ACTS – It's how we should act.....

I wrote this in October 2010....

If you read the first few chapters of Acts about the early church, you can’t help but wish you could have been there. I often think that of all of history, that is the most dynamic time for a Christian to be on the earth. Whatever they were doing, they were doing it well....they were adding daily to their numbers the Bible says (Acts 2 v 47).
The people who weren’t saved respected them so much that there was a sense of fear and awe. People in the streets lined up the sick so that even the shadow of Peter may fall on them. So anointed was he, so radiant with the glory of Jesus, that his shadow was packed with it too and it healed the sick! Those are amazing times. I’ve recently re-read Acts, and although I’ve read it numerous times before, something keeps niggling me this time round. I look at my life and I wonder how I can be as effective as the early church.
I believe the Bible tells us everything we need to know. Every word is God breathed. Nothing in there, although we may not understand it at the moment, is there as a filler. That’s the beauty of the Word of God. However, the early church had a disadvantage...they didn’t have any of the New Testament. Therefore we, having the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and all the revelations that great men and women of God have shared with us through the ages, should be able to walk in these great footsteps of the early church with ease!
There are a few simple truths the Bible shows us about the early church we should take good heed of as they are there for our benefit. In Acts 2, Peter gives a great speech. But it’s more than a speech – he quotes the word of God. It’s Old Testament prophecy that he starts expounding. The Old is the New concealed: we know that Jesus has been entwined and hidden in scriptures since the beginning. The OT is full of Jesus. Peter knew this; he knew the word of God, and therefore he saw Jesus in the OT. His great speech on that distinguished day was inspired by his knowledge of God’s Word. We can’t ever be effective in this life if we don’t cherish God’s Word. Proverbs says to keep God’s word in your heart, and also that God’s Word is wisdom.
So apart from a love and knowledge of God's Word, what else did this early church do? From three verses in Acts 2 we can get an overview of early church life.  I can barely believe that there is so much in 3 verses.
Let’s take a look at v 42 first: “And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord's Supper] and prayers”
Now if we look at this verse, this is what they did as a church:
o  They steadfastly persevered. That’s the fruit of the spirit – that’s patience in action. Patience is more than a nice quality. I often think that if faith is the substance of things unseen, then patience is the evidence of our faith. It’s what the world sees as we stand in faith. It’s really important to develop this fruit of the spirit and I don’t think it’s preached enough.
o   They devoted themselves constantly to the instruction & fellowship of the apostles – now we can substitute apostles for leaders. We need to devote ourselves to our leaders. As a church we need to submit to our leaders because God has put them there for us. They have a huge responsibility and we need to respect them. No, they won’t get it right all the time, they’re human! That doesn’t mean we jump ship or bad mouth them. They are divinely appointed and we have a duty to submit ourselves to them – through the rough and the smooth. That’s devotion, and that’s what the early church had.
Over the years as a Christian, for various reasons I have changed churches a few times, and there have been times when that has been right to do so. However, it’s spiritually bad to go church hopping. I see so many people dropping in and out of church. Making a commitment to a church & the leaders of that church is something we must all do as Christians. Church is God’s will for Christians. It’s that simple and you can’t argue against that. We need to devote ourselves to our spiritual leaders and support them if we are to see dynamic church. There's an important word there - "constantly". We need to be constant to our church and our leaders.
o   They broke bread. This is something that is really simple – they took the Lord’s Supper. I believe there are so many hidden truths in the taking of the Lord’s Supper. Jesus Himself demonstrated this. He told us to take the bread and the wine in remembrance of Him. There’s something powerful about the Holy Communion.
o   Prayers. There’s not much more to say here. How many times does the Bible say to pray? Not only to pray, but to “Pray without ceasing”. Now this verse is talking about what they did together, so we mustn’t forsake praying together as a body.
If we move on to v 46 & 47: “And day after day they regularly assembled in the temple with united purpose, and in their homes they broke bread [including the Lord's Supper]. They partook of their food with gladness and simplicity and generous hearts,  Constantly praising God and being in favor and goodwill with all the people; and the Lord kept adding [to their number] daily those who were being saved [from spiritual death].”
A few more truths are revealed here and I see these as our own personal mandates as the verse says “In their homes” so there is somthing we can learn here on a family and individual level:

• They regularly assembled together. There’s a need for us to regularly meet together. This requires action from us. Don’t forsake assembling together in a church setting. It’s God’s will for you to be in church.
• With united purpose. They had the same vision. This is important that they all had the same vision. If we are all striving for different things as a church, divisions will appear. We must have one united purpose. This requires a decision from us – we decide to align ourselves with the vision of the church we are part of. We then take this unity into our own lives and homes, and make it a way of life. We can’t be effective in church if we are divided and split and that also applies in our home lives. It won’t work as divisions are dangerous. Paul warns in Romans 16 v 17 “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.”

Now we move onto what they did themselves at home:

• In their homes they broke bread. Again, the Lord’s Supper is mentioned. This is something we should be clearly giving precedence to. The early church did this together as a body, and when they were at home with their families. It’s important to bring Jesus into our homes. This is a key part of family and church life. How many of us partake of the Lord’s Supper at home? I do so very rarely - mainly when I am needing healing. But how much more effective would I be if I did this regularly? Jesus didn’t demonstrate the Lord’s Supper in the temple. He did it whilst he was relaxing and having a meal. We need to heed this very important point, and regularly partake of the Lord’s Supper as He leads us.
• Gladness, simplicity and generous hearts. Now if you read the previous verse, (45) you will see we’ve just been told that they sold their possessions and distributed the money to the church. However despite this, they are glad – they have the joy of the Lord. They are happy with simplicity and have generous hearts. Now we never hear of any of them being in lack for selling their stuff and tithing it to the church. We’re not told anyone went hungry. On the contrary, I think actually they were blessed beyond measure. They understood that when we’re blessed of God, we give of that blessing. Then God blesses us, and we give of that blessing etc etc.
• Constantly praising God. How powerful praise is. It’s easy to do when everything’s going well.   Constantly praising though? That means praising when things get tough. Now, that’s when praise is difficult. David constantly praised God. When he didn’t feel like doing it, he did it anyway, and commanded his soul to bless God “Bless the Lord, oh my soul” (Psalm 103). We need to remember that this is an important weapon in our armoury and important to do when we are away from the church and going about our own lives.

• Being in favour and goodwill with all the people. To be in favour and goodwill with all people is something I aspire to. It’s not the easiest thing in the world. But they walked in love and that’s the key, and they were glad and joyous. Amazing what a reaction you will get from people by just being joyful.

I’ve really only just begun to see the wonders of how the early church operated, but it’s really all foundational stuff. These are things we should be doing anyway. Sometimes, maybe we just need to get back to basics and we’ll be more effective as His body here on earth. My prayer today is that I am part of Acts 2 here in 2010.