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Acts 5:42 - And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the center of the entire Bible The "success" of the early church can be summed up in these words. Their success was not based on programs, plans, or promotions. They simply taught and preached Jesus Christ. It is interesting to understand that the church continued to preach Jesus Christ, even though they were told by the Jews to stop preaching about him. See Acts 3:18. The believing Jews (members of the First Baptist Church of Jerusalem) went into the temple every day and preached Jesus. This was public. Not only did they preach in the temple every day, but they also taught about Jesus Christ in every house. They did not disregard any house – preaching the houses of the friendly, the unfriendly, the rich, the poor, the unbelievers and the believers. The whole point of this message is that we need to do what we know we ought to do. If we do not do what we know we ought to do, we will not have the results we desire, or the results we know God is able to give. Examples: Peter preached Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost and 3,000 souls were saved. If Peter had refused to preach, then nobody would have been saved. Peter and John preached Jesus Christ in Acts 3 when the lame man was healed. It was in verse 4 that Peter received knowledge from God that the lame man should be healed. It was not the lame man who asked to be healed, but Peter and John who know the Lord would heal him. Peter had to take the man by the hand and lift him up before the lame man would believe he was healed. If Peter had not reached out his hand and lifted the man up, the man would probably continued to lie there. Acts 4 when the early church was commanded to not speak in the name of Christ, they continued preaching and teaching Jesus Christ, who he is and what he has come to do. Acts 5 – When the Ananias and Sapphira died because they wanted the pre-eminence, the early church continued to preach and teach Jesus Christ. Ananias had a burden to give the entire price of the land to God through the local church, but did not do what he knew God wanted him to do; therefore he died. I know Ananias had a burden to give the entire price of the land because Peter proclaimed Ananias had lied to God. If Ananias had a burden from God to give 80% of the price of the land, and that is what he gave, he could have told the truth and not been worried or afraid about it at all. But because Ananias knew the Lord wanted him to give the entire price, he lied, not to me, but to God. Peter knew the price of the land, either by somebody telling him (a little bird spoke to him! – Ecclesiastes 10:20 states, "Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter." If Peter had not spoken to Ananias about his error, humanly speaking, it looks like both Ananias and Sapphira would have gotten away with their sin. Peter and John preached Jesus Christ when they were persecuted. All the church continued in one accord, preaching and teaching Jesus Christ. Paul taught Jesus Christ, proving from the scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. Many today might major on some doctrines, but the doctrine of Christ is, by far, the most important doctrine of all. Rev. 2:4 – The doctrine of Christ is so important that if we lose our first love, we are in danger of ceasing to be a church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church at Ephesus had done much good, but if, after having done all that good, they fall from their first love – the love for God (and Jesus Christ, of course) – they will lose everything. Christ instructs this church (1) to remember (2) from whence they are fallen, and (3) to repent. This is what every church should do, and what every believer should do. |