Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The Church Jesus promised to build is begun! In one day, 3,000 new students receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit!
Forgiven, they are empowered to begin the life-long process of following Jesus. With the help of the Holy Spirit, they will gradually become more like the Teacher. The fruit of the Spirit will grow in their hearts.
For information about Jesus that will lead to transformation of their lives, they must rely on the teaching of the apostles. Lest there be any doubt about the authenticity of their message, the Holy Spirit continued to put His stamp of approval on them.
Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
The believers stayed together in close fellowship. They met every day. They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching about Jesus and to prayer.
They took care of one another by selling some of their possessions to help those in the group who were in need.
Their lives were marked with increasing joy and gratitude for what God was doing in their lives – They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God…
These dramatic changes were evidence of the presence of Jesus in their lives. Other people took notice and new students were constantly being attracted to the group of believers.
And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
This is an incredible picture of the first century church that began on Pentecost.
ReplyDeleteWhat would the effect be of our congregations if we met together daily for prayer, devotional, encouragement, instruction, and fellowship?
I worked with a youth group that met every day before school for an entire school year - I never saw more rapid spiritual growth than I did that year.
While that may not be a schedule most would (or could) make happen, the results are outstanding. Make sure that you do a little of these things every day, with other believers, as you come into contact with them. Let's move beyond the mere everyday chit chat and move more toward this pattern in Acts 2!