Filled III: A New Thing


Several years ago studies were conducted among former American prisoners of war to determine what methods used by the enemy had been most effective in breaking their spirit. The findings revealed that they did not break down from physical deprivation and torture as quickly as they did from solitary confinement or from disrupted friendships caused by frequent changing of personnel. Attempts to get the prisoners divided in their attitudes toward one another proved to be the most successful method of discouraging them. It was further learned that the soldiers were not sustained primarily by faith in their country or by the rightness of the cause for which they fought. They drew their greatest strength from the close attachments they had formed to the small military units to which they belonged.

These observations help us understand why Christians need the group experience of fellowship with other believers to help them sustain the new life in Christ.

To have a new beginning in Christ we must understand the primary force behind Christian fellowship, the nature of the fellowship and the response we make in fellowship.

So far in Acts, we have seen several necessary ingredients for beginning a new life. In the first chapter we have seen the disciples dependent upon God's plan, which came in his own timing, as they joined together constantly in prayerful supplication. In the beginning of chapter 2, we have seen the earlier believers dependent upon the enabling power of God's Spirit as the Spirit descended upon them on Pentecost. They were enabled to communicate to people of different languages. This power enables Peter to stand up and proclaim, "Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." The Spirit guided message allowed them to see clearly the revelation of God's Son and its personal application.

The Spirit leads Peter to preach the fulfillment of God's promises and the power of the resurrected Christ. They begin to see the confidence and assurance, which comes to each of them personally. Christ is now Lord and Master. The hope of a new beginning comes to each person as the Spirit-guided message penetrates their hearts and reveals God's plan to salvage their lives. Three thousand responded.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and the apostles did many wonders and miraculous signs. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone, as he 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.

Here in the later part of the second chapter we catch a glimpse of the first fellowship of believers. This is the first worship service of believers. However, it is not described by the order of worship, nor is it described as a ritual. Luke describes it by describing the impact God had made in their hearts. He describes it by describing the actions of the believers as they came together for the first time. It is here that we find another very important ingredient to begin a new life . . . the devoted heartfelt fellowship and worship of believers.

Nowhere do we get a closer look at the nature and character of the first fellowship of believers than in the later part of Acts 2:42-47. We have a clear description of the fellowship of the first believers. It serves as a model for all believers today.

*1. Devoted To Apostles' Teaching*

1. *This new fellowship was focused on the apostles' teaching.** *
2. *There was no church until they responded to God's call of salvation. *
3. *They were moved and motivated by the Spirit-guided message of the apostles. /**They were not caught up into the charisma or personalities of the people proclaiming the message.*
4. *They were focused on the message of the cross. *

*2. All The Believers Were Together*

1. *Beginning a new life focused on Christ brought them together in a devoted fellowship.*
2. *Together they experienced accountability, and encouragement.*
3. *There was an intense feeling of responsibility for each other*.

**YOU NEED A SPIRITUAL FAMILY**
**1) WITH* “****_*REFRIGERATOR*_**** *RIGHTS”. (Matt Temple)**
All the believers were _together_ and had _everything in common_. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need…They broke bread in their _homes_and ate together with glad and sincere hearts…Acts 2:44-46

All the believers were _one_ in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had…There were no needy persons among them. Acts 4:32, 34

*3. A Worship Filled With Awe and Wonder*

1. *At The heart of their worship was the celebration of God*.
2. *It was an emotional worship filled with fear and awe.* **

*4. An Authentic & Attractive Fellowship.*

1. *An Authentic fellowship is always attractive.*
2. *They were Purposefully Connected.* **Because we are "in Christ," we are reconciled together forever to God.

(1) crucified together with Christ (Gal 2:20)
(2) dead together with Christ (Col 2:20)
(3) buried together with Christ (Rom 6:4)
(4) made alive together with Christ (Eph 2:5)
(5) raised together with Christ (Col 3:1)
(6) sufferers together with Christ (Rom 8:17)
(7) glorified together with Christ (Rom 8:17)
The word together is significant. In that one word we see all the barriers to fellowship removed. This made them attractive to the world. This resulted in God adding to their number daily those that were being saved.

*Conclusion:*
They were not even called Christians at this time. In fact, at this time this body of believers doesn't even have a name. They were simply described as those " . . . who received his word" and as "those who were being saved." The King James Version does use the word church in this context, " . . . And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." (Acts 2:47 (http://biblia.com/bible/niv/Acts%202.47)) Yet, the translators in 1611 were looking back as they were translating. It is an accurate description of what was happening, but it was not a precise translation. They had no official name, no creed book, or organization. They were simply believers who received the truth-saving message of salvation, which set them on a new road headed straight for their new life in Christ.

These verses do not close with the establishment of the church, they really only show us the beginning of the church. It was here that the transformation of life on planet earth begins. It is where it begins for each of us. It is here that the all-powerful Spirit of creation sets about the work of recreating life anew for each of us.
It was here that their minds were enabled by the Spirit of God to know the unlimited wisdom to maximize the thought of the mind for the purpose of developing their God-given potential.
That is where it begins with each of us. Essentially, it begins as we make the same responses they made when God harvested their souls during the greatest harvest festival of all on Pentecost.

It all begins when we are willing to personally experience the seven togethers: When we are willing to
(1) become crucified together with Christ (Gal 2:20)
(2) become dead together with Christ (Col 2:20)
(3) be buried together with Christ (Rom 6:4)
(4) be made alive together with Christ (Eph 2:5)
(5) be raised together with Christ (Col 3:1)
(6) become sufferers together with Christ (Rom 8:17)
(7) become glorified together with Christ (Rom 8:17.
Their final concluding commitment to togetherness began at baptism. Now that they have buried the old me, they are beginning to discover the new me through the Spirit's enabling message and through the mutual encouragement of those of like precious faith.

*The Burning Heart Contract*

* Bill Bright went on to found Campus Crusade for Christ, which is estimated to have led well over fifty million people to Christ around the world.
* Richard C. Halverson wrote twenty-six books and eventually became the chaplain of the United States Senate.
* Louis H. Evans, Jr. authored a number of books and pastored churches around the country, including Bel Air Presbyterian Church and National Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C.
* Henrietta Mears was the director of Christian education at First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood for thirty-five years, founder of Gospel Light Publishers and Forest Home Conference Center, and co-founder of Gospel Literature International.


*The written contract read:*

1. I am committed to the principle that Christian discipleship is sustained solely by God alone through His Spirit; that the abiding life of John 15 is His way of sustaining me. Therefore, I pledge myself to a disciplined devotional life in which I promise through prayer, Bible study, and devotional reading to give God not less that one continuous hour per day (Psalm 1).
2. I am committed to the principle that Christian Discipleship begins with Christian character. Therefore, I pledge myself to holy living that by a life of self-denial and self-discipline, I may emulate those Christ-like qualities of chastity and virtue which will magnify the Lord (Phil. 1:20-21).
3. I am committed to the principle that Discipleship exercises itself principally in the winning for the lost to Christ. Therefore, I pledge myself to seek every possible opportunity to witness, and to witness at every possible opportunity, to the end that I may be responsible for bringing at least one to Christ every 12 months (Matt. 28:19; Acts 1:8).
4. I am committed to the principle that Christian Discipleship demands nothing less than absolute consecration to Christ. Therefore, I present my body a living sacrifice, utterly abandoned to God. By this commitment, I will that God’s perfect will shall find complete expression in my life; and I offer myself in all sobriety to be expendable for Christ (Rom. 12:1-2; Phil 3:7-14).

*The Burning Heart Challenge - Together with your LIFE Group*

1. giving one hour of each day to God in prayer and Bible reading
2. committing to live in this culture in complete sobriety and purity
3. asking God to give you at least one person to share the Gospel, for whom you will be responsible to lead to Christ.

*It is a Radical, Counter-Cultural and life-changing adventure! *