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At The Church Was Like When The Church Was Like When It Was Like It Was Sup
Contributed by Dennis Selfridge on Jul 21, 2003 (message contributor)
Summary: What the Church should be like today
THE POEM
I knelt to pray but not for long,
I had too much to do.
I had to hurry and get to work.
For bills would soon be due.
So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease.
All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer.
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They’d laugh at me I’d fear.
No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry,
No time to give to souls in need
But at last the time, the time to die.
I went before the Lord, you see,
I stood with downcast eyes.
For in his hands God held a book;
It was the book of life.
God looked into his book and said
"Your name I cannot find.
I once was going to write it down...
But never found the time"
What the Church was like when the Church was like when it was like it was supposed to be the Church
1. A place where the group was experiencing God. A deep sense of awe came over them all. A feeling of fear came over everyone as many amazing things and miraculous signs happened.
Just think for a moment if you came to this Church and you believed that God was going to do something but you were not sure what it would be? In Chap. 3 they were going to a prayer meeting and they saw a need of a lame man. “What we do have we give you in the name of Jesus, ‘Rise up and walk.” Chap. 4 and after they had prayed the place they were at shook.” 5 When two people lied to God they were struck dead instantly. CH 8 There was a revival and a man from Ethiopia was saved. Philip was transported by the Holy Spirit through the air to another place after he baptized him. CH 12 Peter was arrested and would be killed the next day. The Church met and peter was released from prison by an angel. They could not even imagine that God had done this and he had to knock more than once to get into their prayer meeting.
The important aspect here is that when God is in Church we can not act or pretend or keep a mask on. God makes things real.
What would it be like if everyone came to Church with this in their thinking: “I am excited about going to church for God is going to do something and I will be there to experience it?”
God is not retired and He never takes a vacation. If you are having a problem it is not God but the Church of which the Bible says are the believers. That is something we can think for this week but we had better watch out when we come to church next week for if this gets a hold of us church will never be the same.
Look at what vs. 42 says, “The disciples were devoted to the teachings of the apostles, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” A. They were faithful to continue. There was always a growing hunger and thirst for God. The Bible was important and they wanted to learn all they could so their lives would reflect the presence of Christ to others. B. Faithful to a group of people. They met for fellowship which meant something more than just a club meeting. They shared needs and prayed and cared for each other. C. Faithful to remembrance. They broke bread in memory of what Christ had done for them on the cross and what that meant in bringing them together. Without the cross we have no meaning to gather together like we do. D. Faithful for Connecting. They were there for prayer and meeting God. If God did not show up there would be no church. Let us pause to think on that statement.
2. A place where people were caring for each other. “All the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people.” “At the same time, they praised God and had the good will of all the people.” They were a people who were committed to each other. They share everything had together and no one lacked anything. Wow what a place to be. I believe here is shown a church that shared their material possessions so all had clothes and food and shelter. If someone lacked someone else would simply sell something and give money to help another. It also was church in which they were able to share freely prayer requests that others to time to pray about. They were able to ask questions about spiritual things were able to leave with a better understanding for living right for Christ. They were joyful and humble. They took time to praise God. I mentioned this last week as being something that we know is the will of God. All the people enjoyed being with each other.
