Title: What Saints Should Effort
Contents
What saints should strive for
Text: Acts 2:40-47
What did the early church strive for?
First, we made every effort to gather in the temple.
Second, we tried to learn the word of God by receiving the apostle's teaching.
Third, we made every effort to have fellowship with each other in the Lord.
Fourth, by breaking the bread, we remembered the grace of Jesus and made every effort to spread the gospel.
Fifth, I made every effort to pray. The early church was a church devoted to prayer.
Let's think together with the focus of the text on what we as believers should strive for above all else.
First, we need to make an effort to get together.
“Every day, they made every effort to meet together in the temple together, and broke bread at home, and ate food with joy and sincerity of heart” (Acts 2:46).
In verse 42, the members of the early church did their best to fellowship and gather with each other. Why is 'a life that strives to get together' important? This is because people who value gatherings have the blessing of breaking their 'me-centered worldview'. I don't know how great that blessing is. The spirituality of solitude is important, but so is the spirituality of community. Because a person cannot mature unless he or she learns the spirituality of the community.
Be an owner rather than a guest. Be a worker rather than a spectator. A good director alone cannot make a good film. The actors and all the staff must do well. Sometimes I see people who go to church with only one foot on, thinking that if they fall deeply into the church, they will get hurt. The body is comfortable, but how can such a figure be a blessing?
Everyone! Try to get together. I especially hope you can keep Sunday holy. The Third Middle East War, in which the Jews defeated the former Arabs, ended in six days. It is said that the speed of capture was faster than the speed of a tank passing by how quickly they occupied the huge Sinai Peninsula owned by Egypt. How was it possible to capitulate the Arab Allies in six days? Because the Jews wanted to end the war in six days to keep the Sabbath. We should have that zeal. Even if life or death is at stake, you must have the heart to live a life of worship before God only on Sundays. God will diligently protect the saints who diligently keep Sundays.
“Let us not refrain from meeting together, as is the habit of some, but encourage them, and all the more as we see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25).
Second, we must make an effort to read and learn the words of the Bible.
“But Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28).
Verse 41 says that when Peter preached the gospel, 3,000 people were baptized at once on that day. If all those great people were real disciples, Jerusalem would have been completely transformed within a few years. However, 'disciple' in verse 41 simply means 'person' in the original language. I mean, it was just a bunch. So, as time goes by, the strength of the church in Jerusalem weakens, and on the contrary, you see the churches in the Gentile regions grow more. Because there was no life after salvation.
The church did not grow simply because the number of members increased. Democracy is the truth of the majority, but the Bible often sees the majority negatively. Don't fall for the illusion of playing with numbers. Aren't numbers the thing that stupid churchgoers love the most? The record that many people liked and then lost is the record of the Bible. Aren't all kinds of people hiding under the shadow of numbers, such as fraudsters, money grabbers, people who sell the gospel, people who show up during election season, cheaters, and people who want to believe? You have to watch out for the majority. Sometimes be a courageous minority, be a confident minority. If you want to live an easy life, you just have to follow what others do. However, in order to live a good life, it takes courage and determination to endure even the sorrows of a few, and to keep one's dreams and visions until the end. Everyone! I hope that we can be the courageous minority to change the world. The Lord wants one watchful disciple more than those who are swept away.
What is the real blessing? It is to become a disciple and not belong to a group. What does it take to be such a disciple? It takes a willingness to be taught. According to verse 42, the early church members were believers who knew how to receive the apostles' teachings. You shouldn't just have a hot chest. You must also have a cool head. So, you should try hard to know a lot of the words of the Bible. You should also do your best in your studies.
A student in seminary always has bad test scores. When I said, "Study," he said, "I don't have time to study because I'm preaching the gospel and praying all night!" God would not use such an arrogant student. A student took an exam and knew nothing, so he wrote, "I have determined not to know anything except the cross of Christ!" (1 Corinthians 2:2). The professor said, "I know it well!" and gave him a loaf of bread. Studying is the most important mission for students. A person who knows how to receive instruction is a person with character, attitude, and right faith. But, does it mean that you need to have a lot of Bible knowledge to be taught? no. Receiving the Word with an open mind and living by the Word is a life in which you can be taught. Everyone! Don't make faith a fashion, and don't think of church life as an event. Faith, in a word, is living in obedience to the will of God. In order to obey God's will, shouldn't we first read and learn God's Word, the Bible?
“Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth, meditate on it day and night, and observe all that is written in it to do it. Then your way will be smooth. You will prosper.” (Joshua 1:8)
Third, we must strive to fellowship with each other in the Lord, to share each other's burdens, and to give alms.
“I set an example for you in all things, to work in this way to help the weak, and to remember the Lord Jesus himself, saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
In verse 42, the words of the early church members "breaking bread" means that they actually lived while meeting each other's needs. They helped each other in need. Such a missionary church will surely revive. Some people, frankly, have anxiety about the future. Even though I'm not particularly talented, "If you don't prepare for the future, how will you live?" Some of you may be worried and saving for the future. But if we use it for good, God will prepare our future. The church will become a true church when it exists for others, and its members will become a true member when it exists for others.
We must be able to cherish the weak. What were the 400 men to David when he fled from Saul's hand and hid in the cave of Adullam? They were the afflicted, the debtor, and the bitter-hearted (1 Samuel 22:2). How fragile are they? But later they became the basis of the Davidic Revolutionary Government. We should not take lightly those who appear weak. Please do not forget that taking care of those who look weak is pleasing to God and is the condition of true happiness.
“By this the fellowship of your faith works for a knowledge of the good that is in us and to Christ” (Philemon 1:6).
“Do you not give your food to the hungry, and bring into your house the stray poor, and when you see the naked you clothe yourself, and do not hide yourself from your flesh?” (Isaiah 58:7)
“If you give your heart to the hungry and satisfy the heart of the afflicted, then your light will shine in darkness, and your darkness will become like the day” (Isaiah 58:10).
Fourth, we must strive to spread the gospel.
“Preach the word; be persistent, out of season and out of season; rebuke, rebuke, exhort with all patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2).
In verse 40, Peter preaches the message of salvation. “And they confirmed and persuaded them with many other words, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation.” We need to share the gospel like Peter did. What is the primary purpose of the church's existence? It is to testify of the gospel. What is the primary purpose of a saint who has been saved and became a citizen of heaven, to exist on this earth without going to heaven? It is also to testify of the gospel.
What is the Gospel? Good news. Some people are not good at sharing good news, but they like to share bad news. If there are many believers who sleep when they hear the gospel and wake up when they hear bad news, the church cannot receive God's grace.
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. In the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, from faith to faith, as it is written, As it is said that the righteous will live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17).
“If I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, because it is something I must do; for if I do not preach the gospel, woe to me” (1 Corinthians 9:16).
Everyone! Pray for boldness to preach the gospel.
Fifth, we must strive to pray.
“Rejoice in hope, persevere in affliction, persevere in prayer” (Romans 12:12).
Few people in the world are without problems. Everyone has at least one problem. A lot of people struggle with that problem. I hope there are no problems. They say that if there are no problems, they will live. But the truth is, the problem itself is not the problem. The real problem is the inability to solve the problem. As long as you have the skills to solve the problem, there is no problem. If you have the power to solve a problem, the more difficult the problem, the more excited you will be.
In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah, the mother of Samuel, is a barren woman. It was a big problem for Hannah. But the bigger problem was that Hannah didn't have the ability to solve the problem. In short, Hannah was an incompetent woman. Then Hannah gave birth to Samuel. Later they had three more sons and two daughters. An incompetent woman became a capable woman. It was God's grace. It is the power of God. Because God helped.
Even if I can't do anything, I can do anything with God's help. Even though I am incompetent, God is capable. Not only capable, but omnipotent. What is the way to receive such power from God? Prayer. An incompetent woman, Hannah, prayed and became a capable woman. Hymn 263 verse 1 lyrics. “Although this world is rough and I am weak, I will receive great power if I keep praying.”
The early church members devoted themselves to prayer.
“They devoted themselves to prayer together with the women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the brothers of Jesus” (Acts 1:14).
What we should really strive for is prayer. Let's all strive to pray and become people of power.
Dear saints! We, who have met the last days, strive to gather in the temple. We strive to learn the word of God through worship and Bible study, strive to fellowship with each other in the Lord, strive to give alms, strive to spread the gospel, and strive to pray, so that we can go to heaven and receive praise from God. I wish you all the saints.