Is Prayer and Generosity Visible?
Acts 2:42-45 ASV 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
Before we get started there are a few general comments to make about this text:
For centuries this has been considered the model of church life. The Holy Spirit had just been sent to dwell in the lives of believers and the church was young, fresh, relatively untainted and pure in heart.
Matthew Henry – “We often speak of the primitive church, and appeal to it, and to the history of it; in these verses we have the history of the truly primitive church, of the first days of it, its state of infancy indeed, but like that, the state of its greatest innocence.”
Because of the innocence of the infant church, and the apparent purity of motives, this list of characteristics is often considered the aim for serious Christian churches and could form a basis for the evaluation of our own church health.
Nothing in the Holy Bible is there by accident. The Holy Spirit had a reason for the author, Luke, to record this so we should receive it as a message with authority.
Note that everything was done corporately. Everyone was physically together in fellowship eating, listening to the Apostle’s teaching, praying, sharing, giving, etc. This should send a message to anyone who is doing church virtually these days. If you are only doing church virtually, or via You Tube or Podcasts or TV, then you are not participating in the Body of Jesus Christ. If you believe that you are a follower of Jesus Christ then you must be in fellowship with His body.
Today we will focus on two corporate activities of the early church: Prayers (vs. 42) and generosity and giving (v. 45)
Prayers
When you see the reference to prayer it may raise questions:
Why do we pray?
How did the early church pray? (or what would it be like to join an early church prayer meeting?)
What happens when we pray corporately?
Here we will focus on these three questions. [There are many more questions that we can ask. It is worth noting that we can find answers to all our questions about life in Christ by asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom and he will generously answer every question. We should always be asking questions and seeking knowledge and wisdom from God. Asking questions and inquiring of God creates a more meaningful devotional life.]
Question One: Why do we pray?
Because Jesus told us to pray. Jesus, the Lord and King of the created world and the whole universe, has told us to pray, with His authority backing the command.
Luke 11:9-10
“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
Charles Spurgeon: “First, then, our Savior gives us the weight of His own authority: “I tell you.” The first mark of a follower of Christ is that [they] believe [their] Lord. We do not follow the Lord at all if we raise any questions about that which He speaks explicitly. Even if a doctrine is surrounded by ten thousand difficulties, the fact that the Lord Jesus said it sweeps them all away, so far as true Christians are concerned.”
After being filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ disciples grasped all of the things he had taught them and passionately followed His teachings. Prayer was a regular part of their lives.
Jesus had corporate prayer in mind when He taught His disciples to pray. He taught them to say “Our Father who art in Heaven” and “Give us this day our daily bread”, etc. His followers recognized this and complied. Corporate prayers were prayed multiple times during the day.
Corporate prayer strengthens our faith as we hear others praying and hear the response of others. When we are truly praying together our prayers can build up to a great crescendo of faith. If you join our church in Cambodia for prayer you will see and hear Pastor Saren praying, and everyone also praying out loud at the same time. There is a great sound of voices and people praying. Surely Pastor Saren’s faith is strengthened as he hears the entire congregation praying with him. Faith rises as there is a great wave of prayer that sweeps through the congregation and God hears the great crowd of unified voices.
John Piper said about praying with others: “You must signal your agreement in some way to me. Otherwise, you might as well not be there while I am praying. I know the kinds of people who will respond to me that way, and I like to pray with them a lot because when they say “Mm-hmm”, “Yes”, “Hmm”, I know they agree and they are listening. They are with me before the throne. If they don’t do that then I wonder: Are they asleep? What’s going on here? So, I am looking for corporate praying, a togetherness, that manifests itself in some way of communicating togetherness, agreement and affirmation.”
We can build up the faith of others by praying in faith, confidence and with power. When we are praying corporately we should intentionally pray to edify each other. By this we are not striving simply for eloquence or to impress with lofty language but rather we are praying from our hearts and praying based upon our faith in God and His Word. For example, you might be praying for someone who is sick and the situation looks very bad. Even though the situation looks bad we should pray in faith, and ask for God’s will to be done on earth even as it is in heaven and pray for healing. Based purely on human observations we might compromise and pray for God to comfort our dying friend. Why not be bold and ask God for the apparently impossible. Faith pleases God and encourages the Body.
Question Two: How did the early church pray?
Wouldn’t it be nice to travel back in time and visit a prayer meeting in the early church? What would it be like? What would we hear and experience?
There are not many extra-Biblical resources that we can find that can accurately or reliably report to us what prayers in the early church were like. However, in Acts 4 we see a great example for us to emulate.
The background:
4 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus[a] is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.[b] 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men[c] by which we must be saved.”
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
In summary, (1) Peter and John were preaching the resurrection of Jesus and healing the sick. (2) The High Priest and rulers had them arrested. (3) They were commanded with threats to cease and desist from all such preaching. (4) They were released.
When they returned to the church they reported what happened. Then they prayed together:
24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant,[d] said by the Holy Spirit,
“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed’[e]—
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
Note the contents of their prayer. In their prayer they:
Acknowledged the authority and greatness of God.
Quoted scripture in their prayer.
They explained their case.
They requested boldness so that they could continue to preach and heal the sick in Jesus’ name.
Question Three: What happens when we pray corporately?
We learn how to pray with greater wisdom.
We are inspired, motivated and strengthen by the prayers of others.
We inspire, motivate and strengthen others.
We learn about the needs of others and/or about situations that need prayer.
We grow closer to our brothers and sisters as we hear about what is in their hearts.
Amazing things can happen as signs of God’s presence.
Generosity and giving
The text is very brief in chapter 2: Verse 45 says – “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”
This verse also raises some questions, like:
How did the Christians show generosity?
Why did the Christians show generosity?
What is the result of generosity?
Question One: How did the Christians show generosity?
Acts chapter 4 provides more detail about how the believers showed generosity.
34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
Church members sold things of great value and donated the money to help other believers. They did not donate old, used or expired things. They gave their best.
Extra Biblical history also talks about the generosity of Christians. During plagues in Rome. For instance referring to a plague in Rome around 165 AD:
“At the height of the epidemic, mortality was so great in many cities that the emperor Marcus Aurelius (who subsequently died of the disease) wrote of caravans of carts and wagons hauling out the dead. Then, a century later came another great plague. Once again the Greco-Roman world trembled as, on all sides, family, friends, and neighbors died horribly. No one knew how to treat the stricken. Nor did most people try. During the first plague, the famous classical physician Galen fled Rome for his country estate where he stayed until the danger subsided. But for those who could not flee, the typical response was to try to avoid any contact with the afflicted, since it was understood that the disease was contagious. Hence, when their first symptom appeared, victims often were thrown into the streets, where the dead and dying lay in piles. In a pastoral letter written during the second epidemic (ca. 251), Bishop Dionysius described events in Alexandria: “At the first onset of the disease, they [pagans] pushed the sufferers away and fled from their dearest, throwing them into the roads before they were dead and treated unburied corpses as dirt, hoping thereby to avert the spread and contagion of the fatal disease; but do what they might, they found it difficult to escape”….
As for action, Christians met the obligation to care for the sick rather than desert them, and thereby saved enormous numbers of lives! As William H. McNeill pointed out in his celebrated Plagues and Peoples, under the circumstances prevailing in this era, even “quite elementary nursing will greatly reduce mortality. Simple provision of food and water, for instance, will allow persons who are temporarily too weak to cope for themselves to recover instead of perishing miserably.” It is entirely plausible that Christian nursing would have reduced mortality by as much as two-thirds! The fact that most stricken Christians survived did not go unnoticed, lending immense credibility to Christian "miracle working." - Kenneth Berding 2020
https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2020/how-did-early-christians-respond-to-plagues
Question Two: Why did Christians show generosity?
Perhaps they took very seriously the teaching of the Apostles (Acts 2:42). What were the Apostles teaching about generosity?
Romans 12:13 “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”
Galatians 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.”
Hebrews 13:16 “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
James 2:14-17 “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[a] is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
Question Three: What is the result of generosity?
Living in unity with all things in common (Acts 2:44)
No needy person among them (Acts 4:34)
God’s preservation and protection when caring for the sick and needy
(Quote from How Did Early Christians Respond to Plagues?,Historical Reflections as the Coronavirus Spreads Kenneth Berding — March 16, 2020: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2020/how-did-early-christians-respond-to-plagues )
Then, a century later came another great plague. Once again the Greco-Roman world trembled as, on all sides, family, friends, and neighbors died horribly. No one knew how to treat the stricken. Nor did most people try. During the first plague, the famous classical physician Galen fled Rome for his country estate where he stayed until the danger subsided. But for those who could not flee, the typical response was to try to avoid any contact with the afflicted, since it was understood that the disease was contagious. Hence, when their first symptom appeared, victims often were thrown into the streets, where the dead and dying lay in piles. ……As for action, Christians met the obligation to care for the sick rather than desert them, and thereby saved enormous numbers of lives! As William H. McNeill pointed out in his celebrated Plagues and Peoples, under the circumstances prevailing in this era, even “quite elementary nursing will greatly reduce mortality. Simple provision of food and water, for instance, will allow persons who are temporarily too weak to cope for themselves to recover instead of perishing miserably.” It is entirely plausible that Christian nursing would have reduced mortality by as much as two-thirds! The fact that most stricken Christians survived did not go unnoticed, lending immense credibility to Christian "miracle working." Indeed, the miracles often included pagan neighbors and relatives. This surely must have produced some conversions, especially by those who were nursed back to health. In addition, while Christians did nurse some pagans, being so outnumbered, obviously they could not have cared for most of them, while all, or nearly all, Christians would have been nursed. Hence Christians as a group would have enjoyed a far superior survival rate, and, on these grounds alone, the percentage of Christians in the population would have increased substantially as a result of both plagues.
God’s blessings for the generous
(Malachi 3:10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer[b] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts.)
Church growth
In conclusion, let us each prayerfully commit to more opportunities for corporate prayer and generosity.