What Should a Church Look Like?

 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” – Acts 2:42

There’s no doubt: The 1st Century Jerusalem Church was one of the impactful churches in history. Without it, Christianity as we know it today would not exist.

 

In Acts 2, at the start of the Day of Pentecost, there were only around 120 Christians in Jerusalem. But by the end of the day, there were 3,120. God’s Word is clear that the cause of this explosive growth was the Holy Spirit, who descended on the church just as Jesus had promised. Acts 2:41 tells us that 3,000 people got saved that day – and that was just the beginning.

 

In Acts 2:42-47, we discover this impactful church’s top five priorities. These priorities helped this once-tiny group of believers change the world.

 

Priority #1: Learning God’s Word together. Jesus’ apostles had sat under His teaching for at least three years, and Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would remind them of all that He taught. Learning the Old Testament scriptures AND Jesus’ teachings was a top priority for the Jerusalem Christians.

 

Priority #2: Sharing with and caring for each other. The second priority of the Christian Church in Jerusalem was fellowship. Take another look at verse 44: “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” Theologian John Stott writes: “Christian fellowship is Christian caring, and Christian caring is Christian sharing…. That we have hundreds of thousands of [poverty-stricken] brothers and sisters is a standing rebuke to us who are more affluent.” The early Christians took care of each other.

 

Priority #3: Worshipping Jesus Christ together. The Jerusalem Christians devoted themselves to “the breaking of bread” – that is, communion. But verses 43, 46 and 47 describe something beyond the ritual of communion. They ate together “with glad and sincere hearts, praising God.” Regardless of whether they were in a home or in the temple courts, whether they were taking communion or just sharing a meal, they lived lives of Christ-centered worship.

 

Priority #4: Praying together. Many Christians don’t see the importance of praying together. Many think it’s perfectly fine if 100% of our praying is done on our own. But Jesus disagrees. Private prayer is biblical and necessary, but so is praying together. In Acts 1:14, Luke tells us that the Christians “all joined together constantly in prayer.”

 

Priority #5: Evangelizing together. The fifth priority of the early Church is evident in verse 47, which shows the Christians “praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” There’s no doubt: The Jerusalem Christians prioritized evangelism. They reached out in compassion and love to those who didn’t know Christ, and they continued to boldly preach the Gospel message. As a result, more people got saved every day.

 

May we never be so preoccupied with learning, sharing, worshiping and praying that we forget to share Christ. The Holy Spirit is a missionary Spirit. And you and I must be missionaries both inside and outside the four walls of the church.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:30 and 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

The Patience That Can Run

 “Be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” – James 5:8

Two things are for certain: #1: Patience is a virtue, and #2: You and I don’t have enough of it.

There’s an old Hebrew story that goes like this: One evening the great patriarch Abraham was sitting outside his tent when he saw an old man slowly walking toward him. This traveler was obviously weary from his age and his long journey. Abraham rushed out, greeted him and invited him into his tent. He washed the old man's feet and gave him food and something to drink. The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or blessing. So, Abraham asked him, "Don't you worship God?” The old traveler replied, "No. I only worship fire. I don’t pay attention to any other god." 

When he heard this, Abraham was furious. He grabbed the old man by the shoulders and threw him out of his tent into the cold night air. After the man staggered into the darkness, God called to Abraham and asked where the stranger was. The patriarch replied, "I kicked him out because he didn’t worship you." God calmly responded, "Abraham, this man has rejected Me and dishonored Me his entire life. For 80 long years I have patiently put up with him. Couldn’t you endure him for one night?"

Great question! It’s a shame that Father Abraham didn’t have the Book of James, because it could have done him a whole lot of good. In chapter 5, James addresses two different kinds of patience that God is grooming inside every Christian: patience with people (also called “long-suffering) and patience with crummy circumstances (also called “endurance”).

Let’s focus on the first of these critical kinds of patience: patience with people. In verses 7-9, James shines the spotlight on a very patient role model—the farmer. James writes, “See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains” (v. 7). Honestly, some of us would never make it as farmers. A farmer has to wait for the right time to plant. Then he has to wait for the little seedlings to sprout. Then he has to wait for the sprouts to mature. Then he has to wait for the right time to harvest. That’s too much waiting for some of us. Shoot…some of us can hardly stand to wait at a red light for more than 30 seconds!

There’s no denying: Farmers exhibit a lot of patience. But so too do men and women in many other professions. So, why did James choose to single out farmers? Because their patience is active, not idle. Think about it. Farmers don’t sit on their hands while they’re waiting for harvest time. They’re always working: up before the crack of dawn, routinely laboring 10-12 hour days, constantly preparing for the harvest even if it’s months away.

George Matheson, a Scottish pastor who lived in the late 1800s, was blind most of his life, but God taught him patience in the midst of his trials. Matheson wrote: "We commonly associate patience with lying down….Yet there is a patience that I believe to be harder -- the patience that can run. To lie down in the time of grief… implies a great strength; but I know of something that implies a strength greater still: it is the power to work under stress; to have a great weight at your heart and still run; to have a deep anguish in your spirit and still perform the daily tasks.”

What an amazing insight! When your neighbor is trying your patience, what should you do? You shouldn’t just sit in your house and patiently wait for him to put his house up for sale. Instead, you should patiently keep working--doing what God has called you to do: Be kind to him; pray for him, and love your neighbor as yourself. When you’ve asked your boss for a raise, and your boss keeps dragging his feet and not giving it to you, you shouldn’t slack off in retaliation. You should keep doing your best work, because you are really working for the Lord, not for man.

So, Christians, Jesus calls you and me to live out this greater kind of patience. Don’t settle for PASSIVE patience. Like the farmer, practice ACTIVE patience.

And do you want to know something remarkable? The lessons God teaches us while we’re patiently waiting are, oftentimes, more valuable than the blessings we’re waiting for.  While you’re patiently waiting for your neighbor to change, God is changing you. While you’re patiently praying for your spouse to be transformed, God is transforming you. While you’re waiting for your boss to realize your true worth, God is helping your to live out your true worth.

Ultimately, God is more concerned with your CHARACTER than He is with your COMFORT. He is more focused on your growth than He is on your gold medals. He is more focused on your BECOMING than He is on your ARRIVING.

I believe that Jesus Christ wants us to enter Patience Boot Camp this week. Here are two training exercises that we need to participate in. TRAINING EXERCISE #1: Read Hebrews 11-12. Every day we are surrounded by impatient people. But as we read and meditate on Hebrews 11-12, we’ll be influenced and inspired by these good, patient followers of God. TRAINING EXERCISE #2: Instead of grumbling about annoying people, pray and work for their good. Grumbling doesn’t help us or anyone else. Like the farmer, you and I must patiently work for the good of those who get on our last nerve. It won’t be easy, but it will be well worth the effort. After all, Jesus is coming soon, and he WILL reward you for your active patience.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our live outdoor worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook. And we hope you’ll join us next Sunday, September 27^th, for Back to Church Sunday.