschooled men, but when the Holy Spirit of God filled them they became extraordinary men whom none could reckon with.
The one’s, who opposed the apostles, were the priests and leaders of the temple. The only reason as we can see was jealousy. When People of God come together to pray, there will always be another group that will work against them. The reason for this is that, while the Kingdom of God is being built the kingdom of Satan is being shaken. Jesus said the gates of hell will never prevail against the church. It doesn’t matter who comes against us, we have the assurance that He who is in us is greater than he that is in the world. We need to always remember the fact that the Lord who called us is faithful.
There are so many hurting and needy people outside the church, and they are hesitant to come in. But when the church of God, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit makes an impact, those outside will come in to the church to worship and fellowship.
At the end of it the religious leaders could do nothing to Peter and John, because the people themselves began to glorify God. The people became a security for the apostles. No matter what we go through, if we are bold and fear no man and do what the Lord says, the Lord Himself will be our greatest defense.
The problem within
We read in Acts 5:1-2, “Ananias and his wife Sapphira also sold a piece of property. But they agreed to cheat and keep some of the money for themselves.” (CEV)
The early church members sold their properties, and left it at the apostle’s feet. There was no compulsion to do this, but they did it willingly and with sincerity. However, there was a couple named Ananias and Sapphira, whose heart was not right before God but wanted to receive attention and recognition from the leaders and members of the Church. They too sold their property, and both of them connived, and with full consent of each other decided to keep back part of it. However, they pretended that they were giving all of it to Peter. The Holy Spirit of God revealed this hypocrisy to Peter, and both of them had to face death as a punishment.
They were so concerned about the praise of men, that they forgot that they were standing before a God who sees everything. Nothing is hidden from the eyes of the Almighty God. We must never ever give up or compromise our relationship with God for anything or anyone. This was the challenge within the church. They were seeking praise of men more than the approval of God, and so were covering their sin with hypocrisy.
The challenge and call from the Lord for the church today is that we need to be the true body of Christ as the Lord intended us to be. We must long to be a the body of Christ who are a praying, power-filled, ready to preach the word in season, out of season and those who will choose to practice what we profess. Only then can we most assuredly see the Lord using us to lead many into the wonderful saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis Esther Collins
