I used to think that the apostles in

the early church were not like us

until I read 1 Timothy 1:15. James...

Reverend Pastor Paul Njoroge.

The early church's apostles were positioned for impact. The book of Acts ideally lays the ground for how The Church should be and how she should conduct her business.

And because of how positioned they were and the impact they brought into the world, we are still feeling the effect of the early Church more than two thousand years now.

In the world there have been great men and women and great inventions and great ideas have been discovered. But you realise these great ideas have been improved upon in such a way that the people who initially came up with these inventions, if they were to come back to life today, would not be able to recognise the improvement their ideas have gone through.

Talk about Graham Bell and the initial telephone compared to the current world of communication. It's a total change. Talk about the automobile industry, the education system and so forth. All these have metamorphosis into different things.

Interesting though, when we talk about the early Church, the apostles, the first sermon that apostle Peter preached in the book of Acts chapter two, the council in Jerusalem in Acts 15 and all we read in the book of Acts is still relevant today. That we can read the book of Acts without adding or even explaining, and it's going to make sense. One can stand and present the resolution of the council in Jerusalem without adding anything and it's still going to make sense. The letters of apostle Paul are very relevant even today. Therefore, it is very prudent to study the lives of these wonderful men and women to find out how they made such huge impact.

Men Just Like Us

I used to think that the apostles in the early church were not like us until I came to the book of 1 Timothy 1:15 where Paul says that, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am chief among them." James says in chapter five that Elijah was a man just like us!

How then did they manage to

turn the world upside-down?

Acts

17

1-12

What had made these brethren so powerful in such a way that every place they went, people there were not left the same? As a matter of fact, Jews used to follow them so that at least they could try to water down what Paul and Silas were doing.

The answer is found in verse number two.

We are talking about positioning ourselves for impact. Ask yourself whether there is something that you need to change or do that you are not doing so that you can begin to turn the world upside down. Many years after you have gone, will people be referring to you in regard to positive things you will have done

WELL DEFINED CUSTOM

The reason why early Church brethren were people of high impact is because they had a well-defined custom. According to the online dictionary, a custom is a habitual practice, or the usual way of acting in given circumstances. A practice so long established that it has the force of law. It can also be defined as a tradition.

Two things need to be considered if you are to develop a custom that will help you achieve your impact; consistence and persistence.

Consistence

The Paul you met in Ephesus was the same Paul you met in Antioch and Thessalonica. He was consistent. The message he gave to the idol worshippers in Athens was the message he presented to Felix in his courts. He was such a consistent man in his walk with the Lord and in the way that he carried himself that in 1 Corinthians 11:1 he looked at the Corinthians in the eyes and told them, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." (or follow me as I follow Christ).

In other words, Paul was telling them that they can actually do what he did because basically what he was, was defined by Christ in his life. He wasn't one person in the morning and someone else in the evening! If you just think through it, you will realise, it's such a hard statement to say. That he could tell the people of Corinth, guys I am your Bible! What I do- do it.

A high impact person must be consistent. Some of us in the Lord cannot have people following us because they cannot tell who we really are. The problem we are having in church today is because we are having people who are not consistent. Where are the Christians, we see on Sundays? Where are they Monday to Saturday? Where are the Christians who know where they are going and can say, "This is the way, walk ye in it?” God had a problem with the church at Laodicea (Revelation...) They were neither cold nor hot. James says double minded men cannot receive anything. *

The message of the cross had transformed these people so much that even being in prison couldn't stop them from sharing the Gospel of Christ. Apostle John in 1 John 1 says, "That which we have heard, that which we have seen, that which we have touched... is what we are sharing with you." What these people were in private is the same they were in public. Are you consistent when it comes to the things of the Kingdom?

Persistence

"...for three Sabbaths, he reasoned with them from the scriptures." For Paul he was not just fulfilling righteousness, but getting results. That is why we are talking about them today. It was not about a one-day thing. It was not just a Sunday thing but a daily experience. He reasoned with the people from the scriptures and some of them were persuaded, and a great multitude of the devout Greeks and many of the leading women followed Paul and Silas. They were persistent both in the walk and in the message.

In this era of 'fast everything', if there is a virtue that is missing in us is a virtue of persistence. Because persistence demands that you remain there to pay the price until you see the results of what you are trusting God for.

Acts 4:20 Peter and John are released by the Sanhedrin and towards the end of this chapter, we interact with the prayer that the brethren prayed. They were not praying for protection and cover. They were not casting out the demons of the people who were arresting them. Instead they were asking God to help them speak His word with boldness. They were willing to persist until they see the transformation that they were looking for. Are you persistent even in the area of prayer, because a lot of Christians are abandoning the place of prayer. You can tell the health of a church by looking at their prayer meetings! We need to persist at the place of prayer if we need to impact the world.

The impact that we want will not just come. There must be people who will be willing to pay the price. The same is the fact if we are to see the change that we want in our nation. And this price is the price of setting a custom, tradition or a lifestyle that we are known for.In Daniel 6, those who were jealous of Daniel because he was promoted by King Darius looked for a way in which they could accuse him. In verse five, they could not get Daniel on any other thing for which they could accuse him because he was a faithful man, with no fault or error in him. They could only be able to get him if they were able to set him against the law of his God! A man who had such a custom that everybody in the land knew. Persistence in prayer. Persistence in reading the Word, not just to fulfil a particular obligation. Make a point of not only coming to church but coming to learn and know because you want to be a person of high impact. The Bereans are listed in the Bible because of the one aspect of being diligent in God's word. That after the sermon they went home and checked whether what the minister was saying was true!

Persist in the Word of God. Even if it does not make sense to others around you. Persist, even if your family members cannot understand why at your age you cannot get out and get a baby. Persist even if your fellow youth cannot understand why you cannot compromise. Because you have a custom you live by. A custom that is in line with God's purpose in your life.

We pray for revival. It is not supposed to come from out there, but from inside the fellowship. If there will be men and women who will say, I'm going to set myself in a lifestyle that is in line with God's purpose and I am willing to pay the price for the same. You cannot achieve high impact if you are a mediocre in the way that you do things. The apostles and the early Church were called Christians because they were identified with Christ.

..

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, It is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me. and...

Paul to Timothy: reflect on what I have given you, and may the Lord give you understanding