Topic : Acts

With One Accord

"With one accord? is a wonderful little statement. You find it at least six times in the Book of the Acts. In Acts 1:14, they were in one accord in supplication. Acts 2:1 says, "When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.? Here they were in one accord in anticipation. Acts 2:46 says, "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their food with gladness and singleness of heart.? Here the church was in one accord in continuation'they continued together in serving the Lord. In Acts 4:24 we have the local church in prayer: "And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God.? They were in one accord in adoration, worshiping and praising God and praying.

In Acts 4:12 we read: "And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch).? They were in one accord in their association; no divisions, no backbiting, no criticizing. Acts 15:25 contains another reference to "one accord?: "It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul.? They were in one accord in their determination.

Something Happens When Churches Pray, W. Wiersbe, pp. 18ff

Power of Satan

The Devil always fights the church when the church is on the move. Charles Spurgeon used to say that Satan never kicks a dead horse. Satan knew that the church was on the move, so he attacked it. In Acts 2 we read that 3000 people were converted. Then what happened? According to Acts 4, Satan came like a lion and had the apostles threatened. In chapter 5, Satan came like a serpent, influencing Ananias and Sapphira to infect the church with their lying and hypocrisy. If Satan can't win by persecution from the outside, he will try pollution on the inside. Then Satan came as the accuser in Acts 6. One group of widows accused the other group of widows of taking over. "We are being neglected,? they said. Satan likes to get the saints to accuse one another. Then according to Acts 12, Satan came as a murderer. James was killed, and Peter was put into prison to be kept for execution.

Something Happens When Churches Pray, W. Wiersbe, p. 81

Resources

• Christ At The Crossroads, C. Swindoll, 1991, p. 143
• Issues and Answers in Jesus’ Day, C. Swindoll, p. 130

Resource

• Evangelism, A Biblical Approach, M. Cocoris, Moody, 1984, pp. 41ff

Tradition Dropped

In 1983 a fifty-year-old tradition was quietly dropped by the U.S. House of Representatives. The tradition involved the annual reading of George Washington’s farewell address on the occasion of his birthday. Democratic and Republican leaders decided it was useless to continue to read the lengthy address to a mostly empty chamber. “It’s too bad,” said GOP aide, “but it’s time for this to be consigned to the dustbin.”

Stated “The Calgary Herald”: “In past years, it was almost holy writ that the address must be read. Through war and storm for half a century, a member of each chamber has been chosen to read the address.” Declared the newspaper heading, “Nobody listens to Washington’s farewell address.”

We are afraid that something parallel to this is taking place in the Christian church. Fewer and fewer believers are listening to Christ’s farewell message. To His disciples Christ gave clear instructions - to go to all nations with the Gospel and there to make disciples.

Glenn Hermann

Homework Neglected

An insurance company sponsored a conference at its huge, national headquarters building in New York City. Agents from all over the country attended. During the convention, one of the delegates from a western state sold insurance to a barber, an elevator operator, and a restaurant employee—all three of whom had worked in that headquarters building for years. That “out of stater” wrote those policies because the local staffers had neglected to do their “homework.”

Our Daily Bread, June 20, 1989

Dangerous Pentecost

In his sermon, “A Dangerous Pentecost,” Halford Luccock tells of Lorenzo de’Medici, the great Florentine patron of the arts who was very proud of the spectacles he staged for the citizenry. Among his productions were several amazingly realistic religious pageants performed in church. But one Pentecost, Lorenzo went too far: he used actual fire to depict the descent of the tongues of flames on the apostles. The fragile stage set caught fire and, before horrified onlookers, the entire church burned to the ground (Marching Off the Map, Harper, 1952). The moral is clear: pray for Pentecostal power, but don’t try to manufacture it.

Charismatic Chaos, J. MacArthur, Jr., Zondervan, 1992, p. 175

Power for the Church

Power can be used in at least two ways: it can be unleashed, or it can be harnessed. The energy in ten gallons of gasoline instance, can be released explosively by dropping a lighted match into the can. Or it can be channeled through the engine of a Datsun in a controlled burn and used to transport a person 350 miles. Explosions are spectacular, but controlled burns have lasting effect, staying power.

The Holy Spirit works both ways. At Pentecost, he exploded on the scene; His presence was like “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:3). Thousands were affected by one burst of God’s power.

But He also works through the church—the institution God began to tap the Holy Spirit’s power for the long haul. Through worship, fellowship, and service, Christians are provided with staying power.

Source unknown

Outline of Passage

1. A saved membership (41)

2. A steadfast membership (42)

3. A sacrificial membership (44-5)

4. A serving membership (46)

5. A spirit-filled membership (47)

Source unknown

Resource

• "Evangelical Preaching," Charles Simeon, p. 37.

Outline

1. A new enduement of power from God (4:31)

2. A new enjoyment of unity (4:32)

3. A new enablement to witness (4:33)

4. A new enlargement as people were converted

Something Happens When Churches Pray, W. Wiersbe, p.70

No Possessions Held Them Back

In ancient Rome, crowds by the tens of thousands would gather in the Colosseum to watch as Christians were torn apart by wild animals. Paul Rader, commenting on his visit to this famous landmark, said, “I stood uncovered to the heavens above, where He sits for whom they gladly died, and asked myself, ‘Would I, could I, die for Him tonight to get this gospel to the ends of the earth?’“ Rader continued, “I prayed most fervently in that Roman arena for the spirit of a martyr, and for the working of the Holy Spirit in my heart, as He worked in Paul’s heart when He brought him on his handcuffed way to Rome.” Those early Christians “lied on the threshold of heaven, within a heartbeat of home, no possessions to hold them back.”

Our Daily Bread

Unpopular Cause

Those first believers turned to Christ with the full understanding that they were espousing an unpopular cause that could cost them everything. Shortly after Pentecost some were jailed, many lost all their earthly goods, a few were slain, hundreds were ‘scattered abroad.’ They could have escaped all this by the simple expedient of denying their faith and turning back to the world. This they steadfastly refused to do.

To make converts, we are tempted to play down the difficulties and play up the peace of mind and worldly success enjoyed by those who accept Christ. We will never be completely honest with our hearers until we tell them the blunt truth that, as members of a race of moral rebels, they are in a serious jam, and one they will not get out of easily. If they refuse to repent and believe on Christ, they will most surely perish. If they do turn to Him, the same enemies that crucified Him will try to crucify them.

A. W. Tozer, Source unknown

Resource

• Living Dangerously, S. Briscoe, Zondervan, 1968, pp. 121ff

Resource

• Living Dangerously, S. Briscoe, Zondervan, 1968, pp. 100ff

Resource

• Living Dangerously, S. Briscoe, Zondervan, 1968, pp. 111ff

Resource

• Living Dangerously, S. Briscoe, Zondervan, 1968, pp. 134ff

Resource

• C. Swindoll, Questions Christians Ask, p. 50
• Charismatic Chaos, J. MacArthur, Jr., Zondervan, 1992, p. 180

Resource

• Evangelism, A Biblical Approach, M. Cocoris, Moody, 1984, pp. 135ff

Resource

• Charismatic Chaos, J. MacArthur, Jr., Zondervan, 1992, p. 182

Resource

• Leadership, V, 1, 55

The Recommendation

There’s a wonderful story about a Chicago bank that once asked for a letter of recommendation on a young Bostonian being considered for employment. The Boston investment house could not say enough about the young man. His father, they wrote, was a Cabot; his mother was a Lowell. Further back was a happy blend of Saltonstalls, Peabodys, and other of Boston’s first families. His recommendation was given without hesitation.

Several days later, the Chicago bank sent a note saying the information supplied was altogether inadequate. It read: “We are not contemplating using the young man for breeding purposes. Just for work.”

Neither is God a respecter of persons but accepts those from every family, nation, and race who fear Him and work for His kingdom (Acts 10:34-35).

Kathleen Peterson, Source unknown

Prayer is the Link

Prayer is the link that connects us with God. It is the bridge that spans every gulf and bears us over every abyss of danger or of need. How significant is this picture of the New Testament church: Peter in prison, the Jews triumphant, Herod supreme, the arena of martyrdom awaiting the dawning of the morning. “But prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.”

And what is the sequel? The prison open, the apostle free, the Jews baffled, the wicked king divinely smitten, and the Word of God rolling on in greater victory. Do we know the power of our supernatural weapon? Do we dare to use it with the authority of a faith that commands as well as asks? God grant us holy audacity and divine confidence. He is not wanting great men, but He is wanting men that will dare to prove the greatness of their God.

A. B. Simpson

Prayer

The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel.

Thomas Watson, quoted in Something Happens When Churches Pray, W. Wiersbe, p. 85

Resource

• Bibliotheca Sacra, 138:551:246

Resource

• A. T. Robertson, Greek N.T., p. 99

The Assistant

A man who first pastored and nurtured a church brings in an assistant to help with the work, a hand-picked man. Later, both men do church planting work together for a couple of years, then return to the home church. A sharp disagreement arises over an issue they both view as a matter of principle, and about which neither feels he can back down. The disagreement is so sharp that they part company, but the church supports the assistant! (Acts 15:36-41)

The Grace Awakening, C. Swindoll, 1990, pp. 78, 181ff

Paul and Barnabas

Here it appears either Paul or Barnabas went too far. It must have been a violent disagreement to separate two associates who were so closely united. Indeed, the text indicates as much.

Such examples are written for our consolation: for it is a great comfort to us to hear that great saints, who have the Spirit of God, also struggle. Those who say that saints do not sin would deprive us of this comfort. Samson, David, and many other celebrated men full of the Holy Spirit fell into grievous sins. Job and Jeremiah cursed the day of their birth; Elijah and Jonah were weary of life and desired death. No one has ever fallen so grievously that he may not rise again. Conversely, no one stands so firmly that he may not fall. If Peter (and Paul and Barnabas) fell, I too may fall. If they rose again, I too may rise again.

Martin Luther, Source unknown

Dying Witness

Occasionally God calls one of His children to give his or her life as an act of sacrifice and witness for Him. One such believer was John Harper, a Scotsman who was traveling on the Titantic en route to Chicago. Harper was scheduled to become pastor of the Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, but he never made it. However, another Scotsman who survived the disaster later told how Harper, clinging to a piece of debris, called out to his fellow countryman, “Are ye saved, mon? He then quoted Acts 16:31 just before he drowned. The young man was not saved physically, but he took Harper’s invitation to heart and put his faith in Christ.

Today in the Word, November 26, 1997

English Evangelist

It was said of the apostles, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither” (Acts 17:6).

There is a story told of an eccentric English evangelist who took that text for one of his open-air sermons in a new place. He began by saying, “First, the world is wrong side up. Second, the world must be turned upside down. Third, we are the men to set it right.”

In the man’s quaint phrases, this is really the purpose of the gospel. It is God’s way of making things right.

A. B. Simpson, quoted in The Best of A. B. Simpson.

Resource

• Ashamed of the Gospel, J. MacArthur, p. 137

Resource

• Eternity in Their Hearts, Don Richardson, pp. 14-28

Resource

• Charismatic Chaos, J. MacArthur, Jr., Zondervan, 1992, p. 184

A Bonfire

Would you build a bonfire using $350,000 worth of kindling? That’s approximately what “fifty thousand pieces of silver” in Roman times would be worth in today’s currency!

The book-burning in Ephesus was expensive, and Luke records how the gospel brought about economic disruption in the idolatrous city of Ephesus. But such changes are often necessary when God is at work, as Albert Barnes explains.

“The Word of God has power in this wicked city, and the power must have been mighty, which would make them willing to destroy their property.

“From this instructive passage we may learn that:

1. True religion has the power to break the hold of unjust and dishonest means of living over sinners.

2. Those who have been engaged in an un-Christian and dishonorable practice will abandon it when they become Christians.

3. Their abhorrence of their former course ought to be expressed as publicly as was the offense.

4. The evil practice will be abandoned at any sacrifice, however great. The question is ‘what is right?’ Not ‘what will it cost?’

“If what they did when they were converted was right—and who can doubt it?—It sets forth a great principle on which new converts should act.”

Daily Walk

Resource

• Decisionmaking and the Will of God, pp. 240-1

Stonewall Jackson

The courage of Civil War leader Stonewall Jackson in the midst of conflict can be a lesson for the believer. Historian Mark Brimsley wrote,

“A battlefield is a deadly place, even for generals; and it would be naive to suppose Jackson never felt the animal fear of all beings exposed to wounds and death. but invariably he displayed extraordinary calm under fire, a calm too deep and masterful to be mere pretense. His apparent obliviousness to danger attracted notice, and after the First Manassas battle someone asked him how he managed it. “My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed,” Jackson explained. ‘God knows the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter where it may overtake me.’ He added pointedly, ‘That is the way all men should live, and than all would be equally brave.’“

Daily Bread

Some years ago, a very good friend of mine, Dr. E. Myers Harrison, gave a missionary message that I cannot forget. It was to a small group of people, but I will never forget the sermon. Dr. Harrison is now at home with the Lord, but he was a great servant of God and a great missionary statesman. He said that each of us as Christians must hear what God has to say. There is he command from above: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature? (Mark 16:15). Have you heard that? I've heard people say, "But God wants our church to be different. We're not supposed to have a missionary program.? I don't believe that. I believe the command from above is given to every Christian and to every assembly that God has raised up.

Then there is the cry from beneath. Remember the rich man who died and woke up in hell and begged for someone to go and tell his brothers? (see Luke 16). "I pray thee, therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house (for I have five brethren), that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment? (vv. 27,28). There is the cry from beneath. If you and I could hear the cries of people in a lost eternity right now, we'd realize how important it is to get the Gospel out. There's the command from above. Have you heard it? There's the cry from beneath. Have you heard it?

Then, according to Dr. Harrison, there is the call from without. Acts 16:9 says, "Come over into Macedonia, and help us.? People around us are saying, "Please come to help us!" So much money, time and energy is being spent on routine church matters in America when there is a whole world to reach for Christ! We face so many open doors!

Something Happens When Churches Pray, W. Wiersbe, pp. 102-3