Day 1201 – Disciples Take Care of Each Other – Worldview Wednesday

Published: Aug. 28, 2019, 7:03 a.m.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 1201 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Disciples Take Care of Each Other - Worldview Wednesday


Wisdom - the final frontier to true knowledge.  Welcome to Wisdom-Trek! Where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy.  Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1201 of our Trek, and it is Worldview Wednesday.  Creating a Biblical Worldview is important to have a proper perspective on today’s current events.  To establish a Biblical Worldview, it is required that you also have a proper understanding of God and His Word.  On our Worldview Wednesday episodes we are in a series in which we are covering another detailed review of a book from one of today’s most prominent Hebrew Scholars Dr. Micheal S. Heiser.  We are taking a deep dive and will share Dr. Heiser's insights into the question, which is also the title of his book: ‘What Does God Want?’
Disciples Take Care of Each Other
This element of discipleship is an outgrowth of loving one another, which we focused on last week. Taking care of each other means being in and nurturing community.

As more and more people came to embrace the gospel in the days following Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), they became part of a growing community that would be called the “church” (in their case, the one at Jerusalem). In the New Testament, this term didn't refer to a building or an official organization. The New Testament tells us that the church in Jerusalem was notoriously poor. They didn't have a building to meet in, and there were already thousands of new believers. Acts 2:41, 47; 5:14). They didn't have any official legal status, so believers were persecuted. (Acts 3:11-4:31; 5:17-42).

If “the church” wasn't about a building or an organization that had legal status, what did it mean? How did the followers of Jesus sustain themselves? They formed a tight, self-sacrificing community. Too often in modern churches, we use the word community to describe something more similar to a group of people who share an interest—like being fans of a sports team or mutual supporters of a good cause. That falls far short of what New Testament community was. The New Testament church community was a family.

What's the difference between family and a group of people who bond together because of a mutual interest? Lots of things. Would you expect someone to give you money to pay your rent or groceries just because you liked the same baseball team? Would you expect someone to give you a job or fix your car just because you voted for the same person, or ran in the same 5K race to raise money for a cause? Of course not. But you would expect help from family members (or at least that's the way family—blood relations—is supposed to work).

That's what the early church was like. Here's a glimpse found in Acts 2:41-47:

Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity, all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all ...