The early church (part 2)

Acts 4:32-35



"All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not therir own; they shared everything they had. ... There was no poverty among them..."

So the Believers had one goal, they were a team focused on the same thing. They owned nothing themselves, they shared everything. God had favor on them. Everything they owned belonged to God anyway, so they gave it back to him and it just circulated around and around as they kept on giving. I want that giving of a heart. I want Gods favor on me.

The early church (part 1)

I am really studying Acts, the first church, how they acted, why, what affect it had on them and what affect that has on me and the church today… This is the outline of 2:43-47

They Performed Miracles…

All the Believers…
Met constantly
Shared everything they had
Sold possessions
Shared proceeds
Worshiped every day together
Met for Communion in homes
Shared meals
Had joy and generosity
All the while praising God
Enjoying goodwill of all people
Every day the Lord added to their group those that were being saved.

So of the things they did, sharing is the one most repetitive of the occurrences. As a community, they shared, it is as easy as that. They thought of others first and kept nothing to themselves. But the theme is worship. Sharing is a form of worship, corporate worship in the temple is a form of worship, communion is a form of worship, praising God, and enjoying people. Then after all the sharing and praising the Lord added to their group all that were being saved.

That’s it. They weren’t out evangelizing, or trying to mold to the culture. They weren’t creating appealing services or molding to what was cool. They were just being with God. From the overflow of their worship people were saved. People were drawn towards genuine joy, and that is what they had flowing from them.

I want that flowing from me. I want to stop my “saving expeditions” and be with God. I want to see people saved through my sharing and worshiping. That is what the early church did, right?

re·viv·al –noun

1.restoration to life, consciousness, vigor, strength, etc.
2.restoration to use, acceptance, or currency: the revival of old customs.
3.an awakening, in a church or community

I was thinking about revival. When so many hear the word they automatically get the picture of some TV Evangelist bopping people on their head. Although that is a false impression, my mind played up that picture for many years. I prayed and prayed for revival. I wanted that special "move of God." But recently I have begun to question what it was I wanted...

I want to see God move like he did through is Son, while Jesus was on earth. I want to see miracles take place like in the book of Acts. And I really want to see union of community like demonstrated through the first church. What I want is for people to wake up, not to have an "experience" but to change completly. I want tired christians to have something to be excited about and churches to catch the great commission in Matthew 28:19-20.

So putting the two together, I do want revival. The deffinition of revival fits exactly what my list of "wants" describe. Its just that now, the revival I want is a much more accurate protrayal in my mind. And I want it all the more. I want restoration of life; in me, the my friends, in my church. I want awakening. But most of all, I want revival of old customs. I want the book of Acts to be apparant in my every day life. What was it that they did to prepare for that? I want it. I want those old customs revived.