In
Matthew 16 Jesus asked His disciples who people said that Jesus was and then He
asked who they said He was. Peter answered that Jesus was the Christ, the Son
of the living God. Jesus then tells Peter that he is blessed because His Father
had revealed that to him.
Jesus
in verse 18 says that he is Peter and on the truth of what Peter the rock said
Jesus will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
We
see a group of mostly uneducated and theologically untrained followers. But
they are described in Acts 17:6 as people who turned the world upside down.
How
did those early believers turn the world upside down?
They
loved Jesus.
Paul
describes the Thessalonian believers in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 as laboring in
love. The early believers loved Jesus and gave themselves to serve Him and Him
only.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is loving Jesus and serving out of love for
Jesus.
They
depended on the filling of the Holy Spirit.
In
Ephesians 5:18 Paul tells us as followers of Jesus to be continually filled
with the Holy Spirit. The early church depended on the Holy Spirit to give them
desire for God and the empowering to obey God.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us and
depending on the work of the Spirit in and through our lives.
They
believed God’s word.
In
Acts 2:42 the early church was devoted to the apostles’ teaching. They believed
God’s word and obeyed it and lived it out daily.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is believing God’s word, obeying God’s word,
and living God’s word out every day.
They
made a priority of worship and prayer.
Worship
is telling God how much we love Him.
Prayer
is listening to God and agreeing with His will.
The
early believers spent time in both public and private worship.
The
early believers prayed about everything and trusted God to answer their
prayers.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is prioritizing worship and prayer.
They
served the community.
In
Acts 4:32-35 Luke says that the early church their sold material possessions
and shared with all who had need. They did what Jesus tells us to in Matthew 25
by feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, they took strangers in,
they clothed the naked, they visited the sick, and they ministered to the
prisoners.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is seeing the perceived needs of a community
or area and meeting those needs in the name of Jesus.
It
is time that the church and particularly the American church overcame the gates
of hell.
The
early believers show us how:
Loving
Jesus
Depending
on the Holy Spirit
Believing
and obeying God’s word
Prioritizing
worship and prayer
Meeting
the needs of people
Jesus
loves us and He desires that all people know He loves them, experience that
love, and has a love relationship with Him. We as followers of Jesus have been
given a privileged call of sharing and showing His love to others.
So,
are we going to be described as those early believers were as people who turned
the world upside down?
Showing the World the
Love of Jesus,
Raising the Roof and
Removing the Walls,
Joe
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