The moving church (Acts 02:41-47)
Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard of.
John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). After the resurrected Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples stumbled in Mark's upper room to pray. As a result of our efforts, ten days later, on the day of Pentecost, a sound like a rushing strong wind filled the whole house where we were sitting, and we saw tongues of fire splitting apart like tongues of fire, and it came upon each of us, and we were all filled with the Holy Spirit. At this time, the number of disciples was about 120. This was the beginning of Christianity. The early church received a change of faith through the experience of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and became a true witness of the resurrected Jesus.
The early church was not a church that was moved by artificial power, but a living church that was moved by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then, we would like to examine how the early church became a church moving with life.
First, Peter, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, preached.
Peter's sermons were the foundational words of Christian doctrine, including Jesus of Nazareth, power, cross, resurrection, ascension, the Holy Spirit, and Christ. To an audience of over 3,000, Peter's sermons were fervent and solemn. He talked about the miracle that Jesus, who had been crucified and died, was raised from the dead, groaning, Eli, Eli, Lama, desertdani, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Peter, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, was captivated by the power of God, and the audience was overturned by the sermon he preached with power.
When we heard this, we asked, brethren, what should we do? There is no one who can stand before God's authority. Peter's powerful preaching moved our souls. Be baptized in the name of Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. By believing in the blood of Jesus, not believing this is a sin. Thus, if we repent of our sins, receive baptism as a sign of repentance, and receive the forgiveness of sins, the former sinner can receive the Holy Spirit and become a new person and become a person of God's power.
Second, the early church made every effort to gather.
We, who were overthrown by the power of God and became new people, worked hard to gather together and pray. The Bible teaches that we should strive to gather more and more as the end times draw near (Hebrews 10:25). Also, we were taught by the apostles. Those teachings came by the power of God, and according to those teachings, we learned well, obeyed, and put into practice what we were taught. In other words, they broke bread with a sincere heart, had fellowship with each other, sold their possessions and possessions, distributed them according to their needs, praised God, and received praise from all the people.
This is the movement of the living church. A church without the Word, prayer, hymns, and fellowship of saints is a dead church. However, we can see very well that the life of the early church is alive and moving. Because the early church was a church filled with the Holy Spirit.
Third, the crippled arose.
In Acts 3, Peter and John went up to the temple and raised a man who was lame at birth. It is the manifestation of power in the name of the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth. But the core of Peter's sermon was [resurrection]. Resurrection is the beginning of Christianity and the foundation on which the Gospel rests. The miracle that this cripple happened
Three witnesses appear in the case. They are the prophets of the Bible who foretold the resurrection of Jesus, and Peter himself who met the resurrected Lord, and finally the crippled who rose up in the name of the resurrected Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
These witnesses stand in one place. When Peter's one hand was holding the hand of the crippled and his other hand, standing relying on the words of the Old Testament prophecy, and shouting the resurrection of Jesus to the 5,000, 5,000 crippled spiritually crippled from the well at once it happened to happen.
Only when the power of God was with us, the early church could become a living and moving church and a living church. Today's church will always decorate only the exterior, boast only the building of the church, boast only the number of members, and boast only about financial skills, mogul believers, and church business. Truly, we must become a living church with spiritual revival and development. Only those who walk can go forward, and only those who work hard are active and move forward. It is said that the kingdom of God is taken away by those who strive for it. Let's put all our effort into prayer, the Word, praise and fellowship to become a living and moving church like the early church, a church filled with the Holy Spirit.