The churches that were being strengthened in the faith (1)

“Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium.  Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.  Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe.  So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.” (Acts 16:1-5)

            One day, the Lord gave me an understanding as my church leaders had the Bible study on Acts chapter 4.  And that understanding was to see the pattern of how Lord built the Early Church.  I have thought of the five patterns [the name of pattern: “Top to Bottom Method”]: (1) Prayer (v. 31, cf. 1:14- 15), (2) filled with the Holy Spirit (vv. 8, 31), (3) the preaching of the gospel (vv. 8-12), (4) the increase of the believers (v. 4, cf. 2:47), (5) the loving community (vv. 32-37).  However, I was surprised because the worldly patterns of building the churches in the present age are thought to be the opposite.  I would say that opposite way of the worldly pattern is the ‘Bottom to Top Method’:

(1)     Church: While the priority of the Lord's ways of building His church is prayer, the priority of the worldly way is the church.  Although we say that we try to be one mind and one will in the church, I think that these days, so many churches are trying to build up the church with different minds and wills.

(2)     Church number: The second worldly way is to increase the number of church members.  I am afraid that the number of people increase in the church is not those who hear the gospel and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ but those people move from one church to another church.  The churches are stealing members from each other.  It is a sad reality that more people are coming from the names of the church members than from those who hear the name of Jesus Christ.

(3)     Evangelism/Mission: The third way is to evangelize and to do mission.

(4)     Filled with the Holy Spirit: It seems like in the worldly patter of building the church, at the fourth pattern we are finally seeking to be filled with the Spirit.  Although this should be the first one, it lies at the fourth in the worldly pattern of building the church.  But I am wondering whether even being filled with the Holy Spirit in the worldly pattern is biblical or not.

(5)     Prayer: Even with this prayer, we often cry out in situations, feelings, and thoughts with the attitude that we should be recognized for our sovereignty rather than holding on to God's promises as we acknowledge God’s sovereignty.  

This is what Acts 16:5 says: “So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.”  I want to enjoy the grace of meditating on how to become a church that strengthens in the faith and increase in number daily.

First, we must all be disciples of Jesus in order for our church to be a church that strengthens in the faith and increase in number daily.

Look at Acts 16:1 – “Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.”  After Apostle Paul contended with Barnabas (15:39), he went with Silas to the first mission trip to Syria and Cilicia, to strengthen the churches (v. 41).  Then they came to Derbe and to Lystra (16:1).  At Lystra, Paul performed a marvelous miracle in his first mission trip, which was to heal a man who had no strengthen in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked (14:8ff.).  As a result, there was a disturbance where people misunderstood Paul and Barnabas as the gods Zeus and Hermes in the form of human beings and offered sacrifices to them (Yoo).  This place, called Lystra, was a pagan centered city where the Gentiles form an absolute majority of the population.  And there, God used Paul and Barnabas to preach the gospel and perform miracles in their first mission trip.  As a result, many years later, when Paul returned Lystra with Silas, he saw small number of believing Jews in this Gentile city.  Among the few believing Jews, Paul met a new disciple named Timothy (Yoo).  This Jesus’ disciple Timothy can be said in today’s term a mixed raced man (16:1).  In other words, his mother was a believing Jewish woman and her father was a Greek.  Timothy's mother's name was Eunice, and she has sincere faith, which first lived in her mother Lois (2 Tim. 1:5).  In Eunice’s heart, there was a faith without falsehood.  She was the woman with precious faith.  Those who had this kind of faith are true disciples of Jesus.  The meaning of his name suits him.  His name “Timothy” means ‘treasure of God (Park).

True disciples of Jesus have faith in their hearts that is free of lies.  They have sincere faith.  In other words, sincere faith means faithful faith, faith without hypocrisy, and faith that is not fake.  For example, we can think of Abraham's faith in Romans 4:18-21.

(1)   Abraham's sincere faith was a faith that believes against all hope (v. 18).

Abraham believed in the words of God's promise, “So shall your offspring be” (v. 18) that was given to him about 25 years ago, even as he was 100 years old and his body was as good as dead and that his wife Sarah’s womb was also dead (v. 19).  In other words, Abraham's faith was the hope of having a son in the midst of a human medical impossibility.

(2)   Abraham's sincere faith was a faith that would not be weaken in an impossible situation.

Look at verse 19: “Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead.”

(3)     Abraham’s sincere faith was a faith that gave glory to God because it was strengthened in an impossible situation.

Look at verse 20: “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.”

(4)   Abraham's sincere faith was a faith that was being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.

Look at verse 21: “being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”

                As true disciples of Jesus, we should listen and pay attention to 2 Corinthians 13:5 – “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?”  I am sure you know Niagara Falls.  One day in 1860, a famous American acrobat, Blondin, was trying to tie a rope over the Niagara Falls and tried to cross the 1,000 ft Niagara Gorge on a tightrope.  Many people came to see because one year ago in 1859, Blondin, who tried to cross on the tightrope in Niagara Falls, succeeded in crossing on the tightrope, carrying his manager Harry Colcord on his back.  As he tried to tide a rope about 50 meters high and about 300 meters long above the terrifying waterfall, the crowds gathered to see his new tightrope and cried out “Blondin, Blondin.”  So Blondin asked them. ‘Do you believe that I can cross from one side to the other on the rope that hangs over this waterfall?’  Then the crowd agreed, saying, ‘Of course!’  So he asked them, ‘Who of you would ride on my back?  If you believe in me, anybody come to me.’  Then no one volunteered.  What does this say?  This says that even though the crowd said they believed in Blondin, their belief was ultimately hypocritical and fake’ (Internet).