The Church was Steadfast

Acts 2:42, And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Notice that the early church was continued in the things of God, and they were steadfast in all things

Despite the ridicule and persecution the early church remained

They remained stedfast and continued in studying the scriptures and having fellowship with each other as well as having dinner with each other and they observed the last supper, and last put not least in much prayer

1 Corinthians 15:58, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

I.       Doctrine

A.    The word also means “teaching”

B.    Peter wrote to the church 1 Peter 2:2, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby

1.     New born babys have to eat every 3 to 4 hours

C.    Paul writes in Romans 12:2, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God

D.    1 Timothy 4:6, If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained

E.     1 Timothy 4:13, Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine

F.     So the one thing we know about the early church is that they were taught the Bible

G.    Acts 17:11, These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so

II.    Fellowship

A.    Fellowship is the spiritual duty of believers to stimulate each other to holiness and faithfulness[1]

B.    Romans 12:10, Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another

C.    Romans 12:16, Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

D.    The basic meaning of Fellowship is: Partnership or sharing

1.     1 John 1:3, That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

2.     Hebrews 10:24-25,24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

III.    Breaking of Bread

A.    This refers to the Lord’s Supper

1.     We will start doing this once each quarter.

B.    It is our spiritual duty as the Lord commanded it in I Cor 11:24-29

1.     In Communion, all believers meet on common ground at the foot of the cross

2.     Communion also exemplifies the unity of believers, since in it all partake together before the Lord

3.     Communion calls for self-examination and purging of sin, this purifies the church

IV.   Prayer

A.    The early church believed in much prayer

1.     As one read the Gospels and Acts you can not help and see that they prayed a lot

2.     John 14:13-14,13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

B.    The early church took this promise as the source of God's provision for all their needs

1.     It is not enough to pray here, we must take it with us during the week and keep on praying.

2.     This type of praying will change things

3.     Acts 1:14, These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

C.    Sadly, prayer is much neglected in the church today

1.     Program, concerts, entertainment draw large crowds

2.     Prayer meetings, on the other hand, attract only the faithful few

Conclusion:

The early church knew the critical importance of pursuing the spiritual duties

The early church studied the Bible, fellowship among themselves; they examined them selves at communion and were given to much prayer

We have a lot of examples to follow here today

I trust you have been challenged to follow through

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[1]MacArthur, J. (1994, c1996). Acts (82). Chicago: Moody Press.