Thriving Cells
(This Weekly Prayer Summary was written by Irene Sentosa, from the CBC English Prayer Ministry Core Team, and edited by Brigitta Tedja)
Watch full sermon here
Pastor Dion Kurniadi continued with the “Be the Church” series with a sermon entitled, “Thriving Cells.” He began by sharing his experience a few years ago when he purchased Air Pods from an online site at a much lower price than the retail price, however, he found out later that they were counterfeit Air Pods. It looked exactly the same as the original but it operated differently. There are many counterfeits in life and only valuable products have counterfeits. The enemy wants to make a counterfeit Church because the Bible stated that the only thing God created that can stand against the power of the darkness is the Church.
Matthew 16:18 MEV:
“[Jesus:] … and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Genuine products must function the way it is supposed to function. God has a special design for each of us as His Church. The Church should be a powerful force and the Church cannot be fake. A lot of people have been hurt by counterfeit Church as the Church was not functioning as it was supposed to function to represent Jesus. This is what the enemy is doing; he takes what is good and twists it to become something that is not good.
We need to learn from the early Church as they have proven in growing in numbers and quality because there is a record of it.
The Birth of the Church
Acts 2:1-4 MEV:
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. There appeared to them tongues as of fire, being distributed and resting on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.”
Acts 2:38-39, 41 NLT:
“Peter replied, ‘Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.’ Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the Church that day—about 3,000 in all.”
The Church was birthed by the power of the Holy Spirit. After the birth the next stage is the growth.
The Growth of the Early Church
Acts 2:46-47 MEV:
“And continuing daily with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the Church daily those who were being saved.”
Acts 5:12, 14 MEV:
“Many signs and wonders were performed among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Porch. Believers were increasingly added to the Lord, crowds of both men and women.”
Acts 6:7 MEV:
“So, the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples grew rapidly in Jerusalem, and a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith.”
Acts 9:31 MEV:
“Then the Churches throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and were built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.”
Acts 11:19-21 NLT:
“Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.”
In the beginning of the early Church, the apostles and original disciples were the ones who grew the Church, but they only preached to the Jews.
Later on, other believers realized that it was not just the disciples that were anointed but they were also all anointed to preach the Gospel. They then started sharing to the Gentiles and a large number of the Gentiles received Jesus!
A healthy cell will keep growing.
Gathering Patterns of the Early Church
Acts 2:46-47 MEV:
“And continuing daily with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the Church daily those who were being saved.”
Acts 20:20 NIV:
“You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”
The Early Church regularly met in:
Large groups in the temple AND
Small groups in homes
This is the key of the early Church’s success. The large and small groups were not optional for Christians if we want our spiritual lives to grow as it should be. We cannot pick and choose between the two. They are both working hand-in-hand.
However, after the great success of the early Church’s growth, a decline happened.
The Decline of the Early Church
AD 313 —The decline began when Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity so that there was no more persecution during that time. People were exempt from taxes and military service when they became Christians, so many became Christians without ever experiencing the love of God and the willingness to give God everything.
AD 323—Church building. Due to the large number of Christians who attended, they began building big buildings and the people only needed to attend once a week with no more small gatherings.
AD 400—Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the state religion. Christianity just became a thing and was no longer an identity that they willing to die or live for.
The Lord Jesus becomes a complement to life, not LIFE ITSELF.
Mission, the gathering patterns of the early Church became "optional".
Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT:
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
We Need to Be the Church
City Blessing Church Vision Statement:
“Transforming Our Communities”
How can we transform our community? Our community can be transformed when we grow in numbers. The more people experience God, only then will transformation happen. Transformation can only happen when more people experience God.
Transformation = the number of people that become transformed.
City Blessing Church Mission Statement:
“By the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we are commissioned to transform our communities through sharing the Gospel, equipping the believers, and planting Churches.”
This mission is supported by what we are doing in CARE Cells (Caring and Reaching Everyone). CARE Cell has an END (Evangelism, Nurturing, and Discipleship) purpose.
The goal of CARE Cell is the multiplication of CARE Cells for community transformation.
Community will not be transformed until we multiply our cells in the community.
Joining Sunday Service is good, but we need to join a CARE Cell. These small groups allow us to be molded and multiplied to transform our community.
How can we make our CARE Cell to be the cell God intended to be? We need to go back again to learn from the Early Church.
The Early Church’s Cell Gatherings
A. Strong in faith
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).
—Acts 2:42 NLT
B. Strong in unity of vision and purpose
All the believers were united in heart and mind.
—Acts 4:32 NLT
C. Strong in love as a community of believers
And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. There were no needy people among them.
—Acts 4:32, 34 NLT
D. Strong in proclamation of the Gospel
Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the Good News that Jesus is the Messiah.
—Acts 5:42 NIV
E. Strong in discipleship
So, the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
—Acts 6:7 NIV
F. Strong in the Holy Spirit
Many signs and wonders were performed among the people by the hands of the apostles.
—Acts 5:12 MEV
Find a CARE Cell TODAY!
Prayer Points:
Pray that we will be a genuine Church to represent Jesus wherever we currently are.
Pray that we understand the power and authority God has given to the Church to stand against the power of darkness, to preach the Gospel, to set the captives free, to heal the brokenhearted, and perform signs, miracles and wonders.
Pray for our Church member to understand the importance of CARE Cell for our spiritual growth.
Pray for every Church member to be part of a CARE Cell, to work together in reaching out and transform our community.
Pray that every CARE Cell will be a healthy and thriving cell that God intended it to be:
Strong in faith
Strong in unity of vision and purpose
Strong in love as a community of believers
Strong in the proclamation of the Gospel
Strong in discipleship
Strong in the Holy Spirit
Pray and declare boldness and for the Church body to catch the vision of transforming our community.