Acts 2:42-47\u00a0<\/b>\u2013\u00a0\u201cThey devoted themselves to the apostles\u2019 teaching\u00a0and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread\u00a0and to prayer. 43\u00a0Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.\u00a044\u00a0All the believers were together and had everything in common.\u00a045\u00a0They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.46\u00a0 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.\u00a0They broke bread\u00a0in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,\u00a047\u00a0praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.\u00a0And the Lord added to their number\u00a0daily those who were being saved.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201c<\/i><\/span>They devoted themselves to the apostles\u2019 teaching\u00a0and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread\u00a0and to prayer.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 After the Lord had added three thousand to the group of the disciples (remember, that it was not Peter who added but the Lord who added, as in\u00a0V47<\/b>.\u00a0 Family, too often we can get caught up in the latest program that is being used in a church that is growing rapidly.\u00a0 While it is a good idea to use good ideas, we must always remember that it is God that provides the increase.\u00a0 All too often we see a church go from one \u201cgrowth\u201d program or principle to another and as one looks back, there may have been a slight swelling of numbers for a while, but then the swell recedes and the size of the church goes back to about its original size. Family, what God is using at another church may not be what He has for your church.\u00a0\u00a0John 21:20-22<\/b>\u00a0\u201c<\/i><\/span>Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved\u00a0was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, \u201cLord, who is going to betray you?\u201d)\u00a021\u00a0When Peter saw him, he asked, \u201cLord, what about him?\u201d\u00a0 22\u00a0Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cIf I want him to remain alive until I return,\u00a0what is that to you? You must follow me.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 We see that what God desires for one is not what God necessarily desires for another.\u00a0 Jesus basically told Peter to not be concerned about what He is doing with John, but to be about what God has called Him to do.\u00a0 Family, if a book, or a program from another church, has a blessing that can help us to become more greatly rooted in the Word, then praise God and utilize it.\u00a0 But we should not be seeking all the \u201cHow to\u2019s\u201d and \u201cTo do\u2019s\u201d that are out there.\u00a0 We are to be simply be loving God with all that we are and to be loving each other.\u00a0 We are to be growing in this love of God and of each other.\u00a0 If we have done that, we have completed our mission as Jesus said that all things are contained in these two commandments of love (Matthew 22:37-40<\/b>).\u00a0 If we do that then people will know we are God\u2019s people who are filled with God\u2019s love and that will attract the saved.\u00a0 In a dark world, when a light is turned on, people will come to it (Matthew 5:14-16<\/b>).<\/p>\n Here is the simple, but proven way to grow a church.\u00a0 A church that is large in number but lacking in commitment to God is not what is desired.\u00a0 To have a church that loves God above all else, we must have faith in God and what He has instructed us to do.\u00a0 Peter, in his first sermon, was led by the Holy Spirit and three thousand were saved from Hell.\u00a0 There was then no collection of writings known as the \u201cNew Testament.\u201d\u00a0 Led by the Holy Spirit, Peter preached from the Old Testament, what the Law and the Prophets taught and prophesied.\u00a0 He proclaimed the Word of God and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit taught them what their scripture meant.\u00a0 Hearing the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit moving upon them, a great number came to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.\u00a0 Plain and simple.\u00a0\u00a0 Be inspired by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.\u00a0 Preach the Word of God as the Holy Spirit leads.\u00a0 Have faith that God Himself will save. And love.\u00a0 Always love.\u00a0 Family, it is not about programs, it is about the Word of God as led and revealed by the Spirit of God.<\/p>\n After the day of Pentecost, the first believers continued to meet. So the Word is clear, meet together with fellow believers (Hebrews 10:25<\/b>).\u00a0 When they met they listened as the Word of God was taught to them by the Apostles.\u00a0 Today, we meet and listen to what God speaks to us through the Bible, which is God\u2019s Word given to us through His Apostles and Prophets.<\/p>\n They fellowshipped together.\u00a0 Fellowshipping here means that people who have the same beliefs, the same interest and the same goals meet for the same purpose.\u00a0\u00a0 They love God and want increasingly more of Him in their hearts, minds, and actions.\u00a0 They gather to praise God and to seek Him as a group and as individuals.\u00a0 They speak the Word to each other to encourage each other.\u00a0 To all who are new, they speak the Word, as led by the Holy Spirit, that they too may come to full fellowship with God.<\/p>\n They broke bread.\u00a0 Yes, they had Holy Communion in remembrance of Christ.\u00a0 But they also ate meals together.\u00a0 They loved each other and enjoyed each other and by the expressing of individual faith, inspired and encouraged each other.\u00a0 Family, we should have friends who are Christians and those who are not.\u00a0 Sincerely though, if our main goal is to grow in Christ, then most, not all, but most of the people we spend our time with will be other Christians (1 Corinthians 15:33, 2 Corinthians 6:14, Psalm 1:1<\/b>).\u00a0 Family, do we truly want to grow in Christ, then most of our fellowship should be with fellow believers so that we build each other up.<\/p>\n They prayed.\u00a0 When teaching His apostles to pray He did not say \u201cIf you pray\u201d but He told us how to pray with the full assumption that we would be praying continuously.\u00a0\u00a01 Thessalonians 5:17-18<\/b>\u00a0instructs us to \u201cpray continually.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 There are many forms of prayer and what we must remember, and do, is to continually be in communication with God.\u00a0 We must both speak to God and listen to Him.\u00a0 Of course, what He has to say is much more important than what we have to say and so that should dictate that we need to listen more than speak.\u00a0 Still, there is a time for both.<\/p>\n Family, do we want our church to minister to more new people and to see God grow those new people in the faith?\u00a0 What God has called us to is simple.\u00a0 Follow Him.\u00a0 Know His Word.\u00a0 Live in remembrance of what God has done for us through Jesus. \u00a0Love and encourage each other. Talk to Him. \u00a0Share the Good News with everyone who will listen.\u00a0 Everything else will not last throughout eternity, but these things will.\u00a0 Praise God!\u00a0 Let\u2019s keep it simple:\u00a0Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.<\/i><\/p>\n Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/i><\/p>\n Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Acts 2:42-47\u00a0\u2013\u00a0\u201cThey devoted themselves to the apostles\u2019 teaching\u00a0and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread\u00a0and to prayer. 43\u00a0Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.\u00a044\u00a0All the believers were together and had everything in common.\u00a045\u00a0They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.46\u00a0 Every day they…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[82,129,104,100,101,94,17,757],"class_list":["post-1319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-acts","tag-corinthians","tag-hebrews","tag-john","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-psalm","tag-thessalonians"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1319"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1320,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319\/revisions\/1320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}