June 4 - Why People Join the Church
“And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” -- this is an ideal situation for any church today, having people join their ranks from day to day. Most churches have evangelistic campaigns or special events over the course of the year, very few churches have experienced this type of natural, organic growth without a set program. Out of what the early believers were doing on a daily basis, people were drawn to the church every day. This type of evangelism is not sporadic but daily and continuous.
This type of evangelism begins with the right message of Christ’s death, resurrection and the power of the Holy Spirit, culminating to the weight of personal sin and repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This would allow the believers to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in their lives so that they may live the Christian life and be witnesses of the Lord Jesus. Peter gave a very definitive answer to how to become a believer and these believers together became the first church.
Such a good message must be authenticated in order for others to know that it is from God. God’s presence and power were with the apostles in the form of signs and wonders. The signs pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and this further instilled awe and the fear of God in the hearts of the people. There is power in the message, it is not just some good morality or teaching but has the power of God backing it up. God can heal and make people whole, God answers prayer and He is alive today. People must see a live demonstration of God’s power in order to join the church community.
Even more so, the love of God also must be demonstrated for the people to believe and joint the church. God’s love is unconditional and propels us to do the same. As believers love one another, others may know that God is real. The spirit of generosity and the willingness to forsake personal possessions were the hallmark of early Christianity. It is a sharp contrast to the individualism and spirit of self-interest in today’s world. When others can see that the believers do not care only for themselves but for one another and when they see that they pracitice what they preach, the message of the Gospel would become real to them. The self-giving spirit was so strong in the early church that no one claimed any personal property but had all things in common.
When the power of God and the love of God are both demonstrated in the lives of the believers, evangelism would then make sense. There is no power in a life unchanged by the Gospel to try to convert others to it. How is your life today, does it reflect the power of God and the love of God?
Ps 126:4-6 2 Sam 22:21-23:23 Acts 2:1-47 Prov 16:19-20