Refocusing Vision

I want to focus our attention though, on only one of the aspects or responsibilities of the church which is laid out in these two statements; that being the aspect of Propagating or Winning.

As a corporate body, we affirm that one of the major responsibilities and privileges that we have is to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who do not know him as Lord and Savior.

The Word Propagate literally means: to produce offspring, reproduction, multiplying. We are saying that it is our responsibility, both corporately and individually to bring others to life, to produce spiritual offspring to the body of Christ.

Let us know turn to the first recorded command of Jesus following his Resurrection from the dead:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 28:18-20

It is of great importance that we understand this command very clearly. Jesus did not commission just the disciples who later became the apostles to this ministry of making disciples.

Rather, the disciples were the first preachers of the gospel, but as we go through the New Testament, we will find verse after verse in which we find that the entire body of Christ, both corporately and individually have the responsibility to make the good news of Jesus known to those who do not know him.

It is interesting to study the book of Acts and to realize how effective these believers were in communicating the gospel. Following Peter’s first recorded sermon following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost that 3000 were added;

The last line of Acts 2 states: “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved;”

Acts 5:14 “more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.”

Acts 6:7 “So the Word of God spread.” The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”

This past week, Dr. David Jeremiah was preaching on Acts 2 and through his research he was able to discern that within a short amount of time the church in Jerusalem had grown to well over a hundred thousand souls.

How Did They Do It?

Know as we look at the success of the early church, we have to ask the question, “How did they do it?” Lets be honest, the cards were stacked against them. The task was seemingly impossible.

Consider the men Jesus chose to fulfill this work, they were men who for the most part were not highly educated, whose vocations were that of the hard working laborers of the day; for the most part they were not influential, and could rarely agree with one another. Paul’s assessment in 1 Corinthians 1:26 “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.” This statement certainly applied to these first followers of Christ.