The Kind of Church I Want to Attend

Introduction

One thing that blows my mind about modern day churches; not all of them mind you, but several that I’ve seen lately, when they begin the church; one of the first things they do is send out little post cards asking people what they look for most in a church.

It might not be popular opinion, but I don’t need to send out a poll to figure out what church should be about. I can see what ingredients are necessary to make a good church right here in the pages of Scripture.

The kind of church every believer should want to attend should be like the early church!

I don’t know about ya’ll, but I want to go to church where there is:

Life - I don’t care one thing about a service that’s dead, dry, and dull!

Liberty - When things are dead, dry, and dull, it kills the liberty! I want to go to church where I’ve got freedom to worship!

Love - I don’t want to go to church where there’s fussing, fighting, and arguing! Those things have no place in church and I’m not going to one like that - for the record, I’m not going to pastor one like that either!

Labor - I want to go to church where the people have an ambition to do something!

I want to go to church where people are:

Happy in their worship!

Holy in their walk!

Humble in their ways!

Helpful in their works!

Honest in their words!

Hungry in their witness!

Let me give you some things concerning this early church:

The church in Acts was united:

Acts 2:44–46 KJV 1900

44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

- The people loved one another.

- They were being persecuted for their faith, many were losing their jobs.

- And others were forces from their homes.

- Many were poverty stricken.

- The people in the church rallied together, sold their possessions, and gave to meet the needs of other believers.

- Acts 2:46 says they were “in one accord.”

- Acts 4:32 says “they were of one heart and one soul.”

- They held their faith in common.

- They stood with one another and not against one another.

- They presented a united front to the hostile world in which they lived.

Trouble should unite us, not divide us!

Every metaphor that the Bible gives about the church emphasizes unity...

A New Testament church doesn’t have division.

The church in Acts was committed:

We are told that “they continued daily,” Acts 2:46.

- They were so committed to their worship of the Savior that they came together every day to worship and to honor the Lord.

- Get that in your mind! They didn’t just go to church on Sunday; and some don’t even come then…I’ve told you before and I’m sure I’ve lost some company because of it, but you shouldn’t have to beg Christians to come to church…The early church came to church every single day! That’s commitment!

- They were committed in the face of persecution and hatred.

Stephen was stoned to death for his faith, Acts 7.

John and Peter were arrested and beaten for their preaching, Acts 4–5.

The whole church operated under the threat of persecution, jail, and death, Acts 8:1–3; Acts 9:1–2.

Dead Orthodoxy is just a pitiful as dead liberalism…

Dead Orthodoxy has been described as:

Correct Doctrine without a change,

and, Correct Doctrine without a correct practical outworking...

How does this tie into commitment? Well, both of those lead to:

Correct Doctrine without a Zeal! A lack of zeal for the Word or for Souls!

It takes commitment to be a New Testament church...

The church in Acts was Powerful:

The early church enjoyed the power of God in their midst.

- They saw people saved on a daily basis, Acts 2:47.

Acts 2:47 KJV 1900

47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

- They witnessed miraculous conversions as first 3,000 and then 5,000 were saved by grace and brought into their number.

- They saw God deal with hypocrisy in their midst by judging guilty members in the presence of everyone, Acts 5:1–10.

- They witnessed many miracles and many manifestations of the power of God.

- They were hated by the world, but they had the power of God on their ministries.

- There was so much spiritual power on this church that they were said to have “turned the world upside down,” Acts 17:6.

The church in Acts was Militant:

They carried the Gospel to everyone they met.

- Peter and John shared the Gospel with a crippled man in Acts 3. When he was healed and saved, a crowd gathered, Acts 4. Peter and John preached the Gospel to that crowd and 5,000 people were saved.

- They sent out missionaries to carry the Gospel to the world.

- They witnessed were they lived, and everywhere they went.

- They literally fulfilled Acts 1:8, which says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

- They had the Gospel and they did not hesitate to use it!

The church in Acts was Feared:

While they were hated by the word, they were also feared.

- When Ananias and Sapphira were killed for lying to the Holy Ghost, fear fell on the people because of the power of God that rested on His church.

- Acts 5:13a says, “And of the rest durst no man join himself to them.”

- The world around them knew something was different about this church.

- Many feared the church because God’s presence was so real.

In our day, the church is a mere shadow of what it was designed to be. The modern church lacks many of the characteristics that made the early church such a wonder to behold.

The church here in Acts was unified, magnified, and glorified!

The church in Acts was not content to meet once a week for “services as usual.” They met daily (Acts 2:46), cared daily (Acts 6:1), won souls daily (Acts 2:47), searched the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11), and increased in number daily (Acts 16:5).

There’s four reasons why I would have wanted to have been a member of this church:

I-Their Growing

They were growing spiritually:

Acts 2:42 KJV 1900

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

How is that we grow spiritually? Look at the verse - continue steadfastly in doctrine - what’s that, read and study the Bible! Then fellowship with other believers!

Hebrews 10:25 KJV 1900

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.

And watch this - lastly in the verse - prayers…Want to grow? Read the Word, Assemble with Believers, and Pray!

They were growing financially:

Acts 2:45 KJV 1900

45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

It’s Biblical to give! If you’re right with God, you won’t have any problem giving! I’ve often heard it said that if the Lord has your heart, He’ll have your pocketbook also! And yes, I know I just told you they were growing financially, but the verse says sold their possessions and goods…You can’t out give God folks! You give it away, and He’ll give back to you!

They were growing numerically:

Acts 2:47 KJV 1900

47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Yes, I read that right; we wouldn’t know what in the world to do if this were the case today, but it’s possible!

II-Their Giving

Acts 2:45 KJV 1900

45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

Let’s look at this verse again...

Their giving was sacrificial!

“…sold their possessions...”

They were not forced to sell their goods, but they did so as the Holy Spirit prompted them to! This was not a government organized welfare system! They were not just into putting a suit of clothes on a man’s back or putting food in a man’s belly. They had a purpose to all that they did! They were pointing others to Jesus.

Their giving was sincere!

“…parted them to all men...”

They distributed out to the needy. God provided for the needs of His people through His people. Those who had need no longer had need! Many in the early church were left destitute by the world because of their faith in the Lord Jesus. They were left jobless and sometimes left homeless. They lost family and fortunes because of the persecution on the early church! The early church ministered to those in need. They shared with others who had need.

III-Their Gladness

Acts 2:46 KJV 1900

46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

They were glad when they were together...

They were glad when they were at the temple...

They were glad when they were at the table...

The early church was marked by gladness!

IV-Their God

Acts 2:47 KJV 1900

47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Notice the wording!

The Lord added directly…

The Lord added daily…

The Lord added divinely… “…such as should be saved.”

Psalm 127:1 KJV 1900

1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Conclusion

How well do we as individuals fit the pattern of the early church?

Are we the kind of individuals God can bless and use to make His church was He designed it to be? - Remember, every single individual makes up the church! Literally speaking, the church is not the building, it’s each person I’m looking at tonight!

I want you to ask yourself the question, “If every member were just like me, then what kind of church would my church be?”

I challenge you to look inside yourself right now.

• Are you saved? If not, come to Jesus right now!

• Are you surrendered to the Lord? If not, come and surrender all to Him now.

• Are you faithful to the church? If not, repent of that sin and get faithful to the Lord.

• Are you committed to the ministries of the church? If not, repent of that sin and get busy.

• Are you a servant of the Lord and His church? If not, repent of that sin and go to work.

I challenge you to pray and to work together as a family to ensure that this church lines up perfectly with the pattern God designed.

We have a good church. It’s filled with good people; people I love.

Yet, I see in all of our lives much room for improvement.

If the Lord is speaking to you, you need to come to Him.

If nothing else, you should come pray for your church today!