I believe today that the Lord Jesus would have me talk about the church, and what the church looked like at the beginning, and what it should still look like today. So I will begin with Acts 2:42, for this is what happened right after what took place on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus’ followers and they began to speak in the languages of the people who were present, and the people were hearing the mighty works of God in their own native tongues. And many people believed in Jesus Christ.
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42 ESV).
Devoted to the Apostles’ Teachings
We know what the apostles taught because their teachings are
written down for us and are recorded for us in our Bibles. And they taught
death to sin, turning away from sin to God (repentance), and walks of obedience
to our Lord, by the grace of God, via God-given faith in Jesus Christ. And they
taught walks of holiness and righteousness in the power of God, for the glory
of God. And they taught that obedience and walks of righteousness are required
for salvation and for eternal life with God, as part of faith in Christ.
The new believers in Jesus were devoted to the apostles’
teachings, and they were steadfastly continuing in their teachings. So, if we are
devoted to the teachings of the New Testament apostles and if steadfastly we
are continuing in those teachings, what should that look like? It should mean
that daily we are dying with Christ to sin, and we are denying self, and we are
walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands (New Covenant), and we are not
deliberately and habitually sinning against the Lord, but we are living holy
and godly lives for the glory of God.
It means our lives are now surrendered to Jesus Christ to do
his will, and that we believe in him as our Lord (Owner-Master), and so we are
letting him direct our lives, and we are not the ones directing our own lives. It
should mean that we are sharing the truth of the gospel with others
consistently and regularly, and not the diluted gospel so many are teaching
today. And it means we are committed to the body of Christ to help one another
to grow in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord and that we are
exhorting one another daily so we are not led astray by the deceit of sin.
Devoted to the Fellowship of the Believers
And they also devoted themselves to (steadfastly continuing
in) fellowship. Now this fellowship doesn’t look like what most fellowships
today look like that I have seen in local gatherings of the church. For this
fellowship is a partnership, a participation in and a sharing in spiritual
fellowship with other believers who are likeminded with Christ, for this is a fellowship
in the Spirit of God. It is what should be shared in common with other believers
as our basis of fellowship, which is our fellowship with Christ, by faith in
him. And it is our walks of faith in righteousness and in obedience to his
commands.
And so this fellowship should include being of the same mind
and heart, which is the mind and heart of Christ. And it should include us
using our gifts of the Spirit, by the Spirit, for the mutual and spiritual
development of one another, and in the areas of ministry assigned to us by God.
And we should be speaking the truth of the Scriptures to one another so that we
are not carried away by false doctrines being taught by men in their deceitful
scheming, and so we help one another to grow in Christ to spiritual maturity.
And we are to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and
spiritual songs, not on a worldly or fleshly professional level, but from our
hearts, and from the word of God, in order to encourage one another in our
walks of faith. And we are to teach and admonish one another in all wisdom,
which is of God. And we are to exhort one another every day so that none of us
will be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. And we are to provoke one another to love
(of God) and good deeds (of God), not neglecting to meet together, but
encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
[Romans 12:1-8; 1
Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:17-21;
Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James
5:19-20]
What do Your Church Fellowships Look Like?
So, is this what is taking place in your church fellowships?
If not, why not? Or are your fellowships mainly focused around eating food and
having fun and playing games and telling stories and talking about anything and
everything but Jesus Christ? Sadly what I just described in this paragraph has
been my experience with most church fellowships all throughout my 63 years of
those experiences. Very few included anything spiritual, but many of them were
totally worldly, and other than maybe someone praying for a meal, there usually
was not any kind of real spiritual fellowship happening.
And sadly, from my experience, most gatherings of what is
called church I have been to have not engaged the body of Christ in ministering
to one another. For usually one or two “official” men do all the preaching, and
a select few of qualified musicians do all the singing and the playing of
instruments and the speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs. And the one or two select preachers do all the exhorting and admonishing
and teaching. And the rest of us just sit and listen or sing along and when it
is all over we all go to our individual homes until the next week.
And, yes, we can have other believers into our homes for
fellowship and for the breaking of bread and for prayer and to encourage one
another in our walks of faith. But how many people do you know, if invited to
your home, would want to sit and share with one another what the Lord Jesus was
giving them to share, and would be okay with you exhorting and encouraging and
urging and provoking them to walk in holiness and righteousness and to follow
our Lord in obedience and in surrender to his will?
Many years ago we used to have these kinds of home
fellowships, but somewhere along the line they disappeared. Now when Christians
get together to fellowship, from my experience, it often looks no different
from people from the world getting together, for their conversations revolve
around all the same things that the people of the world are talking about. And
that is a sad reality.
Hear my Voice
An Original Work /
July 9, 2012
Based off Psalm 27
The Lord is my great
salvation.
He’s the stronghold
of my life.
When my enemies
attack me,
My heart will not
fear at all.
Though a war break
out against me,
Confident in Christ I’ll
be.
Of the Lord, I ask
that I may
Live with Him
eternally.
Hear my voice, Lord,
when I call you.
Merciful to me
You’ll be.
Though my relatives
forsake me,
My Lord God will
receive me.
Teach me Your way, O
my Jesus.
Lead me in Your
righteousness.
I will sacrifice to
my Lord.
I will sing with
joyfulness.
I am confident that
I will
See the goodness of
the Lord.
All the richness of
His blessings,
My Lord has for me
in store.
He asks me to be of
courage;
To be strong and to
take heart,
Patiently as I wait
for Him,
And from Him to
ne’er depart.
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