My friend Steve works for Brother Andrew, Open Doors Ministry. You may
have heard of Brother Andrew, as since 1955 he has been a smuggler of
international renown. His main commodity, the gospel. His main product,
Bibles. From crossing into Communist countries, he has literally smuggled God’s
word into every anti-Christian nation in the world. No word on the US of A
yet. But when visiting his facility, in the middle of an industrial area in
Santa Ana, you would never guess the magnitude of his crimes, for the nations he
smuggles into would kill him if he got caught, the Bible is contraband, against
the law there. But while touring the warehouse, you enter through the lobby,
where a stage set is of a church behind the Iron Curtain, showing a church
service, with lookouts and only a page of the Bible, as each member may have a
page, so if they get caught , the whole Bible isn’t conviscated. And a tape is
played, a mock raid, so you can see how tough it is to serve Christ there, and
how dangerous. It will give you the creeps, and humble you next time you
complain in your air conditioned sanctuary, with over heads and sound. But when
you leave, it really hit me, as there are small windows near the roof, with two
mannequins of armed guards, pointing rifles at the church members. Unnoticed
when you entered, they were there the whole time, watching. Someone is always
watching, and it isn’t always God. Would you dare to attend church services
under the penalty of prison or death? What is it that would make a person risk
everything to serve God?
Maybe looking at Acts, and the day of Pentacost, when 3000 came to the
Lord. Peter’s preaching, via the Holy Spirit, and soon we had a new church.
Talk about church building, maybe there is something here Mr. Pastor. It ain’t
programs, procedures, or processes. Only God will and can add to his church.
But in Acts 2:42 we find the foundation of the early church, and one in which I
was immursed in when I first was saved.
“ And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and
fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers.”
How simple,
yet so effective. Especially when you consider the facts, there were 3000 new
converts, but only one apostle to teach them. And without the presence of the
Holy Spirit, the church would have failed. Imagine 3000 first graders in the
Lord. And my experience can verify that. When first saved, the group I hung
with lived this passage. We stood by God’s word, we wanted to read the Bible,
were encouraged, and lovingly stood by one another, counseling in love. We hung
around with each other, shared meals together, rode together. We prayed
together, we thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship of each other, rather than that
of the world. Sunday was church, Tuesday night Bible study, Wednesday church,
and Saturday night church. Because we wanted to, we got to as opposed to had to
. And we grew closer to God and each other. It was as if Jesus was hanging
around with us, and was welcomed. We broke bread, both in eating and communion,
doing both in his name as commanded. And we prayed for each other. We were not
afraid to confess our weaknesses, our sins, or our needs. Then we would pray,
and watch as God answered them. One night that sticks out was praying for a
final bill for a retreat, and we were broke, as usual. We had prayed the week
before, and just before our meeting, a check came in the mail for the exact
amount-down to the penny, from someone we didn’t know, but God did. We were the
church, and doing what Acts 2:42 told us, and we were blessed. And most amazing
to me was the fact we all went to different churches, but were one body, one
spirit in Christ. True unity of the spirit, what Br. Andrew must have felt when
God gave him the vision. To blind the vision of the enemy.
But we had
become a family, the family of God. True some made stranger brothers, sisters,
or cousins than others, but we learned to look past that and see Jesus. And I
miss that feeling sometimes, as life interferes, but Jesus has never left us.
It is us who turned from him. And like any family,when one hurt, we hurt with
them, and would rejoice also. We would call one another to see where they were
if they missed, because they were missed, and loved. We reached out to them, as
Jesus showed us, just like he did to us. And we flourished, just like the early
church did, with all our troubles and trouble makers. All based on one simple
scripture, perhaps the perfect advice to give to a new believer, or to start a
revival in a dying church. It is all about Jesus....and always will be.
Again...
42They devoted themselves to the
apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the
prayers. 43Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being
done by the apostles. 44All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the
proceeds to all, as any had need. 46Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they
broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by
day the Lord added to their number those who were being
saved.
Let that be your prayer today. Enjoy the fellowship of
believers, we are the church. Don’t miss any blessing God has for you. For
many it is a sentence of death, while carrying a sentence of life. Let God open
your eyes today, and close the eyes of your enemy. We are called friends by
Jesus...that’s good enough for me. Look up, you never know who’s watching.
What is it about Jesus that makes it all worthwhile?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com
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