Lord’s Day, Vol. 7 No. 50

(1) Evangelism 2020

By the grace of God, the church of Jesus Christ shall be ushered in two weeks’ time into a new decade of witnessing for her Lord. 

On 18 December 2019, the church gathers for the last prayer meeting at 8pm in the Praise Chapel for the year. I urge you to come and pray together for the Lord’s blessing upon His church. 

This was the pattern of the infant church recorded in Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The power that is begotten of the Holy Spirit

is received by concerted corporate and personal prayer. The first sign of the infant church was that members were being gathered together for corporate prayer meeting – Acts 1:4And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. There were various key words “being assembled together”, “they should not depart” which are significant to describe the process of rounding the flock of God and keeping them together.

Jesus was in the midst of them (Acts 1:4-5, Matthew 18:20). The word for the phrase “being assembled together” (Acts 1:4), the opposite is “to scatter” as used in John 10:12 “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.” 

The Apostles whom Jesus has chosen and trained during His time on earth, met their Lord in His resurrection body, instructed them to gather the sheep together. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Head of the Church (Eph. 5:23, Col. 1:18), the Great Shepherd of the sheep (Heb. 13:20), gathered the core leaders of His flock at the Mount of Olives to witness His ascension, the nucleus of the infant church, were assembled together, where Jesus presented Himself alive attesting to His resurrection life gave them the Great Commission (Acts 1:8). 

The infant church began when a core of Jesus’ disciples with others (numbering about a hundred and twenty) Acts 1:15, met together to pray. Acts 1:14 described their manner of prayer, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”

There was an appointed season of united prayer to receive divine directions from the throne of grace where our Lord is, seated at the right hand of God (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 1:3, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2; Acts 2:33-34, 5:31; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; 1 Pet. 3:22). 

Surely the disciples were at a loss with the ascension of their Leader to heaven but their Lord, the Holy One of Israel, did not leave them without instruction for their guidance, they were to wait in prayer, as the prophet Isaiah aptly recorded in Isaiah 48:14a, 17 “All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; …Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.”

Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 that “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth”. This power is mine, Jesus said and I will give you that power by being with you in Matthew 28:20 “and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” This co-labouring with God is taught by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:6, 9 “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase…For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” This co-labouring with God begins with prayer.

It is the promise taught in Acts 1:4. The word “continued” means “hold fast to, cling to, persevere in”^.Members in the infant church persevered in prayer.Members of the local church must first begin at the throne of grace, seeking the Lord’s will, guidance and blessing in spiritual unity. In the infant church, there was spiritual unity and harmony, the sincere, earnest and persevering prayers of men and women, ascended up to God as a sweet savour, receiving the Lord’s approval.

The testimony of the infant church was that members were in united prayer in one place the Upper Room (Mark 14:15; Luke 22:12; Acts 1:13) in Jerusalem waiting at the throne of grace for divine blessing and guidance. 

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came in mighty manner, in response to their prayer as God’s reward to the earnest seeker as taught by Jesus on importunate prayer in Luke 11:9-10,13 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened…If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” 

May the Lord guide us as we seek Him. Amen.

(2) Family Day 2019

Thank God for gathering the church family together for a time of bonding in the study of God’s Word on the theme “How to Study the Bible?” (Hosea 4:6). May the Lord bless His Word to strengthen His people. Amen.

Yours lovingly,

Pastor Lek Aik Wee