revival is unswerving doctrine. It says of these dedicated people, “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (v. 42). In other words these early Christians were willing to obey, even if they didn’t under stand all they were to obey. They were not hearers only but were do ers of the Word. They followed up all the teachings they received. They weren’t a step behind God on any thing. The second principle is that of unceasing prayer. The early church lived, moved and had its being on its knees. It moved all the traffic of heaven and earth on the twin tracks of prayer and the Word. This is not the easiest course to follow for most churches, but it’s certainly the safest and most productive. Prayer de mands both time, and energy. Prayer might not be everything, but every thing is by prayer. We cannot neg lect prayer any more than we can neglect breathing. The devil will al low us to do almost anything else. The third principle of progress is that of unbroken unity. “All that believed were together, and had all things common” (v. 44). Je su s ’ prayer in the upper room was that we might all be one. The epistles teach the same kind of unity. We are to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The body of Christ is a new creation where the old man dies and new man takes over. It becomes the test of profes sion. John writes, “We know we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren.” The church is more often destroyed from within than without. Dissent is good but dissension is evil. The fourth principle is that of unstinted giving. Notice verse 45, “And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.” No one has begun to give until he has given all. Giving begins with what we are, not with what we have (II Cor. 8:5). In 3
CHURCH GROWTH
by Arvid Carlson, pastor of Evangelical Free Church, Orange, Calif.
C hapter O ne I N A cts 2:42-47, the Holy Spirit through His servant Luke, gives us an excellent formula for church growth. This should be a pattern at which we look consistently today. While the Gospels deal with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the remainder of the New Testament tells us about the planting of the Church, as well as its growth and the explanation of its doctrines. Acts records the history of the early Church. Acts was not basically writ ten to give us a treatise on church doctrine. It’s a book of life and ac tion. We do not, and should not, ap propriate every detail of it. Yet, no where else in Scripture do we learn the principles of growth and success better than in Acts. The most impor tant factor to remember is that the church’s life and power is the Holy Spirit. The first thing of seven fac tors to note for church growth or
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online