Practices (part two)

In the first part of this title, we discussed two practices from Acts 2:42 that help one’s walk of faith to be a productive one. We emphasised the importance of reading, hearing and speaking God’s Word, and actively participating in fellowship. We will now discuss the remaining two.

3. Breaking of the bread
This refers both to the meals they shared together in their homes (see Acts 2:46) and to the Lord’s Supper (see 1 Corinthians 11:20-22). The emphasis with the meals they shared together in their homes was not only the unity and communion (see Acts 2:44), but also their giving. Giving is vital to your spiritual well-being as a believer.  Not just because ‘blessed is the hand that gives’, but because giving is a declaration of my faith and trust in God for the provision of my needs. This includes all forms of giving such as tithes, freewill offering, giving towards the building/extension of God’s house/kingdom, and giving to those in need.

There is much debate surrounding the issue of tithes/firstfruits, and I never understand why. One argument I’ve heard is that tithes are of the Law, the old covenant and are no longer required in the new covenant. But the origin of tithes is not in Moses and the Law, but way before, with Abraham (see Genesis 14:20). What’s worse is that Galatians 3:16 draws a clear connection between Christ and Abraham/Abrahamic covenant. Jacob is also one who gave a tithe to God (see Genesis 28:22). What Moses gave us was clarity as to what the tithe signified and how it is to be used (see Leviticus 27:30 and Numbers 18:21), the prophet Malachi then giving the benefits thereof (see Malachi 3:10-12). If I were to give one thing that makes the tithe important is the fact that the tithe is holy to God, and it makes the whole holy (see Romans 11:16). By giving God the first (the tenth), I say the whole is His, because all I have I have through Him in the first place.

We give because without the Gift, we wouldn’t be. Had God not given us the gift that is Jesus, we wouldn’t have the eternal life we have. So when you’re prompted to give, remember, it’s not a time to focus on what you may or may not have, but on what you’ve been given first. We know that God askes where He has given, hence 2 Corinthians 9:10 states that God supplies seed to the sower, and will supply and increase your store of seed, which will inevitably lead to an enlarged harvest.

Partaking in the Lord’s Supper/Holy Communion is paramount to every believer. One, it signifies unity with the rest of the Body of Christ. In his rebuke, Paul draws a connection between divisions in the Church and the way in which they fail to partake in the Lord’s Supper as they should (see 1 Corinthians 11:17-21). People can only successfully sit on a table and share a meal when they are in unity and good terms. Partaking in the Lord’s Supper is a constant reminder that I should forgive my brothers in the Lord and not disturb the unity the Spirit (see Ephesians 4:3). When I remember the sacrifice of Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins, I am reminded to extend that forgiveness to those who sin against me.
Two, partaking in the Lord’s Supper keeps me grounded in that I remember the reason for this entire faith walk thing, Jesus Himself. He says repeatedly that when we take His body and drink His blood, we should do it in remembrance of Him (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). When we remember, we are not easily moved and will not be easily fooled. So many things have infiltrated the church in the form of false teaching, and at the root of all these teachings, is shifting the Church from its Centre/Core, Jesus. Emphasis is being put on other things (water, oil, honey, photos etc.) other than Him. When the Lord’s Supper is continuously part of our worship, we avoid this trap.
Lastly, when I partake of the Lord’s Supper, I join the Church in making a very powerful proclamation; His death until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26). Living in expectation of the Lord’s return is imperative to every believer of the message of the gospel. Not only does it give us hope, but it also helps us to avoid sin which can cause us to not be part of those with Him when He comes (see 1 John 3:3).

4. Prayer
I like to emphasise that the order in which these principles appear doesn’t reflect order of importance. What makes me say this is the fact that when the early church began congregating after Jesus’ ascension, we’re told that the main item on their agenda was prayer (see Acts 1:12-14).
I have no way of saying just how important prayer is to a believer. Joyce Meyer says prayer is like breathing to us, without it, we’re dead (in her book The Power of Simple Prayer). Why else would the Bible teach us to pray continually (see Thessalonians 5:17)? Jesus himself prayed multiple times throughout the gospels, going so far as teaching His disciples how to pray. What makes it so important is that it is our main means of communication with God. Not only is it a medium through which we talk to God, but a medium through which He talks to us. I recently preached a sermon titled ‘a call within a call’ where we read in Genesis 35, exploring the fact that in Jacob  building an altar and calling upon the name of the Lord, God ‘called’ upon Jacob and communicated His plan for his life. It’s so important that when we pray, we not get so caught up in what we want to say, we forget to listen because through prayer we not only get to offload stress but we also get to regain strength (see Luke 22:41-43).
Prayer is where we fight our battle as believers, War Room has done so well in reminding us that. There is so much power in the prayer of a believer (see James 5:16) that if we knew and believed it, we’d do it more often.

Together with prayer is fasting, a practise that is slowly being excluded from worship because of how difficult and uncomfortable it can be. But we can’t pick and choose what we will and will not do. The early Church fasted (see Acts 13:2-3) and we can account their success to their faith walk with that. Jesus put it clearly that His disciples would fast once He was gone (see Matthew 9:14-15). In this text, He maximises on fasting being a way of mourning. The church is called to continually anticipate and call for His return (see Revelation 22:17), this because of what the Church and world will be when He comes. We also fast because of how fasting allows us to humble ourselves and deny ourselves in order to seek God (see Leviticus 23:32). Jesus also gives it away in Mark 9:29 that prayer when accompanied by fasting allows for ability to deal with certain kinds of challenging difficulties. I do believe this is not because fasting is some supernatural exercise but because of the intimacy between me and God when fasting, hence fasting needing to accompany prayer.

I hope you’ve been enlightened and encouraged through this, and I pray that as you continue to put into practice, you will grow closer and closer to God, that you find deep joy and satisfaction in your relationship with Him, and that finally, your faith in practice will usher you to His Throne eternally.