Paul Name
We are currently working through the book of Acts, and see there a church that grew in numbers and spread across the world. Our overarching question is: What can we learn from them? In this post the more specific question is: What were their priorities? What were the concerns that came before all others? What were the activities, practices, or relationships that they put genuine effort and time into?
Jesus’ mother was part of the group. Her own attitude attitude is wonderfully summed up in two comments that she herself had made. She is willing to do what the Lord says to her, and urges others to do the same:
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38)
…and…
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5)
This same attitude is adopted by the whole group. In Acts 1:4 Jesus promised they would receive the Holy Spirit who would equip them to be his witnesses. But first he instructed them to remain in Jerusalem until they had received this promise. And their attitude is seen in the first few words of our passage:
Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem (Acts 1:12)
It’s not complicated. They simply did what Jesus had told them to do. And soon they would receive what he had promised. The opposite does not make sense. Why should we expect to receive that power and engage in effective action if we ignore Jesus’ instructions?
If we want to be a growing church we really must do what Jesus tells us to.
We see these first Christians repeatedly refer to the Bible as they make decisions and explain what is happening. Peter does this in verse 16, twice in verse 20, and also in 2:26.
We deliberately included the Bible in our church logo as a reminder of where our beliefs come from.
As a church we are a member of the Evangelical Alliance, which includes this phrase in its statement of faith:
The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God – fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.
We provide Bibles for people to refer to during our sermons. We encourage people to read it so that our beliefs are based on what the Bible says rather than drawn from the emphases of news outlets, the plotlines of films and programs, or the half-truths of social media memes.
If we want to be a growing church we need to ensure that our beliefs are based on the Bible.
Winston Churchill famously said that “…democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms.”
But while democracy might be a good system for politics, it is not the right approach for our faith. Democracy simply means the power and will of the people.
Democracy stopped Moses from leading people into the promised land. Democracy condemned Jesus to a cross. The people spoke, the popular vote was cast, and Pilate executed the will of the people.
By contrast, theocracy declares that it is God who is in charge, not the people. Theocracy asks: what is God’s will? And then it acts accordingly. And we see this in action as the disciples look for someone to fill the vacancy that was created by Judas Iscariot’s suicide.
They noted the criteria. This needed to be someone who had been with Jesus from the beginning, and who had witnessed the resurrection (verses 21-23).
They prayed. They asked the Lord to show them which person was his choice for the role (verses 24-25).
They cast lots. …which seems strange! But this was in line with Proverbs 16:33, and was a biblical method for taking personal whims and preferences out of the equation (verse 26). Now that the Spirit has been poured out at Pentecost the church can receive revelation through him.
Fundamentally the church’s attitude was to ask God to reveal who he wanted in the role, and then to appoint that person. It was not about them having a ‘vote’ – it was about God’s will being done.
If we want to be a growing church then we need to practice theocracy rather than democracy.
Praying People
“They all joined together constantly in prayer.” (Acts 1:14)
They were together …this was not just personal, individualistic praying. They were all involved, not just a small minority who could be bothered. They were constantly doing this, not just occasionally when convenient.
They sought guidance, wanting to know what is God’s will in their siutaion:
Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen… (Acts 1:24)
John Calvin points out the fact that…
“…nothing is promised to be expected from the Lord, which we are not also bidden to ask of him in prayers.
…we dig up by prayer the treasures that were pointed out by the Lord’s gospel, and which our faith has gazed upon.”
If we want to be a growing church then we need to be praying people.
Our church logo also includes a dove – a reminder of the importance of the Holy Spirit for our faith. We could equally have chosen a flame of fire, or a strong wind.
When the Holy Spirit came he was powerful, unpredictable and unconstrained. These people had never experienced this before, but it was what Jesus had promed them. And so they welcomed the Holy Spirit’s presence and power. This is how they were empowered to be witnesses for Jesus!
Their experience at the beginning has been the experience of the church throughout history. Revival comes when people know the Holy Spirit and know how to cooperate with him. As the author Jessie Penn-Lewis pointed out:
Such an infilling of the Spirit was the cause not only of the Revival in Wales in 1904-5, but of all other Revivals in the history of the world.
At the start of Acts we see evidence of people welcoming the Holy Spirit…
In their waiting as instructed, ready for what Jesus had promised
In their explanation that this is what the Bible anticipated (Acts 2:17-18)
In the fact that all of them were together, ready for when the Spirit came
If we want to be a growing church then we need to be welcoming the Holy Spirit.
This is simply what we see in the life of the early church as they began to grow. These were their priorities. Are they mine?
