how these various organizations are being used. May we do as did those early Church members and continue in fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. C hapter T welve A s believers IN C hrist , we have the opportunity to live victori ously. We should be different from those of the world since we are in habited or indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Every generation has had people declaring that the church is soon to disappear. Founded by Christ, it will always prevail. Its purpose is to give out the Gospel. Paul had the privi lege of establishing local bodies of believers throughout Asia Minor. You see, the heavenly body of Christ manifests itself in an earthly man ner through local churches. Our in terest should be in winning lost men and women to Jesus Christ. Then we need to build them up in the faith. A true believer is one who hasn’t time for prejudice. Christ died for all men. We should want to see that this message goes forth. The communion of the New Testa ment believers, as shown in Acts 2 :42, shows them breaking bread to gether. This shows us that the ob servance of the Lord’s Supper is for believers alone. These Christians gathered together for the Lord’s Supper, and rightly so. It was a time of special fellowship with Christ. We need this communion. Prayer must not be overlooked in the listing of things which character ize the local church. Prayer moves God on our behalf. It’s something we desperately need. Acts 2:43 shows us that in the early church there was great piety and power. “Fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.” You see, a sense of godly reverence affects
the whole community. This was be cause of the conviction of the Holy Spirit. This is the way in which the Gospel was authenticated. The shar ing of goods with one another is shown in v. 44 and 45. It wasn’t com pulsory, but love and spiritual con cern. Those early Christians suf fered severely the loss of many things. There was a need for mutual protection as they sought to serve the Lord. They needed the church to stand with them. Next we see them in joy and anticipation (v. 46 and 47). There was a singleness of pur pose. This was the reason why oth ers were attracted to their gather ings. Believers were sharing the mes sage of Christ with other people. It was growing rapidly. Who can esti mate the spiritual lift a believer gets from belonging to a local Bible- preaching, Christ-honoring church? There’s nothing that succeeds like success. Reaching lost men and women with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the primary business of the New Testament church. We need the in struction, fellowship, worship, pray er, and mutual praise in such a pro gram. While believers in the early church shared their material goods, more importantly they shared the Gospel with those in need of salva tion. One word sums it up. They shared themselves with others. Are we willing to do the same? C hapter T hirteen T hese may well be the last days of this current age. In the light of this evident fact, we must be con sistent in our stand for Christ. Oth ers judge Christianity by what they see of the Lord in our lives. There’s no reason for us to live in the valley of despondency, worry and anxiety. We have promised victory in the Lord. We need to work for the Lord 19
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