Element Church Insider

This is my final post on four things I’ve seen in Acts that pertain to church and thought I’d jot them down.  I just finished Acts in my devotions today and think I might read it again.  I usually go right on but I’ve been getting so much out of it I might just stay here.  In no way are these the ONLY four things, but just four things that REALLY stood out to me this time through.

#1   If you don’t want problems…don’t grow

#2  If you don’t want opposition…don’t preach the Gospel

#3  If you don’t like change…don’t pray for God to move

#4  If you don’t like to share…don’t come out and play HA!  How you like that for a lesson.  The generosity, availability and commitment of the early Christians is UNMATCHED in church history.  If you say you want “A church like Acts” I hope you know what you are talking about.  NOTHING was held above Christ or the Church to the early Christians.  NOTHING!  Specifically, three things that the early church shared that I think we can take a lesson from.

A.  Their time —  Acts 2:46-47 says  “They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity⁴⁷ all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”  EVERY DAY?  Wow!  I have a hard time giving my Sunday and one night for Life Group sometimes.  I’m not saying we SHOULD be meeting every day, but THAT was the Acts church.  They shared their TIME!  They didn’t just meet in the temple to worship, they met in homes for communion, AND met together to share meals.  What was the result?  EACH DAY the Lord added to their number those were were being saved.  WOW!  I laugh at how many people can’t wait to get out of the church building once you say Amen.  And how busy we get that we can’t be involved in ONE home group to grow with other like minded Christians.  The Acts church willingly AND joyfully gave of their time.

B.  Their talents — Acts 6:2-5 says ^“2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, ‘We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. ³ And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. ⁴ Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.’ ⁵ Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following:”  The people were empowered to BE the church and they DID IT!  The apostles chose 7 men to help distribute the food, but (reading between the lines), if the Apostles JUST did the preaching and teaching it means that EVERYONE else was using their talents for the church as well.  They were SERVING where God had gifted them AND where they were needed.  How can I be so sure that everyone was willing to share their talents?  Because of the result in 6:7  “So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.” That wouldn’t have happened with out sharing their talents.

C.  Their treasure — The early church had their treasure already…CHRIST!  EVERYTHING else paled in comparison, EVEN money.  “The New Testament doesn’t talk about tithing so I don’t have to!”  Actually it does, but that is another post!  SO let’s play your game.  Maybe you’re right, it doesn’t say we should tithe.  The NT actually goes beyond tithing.  The early church gave EVERYTHING!  Acts 2:44-5 says that they shared everything they had. ^“45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.”  Acts 4:32 says “And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.”  Hmm, what they owned was not their own.  Now that is a concept we need to grasp better.  Then v. 34-35 says ³⁴ There were NO NEEDY PEOPLE AMONG them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them ³⁵ and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.”  The early church didn’t give 10%, they gave EVERYTHING because they KNEW it wasn’t theirs to begin with.  You should be thankful to give only 10%.

If you don’t like to share…don’t come out and play.  BUT…but if you want to see the church grow, expand and reach more people.  Come out and play!  As near as I can tell, the GIVING of the early church brought JOY, EXCITEMENT and CONTENTMENT!  They LOVED giving, and God rewarded them for it.  When we say we want an Acts type church, we better be willing to give of our time, our talents and our treasure.

Trying to give,

Jeff