Does the church need a reboot according to Acts 2:42?
Did you know that God is still at work during the pandemic?
Do you know that there are no surprises for God with the global pandemic?
Do you know that God is not on furlough, and that God has not retired, and that God has no fears for the future of his church?
In fact, presently, many Christians believe that God has a specific plan for His church.
Different streams of believers come at
God’s plan in different ways although many people agree it has something to do with the book of Acts.
Some say God wants to unleash his church, that sounds exciting, many of us have wanted rid of our leashes for years to be fully free to serve.
Other believers say that God wants to bring a fresh revival to his people, a renewal, a fresh outpouring, and we say amen to all of that.
My own take, on what I feel the Spirit is saying to the church, is that the Lord wants to ‘reboot’ the church.
‘Reboot’ sounds a bit geeky, so, let me explain what ‘reboot’ means.
If you have ever been in employment with a company that has an IT department, you will know that when you report a problem, the first things the IT people usually tell you, is to switch your computer off and on again to reboot the system.
Very often this is successful, your computer returns to how it was meant to work in the first place and your problem disappears.
Reboot means to go back to the original programme and function.
So, what if God decides to reboot his church what would it look like?
What was his original plan/blueprint for his church?
Fortunately, the Lord has recorded his original plan for his church in Acts 2:42, and this is what it looks like.
The context: on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2, we see Peter preaching and telling the crowd to repent and be baptised and in response 3000 souls get saved and water baptized.
Here is what happened to the believers next.
Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship (koinonia), to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
The four elements of the new and thriving church were as follows, call them a, b, c, and d.
a) Apostles teaching (doctrine) = the apostles verbally communicated the inspired word of God which was then passed through the early church community. These inspired teaching of the apostles have been captured in the bible.
So, the rebooted church would have bible study as a main priority.
b) Fellowship = sharing lives together, this koinonia fellowship is an intimate sharing of lives, not just a club, a handshake at the door, or a cup of tea after the meeting.
Christian fellowship is a key aspect of the Christian life.
Believers in Christ are to come together sharing in love, faith, encouragement, and materially. That is the essence of koinonia. God himself lives in a dynamic sharing of life and fellowship as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Methodist preacher W E Sangster put it like this; the fulness of the Christian life cannot be known except in fellowship - fellowship with God and fellowship with one another.
Moreover, the purposes of God in this world require a social organism by which to express themselves. That is us, his church, his koinonia fellowship of true believers.
To love one another is not optional!
Jesus commands us to love one another in John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
The rebooted church obeys Jesus by loving one another
c) Breaking of bread = sharing meals together from house to house, not communion in this context. They all ate of the same food, the same bread as they recognised that Christ has brought us into one family. Eating and drinking together, is what a family does.
The rebooted church shares meals together.
d) Prayer = we communicate with God in 5 main types of prayer, which include 1) confession of sins, 2) praise 3) thanksgiving 4) intercession and 5) petition.
The rebooted church prays together and separately.
I understand that the Greek in Acts 2:42 suggests a relationship between the more spiritual activities of
a) bible study and d) prayer
with the two more practical activities of
b) koinonia fellowship and c) sharing meals together, like a sandwich in the middle.
We need to have all four of these elements to reflect God’s original plan for his church.
So, here is what happened next, when the church of Acts 2:43-47 did these 4 things (doctrine, shared meals, koinonia fellowship, and prayer) …
Acts 2:43 Then fear came on everyone, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together and had all things common.45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,47 Praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Shared love is a great witness to the unbelievers, our shared love is reproductive in terms of the salvation of unbelievers.
Beloved, Acts 2:42-47 is what the rebooted church ought to look like, and the effect we should have on our city/town, so let us get ready for God is still at work during this pandemic.
Action: Let us be reading and meditating on Acts 2 just so we know how it should be.
Amen
Prayer
Lord, please prepare our hearts during this pandemic and make us ready to be revived, renewed, refreshed, and unleashed into all you have for us.
We acknowledge our need for the church to be restored to its original form and function.
Help each one of us, your saints, to be ready individually, as a body and as a koinonia fellowship of believers. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen