“Lord Jesus, teach us to remain detached from the material things of life. To keep our eyes on You and walk in Your fear, to be totally devoted to You. Teach us faith. In Your name, we pray. Amen.”
Acts 2:46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
We have said that the first place for worship is our home. The church begins in our homes. This is the structure that God has given for His church. The meal time for the family is precious, for it is then that they celebrate in the presence of God.
One more evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the life of the early church was the simplicity of heart or they being single-minded in their devotion to God.
Psalms 86:11 Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. Jeremiah 32:38-39 They shall be My people, and I will be their God; (39) then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.
God desires for us to fear Him with one heart and one way. This is good for us and for our children after us. This was evident in the early church.
Today, our lives are largely cluttered and we are anxious about many things. We seek to build our security and safety on many factors. When we look at our world, we see everything becoming uncertain. This causes greater anxiety and this is seen in our homes.
Whereas, in the early church, there was singleness of heart to fear the Lord. Their eyes were on the Lord and not on their circumstances. II Corinthians 4:18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
The Lord was enabling them, through the filling of His Holy Spirit, to look at the things that are not seen. They were growing in their faith. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The Lord was teaching them, through His Holy Spirit, to set their eyes on the eternal kingdom. Hebrews 11:9-10 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; (10) for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
This is the specific place of Abraham’s faith. His eyes were on the things not seen but hoped for.
When our eyes are on the eternal kingdom of Jesus, we serve the Lord here with reverence and godly fear. This was evident in the early church. Hebrews 12:28-29 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. (29) For our God is a consuming fire.
We are pilgrims and travellers passing through this world and so we live with a loose grip over the material things that the Lord has given us. Yes, we are good stewards of all that the Lord has placed in our hands but we do not hold on to them tightly. This enables us to release our material possessions to meet the needs of others, which takes us back to the truth of generosity that we had discussed.
Hebrews 13:14-16 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. (15) Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. (16) But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
The common experience that seems to dominate the life of Christians today, seems to be anxiety and depression. These are experiences that result from a life that is not experiencing simplicity. Whereas, it was the life of simplicity or a single-minded devotion to God, which was evident in the early church.
History tells us that the early church in Jerusalem soon experienced severe persecution and was forced to flee. The Lord was preparing them to be detached from their material possessions so that when this oppression would happen, they would be prepared to leave and not hesitate.
The Lord is always working out His purpose and so we must be in tune with Him. Let us, as His church, seek to grow in simplicity and single-minded devotion to God.