6/27/2021 - Healthy Christians - Acts 11,13

Have you had a spiritual check-up recently? What goes in to making a healthy Christian? Early Christians had three necessary life ingredients along with one secret sauce. Here they are…

1. They received the Word of God.
2. They were filled with the Spirit of God.
3. They prayed constantly to God.
(Secret Sauce: They encouraged one another.)

Let’s talk about the secret sauce for a moment. Jesus told us that we should be known as His disciples by the love we show one another. This is why Christians need face to face interaction by regularly attending the gathering of the church body. A digital smiley face just doesn’t have the same encouraging effect.😀 Yeah, the real thing is much better. Physical proximity translates into relational connectedness. As you know, much is communicated nonverbally. Truth is verbal, love is nonverbal. It’s the look in your eye, it’s the tone of your voice, it’s your facial expressions, it’s the hand on the shoulder, these things reveal your heart for others. An emoji will never take the place of your God given face. When Jesus came to the earth he arrived in the flesh and dwelt with man. He did not arrive via video or chat or social media platform. He chose a time when it was nothing but “live.” Jesus’ physical presence was an encouragement to those who received him.

In the early church there was a man named Barnabas and he was really good at encouraging others. In fact, he had this special ministry that put fuel into the engine of individual Christians. He had the ability to speak with warmth and strength. I haven’t met too many people who were naturally good at this. It might not have been natural for Barnabas either. I say this because we are told that he was a man “filled with God’s Spirit.” This supernatural filling produced the fruit of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. You and I have this same Spirit within us but are we yielding to him? It’s a moment by moment choice to exchange what is natural for the supernatural. 

“God fill us with your Spirit now so that we can be the encouragement others need.”