Acts 2:42-47 The Fellowship of the Believers
They devoted themselves to the
apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone
was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All
the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property
and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to
meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate
together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of
all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being
saved.
I was reading in Acts about the time of Pentecost and imaging
how it must have felt, the spiritual energy, the fellowship among the Believers
and those new converts. I find it exciting and I’m a wee bit envious of the
experience. I know how I felt when I first totally committed my life to the
Lord and I can relive the place in time when I was baptized with the Holy Spirit.
It was a time of elation and awakening. I have my personal experience as a
jumping off point of reference but to have been in the crowd when the masses
were as one…I can only imagine with awe.
We have times of fellowship opportunities in our church
as do you. It is sad to me that people tend to gravitate to the same small
group of people when we have these activities, especially when we ‘break bread’
together. They sit with the same folks every time, usually their family. When I
think about the time of Pentecost, I see crowds of people milling and mingling
about, sharing their joy with conviction and enthusiasm. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with
awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers
were together and had everything in common.” Can’t you just see it?!
Their minds and
hearts were joined in harmony and the joy of the Lord. His heart was
their heart. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who
had need. This was not the
cult-like mentality that false prophets use to strip people of possessions for
their own greed but a genuine common cause to help those in need. Sadly, too
many people, even Christians, are indifferent or consider themselves too busy to
lend a hand and turn their heads to the needs of others. If they don’t see it,
it can’t bother them. Oh, how I long for the compassion those new believers felt
to be resurrected in today’s Christian church.
Every
day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in
their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and
enjoying the favor of all the people. There was a time when we had Friday night gatherings in our home on a
regular basis. We broke bread together, sang and praised the Lord, and studied
scripture. It was a beautiful time of fellowship. Sadly though, for some, their
minds turned from a gathering to worship to focusing on the meal. Oh, they
worshipped alright but you have no idea how disheartening it became when what I
was serving became an issue over being together. The breaking of bread turned from
enjoying a simple custom into constant requests for specific food items from
people consuming a lot but contributing very little. Our Friday nights of
worship ended with sad hearts filled with frustration not glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the
favor of all the people.
I can’t help but
believe that …the Lord added to their number daily
those who were being saved was a direct result of …They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Where did all that
go? What are we doing as individuals and the Church to bring about a revival of
Pentecostal proportions? What environment are we personally and corporately
creating to foster in such an atmosphere of contagious spirit-filled
indwelling? Does our daily walk draw people in closer to see what it is we
possess that brings such joy and praise? Do we even reflect joy and praise? Do
we break bread in our homes and eat together with
glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people?
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