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It’s time to get our “Act” together
Let me begin with what’s buzzing in the media now a days
or to be more precise what’s buzzing in the Indian car market. A media report
says that the Nano car bookings (now it’s ultra-competitive price of just
Rs1.00 lakh is sensational by all accounts) have crossed the 2 lakh mark, what
with its manufacturers-Tata motors- already netting 500 million dollars account
bookings. The bookings are still bound to go up courtesy the burgeoning number
of eager prospective car owners hopelessly hooked to its price tag. Is Nano car
the best thing to happen to the middle-income group? Difficult to say NO really,
considering that car ownership adds to one’s standard of living besides
augmenting the feel-good factor all around, principally in a nation’s economy.
With nervous competition looking over its shoulder, predictably Tata motors (whose stakes are very high in this venture) is leaving
no stone unturned going for flashy full-page ads in the print media highlighting
the features of its “wonder car”. Now let’s “change tracks” and “motor down the
road” of yet another related subject… “Product-advertisement”. Again quite
predictably, as every manufacturer is expected to blow his trumpet about his
own product, Tata motors raving about its own Nano is not a strange phenomenon
at all. But consider hypothetically the occurrence of the most unlikely
phenomenon…Maruthi Suzuki the chief competitor of Tata Motors unwittingly
paying a compliment (to its business rival) such as “ Oh Nano has turned the
World of Car market UPSIDE DOWN”. If it really does, everyone would sit-up and
take notice and most importantly Nano’s stock would further soar-up, as
receiving an endorsement from the most unlikely source… its arch rival is the
BIGGEST ADVERTISEMENT any player in a market, can hope to get.
For this to happen (getting a compliment from a competitor wittingly or unwittingly)
it goes without saying, Nano ought to have caused an earthquake measuring at least 8 in
the Richter scale of the Car Industry!
Now lets switch tracks hitting
the “spiritual road”, as it were, and “zoom” back in time to 1st
century AD and what do we see? The early Christians are getting the highest
compliment ever paid “ These men have turned THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN”
(Acts 17:6-KJV)
not from its friends or well-wishers but from its MOST BITTER ENEMIES. Oh
boy, oh boy, what a compliment, which is not so much inked as engraved in World
history! Now consider the fact that
disciples were not “selling” Gospel of down-to-earth, cheap, Nano-like price
but one which required shelling out a “high price” of “cross-bearing”
(suffering and even martyrdom -
Luke 9:23/
Acts 14:22) albeit with Holy Spirit
empowerment
(John 15:5-6) and the magnitude of their achievement looms large before our eyes like
a towering landscape. Add to this fact the
point that disciples were not from the well-educated, higher, spiritual
echelons of society boasting of impressive, lengthy CVs’ and the truth that God delights in showing His strength through
weak folk (
Acts 4:13,
II Cor 12:9) blares out loud and clear.So this brings us to a paramount subject, with the
ever-present God’s power available to them WHAT DID the early Church (both its
leaders and laity) DO to tick despite odds stacked against it so much so, its
most bitter enemies unwittingly paid it the highest compliment of having turned
the World topsy-turvy (honestly the Church turned the world which was upside
down spiritually, right side-up)? The answer is as profound as it is simple. Even as were
empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit (the upper room ethereal experience was
the turning point –
Acts 2:1-4) we see them, most importantly in the Book of
Acts, GETTING THEIR ACT TOGETHER. Not only
they had clear-cut priorities but they also went about it in right earnest (oh,
how many have fallen in recent times despite being given various gifts). In
this essay, let’s focus on
a) Priorities that defined the Ministry of the Early Church leadership and
b) What constituted building blocks for success of the laity in their victorious Christian living.
Firstly the Leadership…
1. Capture:
Were not disciples called to be “Fishers of men”
(Matt 4:19), their
mission further fuelled by the Great commission
(Matt 28:16-20)? Now the
Peter and co. in their “spiritual capture business” were unlike normal
fishermen. If the professional fishermen of the worldly realm in order to make
a living, spread their nets to capture and kill the fish eventually to fry
them in the hot oven, then the spiritual fishermen of the First
century in stark contrast even gave-up their lives in the process of
“fishing” in order their “captured fish” ended up in cool heaven.
Strengthened by the joy of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Christian living or service is
impossible without Holy Spirit empowerment from within), they set faces
their faces like a flint to achieve their God-ordained goals, come what
may!
When the heart is set on a right
goal, would not the good Lord give all the strength and support that is
required? Consider even the time of Holy Spirit outpouring (have we ever
praised God for his perfect sense of timing –
Eccl 3:1-8,
Gal 4:4- He does everything at
the RIGHT TIME) on the disciples. The Lord “baptized” them with fire not a day
before or after the Pentecostal day but only on the Pentecostal day -the day
“plenty of live fish” would be available in Jerusalem (mind you, only on the day
of important Jewish festival of Pentecost would the Jews from all over the
world flock the temple in Jerusalem
Exo 34:22-24/Deu 16:16
). How powerful was the Holy Spirit baptism
that day! When Peter completed his soul-stirring sermon, he did not
even give an altar call, for people “cut to their heart” by his
message came of their own accord asking, “What shall we do”
(Acts 2:37). That
epoch –making moment frozen in history, set the tone for the rapid growth of
the Church, for from then on, it grew not in mere arithmetic progression but in
geometric sequence
(Acts 2:41,47, 4:4, 9:31)!
Now let’s dig deep into this subject of the “capturing” of 3000 souls
(Acts 2:41)
on that momentous we can christen as the “Birthday of the Church or the Birthday of the Bride (Church is the bride of the Bridegroom Christ-
Eph 5:22-33).
The crowd that listened to Peter’s message comprised of godly and devout Jews, as this Scripture portion so clearly states.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.-
Acts 2:5
Men who were willing to expend their time, money, energy and other resources to travel from
15 countries to be at Jerusalem in obedience to the Law
(Deu 16:16).
Now they were no run of the mill, ordinary sinners but the Holy Spirit who convicts people of
their sins
(John 16:8)
using Peter’s message brought them virtually onto their knees. How is the key question?
Here we have to understand the difference between the Covenant the Lord has with the Christians
and the Jews (those who listened to Peter’s message before becoming Christians were Jews).
In the New Testament dispensation with the Gospel, spreading to the ends of Planet Earth the
Lord has a covenant with Local Churches (if the Church with thousands of people, then the
Covenant is with an individual) and the Local Church becomes accountable to the Lord in all
the matters. For instance for the sin of incest in the Church at Corinth
(I Cor 5),
the Lord does not take the Church at say Thessalonica to task. For that matter,
do not we see our Lord reviewing the “spirituality” of each of the
7 Churches in 2nd and 3rd Chapters of the Book of Revelation
without calling to account say a Church at Pergamum for the sins seen in the Church at say Sardis
(Rev 2,3)?
But in OT Dispensation, the Covenant was with the Nation of Israel (a small nation at that with a
stretch of less than 250 kms from the Northern end of Dan to the Southern end of Beersheba-
1 Sam 3:20, 2 Sam 3:10),
as this Scripture portion so clearly states…
For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were ALL under the cloud and
ALL passed through the sea; and ALL were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and
ALL ate the same spiritual food; and ALL drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking
from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.-
1 Cor 10:1-4
Look at the number of times the word ALL is used to describe the Nation of Israel
(5 to be precise in the 4 verses). It was with ALL of them (read the whole Nation of Israel)
that our Heavenly Father entered into a Covenant at Mount Sinai (50 days after their liberation
from the Egyptian Slavery- the word Pentecost derives its origin from Penta 5*10).
So throughout their History, our Heavenly Father would call this Small Nation
(all it’s citizens) to account even if there is a sin at individual level, as this Scripture
portion clearly attests (to this truth)…
Didn’t divine anger fall on the entire community of Israel when Achan, a member of the clan of
Zerah, sinned by stealing the things set apart for the LORD? He was not the only one who died
because of his sin.”’”-Joshua 22:20 NLV (also read
Joshua 7:1,10,
where we can the Lord’s displeasure expressed at National level and not at individual level)
Let’s also look at the panic reaction of an individually righteous Ezra when he heard about the
sin of other Israelites (to substantiate this fact about the National Covenant in existence
between the Almighty and the Nation of Israel). Let the Scripture take over…
Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached me, saying,
“The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the
peoples of the lands, according to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites,
the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites,
the Egyptians and the Amorites. 2“For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for
themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has intermingled with the peoples of the
lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the rulers have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.”
3When I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from
my head and my beard, and sat down appalled-
Ezra 9:1-3
The question to be posed here is did Ezra compromise on purity matters? NO!!! But there is a
deep sense of contrition in him because the Biblical Scholar that Ezra was (Hey, he was a
Scribe who knew the scriptural onions right-
Ezra 7:6,10)
was aware of the National Covenant
his Nation had with the Almighty and implications of the same. Well-grounded in Scriptural
history, he feared that the Divine wrath would come over the whole Nation. Only the subsequent,
sincere national repentance seen in the subsequent verses/chapter
(Ezra 9:4-15, 10)
averted the same.
Now coming back to the subject of the repentance of Godly Jews (who were aware of the National
Covenant with the Almighty) on the Day of Pentecost. When the piercing truth of Peter’s message
that Jews (may not be this godly lot) had rejected and killed the Messiah
Let ALL the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him
both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom YOU CRUCIFIED-
Acts 2:36
No wonder, they were cut to their heart and this question (virtually seeking God’s
mercy) emerged subsequently and immediately from the depths of their spirit
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the
rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”-
Acts 2:37
Talk of heart alteration, without even an altar call!!!
Of course, it all had to happen on the day of the festival of Pentecost, because observance
of Jewish Festivals was Divinely-mandated in the Scripture to portray the sequence of
historical events of Christendom
(Colossians 2:17).
Just as the Almighty descended as fire upon Mount Sinai on the day of Pentecost, to give the
Law to the redeemed Jews
(Exodus 19:18),
He was bound to descend as fire upon the
"Mount Sinai" (The Upper Room) of NT dispensation to give birth to the Church and establish a
covenant relationship with it.
Pentecost was also observed by the Jews to commemorate the "good harvest" after the "first rains"
(there would always be two rains in the Land of Milk and honey-
Numbers 28:26).
SUBSEQUENT TO THE "FIRST RAINS" OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, PRAISE GOD, THERE WAS A WONDERFUL "FIRST HARVEST" OF 3000 SOULS!!!
HALLELUJAH!!!
(for more on Jewish festivals and their relevance to Christians, you may browse my material by clicking on the following
URL...http://www.jandsmministries.com/abt_jew.asp)
To arrive at a 360 degree perspective on the Jewish response to the Gospel, it has to be noted
here that those Jews who did not respond positively to Apostolic preaching on the Day of
Pentecost and thereafter had to face national devastation as Divine comeuppance came upon
them in 70 AD by way of Roman Invasion very much in line with the Apostolic warnings
(Acts 2:40, 3:22-23).
However those Jews who had become Christians did not perish at that time as they left
Jerusalem on seeing the warning signs obeying the Master’s words in
Matt 24:15-18.
Let’s conclude this subject of Jews becoming Christians on a positive note.
Good News with Capital G is after the imminent Church Rapture with the onset of Seven year
Tribulation period, at the end of the same with the Antichrist persecuting them severely
and gathering of his huge army at Armageddon to crush the Jews in Jerusalem there would be
NATIONAL repentance (as a Nation, they had rejected the Messiah 2000 years back but now as
a Nation they would accept Him soon) as these Scripture portion affirm
On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest
among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like
the angel of the LORD, going before them. And on that day I will seek to destroy all the
nations that come against Jerusalem. “And I will pour out on the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look
on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only
child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.-
Zech 12”8-10
And in this way ALL ISRAEL will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;“and this will be
my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”-
Rom 11:26-27
2. Nurture:
The Early Church leaders’ were
well aware of the fact that at “capture”, their work only began. Spiritual
transformation of an individual is very much akin to physical birth. A
babe once born, needs to be nurtured. Hence, we see the apostles in line
with their call (John 21:15-17) diligently going about nurturing the new
Christians (Acts 2:42)
strengthening them in the Word of God of NT Dispensation learnt directly from their three and half years of association with the Saviour.
Hey, these new 3000 souls were well-versed in OT Scriptures but what they did not know was the teaching of our Saviour pertaining to NT (
for instance exposure to the teaching on the Heavenly investment -nowhere to be found in OT- in
Matthew 6:19
made them very generous towards the poorer brethren amongst them-
Acts 2:44-45).
At this point, three cardinal differences between the Apostles and the 3000 needs to be known which would make us
discern as to which Group we in 21st Century would belong… the Apostles or the 3000!!! No doubting the fact that we
belong to the 3000 Group. How and why? Read on…
a) While the Apostles had the Word of Christ with them, till the Day of Pentecost they did not
have the Holy Spirit indwelling them in full measure whereas the 3000 had a measure of the
Holy Spirit indwelling them from day one of their Christian lives but no knowledge of the
Word pertaining to NT Dispensation, at the beginning of their Christian journey. Many of
us like the 3000 would start understanding The Bible in the true sense only after our
regenerative Born again experience with the Holy Spirit leading us into all truth
(John 16:13)
b) While the Apostles great testimony would be that they have heard, seen and touched Christ
(basis of their faith-
1 John 1:1),
the testimony of the 3000 would be greater in that they acquired faith on hearing the
Redemptive Gospel alone
(Rom 10:17,John 20:29).
Hey, we see Peter himself appreciating some of the 3000 who had come to Jerusalem from Pontus,
Cappadocia, Ausia
(Acts 2:9)
and had consequently gone back to their towns post the persecution of
Acts 8:1-4
and established Churches therein
(1 Peter 1:1)
with these words of commendation…
Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in
Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy-
1 Peter 1:8
c) While to the Apostles would belong the unsurpassable privilege of being the foundation
of the Church, to us of the 3000 group would belong a commendable privilege of being
“building blocks of the building” which the Church is with our Lord Himself being it’s
cornerstone
(Eph 2:20-22).
Coming back to the point of Nurture, the leaders of the present generation with the full
revealed Word of God from Genesis to Revelation doubtless have a greater responsibility
(Luke 12:48) of nurturing the new believers.
Going back to the subject of nurture in the Biblical times....hampered
by physical constraints
(they couldn’t be at all places at all times) we also see the Apostles appointing
overseers (read Pastors) in the Churches, they had established, in order the
nurture process goes on unabated, even in their absence
(Acts 14:23).
Correspondingly, nurture was on
by way of “Distant teaching method” also courtesy the Epistles, through which
amongst other instructions there was always a constant call from the leadership
for the laity to grow spiritually (
2 Cor 3:11 TLB/
Hebrews 5:12-14/
1 Peter 2:2-3,
II Peter 1:5-9). The Apostles aimed at their flock becoming thriving
Christians useful in the hands of the Lord rather than being merely surviving
Christians, the genre of which there is no shortage in modern times.
The Church representing the body of Christ (a group of believers) met mostly in homes
(Romans 16:23,
Philemon 1:2) which besides guaranteeing close and warm fellowship ensured that
they shared their problems and burdens cheerfully. While hoping for a return to
the era of house churches may be an idealistic pipedream in an age of
mega-churches where the Shepherd (read pastor) may not have personal rapport
with his flock, all is not lost yet! Within the Church, development of smaller
fellowships on geographical basis needs to be encouraged, with the main pastor
down-delegating some of his authority to the trained leadership under him to
lead these fellowships. This is where, true nurture would occur.
3. Suture:
This was a socio-spiritual activity perfected by leaders such as Dorcas of
Joppa (Acts 9:36-41) who would take care of the poor and needy, “suturing” up
their emotional wounds (of being left alone to fend for themselves in this
cruel world) besides sewing clothes for them (the needle factor is common)!
Paul also exhorts the Church leadership in the matter of taking care of old,
helpless widows (1 Tim 5:5). Nothing quite like communicating the Gospel
through Christ-like agape love! Brother, tell me when were your Church funds
last diverted for this purpose? Remember a certain Mother Teresa…
Do not the Christian hospitals and
schools in our country stand as a silent testimony to the untiring efforts of
our forefathers in “suturing up” the “wounds” of our society caused sadly by
social cancers such as casteism? Needless to
say, the Church’s social efforts (to be done with pure agape love) at any point
of time shouldn’t compete with its main spiritual goals but only complement
them.
4. Rapture:
In all, there are only three doctrines in Christianity. The doctrine of
Justification (where a sinner welcomes the Saviour into his life), the one of
sanctification (where the saved sinner starts growing into Christ-likeness) and
Glorification (when Christ would come to take believers home coinciding with
the rapture moment).
Weaving together these three foundational doctrines into the tapestry of a one-liner,
it has been remarked, that “if Justification makes us light,
Sanctification bright, then that of Glorification should make us sprite.”
How true! But is imminent rapture (in addition to so many epidemics like
Anthrax, Sars, Chikungunya, Bird flu…now Swine Flu and
now Covid 19 has also burst on the World scene- fulfillment of end-time prophecy amongst others in
Matt 24:7 KJV)
really making us sprite meaning vivacious or passionate or we still in the cozy cocoons of passivity borne out of earthly
near-sightedness?
The word Sprite, also the brand name of a popular Indian
soft drink brings to our mind the catchy slogan (its manufacturer’s use) that
has caught the fancy of many a trendy youngster “ Seedhi baat, no bakwas”
(meaning plain speaking, with no beating about the bush business).
The Early Church leadership concentrated as much on the doctrine of
Glorification (Church rapture –
I Cor 15:51-52/
I Thess 4:15-18) as
they did on the other 2 doctrines of Justification and Sanctification,
so much so that the Early Christians greeted one another with
the words “MARANATHA” (I Cor 16:22) meaning “Come soon, Lord Jesus”!
For all practical purposes, the “sprightly” Early Church
was heralding… “Seedhi baat, no bakwas….JESUS IS COMING BACK” Time, the
salutation “MARANATHA” returned to the Church fold?
Coming back to Early Church leadership, oh
what a challenge to the contemporary leadership. It has been said jocularly
that Christian leaders of the modern era spend most of the time in Church
functions involving hatching (birthdays), matching (marriage) and dispatching
(funeral) activities, at a time they should be canalizing all their resources
in capture, nurture, suture and (teaching) Rapture business.
As I pointed out
earlier in my essay, both the Early Church clergy and laity
together worked for building up the Kingdom. Now what were the reasons for
effectiveness of the laity? Let’s have a look at that also
- Admit:
First of all, in response to Peter’s instructions following his thunderous message, they admitted their
sinfulness (being part of the National Covenant with the Almighty, which made them responsible for the sins of their fellow Jews also),
received the Saviour into their hearts and took immersion baptism in full acknowledgment of the transformation the Redeemer had wrought in
their lives
(Acts 2:38-41).
Admittedly, Christians come in all shapes and sizes
(there are so many physical, mental and emotional differences’ amongst them)
but if there is a CONSTANT amongst them then it is their universal
acknowledgment of the fact that they are sinners in NEED OF A SAVIOUR
(Philippians 3:3 TLB). Let it be said that ONLY those who have tasted Christ’s
redemptive love would VOUCH FOR ITS TRANSFORMING POWER! Oh how many drug addicts,
alchoholics, people given to so many other vices’ have become Saints post their
own personal encounter with the Lord!
By the same token, even the respected “good” people of the Society need to have a
Saviour, for all are sinners by virtue of our births and connection to the original
Adamic sin (Romans 3:23). That would explain why “respectable men of the society”
such as the Treasurer of Ethiopia (Acts 8:26-39) and Cornelius, the Roman Centurion
given to charity received the Saviour into their lives (Acts 10). In this context a
Biblical Scholar remarked, “Good people DO NOT go to Heaven, only the PERFECT PEOPLE DO!”.
Only those perfected by the conclusive atoning sacrifice of Christ on Calvary (Heb 10:14)!
-
Submit:
Now coming back to the Early Church laity, even as they were received into the fold of the
Church, they submitted themselves wholly to the teaching and instructions of their leaders
wholeheartedly (Acts 2:42). This paved the way for their wondrous
spiritual growth, which led to their other profitable “Kingdom”
activities.
- Commit:
So wondrous was their spiritual growth, they saw the world for what it was
(Colossians 3:1-3), just a temporary abode what with a better, permanent,
celestial home awaiting them. No wonder they were loosely attached to
their materialistic wealth, with many selling their properties in order to
help their poor brethren with the said proceeds. Virtually they committed
their wealth into the hands of the Lord, who would pay them wonderful,
heavenly dividends (Luke 12:33).
- Transmit:
They did not leave the task of transmitting the Gospel, only to their
leaders. As they had grown in their spiritual lives, they could speak with
authority about Saving grace of Christ. As such, we see them
“transmitting” the Good News not only with their words
(Acts 8:4) but also
actions (Acts 19:18-20).
How true is the maxim that
“actions speak louder than words”, for when the Christians who were hitherto
magicians, sorcerers burned their costly incantation books in a public bonfire
at Ephesus, the whole region was profoundly impacted for the Lord. That is why a wise saint
remarked underscoring the significance of life-style evangelism “Preach
the Gospel at all times, use words only when necessary”!
Billy Graham that great and uncompromising preacher once in a Revival meeting held at Los Angeles,
shared a passionate message on the Early Church, outlining what needs to be done for the Churches
of modern era to become more effective. While many were moved by it, some “cannibal” Christians
(apparently a misnomer, however refer Gal 5:15) criticized him of taking Christianity back
by 100 years to which he is said to have replied with wisdom borne out of long, enduring
relationship with Christ "I did indeed want to set religion back, not just by 100 years but
1,900 years, to the Book of Acts when first century followers of Christ were accused of
turning the Roman Empire upside down."
Oh for the First century fire and passion in Christians!
In conclusion, I would like to ask the Christian
leadership (Evangelists and Pastors) and the Laity- are we imitating the Early Church
by being World shakers or is the World shaking us up?
It is said that the Book of Acts is the only Book in the
Bible with no formal conclusion. Even today, are we not witnessing the stunning
works of servants of Christ, propelled by the Spirit? If I may add, even the
work of yours truly (a sinner saved by His grace), however significant or
insignificant (the good Lord alone is the best judge-
I Cor 4:3,4) would figure
under the Divine aegis of this Book. Now shouldn’t this fact that our works for
the Lord are STILL FIGURING IN THE BOOK OF ACTS inspire all of us (ordained
full-timers or laity) to GET OUR ACT TOGETHER FOR
HIS GLORY!
MARANATHA!
(Suresh Manoharan)
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