The church burst forth upon the earth
JANUARY 23, 2008 (WEDNESDAY)
The first congregation of Christian believers sprang up in Jerusalem suddenly. It happened at the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, when there were many visitors in the city.
A group of 120 people had obeyed the risen Lord and had stayed in Jerusalem praying, day after day. All of a sudden, there had been the sound of a strong wind and tongues of fire appeared on their heads. They went outside and began to talk about Jesus, but what they heard coming from their mouths was another language they had never learned. All the visitors from other nations heard them speaking and knew what they were saying, for they were speaking their language. Each heard the gospel that day in his own language. A miracle!
Pretty soon the entire city was excited about what was going on, and people gathered together to see and hear these strange happenings. Then the Apostle Peter stood up and preached a tremendous sermon about Jesus. Before he finished, people were asking what they should do, and Peter told them to repent, believe in Jesus and be baptized. Thousands believed, and were baptized as an act of commitment to the living Lord Jesus Christ. In one day, the church was born. Wow!
That wasn’t the last of it. People continued to profess their faith in Christ, were baptized, and became a part of the growing fellowship of thousands. Pretty soon the apostles, who were in charge, saw they could not do everything that needed to be done, so the congregation elected seven men to help the apostles. The selection criteria were simple, yet profound: they must be men “known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.” *
Elected for the specific task of managing the distribution of food to widows, their spiritual qualifications drove them to do much more. Soon they were proclaiming the Word of God. One of them, Philip, led a great spiritual awakening in Samaria, and then the Lord led him to the desert to witness to a rich man from Ethiopia, who was saved and went back to his country to share the gospel. Such stories abound in the Book of Acts. This book of the Bible tells us how the church got started, and reminds us of what should be important to us as believers in Christ. Why not read it through today?
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*Many believe these seven men were the first deacons. Officially “Deacons” or not, they were certainly “servants,” or “ministers,” and that’s what the word, “deacon” means.