Acts 2 Churches

A few days ago I talked about effective church leaders and New Testament churches. Today I was reading in Acts, chapters three and four. Again, it provides a snapshot of what could be expected when church leaders and their churches are filled with and led by the Holy Spirit. Listen to what it says.

“They were very disturbed that Peter and John were claiming, on the authority of Jesus, that there is a resurrection of the dead. … But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so that the number of believers totaled about five thousand men, not counting women and children.”

About three thousand come to Christ and join earth’s first Christian church at Pentecost, after hearing Peter’s first sermon. So that Senior Pastor built a radical (and large) church quickly. It grew from 3,000 to over 8,000 in less than a year. Do you suppose Church Growth Institute (http://www.churchgrowth.org/) knows about this case study? Let’s continue with this story.

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them … ‘Let me clearly state to you and to all of the people of Israel that he (a man Peter had just healed) was healed in the name and power of Jesus Christ … the man you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. … There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them.’ The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.”

You know, as a minister, I’d like such words to be written about me. (Hey, why not ask for what you really want!) I’d like people to be amazed when they see my boldness for Christ. I don’t mind if they see that I have no special training (e.g. seminary background), but I would be delighted if people could recognize me as a man who has been with Jesus. That’s who I am. Now, let’s continue our story.

“But Peter and John replied, ‘… We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard.’ … everyone was praising God … Then all the believers were united as they lifted their voices in prayer. .. ‘And now, O Lord, … give your servants great boldness in their preaching. Send Your healing power, many miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant, Jesus.’ After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God’s message with boldness.”

Can you just imagine? Everyone was praising God! Nobody came in late, read their bulletins, checked their cell phone or Blackberry or sat and critiqued the worship leader. Instead, everyone was praising God. Then they prayed for their church leaders, asking God to “give them boldness in their preaching.” It would be like praying for our preachers today and asking God to give them boldness so they could step on our toes, offend us, disturb us, etc. But that’s exactly what they prayed for! And when they got finished, the prayer was so powerful that the whole building shook! Do you suppose this was the first earthquake in earth’s first Christian church? I doubt it … because then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit came upon them --- and they knew it. That is way too cool to even comprehend! Why does it seem so cool to us? Because we're not used to seeing it, that's why! Let’s look at the close now.

“All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had. And the apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great favor was upon them all. There was no poverty among them, because people who owned (excess) land or houses sold them and brought the money to the apostles to distributed them to those in need.”

So there were no church politics. There were no poor people in this mega-church, because those with excess sold it and brought the money to the church so it could help all the poor people. Perhaps even more important was whether anyone had excess or not, they knew that what they had --- all of it --- didn’t belong to them! It all belonged to God and they were just stewards of His vast resources. What would churches look like today if everyone had this mindset?

If you are attending a church now, ask yourself if it looks like this. If it doesn't, ask yourself what it would take to change it. More importantly, what could you and I do individually to live in such a way as to make our churches look like this?