Title Powerful Church (Acts 05:12-16)
Contents The Hebrew word for church is kahal, which means assembly or congregation. In Greek, it is called ekklesia (εκκλησια), which means “a faith community gathered to worship Jesus Christ, the supreme ruler of the saints who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and have been saved.” Therefore, the church is a community of faith where believers who have been called by God and have been saved by believing in Jesus Christ as Savior gather to worship Jesus Christ and fulfill the mission given by God.
Therefore, Jesus Christ is the head of the church, and since the saints are members of the church, the body of the Lord, Jesus Christ is holding the church as the owner of the church, so the powers of Hades cannot overcome it. In addition, it can be revival and growing every day, and it can become a powerful and powerful church.
But what does the word “powerful” mean?
It is by no means meant by human might or worldly power. It never means material power, physical power, or power of authority, but only God's power and spiritual power.
2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty, which breaks down strongholds before God.” I hope that God will pour out the power of the Holy Spirit to break the schemes of Satan the devil and to break the power of darkness through signs and wonders.
Many sick people came to the early church. He even took these sick people out of the street and laid them on beds and mattresses. The reason for this was with the expectation that if even the shadow of Peter passed by, the sick would be healed and demons would be cast out. In the early church, because God Himself worked, many sick people were healed, demons were cast out, and countless miracles took place. This was the power of God. This is not done by human power, but by the power of God.
Many miracles were also the power of the gospel. Romans 1:16 says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” Anyone who believes in the gospel will be saved. If you just believe in Jesus Christ, the work of salvation will be revealed. Whether Jews or Greeks, intellectuals, uneducated people, or those who have much or little, if anyone believes in Jesus Christ, the work of salvation will be revealed. Why is it because the gospel has the power of God?
And the most important thing is the power of faith. 1 John 5:4 says, “For everyone who is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” Those who are born of God overcome the world. Those who have faith that Jesus is the Son of God can overcome the world. You will be able to resist the temptations of sin, break the schemes of Satan and the devil, and fight the world, lusts, and the devil every day and gain victory. All of us living today must become powerful saints and a powerful church.
1 Corinthians 4:20 says, 'The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power', and in Acts 1:8, 'But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; Jerusalem and all Judea. and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.' It is not by force, not by power, but by my spirit, Zechariah 4:6 says.
It is not done by human strength and ability. However, if we receive the power of the Holy Spirit, we can accomplish God's will and do God's work. This morning, I pray that all of us will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and become saints who can do the Lord's work with strength. So what kind of church is a powerful church?
First, it is a church that realizes grace.
Ananias and Sapphira were people who personally witnessed the grace. As one of the 120 monks, they must have gathered in Mark's upper room. So many people must have seen receiving the Holy Spirit. They were people who witnessed the work of the living Holy Spirit. You must have witnessed thousands of people repenting and turning to the Lord to be saved.
You may have witnessed the miracle of Peter and John raising the lame begging at the temple gate. They witnessed so many miracles, saw God's existence with their own eyes, and saw God's grace with their own eyes, but they did not receive grace. He said he lived a life of faith in a church where grace is strong, but he was a person who had seen God's grace, the work of Hanani, and the power of the Holy Spirit with his own eyes, but had not experienced it himself. Then, there was no way to escape the judgment of deceiving the Holy Spirit and telling lies.
The Ananias and Sapphira incident was a punishment for those who did not understand grace. Christians must realize the grace they have received from God. We are living with so much grace. As the apostle Paul confessed, “It is by the grace of God that I am what I am.” It is by the grace of God that we are saved, it is by the grace of God that we come to believe in Jesus, and it is by the grace of God that we are entrusted with the ministry. It is by grace. Therefore, realizing that I have become who I am by the grace of God, I always thank God and come before God, saying, “I am nothing. I believe that we must become believers who confess, “It is only by the grace of God.”
In fact, the very fact that we are alive is the grace of God. Without realizing God's grace, relying on “my merit and my strength” and boasting will lead to living like Ananias and Sapphira. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” It is by the grace of God that we are saved. Not everyone is saved by believing in Jesus. Only when we receive grace can we believe that Jesus is our Savior and that we have been saved. Not everyone believes that God exists.
Knowing that God exists only intellectually, but actually believing that God exists can only be confirmed by experiencing grace. The existence of heaven and hell is only believed when one receives grace. Human beliefs do not believe in heaven and hell. Some people go to hell right before their death even after attending church for decades, asking where God and the kingdom of heaven are. Truly an unfortunate person. I pray that all of you will go to heaven because you believe in the kingdom of heaven.
When we receive grace, we can believe in everything, become saints who realize grace, and the church with many such saints becomes a powerful church. No matter how many members there are, if there are few members who have received grace, it is not a powerful church. Also, a powerful church means a church that is faithful to the body church and glorifies God because there are many members who have received grace.
Second, a powerful church is a church that strives to gather.
In verse 12, the second half of the text, it is said, “All those who believed were of one accord and gathered together at the port of Solomon. The characteristic of a powerful church lies in gathering together with one mind. Only when our hearts are united and become one can we become a powerful church. No matter how old a church is, and no matter how good the buildings and facilities are, if there is no gathering, the church is a lifeless church and a dead church. However, I hope that the church that strives to gather will become a living church, a vibrant church, and a powerful church. Acts 5:1-11 is about the case of Ananias and Sapphira. They deceived God and took their own profit, but eventually they died. Nevertheless, the saints were not at all agitated by this incident. Perhaps, speaking of believers without faith, they say, “Look at Ananias and Sapphira. He must have criticized the church and God, saying, “You went to church for a long time, sold your house and gave it to God, but didn’t you die as punishment?” They would have judged this by only looking at the phenomenal ones.
However, in the early church, there was no shaking of faith in the Ananias and Sapphira incident. We gathered more diligently to serve God. It is truly a precious belief. Their act of deceiving the Holy Spirit and trying to gain their own profit by lying was a representative act of the unfavorable. Living a life of faith means a life of earnestly gathering and worshiping. And when we gather diligently, we become strong members, and when there are many members who gather diligently, we become a powerful church. Dear saints, Congratulations on believing this.
The early church members gathered in the temple every day to worship God. In Hebrews 10:25 it says, “Do not forsake our gatherings, as is the habit of some, but encourage them, and let us do it all the more as you see the day near.” He was telling us to do our best to gather together. Saints! When we gather together, we can gain strength, experience God's grace, and worship God.
I mentioned this for a while during the all-night service last week, but I ask you to keep Sunday as a day of worship before God. Sunday is not a day for marriage and marriage. It's not a funeral day. therefore