Hymn 925
Scripture Reading:
Acts 5:42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and announcing the gospel of Jesus as the Christ.
DURING THE TIME OF THE APOSTLES,
THE CHURCH BEING BUILT UP IN THE BELIEVERS’ HOMES
According to God’s Word, the church of God is firstly the house, household, or home, of God (1 Tim. 3:15). After that it is the kingdom of God (Rom. 14:17). Without the home as a basis, it is hard for individuals to exist, and it is difficult for a nation or kingdom to be established.
Christianity has fallen prey to the wiles of Satan; it has completely overlooked the homes. In Christianity one cares only for the big meetings without any thought of the home meetings. A person in Christianity finds no vessel to hold his experience together. …Consider Romans 16. Without a doubt, during the time of the apostles, the church was built up in the believers’ homes. …At the end of this book, one entire chapter is devoted to Paul’s greeting of the saints. From his greetings, we can see that quite a number of homes were opened to the church. This shows us that the church life at the time of the apostles had a very strong home atmosphere.
This is the reason that we must endeavor with all the energy, strength, and time that the Lord has given us to recover the proper atmosphere of the homes. The first thing we must do is to make every saint’s home a place for meeting (Ministry Magazine, vol. 3, #5, pp. 4-5).
THE MOUTHPIECE OF THE GOSPEL BEING MAN
AND THE OUTLETS OF THE GOSPEL BEING HOMES
We are the mouthpieces for the gospel, and our homes are the outlets for the gospel. If your home is not given for the Lord’s use, and you preach the gospel only individually, then there will be a mouthpiece but no outlet. Acts shows us that at the time of Peter, the disciples not only broke bread “from house to house” (2:46), but also announced Jesus Christ as the gospel “from house to house” (5:42). In Greek, the word announce is the verb form of the word gospel, meaning that they announced the gospel of Jesus as the Christ.
THE NEED TO OPEN OUR HOMES TO GIVE A GREAT RECEPTION
FOR THE LORD FOR THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL
Luke 5 gives us an excellent example….Upon hearing the Lord’s calling, Levi left all, rose up, and followed the Lord. In this way he was saved. Once he was saved, he gave a great reception for the Lord Jesus in his house. …Instead, he invited many tax collectors and sinners (vv. 27-29). Because he himself was a vile sinner, he did not have good men as his friends but rather a crowd of wicked men, all of whom he invited to recline at table with the Lord. The Lord was the guest of honor, and all the other guests invited to keep Him company were sinners. This is a good example of opening the homes for the preaching of the gospel. Once we open our homes, the gospel will have an outlet.
IN THIS WAY, THE BLESSING WILL COME TO US AND EVEN
TO OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS FOR GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
Therefore, I hope that all of you will open your homes to give a great reception for Jesus, simply inviting “sinners” as your guests, that you may preach the gospel to them. If you open your homes, it will not be a loss but a blessing to you. The Lord Himself said that He will show lovingkindness to thousands of generations of those who love Him (Exo. 20:6). Hence, for the sake of eternity, we all should open our homes and provide an outlet for the gospel of the Lord. In this way, the blessing will come not only to us but also to our sons and daughters for generation after generation. (Rising Up to Preach the Gospel, p. 77)
References: The God-Ordained Way to Practice the New Testament Economy, chs. 5, 12; The Proper Way for Believers to Meet and to Serve, ch. 7; The Home Meetings, The Unique Way for the Increase and for the Building Up of the Church, chs. 1-2; Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way, chs. 12, 17; Rising Up to Preach the Gospel, ch. 4.
