The NT Church

Yesterday morning at Faith Bible Chapel, we took a quick look at the process God used to birth the NT church. But we started off with this quote from A.W. Tozer,

"One characteristic that marks the average church today is lack of anticipation. Christians when they meet do not expect anything unusual to happen; consequently only the usual happens, and that usual is as predictable as the setting of the sun... We need today a fresh spirit of anticipation that springs out of the promises of God. We must declare war on the mood of nonexpectation, and come together with childlike faith. Only then can we know again the beauty and wonder of the Lord's presence among us."

The church was established through the coming of the Holy Spirit to a group of believers who were waiting with great expectation in Jerusalem. They were there praying and waiting, not knowing what was about to happen. Then the room filled with a mighty rushing wind and there appeared what looked like tongues of fire above each believer's head. Each person in the room was filled with Holy Spirit and the NT church was born. After the first sermon, 3,000 people were added to the church. Did you get that, 3,000, as a result of obedience to the Great Commission, the church grew to 3,120 after one sermon. And what was the result?

Acts 2:41-47 41So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.42And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

If only today those who are of the bride of Christ were continually, steadfastly devoted to the teachings of the Apostles, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer!

The question we were asked to consider at the end of our message yesterday was, "How does Faith Bible Chapel resemble the Acts 2 church?" And I ask anyone who is reading this, how does your church resemble them, and what does Christ want us to be today as the church, His bride that He shed His blood to redeem?

Chosen as a Doulos,

Tim

The power of God through Facebook

I just sent this message out to all members of the Faith Bible Chapel facebook group, and thought I would share this here also.

There are many people out there who don't understand the power of these social networking sites. There are some who actually fear these kind of sites. Now I know that facebook as an overwhelming amount of DANGERS, but just like most things in life, it can be used to bring glory to the Father. Here is one example.

Last week one of my Facebook friends from the church where I was ordained said this is here status:

"Does anyone know a jeweler who might be willing to donate or sell us at cost sterling silver plain wedding bands? We need to bring them for our weddings we are performing while on our mission trip in Haiti. We ultimately need 20 sets of male and female but will take what we can get. Thanks!"

Well because of Facebook I am friends with someone from another church I was in, who happens to design and sell jewelry. So I sent her a copy of that status update. She then contacted my other friend and here is the update I received yesterday:

"Tim, Yes and THANK YOU so much for telling me about her. She is DONATING 50 wedding rings! We are so ecstatic and thrilled. Thank you again for putting us in contact with her."

Without facebook and the ability we have to connect with friends or even acquaintances from the past, I would not have been able to connect those 2 people. BUT I take none of the credit. God has given humans the intelligence to come up with these things. He receives all the glory for the generous offer of the 50 rings donated. He alone deserves all the glory for those who are taking a missions trip to Haiti. God is at work and will even use something like facebook to accomplish His work.

Here is the website for the jeweler. Maybe some of you might be interested in some of her stuff:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5859231

Chosen as a Doulos,

Tim

Follow Me

Okay, so I have done a horrible job at becoming a blogger. Truth be known, I didn't know if anyone ever read my first blog, and I don't know how to let people know about when I blog. Then I came on here and saw that someone actually read and commented on my post, so maybe I will continue to write things here.

Since my last post, God has chosen to open a door for my family and I at Faith Bible Chapel in Buckfield, Maine. I am what most of you would call the "Senior Pastor", but I hold the position of "Teaching/Preaching Elder". There are 3 other Elders who I will be working along side of to provide spiritual oversight to FBC. The process that God used to get us here is again an illogical one, but God is never a God of logic. But where He leads us, we will follow.

Soon after accepting the call to join Faith Bible Chapel, God decided to give me the words to a song. The title of the song is "Follow Me". It is a song about what it means to be a true disciple of Christ. The American church has reduced salvation down to the saying of a prayer, the signing of a card and then baptism, without a call to true life surrender. When we read the words of Christ, we see a call of complete submission as the minimum not as a separate road to Heaven. There are too many people who live there lives believing that salvation is a two-step process of "accepting Christ as your Savior" then maybe one day making Him your Lord. This is not the gospel presented in the Scriptures, Jesus said that we must take up our cross and follow Him, or we are not worthy to be called His disciples, and are not fit for the Kingdom of God.

My wife and I are committed to being disciples of Christ who have given up everything to follow after God. And it was this commitment, and others questioning of it, that lead to the writing of these words:

FOLLOW ME
By the Holy Spirit through Tim Nixon

VERSE 1
Take up your cross and follow Me
Take up your cross and follow Me
Jesus said, if you lose your life, you will find it in me, there is no other way
Count the cost, take up your cross and follow Me

CHORUS
Follow me down the road that’s less traveled
Follow me down the path that’s straight and narrow
Follow me, counting everything as loss
Count the cost, take up your cross and follow Me

VERSE 2
All who are weary, follow Me
All who are weary, follow Me
Jesus said, My yoke is easy, my burden is light, you’ll find perfect rest in me
Count the cost, take up your cross and follow Me

VERSE 3
If you’re thirsty, follow Me
If you’re thirsty, follow Me
Jesus said, all who thirst, just drink of me, and you’ll never thirst again
Count the cost, take up your cross and follow Me

VERSE 4
If you’re hungry, follow Me
If you’re hungry, follow Me
God said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word I speak
Count the cost, take up your cross and follow Me

My last Sunday at Community Fellowship Church, I had the privilege of playing that song with the praise band. I have never written a song before, but I am humbled that God allowed me the opportunity to write those words down and to have the ability to put them to chords. I hope one day to record it and to post it for others to hear. The most important thing for me is that God has called me to live the words of this song through the blood of Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit!

Chosen as a Doulos,

Tim

In the Beginning...

This is my first blog ever! I know that you can sense the excitement in my voice. Oh yeah, you can't hear me. But believe me, there is excitement. I find it simply amazing that we can log on to the Internet and immediately be able to share information with others all of the world. NO, this is not my first time on the Internet, but it is still amazing. Hopefully, others will find my thoughts worth reading and sharing with others.

For my first post, I want to share a verse that has been a theme for my wife and I over the past few years of our lives, and especially the last year. The verse is Proverbs 20:24, "A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?" Now this is not a verse that eliminates our responsibility in life. This is one of those one-line drops of wisdom from Solomon. There is no context that it fits into within the chapter, but we know that it has to be taken in the context of the subject area covered in other places in the Scriptures. There are many other verses that talk about God's directing of the path of those who follow Him. Here are just a few, Proverbs 16:1,9 "1The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD." "9 The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." And I will list just one more before giving my thoughts on this subject, and that is Psalm 139:16, "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."

The point for my wife and I, is that we have been walking faithfully in obedience to our Father, through the righteousness of Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and our most used phrase has become, "We don't know what God is doing". We have many friends and family members who probably think we are crazy. And I'll admit we are, but we believe that we are following after God with all we are, and for us that has meant moving from place to place, being used by Him to touch people's lives, and when given the opportunity, making disciples. It may not be God's calling on your life, but for us, it has been an awesome adventure, and we would not change places with anyone else. We make our plans, present them to the Father, and He says to us, "Live for Me today, let Me take care of tomorrow, and regardless of what happens, all things will work out for My glory and your good. Do you trust Me?" And the answer to that question is, "Yes, because You alone are trustworthy!" And that is the point of the verses I use above. God's plan IS being accomplished. It's His plan, and no man can stop it. The choice for us is, will we be obedient and walk with Him as He is accomplishing His plan, or will we force Him to grab us by the nap of the neck, as He drags us along while we are kicking and screaming? I like the idea of walking in fellowship rather than walking in discipline. How 'bout you?

I do not claim to be as strong as Abraham, the Father of Faith, but I do know the more I leave things in His hands, the more faithful He proves to be!

Tim