02/11/2021
Tyler: Tonight, we decided not to go to The Summit (our home church) in lieu of preparing to hit the road for the Pray Georgia gathering this weekend. Well, packing hasn't happened yet because there was a song that was played in our home tonight and it has grown into a full blown family worship night. After praising and worshipping Jesus I had a moment to reflect on how revival starts at home and within our families. I then began to ponder on what is yet to come from the top of this mountain that our home sits on. I was reminded of a book I read that gave a glimpse into what church looked like soon after Holy Spirit fell in the upper room. If you plan to attend, I'd like you to take the time to read this excerpt from the book and really go to this place in your mind. This is not a schedule of the events to come, rather a type and shadow of what we believe our gatherings one day could look like. This section will help to prepare our minds and hearts for what entering into his presence used to look like days, weeks, months, and years after Jesus came! (Don't pay so much attention to the specifics, dates, religious rituals, but the dedication of the people to the presence of God and his tangible manifestation that causes his bride to KNOW HIM)
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What you are about to witness is not church life as you have known it.
As we walk through the door, you look across the entrance into a large open courtyard of the home. There appears to be some kind of party going on . Some of the people are playing flutes, lyres, and tambourines, while others are singing, dancing and clapping their hands. You immediately look around to make sure you came into the right house! As you listen to the words, however, you realize is the right place for the words of the songs are words of praise to Jesus! These people are overflowing with joy because they have come to know the living God.
What you are witnessing is the way the early church praised God. This type of worship is foreign to much of the church today, but from the biblical and historical records, this is what the worship in the early church was like. It was a free and joyful celebration, with a great deal of singing and dancing.
Most church services would begin with the people getting in a ring (or several concentric rings) and dancing Jewish-style ring dances (like the Hora).
Here's how some early Christian writers described their worship:
Clement of Alexandria (writing in the third century), describes " the daughters of God" leading the church in a ring dance: "The righteous are the dancers, the music is a song of the King of the universe. The maidens strike the lyre, the angels praise, the prophets speak, the sound of music issues forth, they run and pursue the jubilant band; those that are called make haste, eagerly desiring to receive the Father!"
Ambrose of Milan, the man who led Augustine to the Lord, writing on AD 390 exhorted his people to worship with these words: “Let us dance like David did. Let us not be ashamed to show adoration to God. Dance uplifts the body above the earth into the heaven-lies. Dance bound up with faith is a testimony to the living grace of God. He who dances as David danced, dances in grace.”
St. Basil (4th Century) wrote, “Could there be anything more blessed that to imitate on earth the ring dance of the angels!” This picture of the church rejoicing before the Lord in dance come as a surprise to many people. Many people have thought of the early church’s worship as somber, quiet, and almost mournful. The concept of church worship, however, did not become prevalent in the church until after the fourth century when the church was overrun by the asceticism of pagan philosophy.
In Augustine's day (A.D. 400), opposition to dancing was rising, but he urged his people to "keep the sacred dances."
So, here we are in a large courtyard. There is a great deal of singing, dancing, and rejoicing in the Lord. As the songs slow down a little, many people get down on their knees before the Lord. Most are lifting up hands to Him . A tremendous sense of the Lord’s presence fills the courtyard. During the church's praise and worship, there are spontaneous shouts of praise. Some shout, "Amen!" to voice their agreement with what others have said. As we enter into the worship, we are overwhelmed by the love and acceptance of the people.
After much singing and dancing, food is brought out. People find their seats and prepare for the meal. We are surprised to see people eating a meal in the middle of a church service, but this is described by Paul in I Corinthians, as well as by Jude and Peter. This shared weekly meal is called the "love feast," or Agape. To begin the meal, the woman of the house lights the candles saying a special prayer of thanks giving. Then one of the leaders stands with a cup, blesses the Lord, and passes it around so each one can drink from it. He then picks up a loaf of bread and offers thanks. It also is passed from person to person. This is the Lord's Supper in its original context. The meal is a joyful time centred on devotion to the Lord. As they eat, the believers talk about the things of God, share testimonies, recite and discuss Scripture, and sing praises to the Lord. You are impressed that, while very few have personal copies of any biblical books, most of those present appear to have large portions of the Bible memorised.
During the meal, one of the leaders stands and reads a letter they received that week from an apostle named Junia. Junia was not one of the original twelve apostles, but by this time there were many apostles in the church.
As you hear the letter read, you are surprised to learn that Junia is a woman! In Romans 16 Paul describes a woman named Junia as “outstanding" among the apostles.
The leaders of this house church had written to Junia weeks earlier to seek advice on some issues, and in her letter Junia carefully addressed each of their questions. It is clear that all present hold Junia in high regard, for they all pay careful attention as her letter is read.
After the meal ends, worship continues until at some point a change begins to take place. There is a subtle shift in the atmosphere. The air seems to thicken. A tangible sense of the Presence of God comes and rests in the place. First Corinthians chapter five describes it this way: “When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus... and the power of our Lord Jesus is present…”
Those who have studied revival literature recall that a tangible sense of God’s Presence has frequently accompanied the great revivals of history. The manifest Presence of God is, in fact, "the hallmark” of true revival. In the presence of a holy God sinners find salvation, backsliders find repentance and the miraculous becomes commonplace.
In the early church , this was a weekly occurrence. When the members of the body assembled, they came as “living stones” forming the temple of God. As the presence of the Lord had once filled Moses’ tabernacle (Ev 40:34) and the temple of Solomon (2 Chr 7:1-2), so the Presence of God filled His new temple, the church. This is what Jesus promised, “Where two or three come together in my name , there I am with them” (Mt 18:20).
All those assembled sensed the Presence of God, some fall to the ground in worship. Others stop and are silent, welcoming the Lord’s Presence.
As the Presence of God rests in their midst, ministry begins to take place. 1 Co 14 describes the Holy Spirit sovereignly manifesting His gifts as His people assemble. A woman on the far side of the courtyard stands and gives a word of knowledge for healing. A man rises his hand and people cluster around to pray for him. He is instantly healed. Someone else stands up and reads a passage of Scripture. Another man, a teacher, gives an explanation to the passage. A woman stands and gives a beautiful prophetic song. Many are so touched by its beauty and anointing they begin to weep.
Prophetic words are given. There are tongues and interpretation. Through it all, they continue to move in and out of worship. This scenario is clearly described in 1 Corinthians 14:23-32.
This is how the early church met and ministered. At one point a man introduces a family who have been seating quietly near the back of the crowd. They are his neighbors. You can tell by the look in their faces that this is their first time here, and they are not sure they are in the right place.
The man says they have come tonight because their 12 year old daughter has contracted an illness that has left her totally blind. They have come for the church to pray for her. Those with the gift of healing come and stand with the elders as they anoint the little girl with oil and pray. Suddenly the little girl begins to cry. With tears running down her cheeks, she cries out, “I can see! I can see!” The mother crouches down and hugs her daughter, and within four or five minutes the entire family is saved, giving their hearts to Jesus.
A prophetic word is given revealing the secrets of someone’s heart. That person comes forward and says, “I don’t know Jesus but I know God is here. I want to know Him.”
Ministry continues. This is where much of the evangelism in the church took place…through the miraculous power of God working in the midst of His people. Most of us don’t even have a concept of that happening, but it was the norm in the early church.
Irenaeus (writing about AD 195) tells us that in his day, prophetic words, tongues and miracles of healing were common in the church. He adds that the church frequently saw people raised from the dead through the prayers of the saints!
Early in his walk with the Lord, Augustine had expressed doubts about the miraculous. After witnessing many examples of miraculous healings in his own church, however, he publicly retracted his earlier statements and devoted much of his life to a ministry of healing. He commented, “Miracles have no purpose but to help men believe that Christ is Lord.”
In the decline and fall of the Roman empire, Gibbon described the life of the early church this way, “The primitive perpetually trod on mystic ground… They felt that on every side they were incessantly assaulted by demons, comforted by visions, instructed by prophesy, and surprisingly delivered from danger, sickness, and death itself, by the supplications of the church.”
Our meeting of the church has now run late into the night, but no one seems to notice. Suddenly the meeting begins to break up. The sense of he Spirit’s presence begins to lift, but there are still several small groups gathered in prayer.
As people prepare to leave, there is a great deal of hugging and kissing. It seems like a family reunion, and it is! It is the weekly reunion of the family of God.
How would you like to be part of a church like that? That’s what the early church was. It was a temple where the glory of God dwelt. On any given Saturday evening there would have been hundreds of such meetings all over the city of Rome.
That’s also the kind of church they had at Antioch, Corinth, Ephesus, Colossae, and Jerusalem. That’s the kind of church that took the known world in one generation.
An apostle like Paul would go into a city, start a church…and the Presence of God would come. Within a few years tens of thousands of people would be saved and the entire region affected.
By the end of he first Century the church had spread everywhere because the pagans didn’t have anything that could stand against the power of God and His church.
Incredibly, that’s how the church met for over 300 years!
(Excerpt Dr. Robert D Heidler)
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