7.Acts 2:45- “....they GAVE TO ANYONE as he had NEED.”
The 7th sign that characterised the early church was their SACRIFICIAL GENEROSITY! They were willing to sell their possessions and give to anyone as they had need!! Notice this passage doesn’t mention the money being given towards a sound system or beautiful looking building? Maybe this could be because the church wasn’t the building but rather the PEOPLE OF GOD, and that is why they used their possessions to PROVIDE FOR THE PEOPLE! In the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25:34-40, Jesus commended His sheep because of their generosity towards Him!! And how did they show their generosity to Him? Jesus said “WHATEVER YOU DID FOR THE LEAST OF THESE BROTHERS OF MINE, YOU DID FOR ME.”
Our saviour Jesus takes it personally when we as Christians help His followers!!
MAY THE LORD STIR HEARTS OF GENEROSITY IN US, TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST!
8.Acts 2:46- “EVERYDAY they continued to MEET TOGETHER...”
The eighth sign that marked the early church was GATHERING DAILY TO MEET TOGETHER!! In Hebrews 10:25, we are told to NOT FORSAKE THE GATHERING OF BELIEVERS! The early church not only met together in their LARGER GATHERING in the temple courts, but also met together in their HOMES for the smaller gatherings!
This is why we not only meet together on Sundays for the whole church to gather together to encourage one another, but we also meet during the week in SMALLER BIBLESTUDY GROUPS to keep each other accountable and grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus! ARE WE LOOKING TO GATHER DAILY TO ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER? (Hebrews 3:13)
9.Acts 2:46- “...ate together with GLAD and SINCERE HEARTS,”
We see that the ninth sign that characterised the early church was HAVING JOY! The Greek word for glad used here in vs 46 can mean extreme or exceeding joy!
Galatians 5:22 reveals to us that JOY is ONE OF THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT! It is only through Him that we can have joy when we gather together in fellowship!! It is the Joy that comes from believing the good news of Jesus (Acts 16:34) that we are able to share in when we come together as Christians! (See also 1 Thessalonians 5:16, Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 16:11, Psalm 19:8)
10.Acts 2:47- “PRAISING GOD....”
The tenth sign that marked the early church was their praise to God!! The word praise here can mean to “sing praises to honour God.” This is one of the reasons why we often start our services with praise and worship to Jesus!! (Psalm 100:4) MAY WE LEARN TO PRAISE OUR WONDERFUL JESUS WHEN WE GATHER TOGETHER AS BELIEVERS IN HIM!! (Ephesians 5:19-20, Colossians 3:16)
11.Acts 2:47- “....enjoying the FAVOUR of all the people.”
The word for favour here is the Greek word “charis” which can also mean GRACE! This is the same word used in Romans 12:6 when it says that each of us in the body of Christ have different spiritual gifts according to the GRACE given us!! So in one sense, “enjoying the FAVOUR of all the people” could refer to being blessed by the spiritual gifts the Lord has graciously given each member of the body of Christ!!
12.Acts 2:47- “And THE LORD ADDED TO THEIR NUMBER those who were being SAVED.”
This is a reminder that it is ultimately the LORD WHO BUILDS HIS CHURCH! In Matthew 16:18, our Saviour Jesus said “I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH and the gates of hades will not overcome it.”
Notice also from this verse, that the entity of the church wasn’t focussed on inviting unbelievers in? The Bible seems to suggest that the entity of the church was not meant to evangelise (ie. we were not meant to invite our unsaved friends to church to get saved) but rather we as Individual Christians are called to be the ones to go out into the world and evangelise (see Matthew 28:19-20 the great commission) and see people saved out in the world.
MAY THE FAVOUR OF THE LORD BE WITH US AS WE GATHER TOGETHER FOR CHURCH AND MAY HE ADD TO HIS CHURCH THOSE WHO ARE BEING SAVED!!
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