In the nineteenth century, Alaska and California had gold rushes. The saying “There’s gold in those hills” became popular. Harvesting souls is like mining for gold. The Parable of the Sower, in Matthew tells how important for it is for the seeds to fall on good ground. The Church is responsible for helping prepare the soil in order to win souls.
Today the world doesn’t need a new Gold Rush, but a Gospel Rush. Today much of what passes for the Gospel is actually a Fool’s Gospel. It is a cheap imitation of grace. We need to preach a Biblical based Gospel in order to prepare the ground. The first century church preached the true Gospel and changed the world. The blueprint for preparing the ground is found in Acts 2:42.
“And they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching, to fellowship, to breaking bread, and to the prayers. (HCS)”
The early church was the most successful evangelistic church in history. They focused on the apostle’s teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and to the prayers. Despite our technology, wealth and knowledge we haven’t have come close to the success of the early church. In forty years they spread across the Roman Empire against all odds. To impact our world as they did theirs, we need to focus on the fundamentals of the early church.
First of all, the early church was devoted to the apostle’s teachings. These are found in the Bible. A strong Bible study is the foundation of any gospel church. If we are to live for Christ, we will need to know His Word. Self motivation sermons or books, can not replace God’s Word. Only by soaking up the knowledge of God’s Word will we have the wisdom to live for Him. Knowing God’s word will keep us from falling for Satan’s “fool gospel”.
Fellowship is the glue that holds the church together. The church consists of people. Today’s society is geared for the individual. Sometimes as Christians we develop a “Lone Ranger” mentality. We want a custom made God, one that will fit our lifestyle. In the New Testament we see Christ meeting the Samaritan woman as well as the Roman centurion. The Gospel is for everyone. However, they changed their lives to fit Christ, instead of Christ changing to fit theirs. Good Christian fellowship can offer support as we go through trials. The early church was there to support each other in their walk with Christ.
Breaking bread refers to the Lord’s Supper, or communion. Breaking bread calls us back to the cross. We are reminded of Christ’s sacrifice and of God’s grace. We are also reminded of His return. There’s a need for formal worship. While the events of the Resurrection happened only a couple of months before Pentecost, the followers of Christ constantly reminded themselves of what had happened and why. There’s a need for formal worship. Too much informal worship results in a casual relationship toward God.
If fellowship is the glue, prayers are the oil which helps the church to function. Prayer moves the gears of the Almighty. The early church had the formal prayers of the Old Testament, as well as informal prayers. They joined as a group to pray. In today’s church, prayer meetings usually have the lowest attendance. A successful church in God’s eyes will be one that prays.
One of the problems we have made in preaching the Gospel is that we often leave out the bad news. The need for repentance is overlooked. The “Good News” isn’t good until people hear the bad, otherwise it is only news. Too many people think they can add Jesus to their lifestyle. The truth is that we are all sinners, and deserve God’s judgment. The good news is that Christ has paid our debt and made it possible for us to live forever with Him in Heaven.
Now is the time to have a true Gospel Rush. Getting back to the basics can help produce a Gospel Rush that will change the world. The nuggets we find, the Holy Spirit can turn into vessels for the Lord. Today we have lost our focus of spreading the Gospel of the early church. We need to regain our focus and have a life changing, soul stirring, Spirit-filled Gospel Rush.
