Read Verses: Acts 4:23-31
Key Verse: After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
How would you like to experience the shaking of the ground because the Holy Spirit is moving in the life of your church in power. We see in this passage the Holy Spirit moving in the lives of His people and working through them. Why? Now, Acts is a book of history and not necessarily a book about what to do and when to do it. It records what happened, but what happened may not be what needs to happen in EVERY case. That's important! God teaches his people through historical movements of the Holy Spirit...and sometimes he will make people take notice by doing "one time" special things, which he may never repeat. For instance, the tongues of fire on people at pentecost. Maybe it will never be repeated...but we know what God was purposing. The same here....we need to be careful and pull out the principals which relate to us...today...in prayer.
The first thing I see is this, and I think this is a principal that is universal. The people were ONE, they were united. In verse 24 we read - "When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God." They had a purpose that was united together. There was a unity that existed in this group, and maybe it was always there. But notice...please notice...they were one. Do you want to see Holy Spirit fill your church...then get close to one another. Unity of heart precedes the Spirit's presence. You might say this...the Holy Spirit loves to fill places of worship where people love each other and have a genuine love for each other.
Think of the day of pentecost...everyone was tarrying in Jerusalem for a period of time...all together praying...for what - 10 days. Sounds like a good old fashioned prayer meeting revival type thing if you ask me. Spending 10 days together, pouring our their hearts in prayer, talking about what Jesus said and did, eating with each other...fellowshipping. There was an intimacy with each other in that place...they "shared" their life together.
Here's what I notice...some of the people in church who are struggling the most...are the ones who don't make it out to church regularly...they don't make it to church events...they don't meet regularly with people at church...they "FEEL LIKE AN OUTSIDER". Listen to me...if you feel like you don't belong...do something about it...BELONG. God loves to move in the lives of His people when there is a sense of oneness and closeness. Be of one mind and purpose. Look for the outside to include them, and if you are an outsider let people know you need to feel included...but then change and be included.
You been to churches...so have I...where everyone says something about someone. You're stabbing yourself in the foot...what, you think you can make a mockery of God's love in His house, and come home and all is well with you and Jesus. Don't fool yourself...if you can't be one with God and His people in His House...you are probably overly self-righteous and don't have a clue. Sorry I have to be so blunt...but look at the pharisees...all they were glad of is the fact they were not like the "others". When you DIVIDE God's house, it is not longer a place of prayer, but a den of thieves. The Self Life has no place in the House of God. Do you want HOLY SPIRIT to move in a powerful way...begin by making YOUR CHURCH a church that is intimate...that loves to be together.
The second thing I see is the lack of shame the early Church felt regarding the Gospel. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of God. Do you know what shame is? It's a feeling that you are broken and somehow unfixable. It's a terrible thing to experience...the belief that your different than everyone else and that somehow you are broken beyond repair. You envy others happiness, and friendships, and...well...you envy pretty much everything...cause you are broken inside. You think everyone else has the answer you are looking for. The same thing can happen in a church!!!
We say "If we did things like the New Testament church did things...wow." We have a collective sense that our "modern" churches are missing something...that we are somehow broken. The church is missing this or that...the preacher could be better...the music more uplifting...Not enough scripture being read...not enough tithers...sermon is too long...Mrs Patterson is wearing the wrong color hat. Oh gosh, it goes on and on...but I hear it. The belief that somehow Christianity has gone off the rails and isn't as "pure" as it was in the early church. Guess what? That's what Satan wants you to believe because if he can get you to "think" that things are broken...you'll be ashamed. AND WHEN YOU ARE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL THERE IS NO POWER. "Oh, I am not ashamed of the Gospel, I am ashamed of this or that or the other thing." I am afraid, the Gospel made those things too. It all comes down to people feeling something about church today is broken.
I mean, TV says its broken. Your non-Christians friend say its broken. I mean, even Ghandi says it is broken...SO IT MUST BE BROKEN. No, not it doesn't. The church has always been imperfect. Their leaders imperfect. Their members...imperfect. The sermon...imperfect. The blogs...same. We are an imperfect people serving a PERFECT GOD. Of course there are going to be issues, and those issues have been there from the start...don't be fooling yourself. Most of the New Testament was written to those issues. Now, stop being ashamed of who you are, of what you believe, of where you worship and start believing that the GOSPEL IS POWER...both in your life and in the life of your church.
Here is this passage their eyes were on Jesus. Read those verses again. They were all servants of the Holiest of Servants...Jesus. They knew the kings would rise up...the nations would rage...everyone would hate Jesus...and them. But they couldn't care less, they wanted to take on the world because they were convinced the Gospel had the answer.
Maybe whats lacking in our lives is we are unsure of the power of God to us personally. Well, then I have three things to say......First, get close to people at church and stop being divisive or a complainer. Secondly, stop saying this or that is wrong with Christianity and start saying that nothing is wrong with Jesus. Show a little pride for your Saviour. Thirdly...when you have those two points settled...pray and draw close to God in the presence of God's People. You'll find that when you choose to belong to His People and stand with them...your prayer life improves...in fact, everything improves. We are to be a people of prayer.
Abba Father, teach us how to get along with each other. Make me the kind of person that others look at and say "WOW, a man (or woman) of God, I want to get to know them." Fill Your church with the closeness that exists between You and Your Son. We want that same closeness between ourselves and our church family. Make us one as you Holy Trinity are One. Draw us away from the shame we feel about ourselves, our church, maybe even our God and fill us with Power Divine. May the transforming power of Your divine nature change us and keep changing us. AMEN
Key Verse: After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
How would you like to experience the shaking of the ground because the Holy Spirit is moving in the life of your church in power. We see in this passage the Holy Spirit moving in the lives of His people and working through them. Why? Now, Acts is a book of history and not necessarily a book about what to do and when to do it. It records what happened, but what happened may not be what needs to happen in EVERY case. That's important! God teaches his people through historical movements of the Holy Spirit...and sometimes he will make people take notice by doing "one time" special things, which he may never repeat. For instance, the tongues of fire on people at pentecost. Maybe it will never be repeated...but we know what God was purposing. The same here....we need to be careful and pull out the principals which relate to us...today...in prayer.
The first thing I see is this, and I think this is a principal that is universal. The people were ONE, they were united. In verse 24 we read - "When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God." They had a purpose that was united together. There was a unity that existed in this group, and maybe it was always there. But notice...please notice...they were one. Do you want to see Holy Spirit fill your church...then get close to one another. Unity of heart precedes the Spirit's presence. You might say this...the Holy Spirit loves to fill places of worship where people love each other and have a genuine love for each other.
Think of the day of pentecost...everyone was tarrying in Jerusalem for a period of time...all together praying...for what - 10 days. Sounds like a good old fashioned prayer meeting revival type thing if you ask me. Spending 10 days together, pouring our their hearts in prayer, talking about what Jesus said and did, eating with each other...fellowshipping. There was an intimacy with each other in that place...they "shared" their life together.
Here's what I notice...some of the people in church who are struggling the most...are the ones who don't make it out to church regularly...they don't make it to church events...they don't meet regularly with people at church...they "FEEL LIKE AN OUTSIDER". Listen to me...if you feel like you don't belong...do something about it...BELONG. God loves to move in the lives of His people when there is a sense of oneness and closeness. Be of one mind and purpose. Look for the outside to include them, and if you are an outsider let people know you need to feel included...but then change and be included.
You been to churches...so have I...where everyone says something about someone. You're stabbing yourself in the foot...what, you think you can make a mockery of God's love in His house, and come home and all is well with you and Jesus. Don't fool yourself...if you can't be one with God and His people in His House...you are probably overly self-righteous and don't have a clue. Sorry I have to be so blunt...but look at the pharisees...all they were glad of is the fact they were not like the "others". When you DIVIDE God's house, it is not longer a place of prayer, but a den of thieves. The Self Life has no place in the House of God. Do you want HOLY SPIRIT to move in a powerful way...begin by making YOUR CHURCH a church that is intimate...that loves to be together.
The second thing I see is the lack of shame the early Church felt regarding the Gospel. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of God. Do you know what shame is? It's a feeling that you are broken and somehow unfixable. It's a terrible thing to experience...the belief that your different than everyone else and that somehow you are broken beyond repair. You envy others happiness, and friendships, and...well...you envy pretty much everything...cause you are broken inside. You think everyone else has the answer you are looking for. The same thing can happen in a church!!!
We say "If we did things like the New Testament church did things...wow." We have a collective sense that our "modern" churches are missing something...that we are somehow broken. The church is missing this or that...the preacher could be better...the music more uplifting...Not enough scripture being read...not enough tithers...sermon is too long...Mrs Patterson is wearing the wrong color hat. Oh gosh, it goes on and on...but I hear it. The belief that somehow Christianity has gone off the rails and isn't as "pure" as it was in the early church. Guess what? That's what Satan wants you to believe because if he can get you to "think" that things are broken...you'll be ashamed. AND WHEN YOU ARE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL THERE IS NO POWER. "Oh, I am not ashamed of the Gospel, I am ashamed of this or that or the other thing." I am afraid, the Gospel made those things too. It all comes down to people feeling something about church today is broken.
I mean, TV says its broken. Your non-Christians friend say its broken. I mean, even Ghandi says it is broken...SO IT MUST BE BROKEN. No, not it doesn't. The church has always been imperfect. Their leaders imperfect. Their members...imperfect. The sermon...imperfect. The blogs...same. We are an imperfect people serving a PERFECT GOD. Of course there are going to be issues, and those issues have been there from the start...don't be fooling yourself. Most of the New Testament was written to those issues. Now, stop being ashamed of who you are, of what you believe, of where you worship and start believing that the GOSPEL IS POWER...both in your life and in the life of your church.
Here is this passage their eyes were on Jesus. Read those verses again. They were all servants of the Holiest of Servants...Jesus. They knew the kings would rise up...the nations would rage...everyone would hate Jesus...and them. But they couldn't care less, they wanted to take on the world because they were convinced the Gospel had the answer.
Maybe whats lacking in our lives is we are unsure of the power of God to us personally. Well, then I have three things to say......First, get close to people at church and stop being divisive or a complainer. Secondly, stop saying this or that is wrong with Christianity and start saying that nothing is wrong with Jesus. Show a little pride for your Saviour. Thirdly...when you have those two points settled...pray and draw close to God in the presence of God's People. You'll find that when you choose to belong to His People and stand with them...your prayer life improves...in fact, everything improves. We are to be a people of prayer.
Abba Father, teach us how to get along with each other. Make me the kind of person that others look at and say "WOW, a man (or woman) of God, I want to get to know them." Fill Your church with the closeness that exists between You and Your Son. We want that same closeness between ourselves and our church family. Make us one as you Holy Trinity are One. Draw us away from the shame we feel about ourselves, our church, maybe even our God and fill us with Power Divine. May the transforming power of Your divine nature change us and keep changing us. AMEN
No comments:
Post a Comment