Title: Make This Church Like This!!
Contents
When we speak of the ideal church, we cannot but speak of the early church in Jerusalem. Even in the age of the Reformation, the church said that it would return to the early church. And even in the history of the church, many reform or revival movements have come to aim for a pure and clean church that was established after the Pentecost.
Not to mention today's world church, the voice of the modern church is increasingly not the same as it was before. There is no church without conflicts and conflicts in every church, and since church growth is set as the highest task, very humanistic and secular methods are mobilized, and the prevailing idea is that all it takes is revival and the number increases. It's true.
The believers not only try to lead a life of faith as comfortably as possible, but now, there is a tendency for fewer and fewer people to devote themselves to life. It is true that more and more people want to lead a religious life without burden if possible, and the attendance rate of registered members is less than 70%.
As we look at this situation today, we want to find the answer to what our church should do in the future in this text. The early church, the Jerusalem Church, was established as a result of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
The coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was by the Lord's promise, and the Holy Spirit was the Spirit sent by the Lord. Therefore, ultimately, the church is the church of the Lord established by the death and resurrection of Jesus himself.
What we are convinced of as we understand the text we read today is the truth that the church was not founded by Peter, Paul, or other disciples, but by the Lord Himself.
One of the many disputes and conflicts in our church today is because we do not have the correct belief that the church was established with the blood of the Lord Himself.
So in any church, because of foolish thoughts about who pioneered this church and who started this church at the initiative, every church engages in noisy and unnecessary nerve wars, pouring out all the grace and breaking up countless times. There is.
As you read this text, let's consider 10 ideal images of the church that we saw through the early church.
First, in the early church, the lives of believers were changed through the Word and the Holy Spirit. Acts 2 was the most dramatic and surprising event. It is the gift of tongues, Peter's fiery sermon, and the movement of repentance of the crowd. But even more amazing is the change in the lives of those who have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Many people today want to experience the same phenomenon that happened on the day of Pentecost. However, the surest evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit is a change of life.
We should not be content with knowing a few things about Christian truth. Life must change. Life is a fairly broad term. First of all, a change in worldview must come. Materialism when you did not know the Gospel
I have seen life, the world, and the universe with a worldview or a humanistic worldview, but now I need to open my eyes to see life and the world with a God-centered worldview. When you change your thinking, your gait will also change. If you have the right beliefs, your worldview will change as well. And in reality, changing your life means changing not only your thoughts, but also your hobbies and habits.
There are many good hobbies in the world, but there are also many people who have unproductive hobbies and habits. There are many people who believe in Jesus, but know the church life, but do not change. Because there is no change in our lives, we cannot bear the fruit of faith, and even if we believe for many years, we are always standing still.
This kind of conversation should come out of our conversations with each other. I used to be like this before I believed in Jesus, but after believing in Jesus and hearing the word, I must be able to testify that everything is sorted out and I have a new life. Listening to the Word without change in life and not obeying it makes people more proud.
In order for our church to become a truly good church, all members of the church must obey the Word and change their lives one after another according to the Holy Spirit. Just as there is the birth of new life when there is pain and moaning in the obstetrics and gynecology hospital, we believe that the church will become a living church when there is the struggle to change lives, and the moans of pain and repentance.
The word ?쐒eceived the word??is emphasized in the explanation of this text. I have to change my life by not only listening, but also knowing and receiving the word of God given to me. There are many who hear it, but not many receive it as the word given to them. I pray that you will receive the Word as giving to me.
Third, an ideal church is a church where baptism is performed immediately. To be honest, not only our church but also the Korean Presbyterian Church are not satisfied with the practice of baptism in almost the same way. The early church in Jerusalem baptized those who thoroughly repented and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Salvation is not necessarily confirmed only through the rite of baptism. However, even though they lack and are weak, they baptize those who know that they have no Savior but Christ because they are sinners. It means humility. The true church must not only correctly proclaim the Word, but also correctly administer the sacraments.
Fourth, the Lord's Supper must be administered immediately. As I said before, most of Korean Kyohee do not have a proper understanding of the Eucharist, and the number of times it is held is only about twice a year.
In accordance with the Lord's command, the early church celebrated the Lord's Supper by sharing bread and cups to commemorate Jesus' death, that is, torn His body and shed His blood on the cross. Of course, there is no word for a cup in the text, but it seems to be implied by the word bread. The celebration of the Lord's Supper is the Lord's command, and it is a remembrance of His word and a commemoration of His death. Of course, in those days, in addition to the Lord's Supper, we shared a love feast.
It confirms that we have become brothers and sisters to each other in Jesus Christ and becomes the bond that binds us together. In our church, we only have the Lord's Supper twice a year, but we do have a love feast where we share bread after worship every week.
But even that, there are many people who are too busy to just pass by. Of course, it is eating bread with jam on it, but sharing the bread together is a confession that I am a member and member of this church.
If any of you have still neglected to share bread together, I hope you will join us now. It would be an unspoken statement that, through humility and self-opening, we became brothers and sisters together.
Fifth, the ideal church should have beautiful fellowship among the members. In this regard, our church is truly lacking. This year I want to wake up to this. Just because we know each other face to face doesn't mean we're dating. Knowing a name doesn't mean dating. Fellowship (雅ㅹ슋) means opening up to all neighbors and allowing each other to care for each other, comfort, encourage, and ask for help in prayer.
Luke, the author of this passage, emphasizes ?쐁ommunion with one another??in verse 42. Fellowship is not one-sided. It is about accepting each other, understanding each other, and realizing that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are not brothers by blood. But even more so, they became brothers and sisters through the blood of Jesus Christ.
We grew up in different environments, had different jobs, and people we had never met gathered because of the blood of Jesus. If our faith truly matures, it is through fellowship with the saints. Individualistic, egocentric beliefs are dangerous. I don't know when it will happen. While encouraging each other to comfort each other, we should put all our efforts into supporting the Lord's Church by making the clergy and our saints literally united in Christ.
Sixth, the ideal church is a church that strives to pray. The early church was a church filled with the Word and the Holy Spirit, so they put great effort into prayer. Our church is a church that lacks prayer. Of course, there are environmental factors in our church, but in the end it was because of my lack of prayer. When there is a prayer movement, the church is refreshed. Whether in the past or now, a praying church is a living church, and it is only natural for a living church to bear fruit.
Seventh, the ideal church was the church of sharing. The early church was a church of sharing to the extent that they could communicate with each other. The communists misuse this text and think in their own way, but their thinking stems from a complete misunderstanding of the Bible. It means that the early church voluntarily lived a life of sharing in gratitude for the grace of being saved by Christ while recognizing private property.
Therefore, it is a heaven and earth difference from the idea that communists try to level through violence. As a church of sharing, we should be a church that thinks about what we will do for the local community.
Eighth, the ideal church is a church that strives to gather. It is said that one of the phenomena of the last days is that there is a movement to abolish gathering. This movement is the work of Satan.
Luke said in verse 46, ?쏣very day we strive to be together with the same heart.??I think it is a precious truth. Gathering does not happen automatically, but we have to work together and work together. If we don't prioritize gathering in the temple, we get work every week, we get food every week, we get calls from friends every week, we have problems every week.
Ninth, the ideal church is a church that strives to sing praises. It seems that our church lacks hymns. Hymns are not meant to make people listen. We must sing the praises diligently with a heart that gives glory, thanks and honor to God who sees the heart with a true heart. There must also be grace through the Word and grace through prayer.
Tenth, the ideal church should be those whose lives are praised by everyone. In verse 47, Luke summarizes and introduces the early church, saying, ?쏛nd he was praised by all the people, and the Lord added to the number of the people being saved day by day.??This means that the saints should not only evangelize with their mouths, but also through their lives. When we serve as light and salt, the church is revived and grown.
In the name of the Lord, I ask that you receive this word today as the word given to our church and that our church and the saints will become blessed Christians who fulfill the mission of this age.