The Church of Acts
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
(Act 2:1-4)
“And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Act 2:40-47)
“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
(Mat 25:34-46)
[Prayer, The Important part]
The scriptures we have read declare the birth of the church and how the church was to operate on the most basic levels…….somehow between then and now something has come in and tried to change what God’s plans for His church.
Today there is a concept of church that is totally wrong. This concept has developed over the last couple hundred years since the dark ages. The concept is the mindset of church only being what happens when we enter into the House of God. That once saved all one must do is come to church once, twice or three times a week and do nothing else during the week for the Kingdom. I only need to focus on myself mentality. Its scary to believe that that type of mindset has made its way through the doors of an Apostolic church. This mentality needs to be left in the Roman system and its daughter denominations from whence it came, where the devil has deceived countless numbers of people into thinking that everything is alright. We all must be reminded that yes it still takes Godly repentance, water baptism in Jesus name for the remission of sins, and being filled with the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in tongues as the spirit of God gives the utterance, but that’s not all there is. There is some common misconception that once you have experienced the Acts 2:38 experience for yourself that you are saved and that’s all you need to do, but that’s not what my Bible tells me… There is a thing called holiness that will begin to develop, that’s a thing if you have questions about see Pastor, he the one to guide you on that not me, all I can tell you about holiness is that you have to have it because according to Hebrews chapter 12, without it you will not see the Lord. There is a thing called consecration that needs to be remembered, its when you decicate yourself to the Lord only and ignore the worldly desires. You see the church was not designed to be only a short prayer, a few songs, light offering, possibly a special song or skit followed by an anointed message from God and then some more prayer and song and then a dismissal and then nothing until the next appointed time for a similar service; no God designed His church to be oh so much more. But this is the mentality that has been dragged in from the denominal world, that that is what church is and here is nothing else to do. The Church of Acts would disagree.
This sanctuary is often called a hospital by the elders, because we are taking care of the spiritually wounded and dying and offering a spiritual birthing center to those that have decided to truly repent and make Christ their focal point. That’s great, I don’t have a thing against it, but if we are going to be a hospital we need to become a M.A.S.H. [Talk about memories of MASH 4077] MASH stood for mobile army surgical hospital. The Church if the LIVING GOD is a Mobile Apostolic Spiritual Hospital, and in case you haven’t heard the most important thing about a MASH is that its MOBILE……. The Church, or the called out ones as the greek text calls us was never meant to be stationary…..it was never meant to be stuck behind the 4 walls of a sanctuary, it’s a mobile creature that to survive must exists more that 3 times a week….
My God! Now let’s start talking about this Church of Acts. The Church of Acts didn’t have a stationary place of worship because they were always out and about trying to spread the Gospel. They would borrow the synagogues and convert their fellow Jew and then move on to the next town and spread the fire there as well. They would walk down the street and if they saw someone in need they wouldn’t cross to the other side of the street, no first they would meet the need of the soul and give that person the word of hope in Christ Jesus and pray with them until the sin question had been answered and THEN they would meet their physical situation whether it be hunger or healing….now that’s the Church of Acts. The bible doesn’t say that they brought their sick to the church to be healed, no they brought them to the streets because that’s where the true Church was at.
The devils knew who the Church of Acts was because they were the same at home as they were at synagogue, they were able to meet the needs of the people around them no matter were they were and the enemy hated it. The Church of Acts is a mobile unit that’s why the Bible says the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against the church….. Gates are a stationary unit……hey you can stand still if you want to but as for the Church of Acts its marching and is going to take back the territory that the devil has stolen from us and tear down every strong hold that he has erected, the called out saints of God are going to be on the move to destroy the works of the enemy, the bible declares our victory already so if you not involved yet its about time you do, so that you can become part of the Church of Acts.
We live in an “In Your Face” society. It is not good enough to be what you want to be, but there is an unwarranted need to prove that you are defiant of all others. From Ellen Degeneres to Ozzy Osborne, homosexuality and open rebellion are flaunted as the ultimate expressions of independence and individuality. If you don’t like it, deal with it. If you think it’s wrong, then keep your opinion to your self is the WORLD’s mentality and slogan. I am not a promoter of this vulgar in your face attitude, but I do believe that we need to refuse to be intimidated by a sin infested world.
It is time to be the most aggressive church in the city. The enemy is constantly flooding the minds of today’s people with his evil messages via newspaper, magazine, radio, billboard, telemarketing, clothing lines, grocery store products, television and the most widely used tool of the enemy the internet. He is constantly in our face. He is a master in deceitful marketing, he dresses sins road to hell up very nicely and also does counter-marketing against the so-called ’boring church’. Its now time to step up to the plate and be the church of the Living God, and say "In YOUR Face Devil" and stop being the apathetic Apostolics of the 21st century. We need to be ashamed if we aren’t using every means necessary to put the devil back in his pit. The devil has his vulgar t-shirts and hats and other clothing lines, but there are tons of Apostolic Christian websites & stores out there that have clothes that show not only God’s great love but also HIS Plan of Salvation...... when people see us they will ask us about our clothing and in essence they are asking for a bible study that’s printed on your shirt haha.
We as a movement need to stop being so fearful of the enemy and what he can do. If you are afraid of the devil, remember who your God is and what He can do. He’s Alpha and Omega and everything in between; when we put our full trust in Him, then He will use us to do mighty things. Its time as believers to not tight fisted with our funds and worrying about getting the next video game or music cd, or latest model car or even the nicest clothes. We need to worry about giving to the less fortunate. Proverbs 28:27 reads “He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.” God will take care of us when we take care of others. His word has maintained that we must be good Stewards of the finances He has blessed us with, that’s a known fact, but what about being stewards of our time?
The Bible mentioned some characteristics of the Church of Acts. They would take care of the orphans and the widows, what we might call adopt-a-block today. They knew that to reach their community they would have to serve their community. I’ve been pondering many ideas for outreach for the upcoming few months, none of these ideas are the average knocking of doors, they all involve meeting the people that we were called to witness to, we have to sew before we can reap.
Serving the community isn’t the only thing the early church did. They continued steadfast in the apostle’s doctrine. We live in a world that says doctrine isn’t important and all you have to do is believe on Jesus….. The Apostolic Church of Acts would disagree. It also said that they continued in fellowship. That means that we must stick together and be a family and friend to our brothers and sisters in the Lord, not run out and abandon them if they slip up or walk out. If we don’t fellowship with the struggling, the world sure will. They went to church. If they had a tough battle or a sickness, they knew were they could get some strength. They gave to those that had need. If they saw someone was struggling with some natural issues, and they had some extra to give, they would help out.
This isn’t nuclear fision. It’s just hard work and consistency. How difficult is it to walk down the street and give out cold sodas and a church card or tract? How difficult is it to spend some quality time with some underprivileged kids as a mentor or scout leader? What about visiting or sending cards to those that you haven’t seen in church in a while? Sure, there is sacrifice involved and the enemy will attack and try to hinder, but we’re talking about souls. And that’s truly what the Church of Acts was about.
The place was Jerusalem, Israel, in a second or third story room, 120 men and women knelt seeking the power of God. They sought Him through prayer and fasting. They were not worried about time, about money, how they looked, how they smelled or about their hunger pains. They sought the power and the promise, their master gave them. After an undisclosed amount of time, their came a sound suddenly that would forever change their lives and the lives of those they would meet. God entered in and filled them with the Holy Ghost and with FIRE. That day 3120 or so people were born into the kingdom of God.
Flash forward nearly 1,900 years later to an old barn being rented for $50 a month to a black man who was blind in one eye, by the name of William Joseph Seymour. The address of this Mission was 312 Azusa St, Los Angeles, CA. White, Black and Hispanic believers tarried together in unity for more of God than they have heard of or received in their churches before. Through prayer and fasting the fire fell once again. One of those present that day, Frank Bartleman, wrote “The present worldwide Pentecostal manifestation did not break out in a moment, like a huge prairie fire, and set the world on fire. In fact, no work of God ever appears that way. There is a necessary time for preparation.” Elsewhere in his book he wrote that it wasn’t until he had given himself to prayer and fasting that he truly experienced Pentecost.
Now look to this night, in this house. How is God going to respond to us? Have we tarried for revival, or come expecting another common service? I know that I have come expecting a move of God and the potential of revival. Jesus said if any two would agree on one thing, it shall be done, anyone else expecting revival?
[as the music comes]
Websters defines revival as “A time of reawakened interest, or restoration to use, acceptance, activity, or vigor after a period of obscurity” Tonight if you have lost interest in a God that cares or doing His work, He is offering a revival to you.
Some of us have come a point in our lives that we are tired of the things of this world and through Godly sorrow we need to find a place of repentance, not just asking for forgiveness of sin but turning away from that sin. The Word declares that you must have those sins washed away in the waters of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. The Lord says He has a gift for you, the precious gift of the Holy Ghost…..That’s when you will truly receive a passion or revival for the things of God. And for those of us who have already had this experience and need this personal revival, He is willing to renew us as well. So if there is anyone in the house tonight that truly wants a passion and truly wants revival, these altars are open. Please come and receive everything God has to offer you.
