Take a moment and think about all the good things God is doing in our world, in China, in Latin America, in Europe and Africa- hopefully maybe even in your church. Really! Stop and think about it.
What made you decide to gather together with other believers? Perhaps a desire to learn more of the Bible or to come together to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Maybe it was your need for community and care that drove the decision. Perhaps it was sheer obedience to God’s commandment. Whatever it was, in the process, we discover who God is and who He made us to be, individually and collectively. Of course. we want to see many others discover new and eternal life found in Jesus Christ alone.
Our focus sounds just like what we read about in the book of Acts! Here’s a Quick Summary:
· Jesus Ascends and Matthias is Chosen to Replace Judas (Chapter 1)
· Pentecost Happens and God Empowers the Believers (Chapter 2)
· Peter preaches - 3,000 saved and baptized. (Acts 2:41)
o Real Community- Deep teaching and fellowship established with food & prayer
o Wonders and miracles from the hands of the Apostles
o Believers shared what they had
o People added daily (Acts 2:47)
· Persecution comes- (Acts 4) But more believers are added! (Acts 4-6)
· Stephen becomes the first Martyr- (Acts 7). And through this, the church spreads
· Saul’s conversion – Don’t Miss this: Ananias, a common believing man- is used by God to heal Saul (Acts 9)
· The church was strengthened, encouraged by the Holy Spirit and continued to grow (Acts 9:31)
· Signs and wonders continue, including Peter raising Dorcas from the dead, and more people come to faith (Acts 9- on)
· The Holy Spirit continues to fall on those who hear the Gospel – (Acts 10:11, 11:15)
· Teaching, conversions, miraculous signs, and persecution continue (Acts 11-Acts 17)
· Paul’s Ministry takes off as he travels the world. (Acts 18-28)
Thinking about all this makes us ask the question:
“From a practical perspective, what exactly fueled this movement?”
Of course, it was God, but He uses humans. Humans that were all together, in one accord. In the Greek it means they were all of one mind. Even with their unique personalities and gifts, they had a singular focus, a singular mission.
Acts 1:14 “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
Acts 2:1 “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.”
Acts 2:46 “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts”
Acts 4:24 “And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them”
Acts 5:12 “Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico.”
What happened next? Where did they go from there? And what happens to us next?
Unfortunately, all this success in furthering God’s Kingdom creates a problem. When God moves in power and people are being impacted, Satan notices and takes action. Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan (I John 3:8), but spiritual warfare did not end when Jesus conquered death. It will continue until Satan and his demons are thrown into the fiery pit of Hell (Revelation 20:10).
But we’re not unaware of his schemes! Bringing the temptations of self-focus and self-reliance, our enemy proactively looks to destroy God’s work, bringing human self-interest into play. It manifests itself in pride, suspicion, demanding our own way, fear, and even legalism instead of the freedom we have in Christ. These easily can divide if we let it. One of the first things to be tested is the unity of believers. Why? Because we are in a spiritual battle that impacts eternity, and if Satan can destroy our unity, our focus is shifted to the temporal versus the eternal!
Jesus’ prayer to the Father for all believers stresses the importance of unity. Look at John 17:20-23-
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
Jesus is saying two things here: First, a break in unity stops the powerful witness of the believers and growth in the kingdom. He’s also reminding us that people are the ministry. Organizations- whether church or parachurch- are only the structures that support the real ministry that takes place.
When Satan successfully breaks unity, the focus then becomes internal. The story changes as God’s people pursue what they want versus what God desires. The mission becomes secondary as people take their eyes off the goal. If it happened with the early believers, you can be sure we are susceptible as well.
How did they move forward and regain successful ministry and unity? Here’s four examples straight out of Scripture:
1- If wanting to look good is an issue, God Himself brings discipline, sometimes severely. Think of Ananias and Sapphira – Acts 5:1-11. Notice verse 14, His discipline brought growth. What about suspicion and the demanding our rights that bring division?
2- Factions and grumbling began when the Grecian Jews thought their widows were being overlooked in the distribution of food – Acts 6:1-7 – but more came to faith after the Elders took action to solve a problem.
3- Suspicion of others, particularly of those new to the congregation, can be one way to halt God’s work. Saul converts but the disciples are afraid of him (Acts 9:26). Barnabas steps out in faith and defends him. Saul/Paul is eventually accepted and begins to preach. The church once again grows. See verse 31. Growth comes when we invest in each other and are not threatened by the gifts god has given them!
4- The issue of circumcision threatened to divide the church. The need for wise decisions and government in the ministry also brings growth (Acts 15 thru 16:45). Legalism and the stronghold of traditions that may not be Biblical can hold back a church from being all God intends.
It’s often taught and rightly so that persecution brings growth to the church as the Gospel spreads, but here in the New Testament we see that godly discipline and problem resolution also brings growth. A break in unity stops the powerful witness of the believers and growth in the kingdom- but once restored, it begins again!
It has been said that the Jews turned the gospel into a religion, Romans a philosophy, Europeans a tradition and Americans a business. We are to be none of these! Instead, God has called us a family (1 Timothy 3:15; Ephesians 1:5; Hebrews 2:11).
When we function like a family as God intended, we will bear fruit as a family would: Peace, love, joy etc.- all the Fruit of the Spirit will be evident. People will be valued and honored, and God will be glorified. Others will want to give their lives to Jesus as they see real community, and God’s eternal purposes will be fulfilled.
May God give us wisdom as we continue to chase after His Heart and His purposes! There are great things ahead for us! As Paul encourages the church in Ephesians 4:1-3 - “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
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