Secrets of the Early Church's Success

we're going to look to the word of the lord i'm going to teach today about the secrets of the first century church's success the things they did that made them such a success what made them what they were i mean because we are apostolic pentecostal church that's what the early church was it was founded on the apostles it started on the day of pentecost and so we want to be what they were we want as much as possible to emulate what they did that was beneficial and that was in the will of god and following after his spirit psalm 127 1 is just one short verse there then we'll read a couple passages from matthew one from matthew and one from acts psalm 127 1 says this except the lord build the house they labor in vain that build it and accept the lord keep the city the watchman waketh but in vain it doesn't do us any good to come here and make plans and put together programs and do anything else if we don't have the lord right he's got to build the house man it's got to be built on that foundation we firmly believe that we follow after that we want what the lord wants and we want to follow after him matthew 16 familiar passage of scripture beginning at verse 15 jesus said unto his disciples who do you say that i am and simon peter answered and said you are the christ the son of the living god when he said that jesus answered and said unto him blessed art thou simon bore jonah for flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee but my father which is in heaven and then he says this and this is the first mention of the church in our new testament he said i say also unto thee that thou art peter and upon this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it i'm thankful what we a part of today is an eternal thing amen this church of god he is building it and nothing is going to stop it acts chapter 2 and we want to begin at verse 42. after the day of pentecost after the spirit had fallen upon all those believers that were in the upper room spilled out 3000 added to the church that day and then it says this in verse 42 and they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and in fellowship and breaking of bread and in prayers fear came upon every soul and many signs and wonders were done by the apostles and all that believed were together and had all things in common they sold their possessions and goods parted them to all to every man to all men as every man had need and they continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house did eat their meat with gladness and with singleness of heart praising god and having favor with all the people and the lord added to the church daily such as should be saved

the last three weeks our lessons have centered on why we teach and the importance of growing into the image of jesus christ and how the word helps us grow and so we've focused more or less on individual spiritual growth why we need the word why we need teaching how we need to grow and what we need to do in our personal lives and while our individual growth is absolutely essential yet we must understand that living for god is more than just what we do alone amen it's not just about my experience i think sometimes we can if we're not careful we can become too short-sighted with that lord i need the blessing lord i need this lord i need that but jesus the church he founded was never intended to be it was intended to be a group but never isolated individuals just working out their own way to heaven you know i can stay home and live for god well you're not part of the church if you're not at a church he said again and again we're reminded that the church means that we must be part of something bigger than ourselves something that goes beyond our personal salvation experience we are to reach out we are part of god's family the bible talks over and over in the new testament about this we're to be joined together and we can't do that when we're off by ourselves we are god's family we are called we are part of his building that he is putting together we are the body of christ we are a fellowship of believers all of those things point to we need to be together and while in one sense any born-again believer can be the church to those around him we must understand that the church is only truly the church when it's a community and the plan of god from before the foundation of the world was for a people to be called out of darkness to bear the glory of his name paul called that a mystery and he said this mystery that was pointed out in the old testament has been revealed in these last days so today i want to look at the early days of the church learn from the patterns that it's set and from these i believe we can learn some keys to being what god wants us to be today in our world

first off it's important to understand this is god's church amen it is his handiwork we talked about it just a minute ago it is his alone and it's important for us to understand that that the concept and the structure and the building and the security the deaths everything about the church all originated in the mind of god this wasn't a bunch of men that got together and said what can we do how can we put together let's brainstorm a little bit and figure all this out figure out what we could do to put together an organization to put together a social club whatever it might be it was god's idea many people have invested hours in fact their lives entire lives into the kingdom but we must never forget that all of our combined labor and every plan and everything that we do would never build a church but god builds this church now we can help and we can do our part and we should do our part we should find that place where we fit and be a part of a church but by his own declaration jesus said on this rock i will build my church he didn't say the rock is there you go out and build it he said i'm going to do it how does he do that well he works through us the important thing is to keep him as that focus right indeed all of our best efforts fail without his power except he builds it we labor in vain and the good news is that the lord does build his church i'm thankful he is working amen i feel him here today he's working in this place he's touching our hearts and touching our minds amen you know even before the man fell in the garden of eden god had a plan for redemption that included the church all of his dealings throughout the old testament pointed forward to it the tabernacle in the wilderness was a pattern of things that would come the law was an instructor that would bring us to christ so it was all pointing toward the messiah but also pointing toward the church the prophets pointed forward to the church and became part of its foundation jesus christ said he was the cornerstone the apostles preached its message and the book of acts recorded its birth in its infancy every christian who has ever lived since the church began are part of this great church in the words of paul and ephesians he said this in 219 now therefore you are no more or strangers you're not foreigners but you are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of god you are built upon this foundation that's apostles and prophets jesus christ himself being the chief cornerstone that's what this church is all about it's not man's idea and then he said this in whom all the building that means every one of us are fitly framed together and we grow together unto a holy temple unto the lord that's what the church is not a building not a program not just organization and all those things may be things that we need to do this but really it is the people coming together and growing into what god wants us to be and then he said this in whom you also so every one of us we are builded together for a habitation of god through the spirit see it has to be his church because we're building so that he can inhabit it if it's for any other purpose it's not the church truly the hand of god was at work in creating crafting and refining this thing we know as a church let's talk about it a little bit first off the church was purposed by god as he said it was not man's idea mankind's wisdom wouldn't design something so lasting and so wonderful so long-standing so eternal as the church there's a lot of organizations you can join there's social clubs none of them have been around 2000 years they haven't been there because they're man's ideas this design for this spiritual creation was in the mind of god himself and and for centuries mankind could only wonder about it they didn't understand they didn't even realize it it was a mystery shrouded in god's unrevealed plan but when jesus arrived and he began to preach the message of the kingdom it was a new message something that people hadn't heard and they listened to his teaching and they said well this is something different he he teaches someone with authority and it's not like the scribes and the pharisees and and as he began to teach this whole idea of community and coming together and god dwelling in hearts became so new and so real they begin to glimpse what god had purposed from the beginning in fact paul writes it this way talking about this mystery in ephesians 3 9 and he said my ministry he said it is there to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world it's been hid in god who created all things by jesus christ to with the intent that now unto principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of god according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in christ jesus our lord now that's a mouthful isn't it a lot of big words there let me give that from a little more modern translation paul said he allowed me to explain the way this mystery works this church he's talking about god who created all things kept it hidden in the past and he did that so that now through the church he could let rulers and authorities in other words angels and principalities all those things in heaven understand his infinite wisdom and then he said and here's what it was this was god's plan for all of history which he carried out through jesus christ our lord what was the plan the church you're part of something great this morning if you're a part of the church in fact i find it interesting before joel prophesied about in the last days god was going to pour out his spirit before isaiah attempted to describe the name of jesus before moses set up that tabernacle that foreshadowed the church even before adam tasted of the forbidden fruit god had purpose to build a church let me show you where it's often been said and i'm sure you've heard it preached many times and i've probably said it too the first prophecy in the bible genesis 3 15. that is probably the first prophecy concerning the messiah it talks about how that the serpent was going to bruise the heel of the seed of the woman and that he was going to bruise the serpent's head and we say that's talking about jesus bruising satan's head yes it is a messianic prophecy but paul reaches back even a chapter earlier and i believe he finds a reference to the church look at genesis 2 and 23 and you're going to say what's this got to do with anything adam said this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh she shall be called woman because she was taken out a man and then he said therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh paul reaches back and grabs that same verse in ephesians 5 31 he's talking about a relationship between a husband and a wife but he says this for this cause shall man leave his father and his mother and should be joined into his wife and they too shall be one flesh but then he goes on and he says this that's a great mystery but what i'm talking about is christ and the church now we're not going to go back and read that whole chapter go back and look through that in ephesians 5. he begins to talk about husbands love your wife but then he doesn't stop there he said even as christ loved the church and the whole point he's talking about there is he's talking about the church and he understands that just like a husband and wife relationship there is a relationship between jesus and his church and it was talked about all the way back in genesis so god had a plan for a church before there was even a fall i'm thankful we're part of something long established it was purposed by god

not only that but god not only designed the church but he also paid the price necessary to bring it in existence he purchased this church the purchase price for building his church wasn't the price of what we had to pay to put up a building peter said for as much as you know that you're not redeemed you weren't bought you weren't paid for with corruptable things like silver and gold we'd think that'd be a pretty good thing to buy something with right not when god builds his church he said it wasn't from your vain conversation or your empty words or anything that you receive by tradition from your father it was made by the precious bought by the precious blood of jesus christ as of a lamb without blemish and without splat spot who was ordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you the bible clearly states that god has redeemed us or he has bought us back from the enemy of our souls what adam messed up and what he messed up in the garden of eden and what they lost god steps in and said you know what i'm going to buy you back you may have listened to satan you may have failed you may have brought sin into the world but i'm going to pay the price to take care of all of that problem that's why paul said you are bought with a price what the price of jesus going to a cross and shedding his blood for you and he said because of that we glorify god in your body and in your spirit which are gods we speak of the sun when speaking of the soon return of jesus paul in titus he said we are looking for a blessed hope we're looking for the glorious appearing of the great god and our savior jesus christ and then he said this who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and that he could purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works a peculiar people what was he talking about though repeater explains it in first peter 2. he said you who's he talking to he's talking to the church you are a chosen generation you're a royal priesthood you're a holy nation a peculiar or a set apart people that your special treasure if you will that he you should show forth the praises of him that has called you out of darkness into his light which in times past were not a people but are now the people of god which had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy what's he talking about he's talking about the church this church was purchased by god so intrinsic to the church is this this idea of redemption and this idea of buying back that when we finally stand in heaven you know what our song is going to be i've been redeemed by love divine i've been redeemed revelation 5 9 and they sung a new song you're worthy to take the book you're worthy to open the seals and here's why because you were slain and you have redeemed us to god by thy blood out of every kindred and every tongue and every nation and every people truly the price of the church was not cheap it was the very life blood of our savior jesus christ aren't you thankful to be a part of a blood-bought church we're going to always talk about the blood we're never going to take it out of our vocabulary out of the songs out of our bible amen because that is the price that jesus paid for us to be this church not only did he purpose it and he purchased it but when it was time he planted it firmly text that we read in in matthew the disciples may have just viewed it as another day with jesus they're walking they left one part and they're heading into caesarea philippi many ways it's kind of interesting you read that and matthew's it almost seems like an afterthought there's really no explanation why they were going to caesarea philippi caesarea philippi no nothing given nothing happened there as far as ministering in the city they were just on their way there i mean matthew could have easily just said you know one day the disciples jesus turned to him and asked him a question so i don't know why he said that and why but i think he was really he was writing but he was looking ahead and jesus stopped them on the way and he said who do men say that i the son of man am who do they think i am and they're talking among them well moses some people think you're moses some people think john the baptist somebody else speaks up well some some think you're isaiah or jeremiah or you know one of the prophets and they they really don't know and so walking around thinking about it and finally jesus said well then who do you say i am peter looks up and he i don't know if it just dawned on him right then or if he'd been pondering in his mind the bible jesus said flesh and blood didn't reveal it to you god did but he turned he said you're the christ the anointed one the messiah you are the son of the living god and i don't know what peter really expected but i could almost see jesus turn around to him and say i say unto you you're peter but but upon this rock but upon this fact that you just said i'm going to build my church now some people think well god's going to build his church on peter no he said i'm the chief cornerstone he never said peter you're going to be the chief cornerstone we're going to build it all on you what he was referring to is this rock of confession i'm thankful when god enacted a plan through the shed blood of jesus he didn't leave this church a drift and floundering but he solidly planted it on an unsafe shakeable foundation and that unshakeable foundation is the identity of who jesus is everyone who receives this illumination from his word and recognizes jesus you're more than just a man you're more than just another prophet or a good teacher and we'll we'll just put you right here on the shelf along with buddha and confucius and muhammad and anyone else that you can think of you know you're just another one of the no he is our lord he is our savior he's the messiah king of kings lord of lords wonderful counselor mighty god everlasting father prince of peace the complete revelation of god to man the express image of his person you could go on and on the church has stood the test of persecution and assault and everything else because it's nothing shakes it because we understand who jesus is never get away from knowing who jesus is man if you do you're no longer a part of the church that's the foundation it is what we are planted on on the revelation of jesus christ so he god purchased it and he purposed it he purchased it he planted it but then this church was proclaimed throughout the world the church was never intended to be a secret society you know we don't have some plain looking building with a door and you just knock on it if you know the password we'll let you in that's a secret don't tell anybody and we'll we'll let you know what the path let's just keep this quiet let's keep now it's to be proclaimed it's to be talked about jesus said that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name he told his disciples here's what you need to do go and preach it go and tell people preaching is proclaiming proclaim his name among all nations start here in jerusalem and go everywhere take this gospel this church must be proclaimed i'm thankful i'm not part of some secret society that nobody knows about well i'm just a christian but nobody knows can i be honest i've been there i was riding a school bus one day as a rowdy teenager probably doing some stuff i shouldn't do and somebody turned to me and said roger where's your cross today i sat down real quick and shut up i should have been proclaiming you know what god's good believers were to openly declare the message of the church to every corner of the earth go ye therefore teach all nations was god's command was the lord's command the lord commissioned the church early church to proclaim the message everywhere that god had done a new thing they were to proclaim with boldness what they believed they would proclaim the reality of their testimony and our job church is no different than theirs we each bear responsibility to share this gospel with others god's will was and it is abundantly abundantly clear

this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then will end will come jesus said and proclaim the gospel they did so powerful was their witness that their detractors in thessalonica said this they said these that have turned the world upside down have come hither also they'd heard about it what these people are proclaiming they're going everywhere the proclamation of the gospel was effectual in drawing people to the church and and because of that it propagated the church it began to grow into all corners of the world because it was proclaimed in fact just 30 40 years after the resurrection paul is standing before festus and the king agrippa in acts 26 and he said i'm persuaded that none of these things are hidden for you this thing wasn't done in a corner you guys understand that because it's been out everywhere it's what everybody's talking about i wish everybody were talking about the church he said you know what you ought to go there centuries before it was even unveiled the prophets foretold that his kingdom would be isaiah said it of his kingdom there shall be no end no end this church is to continue growing and increasing the early church established that pattern of increasing and we need to continue that today as god adds to the church so it was purposed by god and purchased and it is planted and it is proclaimed

i'm thankful too that god preserves his church one of the wonderful characteristics of being a part of the church is that he is able to preserve the things that he established you don't have to worry was it going to be here tomorrow what about next week is god he said i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it it doesn't matter how dark the world gets it doesn't matter what you see around you and how everything changes and what and we're seeing it aren't we we look at society and things that they pass for laws now the things that are in the things that that society forces or tries to force on you you can't say this and you can't talk about that and you can't do this god said nothing's going to stop my church i'm going to preserve it it's going to be there it's going to be strong because it's founded on that rock and i am going to preserve it even just looking at some of the errors the church era is not errors eras the churches passed through show proof of god's preservation the jews tried to stamp stamp it out when it first started they started in jerusalem and as it spread they they followed paul around oh he went over there let's get over there and try to mess it up oh he's heading that way let's go over there and and everywhere he went and everywhere barnabas and peter and others went to to try to establish the church the jews would rush over there and try to stamp it out they couldn't do it then the gentiles started the emperors of rome subjected it to horrible sufferings and abominations all the christians at one point were forced out of rome get out of here we don't want you around then when they all came back they started persecuting and using them and fight gladiators and lions and they lived in catacombs and all those kind of things hell's false doctrines assault the church in its purity throughout the centuries spiritual darkness blindness in the dark ages tempted later now in our age secular humanism and new age religions and everything else coming against the church but you know what in spite of everything the church stands secure because god preserves his church paul wrote in first thessalonians 5 23 said the very god of peace will sanctify you holy that word means set you apart i'm thankful no matter what the world world does there is a place in god he said i've sanctified you i've set you apart i am what he was saying was i am protecting you i am keeping you he said i pray god your whole spirit and your soul and your body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our lord jesus christ if he separated you you don't have to oh i just hope i don't sin today oh i i hope i can i just know everything that's going on he's got you in his hand church he separated you he has sanctified you and he will preserve you blameless until he comes again jesus himself gave this promise he said my sheep hear my voice he said i know them they follow me he said and i give them eternal life and there shall they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand you come to god you don't have to worry well i don't know about joining that church because i don't know if i can make you let god fill your life with his spirit amen and he will have you in his hand and there you don't have to worry about no i just can't do this because you can't but you can through the spirit of god you can't in your flesh but he said i've got a hold of you paul's words to timothy ring true in first timothy or second timothy 1 12 for this for the which cause i also i suffer a lot of things timothy nevertheless i'm not ashamed for i know who i have believed and i am persuaded that he is able to keep the things which i have committed unto him against that day god is going to keep me yeah i may be going through some things but god has me in his hand i'm thankful you don't have to fear failing or falling he preserves those who are his he purposed it he purchased it he planted it it's proclaimed he preserved it and ultimately god is going to perfect his church

now the church is planted and it is preserved but i'm thankful it's not static it doesn't sit we are immovable in terms of our message it can never change right who jesus is what it takes to be saved what the word of god has to say to us that does not change it never will change no matter what man says no matter what else but we have to realize other things change society changes our methods change people change all those kind of things and as a potter continually shapes and refines that vessel so does jesus christ refine his you see he's working on us he is working on us in an ongoing work of perfection that continues in all of us when the bible speaks of perfection concerning individuals it's not of being flawless i think that scares everyone away you say well you got to be perfect to serve god no he makes it he perfects us and that perfect means a completeness he we are complete the bible says in him not in all your acts and everything that you tried to do to be perfect because you'll never get there but as we mature in all aspects of our lifestyle and begin to reflect the character of jesus christ we are achieving perfection perfection is that ongoing process now here's the thing when we are born again we are positionally perfect before god at that time in other words he looks at us and he declares you righteous i'm sinful man well my sins have been forgiven they've been washed in the blood of the lamb i buried the old man in baptism in jesus name i changed my mind and headed a different direction into repentance and he fills me with the holy ghost and i arise to walk a newness of life i am positionally perfect in god's eyes we are made righteous but i'm not going to be completely prophetically perfect because i'm still carnal still flesh and the carnal man i have to keep down until he comes back and between those times we are called to a practical perfection of god working through us in our life we talked about that a couple weeks ago when we talked about being conformed to his image we won't revisit all of that but god perfects his church how through the proclamation of his word by ordinary people god purposed it he purchased it planted it proclaimed it preserved it and perfected it

by any standards that you might apply the early church was an amazing success wasn't it you read the book of acts and look at the things that happened that success was not due to the depth of the natural ability of its leaders who would have chosen peter and james and john fisherman out there that probably talk like the sailor as we like to say and rough men in fact later on the people looked at him and said i don't understand this these are their words where these are unlearned and ignorant men but god's building a church you see it really didn't matter they just got consumed with what god was doing their success wasn't based on the just favorable surroundings and favor of societal leaders in favor of the church and the religious leaders in fact they were considered heretics and dangerous and seditious and they were stamped out tried to be stamped out by the religions of the world and by the governments of the world but yet in the face of all those things in just a few short years they turned their world upside down it was a divine success and if we want to see our current day church succeed it would do well to examine and mirror some of those things that they did so the rest of this time that we have i want to look at the acts chapter 2 42-47 that we read

they continued first off steadfastly in the apostles doctrine the first thing was they continued in the teaching or in what the apostles taught we talked about that a couple weeks ago so won't spend a lot of time here but these new believers who had their lives radically changed by this holy ghost this new birth experience they didn't seek another way other than what the apostles preached they didn't say well let's just try to figure this out some other let's try to make it compatible with what we already believe or let's throw it over here there might have been many dangerous and we we talked about those that followed paul around and tried to tear down what they were doing and no they stuck to the apostles doctrine here's what we believe i mean there were some that occasionally didn't paul had to write to the galatians and he said okay you began in the spirit why do you want to finish in the flesh what he was saying is you started out on the apostles doctrine you started out with things that were right and things were true and now you're trying to figure it out another way and do it do it some other way peter made clear the position of the church when he faced the high priest in the temple and the other leaders and he said very simply we've got to obey god rather than men it doesn't matter what you say about the doctrine we're going to obey what god says the apostles pass that imperative along to the new converts through letters the epistles the things that are written in our bible and they encourage those who had been born again cling to this message hold on to it jude said contend for the faith that was delivered to the save continue to believe that paul mentioned as he said to galatians you know hold on to the things that you have learned and we too must maintain a commitment to the apostles doctrine if we're going to enjoy success as a church now you can build an organization but if you want to build a church you've got to be founded on that doctrine

the second aspect is that they continued steadfastly in their doctrine and in fellowship we talked about that a little bit earlier about the fact that the church is a community it is a coming together that word in the greek that queen ania means association intimacy community joint participation or even contact those meanings indicate something greater than belonging to a club or just a social organization it's a closeness in which each member's well-being is of paramount of importance to the others there's a sense of community that provides with a sense of belonging that's what the church should be and what the church is that's what it was in the old testament what it must be or in the new testament and what it must be in our day and age now i know occasionally we look at church activities and we say well that that's a spiritual activity and we look at other things yeah well that's that's just some activity they planned well it is self-evident we are more spiritually in tune when god is moving into service and things are happening and you're praying for individuals and things are happening but i believe it's inaccurate to label only that as a spiritual endeavor any time we come together for whatever purpose ultimately there is a spiritual reason for that now we we often see communion as something communion is something we do in a church service and we've kind of made it that the church has for many years we come together we'll put the communion table up and we'll have communion but he said they continued in fellowship in the breaking of bread that was literally a meal that was shared together usually at someone's home and most likely at some point in that time while they were together a prayer meeting would ensue whenever god's people gather here's what we need to understand he is in their midst if you're filled with the holy ghost and you're around a whole bunch of other people that are filled with the spirit of god god's there so it may just be a get-together but it's a spiritual thing we need to understand that he is in our midst when there are proper attitudes and proper vision and proper priorities and and we're coming together because we love each other as the body of christ here's the thing if the bible tells us the evil associations are dangerous because they can influence you when you're around evil people it will affect you well it stands to reason then if we're together with people of god that's going to affect you it's going to be beneficial to your life i think sometimes we just simply have to make time for the body of christ i think that what the writer of hebrews was saying applied more than just coming to church whenever we schedule church services he said don't forsake the assembling of ourselves together as a manner of son but exhort one another and do it a lot more as you see the day approaching what he's saying is get together for right reasons and be the church for the church to succeed we need to give ourselves to times of fellowship within the body first lesson we taught this month we stress that one of the things we need to do is build community that you're my brother you're my sister kind of thing if that turns your stomach and you you know what are you part of the church i'm thankful to have brothers and sisters that's the pattern of the early church and then they consi

continued in ministry and service toward one another the bible recur records that they initially practiced they said all they all that believed were together and had all things in common now i said earlier we want to do what the church did when they were doing things that were right there was nothing wrong with what they did except it was mismanaged and it really wasn't their intention was right they came together and said you know what let's just all sell everything they expected jesus to come back tomorrow or maybe even that day and so let's just get rid of everything we'll live together it failed you read through paul's letters and he was continually collecting money for the jerusalem church because they were broke why were they broke because they sold all their property and everything else and some of them probably quit their jobs and turned in their bank accounts and said well just live off each other and god didn't promote socialism that's so so that we're not following after that but we are falling after the principle that says you know what you need to have the same care one to another and it's apparent that really they did this in their zeal it was a little bit misguided but they did it because they cared for one another they were willing to sacrifice for those in the church who had a need and there's nothing wrong with that and we should follow that pattern today and as pastor de long is leading us in our theme for this year others must be our primary concern paul clearly defined this principle by love serve one another the scriptures instruct us be kind one to another be tenderhearted forgiving one another admonish one another comfort one another edify one another exhort one another love one another obviously not an exhaustive lift list but the clear tone of scripture is that the church's chief concern is the ministry of serving others and we see that in this early church

and then worship to god the description of the early church continues with the words they were praising god the church that god constructed will succeed only when it continues to lift him up not a program not anything else that we do but when we lift him up beyond the simple fact that he merits our praise we also need to praise him for our personal benefits because when we praise him he inhabits that praise and he meets with us it's important the responsibility of praising and worship rests on each and every one of us that step into the house of god now we have a praise team worship team we have singers we have worship leaders we have all those things and they're all a blessing to the service but here's what they can't be they can't be surrogate worshipers they're not worshiping so i don't have to they're worshiping to lead us into the presence of god there's no such thing as a person whom you can designate and say you go praise god for me don't feel like it today you're accountable i'm accountable to lift him up let everything that hath breath praise the lord not say well that everything hath breath go find somebody else that has breath and tell them to pray no you do it they praise god they were worshipers

and finally they were evangelists the lord added the church daily such as should be saved if jesus came to seek and to save that is the purpose of the church today the successful principles of that new testament church are unchanging methods used as we said this method of coming together that they did was not a good method that's okay let's learn from that but let's still hold on to those principles caring for one another doctrine fellowship others worship evangelism let's hold on to those if we will found our church and we have and if we continue to follow down that path we will be the church that god wants us to be aren't you thankful to be part of something that was purposed purchased planted proclaimed preserved perfected by god amen well let's take what we know this church is and let's do what the apostles and what the disciples and what those did in that day and let's be the church let's stand if you're glad to be a part of this church why don't you just lift hands and thank the lord thank you lord hallelujah for what you have created what you have done the things lord that you have wrought lord beyond anything man could do and we're so thankful god that you have invited us and you have called us to be a part of that kingdom and of that church that you have provided in jesus name thank you save